I will never forget it, although it happened long ago, namely in 1998. The year before I had invested saved means in a used car (because the one I had previously, had corroded too badly), but it proved to be so lousy that I only managed to use it for a few months. At that time I was short on cash, and simply could not afford to purchase a proper car. I had already for a number of years been active in spreading the three angels’ messages in Sweden by means of flyers and was highly dependent on an automobile to be able to continue this (for the greater part I was circulating the flyers manually, with small portions going through the Post Office). What was I to do? I went, of course, to God in prayer. He knew I would be unable to continue the work He had called me to do, unless I had a car that worked. In this connection it is worth mentioning that I had told nobody I needed a car. I put it all in God’s hands. How did He solve this? Well, two or three weeks after starting praying, I received a marvellous answer. An older brother, whom I had known for a long time, was aware of my missionary project and suddenly called me one day to enquire whether I would like his automobile. He felt I needed it more than he did in this missionary endeavour. As we have seen, I had not informed earlier him that I needed a car. He owned a fairly new Hyundai, but it proved too small for me (I am tall). He therefore offered me an entirely new Hyundai, by selling his own and paying the difference. I accepted, of course, his generous offer. We went to the largest Göteborg retailer of Hyundai cars, and the first one I laid eyes on, among many other cars, was exactly the one I required. An automobile that was roomy enough for transporting my missionary materials. I quickly realised this was the car which God had selected for me. We agreed that the car was to be for missionary purposes (although I was, naturally enough, allowed to use it for private purposes, too). Should I in future, for any reason, now longer be able to use the car for missionary work, I was to pass it on to somebody else who needed it for a work of that order. I shall never forget the happiness I felt, as I drove the brand new car to my home from the retailer. What a great and good God we serve! The car has worked almost perfectly ever since and now I chiefly use it to circulate The Great Controversy (GC) around Sweden (plus The Power of His Passion, which is a digest of The Desire of Ages (DA), by Ellen White numbering some 35 pages, as well as a flyer containing the Advent message – for those wanting something shorter than a book of 640 pages).

About four years ago (in the autumn of 2008) I started offering The Great Controversy to people I met in streets and in town squares, as well as at upper secondary schools across Sweden. I have written regarding this in an earlier testimony, but here I am going to tell you about things that have happened during the space of six months (from June to November 2012) following my previous testimony. As regards my presentation of the book, I have reported in detail on that in my previous testimony, and therefore I will not mention it here.

Sweden is, as you will know, one of the most de-Christianised nations in the world, but in spite of this there are people everywhere who hunger and thirst for the truth. In early summer of this year I offered The Great Controversy to individuals in central Mölndal (situated a little to the south of Göteborg). Having had the book presented to her, a woman in her sixties looked at me in a serious way and said: “I shall read the book with great interest. Then I shall pass the book on to my sister. After that I shall pass it on to my neighbour. Once she has studied it, I shall pass it on to my brothers and sisters in my congregation belonging to the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden.”

In Stockholm I presented The Great Controversy to a woman aged 25-30 who accepted it with interest. Then she began telling her story. She was on long-term sick leave due to family problems and had been a Christian for three years. She had visited one congregation belonging to the Lutheran Church and one belonging to a free church, but had been bitterly disappointed. She had only seen disagreements and divisions there. My understanding is that doctrines were not very important in those churches, but that socialising was the main theme. Since, however, fellowship based on the truth was missing, divisions arose. A vision given to Ellen White came to mind: She saw the last congregation of God walking on a narrow foot path. They “all seemed to be firmly united, bound together by the truth”, i.e. the three angels’ messages (Early Writings, p 89). We conversed for an hour and she seemed to agree with me about how Protestant churches once were founded, God giving them the truth for that time and that it was this truth that united people. I gave her all my materials and hoped she eventually would join God’s last congregation. We know that the falling away in the Protestant denominations will develop into midnight darkness at the time immediately prior to the return of Jesus (Christ’s Object Lessons, p 414). Since this condition seems very nigh within Babylon, it is especially urgent today to reach God’s hungering and thirsting children there with the three angels’ messages, so that they will not be affected by the falling away and go under (Revelation 18:4).

