February 13th-16th I was in Stockholm, the snowy city where our family lived 1989-1992. As always, the return visit was a joyous reunion, and it was heartening to see so many disciples doing so well. The Stockholm church had invited congregations in the Baltic area to attend an inspiring conference (entitled "One Heart"), including those in the nations of Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In addition, a number of participants came from other countries: Russia, Slovenia, France, Britain, the US, and several more. Several hundred took part in the weekend seminar.
My biblical exposition covered the book of Hebrews. In addition, I taught a class on leadership roles in the New Testament, and on the final morning spent several hours with Baltic area staff in an open Q&A session. Special thanks to Christopher Lindfeldt and Reese Neyland for their role in the conference.
The Baltic churches are growing in faith, and also in numbers. The first night of the conference, the ice was broken (literally) as one young man entered the frigid waters of baptism. He had been visiting the church on and off for nine years! As Paul suggested (and prayed), "Short time or long," may everyone receive an opportunity to respond to the gospel.
Next I headed to London for a brief visit. I visited a favorite haunt (the British Museum) as well as a number of sites special to my wife and me. Fellowship with a couple of the London leaders (Malcolm Cox and Andrew Agerbak) made the stop in the UK extra special.
