芬兰
寒假
关于这次旅行
服务于 这个讲瑞典语的地区 芬兰是 高能 营 部. It consists of viewing every action as a form of 部, from serving in the kitchen to having intentional, 深入的交谈 with participants from the Western Coast of 芬兰. 你的参与使 会议进行得很顺利。, and 你r faith will grow as 你 celebrate life with Finnish brothers and sisters. It is physically and emotionally draining, 然而, 除了满足 as 你 witness lives changing and people coming to Christ for the first time, embracing Christianity as a relationship and learning to live it out. It requires flexibility, self-initiative, and grace – flexibility because things won’t always go as planned, self-initiative because the conference leaders expect the North Parkers to step up and get things done, and grace because everyone will reach a point of exhaustion, and it’s necessary to support one another through the experience. Self-care is a necessary element of the trip, as is an openness to what we can learn from our Finnish brothers and sisters in Christ.
Partner: MVV (Midvinterveckan) of the Mission Church of 芬兰, through Merge Ministries.
Midvinterveckan (MVV) is a 部 of the Mission Church of 芬兰, a cousin of the Evangelical Covenant church. 每年, the church conference holds a five-day winter 营 that takes place in 芬兰 rotating locations; in 2019–2020, 它将在瓦萨或瓦萨附近举行. MVV primarily serves the 你th and 你ng adults of 芬兰 who speak Swedish as a first language. Since 芬兰是 a post-church country, 对基督有深切的渴慕, and many students are craving knowledge of the Gospel and how that translates to their daily lives. The students are filled with questions and desire. The conference consists of community meals, Fikas, 每天两次服务, 研讨会, 游戏, 晚上小吃, 开放麦克风. It is a time of community, fellowship, worship, and growth. The Finns welcome the North Park team as their own – 没有给予特殊待遇, and they are expected to rise to the occasion and step in as student leaders. It is a beautiful but also 你ng partnership that has proven mutual growth and dependence on one another, which leads to healthy and encouraging relationships.
学生的证词
“Going into my 芬兰 experience, I didn’t really have a lot of expectations. I was excited to see how God was going to work in and through my team, but I couldn’t have even begun to guess what I thought He would accomplish. 在整个旅途中, it was so encouraging and inspiring to witness the Body of Christ intentionally ministering and praising God in order to expand the Kingdom. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it impacted my views on servant leadership among other things. I witnessed such a positive attitude to servitude that I felt like paralleled what Jesus would have done. 我在芬兰领导人身上看到了耶稣, and it brought great joy to my heart, fueling my spirit to be just as strong but also just as humble in my own faith. 在圣经中, God tells Joshua to “Be strong and courageous,” and that’s exactly what God has been telling me since my time in 芬兰, 但更具体地说, “Be strong and courageous in 你r faith.” I want my life to be a giant leap of faith and to be a reflection of God’s beautiful work. 服务于 芬兰 was a wonderful reminder of the passions God has placed in my heart, and now I am striving to pursue these desires He has set there.”
– Kaylyn Sweitzer, English Major, C’19