On my way back home from Stockholm I spent one whole day in Norrköping evangelising at upper secondary schools and among the general populace there. Although the whole day was blessed, there is one special occurrence that I want to relate. When I arrived in Norrköping, I immediately headed for the upper secondary schools. However, when on my way there, I saw a dreadful sight. I spotted a girl aged about 18-20 sitting in a wheelchair. Handled by another person, the wheelchair passed me. This girl was in such a bad physical state I was unsure whether she could even speak. I made an attempt, though, and offered GC to her. Her powers of thinking and speech evidently worked very well. And what was more: She showed a great interest in the book, after I had presented it to her. She accepted a copy and promised she would read it. I still recall her absolutely beaming with joy, as she received the book.

A few weeks ago I went on a ten-day mission trip by automobile to five towns in the Southeast of Sweden – chiefly going to upper secondary schools – which proved a great blessing. Like I mentioned in my previous testimony, the interest in GC is far greater at theoretical lines of study at upper secondary schools, than among people in general (among those aged 25-30 and older, there is far less interest). The following are a few examples of, how God blessed during my ten-day mission trip. While offering GC to students just outside the entrance to Växjö’s largest upper secondary school, two students (girls) were walking about in the school yard discussing the Bible during a break. It should be carefully noted in this connection that they were unaware of my activities outside the entrance. They had found some parts of the Bible difficult to understand and wished to gain a greater understanding of it. They especially hungered for knowledge about the Book of Revelation, since they felt this was the hardest to grasp. Shortly afterwards, the two students left the school to run an errand in town. They then passed me, and I offered them GC. After my presentation of the book, one of them enquired whether this book provided a good explanation of Revelation. I replied that GC provides, as far as I know, the best explanation of Revelation, and then the girls told me about their conversation shortly before in the school yard. Having given them a copy each, I told the girls that this must have been due to the providence of God, and both of them agreed with me.

When I gave GC to a student at another of the upper secondary schools at Växjö, he assured me he was very keen to read the book, and that his entire family surely was, too. This is an experience I have made among upper secondary school students. Provided they themselves truly are keen on reading the book, many of them will pass it on to friends or family. In this connection I wish to mention that shortly after said mission trip I offered the book to upper secondary school students at the Hvitfeldska Gymnasiet in Göteborg. Just after I gave the book to an interested female student there, she returned to me, bringing with her a fellow student, to whom she had recommended to also accept the book. Beaming with joy, she accepted the book, after I had closely described its contents.

Kalmar was the second of the towns I visited during my mission trip. There, the spiritual interest far exceeded my expectations. On the first day, God sent 40 persons to me – chiefly youth from upper secondary schools – who were spiritually minded enough to receive and promise they would read GC. The weather, moreover, had been favourable the first day (just like the two days I spent at Växjö a little time before). However, the second day it was raining in the morning, as I exited the hostel, where I spent the nights. In fact it was raining so hard I had to quickly seek shelter in order not to become wet. I stepped inside to see the person manning the reception desk at the hostel, and asked what the weather was going to be like in the day. He replied that the weather bureau had predicted daytime rain – with possible breaks during the course of the day! Surprised by the weather, I pondered what I was going to do. I had prayed about good weather, before embarking on my mission trip and was unprepared for this rain. What to do? Well, pray some more, of course. The first day had been a great blessing, and I was certain God wanted me to evangelise at Kalmar this day, too. Almost immediately after my prayer, the rain ceased and I was able to work all day without any raining. When my work was finished later that day, God had sent 60 individuals in my path, who were spiritually minded and intended to read the GCs I had given to them. Never before had I been able to circulate as many copies of GC anywhere in Sweden during a single day. At the close of work for the day, the sun shined on me for the first time, since the rain had stopped, and my thoughts immediately turned to Malaki 4:2, “the Sun of righteousness” – that is, Jesus. I realised that it was He, who had provided me with both favourable weather and sent me 60 spiritually minded persons in my path the second day at Kalmar.

