Thank you so much for your prayer and support as we are here in Copenhagen for a mission trip with 30 other Power to Change staff and students. As a team, we've been enjoying doing ministry, studying the Bible and praying together, cooking and eating together and exploring Copenhagen! This past week we climbed up "The Round Tower" in the city centre to enjoy some spectacular views of the city! Here is a picture of our team at the top.
We've experienced so much in such a short amount of time and have seen God at work in and through our team in some cool ways! We've spent the past couple of weeks on campuses across the city talking with students about Danish culture and faith - and to be completely honest, it's been HARD at times! Yet, we've recognized a spiritual openness from Danish students.
The overwhelming majority of Danes seem to hold the perspective that Christianity is a nice tradition, but don't see how God matters in their everyday life. For a little context: The population of Denmark is about 5.5 million. About 4 million Danes belong to the Lutheran State Church and yet, Pastors estimate that less than 1% actually attend regularly and have a genuine belief in God.
As hard as it's been to minister in this post-Christian context at times, it's also been so encouraging to see our Canadian students take steps of faith and grow in their faith. Today John a Ryerson student on Trevor's campus team noted, "On this trip I've done things that I never thought I would or could have done before. But God has empowered me to do them". Examples of this are that John has shared his faith with PhD students and a professor that we encountered.
We've also had the honour to partner with the local Power to Change ministry here (AgapeLife) and the student leaders that are involved. It has been mutually encouraging as they get to hang out with young Christians on fire for God and we get to see how Christians can stay strong in a culture that is so apathetic to Christ.
Prayer Items
- Pray for the Danish students we are meeting to continue to have opportunities to discuss faith, have Christians in their lives and hear the Gospel
- Pray for the Canadian students to continue to learn what a life as a disciple of Christ looks like and what God may be teaching them through this trip.
- Pray that the local Danish Christians would be encouraged and continue to reach their country with the Gospel.
For you who are wondering, Amelia did well on the plane ride, she didn't sleep much but it helped her get over jet lag quickly (probably before Trevor and I did). She has also connected well with a couple of students that Trevor and I are discipling. The students really enjoy the life that Amelia brings to the team. These are huge answers to prayer!
We have found some fun places to play, as Copenhagen is a very kid friendly city. There is even a little courtyard behind our house that Amelia likes running around in.