Dear friends,
We are writing to update you on some things that the Lord is doing in our lives!
After two years of pursuing moving to Northern Ireland, we feel that the door is not opening as we had anticipated. There have been no fall-outs with the Guinn’s; they are amazing and we hate the idea of not getting to work with them right now. We have sensed that the timing for us to move to Northern Ireland just was not right. In our conversation with Mark and Ange, they were sad, but extremely gracious to us. They released us from feeling guilty and blessed us to follow the Lord.
Whereas we thought we needed to commit to a specific country like Ireland, Spain or Denmark, we have realized that our call is less about location and more pure and simply committing to the Lord. We thought that our first stop in Europe would be Northern Ireland, but we are beginning elsewhere. This is something that we have been praying about and discussing for months, and now we want to announce it to you, our dear friends and supporters: We are starting in Denmark!
Aside from the obvious family connection, there are many more reasons to begin there. More than 90% of the population are members of the Danish State Church, but less than 1 % attend a weekly service. Not all Danish pastors are actually believers in Jesus and often the teaching is more like moral education or stories, than actually teaching God’s Word. There are a few free churches as well. Some are viewed as a cult or sect and some actually are cults. Despite the fact that Danes are said to be the happiest people on Earth, they are dead spiritually and their church membership guarantees nothing for their eternal life.
This is a very timely move for us. A dear friend of ours has begun in the last month and a half to pastor a very small church in Lars’ hometown of Esbjerg, Denmark. He has invited us to serve alongside his family and we are joyfully accepting! New Bible Studies are beginning, an acquaintance of Lars’ has come to the Lord and there is much more to come! In an upcoming newsletter we will outline the ministry that we feel God has put on our hearts, but just to whet your appetite we will give you a taste!
A few Highlights:
*Missions Interest groups- We want to create a small group to engage people in missions outside of their own country and comfort zone. We see this as a way to really walk through the gospel from beginning stages all the way through the front lines of serving. In other words: Meet weekly, dive into life, the Word, the World around us, and then as a group, go out on a short term mission project.
*Teaching
* Home groups-
*Business Development
We are still being sent out through Muncie Alliance as missionaries and still very much value your involvement in our lives and ministry. In fact, we need you! Your prayers, encouragement, letters, emails, and financial gifts will allow us to be on the front lines. You have no idea how important you are to us. Each letter of encouragement or gift (small or large) is an example of God using his body and we challenge you to pray and ask the Lord how you may be involved. It could be with monthly giving, an encouragement visit overseas or something else the Lord may show you.
Some friends of ours felt led to put on a yard sale at MAC to raise money for our move overseas. Many people brought donations and there were several ladies that worked very, very hard to organize it. They made $923 towards our relocation costs! What a huge blessing.
We have applied for Maria’s Danish Visa and that should be granted in 2-5 months. We will plan to go within a month of the VISA being granted.
Please let us know if you have any questions. We are available to talk!
Thank you for partnering with us,
The Kristiansen Family
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