During this ten-day project in five towns I had paid 3,595 crowns in charges for sleeping accommodations at various hostels. On my return home, two fellow believers had deposited 3,660 crowns in my postal giro account to assist me in my missionary endeavours. They had no idea what towns I had been visiting, or the time spent – that is, they were unaware of my expenses. Concerning petrol costs, I decided to pay half of these for my ten-day project. They totalled 992 crowns, of which I thus was going to finance 496 crowns (I had, of course, paid the whole sum myself during the trips in question). I did not inform a single person about the petrol outlays for my journeys. A short while after my return home, I received a telephone call from a sister in the faith, who told me she had deposited 500 crowns in my postal giro account for my missionary activities while I was gone. So she was unfamiliar with my petrol outlays.

Following this mission project, a young, dedicated Seventh-day Adventist (a student at Stenshult) and I went to Malmö and Lund to circulate GC chiefly at upper secondary schools and high schools. The last day of our missionary journey we decided we would work at Lund, despite the weather report indicating rain throughout the day in the entire area and around the town. When we arrived at Lund, it was raining so heavily I was even unable to step out of my car to pay my parking fee. We had been praying for fair weather during the day, but so far we saw no answer to prayer. I then called to mind Elijah, who was obliged to pray seven times before it started to rain in Israel following 3.5 years of draught (I Kings 18:41-45), even though this was a question of making the rain cease. At Kalmar, the raining had quit immediately after prayer, but sometimes God wants us to pray several times before answering. We did this then. Suddenly, there was a gust of strong wind. We felt the wind grab hold of the car. The wind was so strong it “chased” the rain “away” at once, and for the rest of that day the weather was fair. When finished for the day in the afternoon and seated in the car to go home, it started raining heavily again.

God did, however, work more miracles for us in Malmö and at Lund. He sent many upper secondary school students in our path, who were interested in GC. I could, for instance, mention that at Lund there is a major institution of theology, and a large number of future priests and teachers of religion accepted the book with joy. Although upper secondary school students in theoretical lines of education in Sweden are much more interested in GC, than those aged 25-30 and older, interest in the book has been the greatest at the theological institutions around Sweden that I have visited. On the other hand, the number of students of theology is small compared to the number of upper secondary school students in theoretical lines of learning.

One important factor I have detected is the fact that God sometimes will send in one’s path people who are not very interested in the gospel, but who have relatives or friends who are and who wish to pass GC on to them. In Malmö I was standing outside an upper secondary school presenting the book to a middle-aged man who was passing and decided to hand the book to his interested wife, who was a teacher of religion. Later in the day, he passed me together with his wife, and she demonstrated her appreciation for the book which she had been given.

When I view my activity at a total of 108 upper secondary schools throughout Sweden – as well as a dozen high schools – and consider that there God sent thousands of students in my path and that these accepted GC because of their interest in the book and their desire to read it, I feel great gratitude towards God for the freedom to be able to labour in this field. In total only four upper secondary school students have known about GC – and all of them were Seventh-day Adventists! This means that probably not one of all the other upper secondary school students I met knew about the three angels’ messages which, of course, are the main thrust of the work entrusted to us by God to carry out in the world. My mind turns towards the Waldenses who during the Middle Ages witnessed about the truth for their time. Some of them suffered the death of martyrs because of their testimony in a time when there was no liberty of religion. Their message was controversial, just like ours is today. But ought we not to make use of that dear gift from God which religious freedom constitutes to proclaim the three angels’ messages, before this liberty is taken away from us? “The work which the church has failed to do in a time of peace and prosperity she will have to do in a terrible crisis under most discouraging, forbidding circumstances.” (Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, page 463)

Compiled by: Lennart Wiberg
Kyrkogatan 21 A, 3 Tr.
S-511 54 KINNA
SWEDEN

Translated (with the kind permission of the compiler) by: Lennart Sundstad
Norrgaardsvaegen 7 D
S-836 31 LIT
SWEDEN

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