Written by Paul J Bucknell on May, 31, 2025
Prayer Letter #406

A Little Extra Fire

Thank you for your prayers. We sensed God’s hand on us, including Linda’s health, during our week-long trip to Sweden for our son Isaac’s wedding. Everything went well, as long as we entrusted the Lord with our plans. It was great meeting up with half our family on the other side of the world and even doing a bit of sightseeing with them.

The trip, however, was a bit more fuel to the fire, heating the pot named Revival. We heard remarks by more than one person:

Oh, it’s great to have a wedding. People don’t get married anymore.

Oh, don’t go to church; no one goes anymore.

Such comments raised in me a fire to pray for Sweden and all of Europe’s dead churches. It also reminded me to pray that our country will not become stagnant. The massive cathedral in Uppsala states that the Reformation began there. We were fortunate to join a church in what we later discovered was the first “free church” in Sweden. Our group, numbering fewer than 20, met in the downstairs hall rather than the spacious, empty sanctuary upstairs.

One remarkable aspect of the trip was a series of personal meetings with Leif, the man who helped arrange our housing. I first met this elderly Finnish man over a year ago on Zoom when I was training pastors in India; he just popped in. I heard he was moving to Sweden, and when I checked with him recently, I was delighted to find he would assist us in finding local housing, ideally located near him. Leif shared how God brought him to the Lord during a renewal movement in Sweden many years ago.

Although some grand buildings stood tall, the state of the churches saddened me, prompting me to reflect on my early life in a dead liberal church and the renewal He brought.

• We are thankful for Isaac and Louise’s wedding and that we could join them in Sweden for the occasion along with some family members. Linda’s health and legs were good during this time!
• I’m still developing fresh videos for The Life Core: The Heart of Great Training. 
• AI was able to update the formatting of twenty old BFF web pages.
• I’ve been able to expand the translation of 'Overcoming Anxiety' to more languages. 

Pray

• My resources on unity and peace remind me how many churches, marriages, and the world need His unity.
• Pray that we can expand the BFF website to accommodate new courses (and for time!).
• We will celebrate the wedding on this side of the ocean on June 8th! Grace is needed for all the work. 
• We will be joining our two former mother and daughter churches’ anniversary celebration later this month.  Pittsburgh Chinese Church (PCC) celebrates her 60th while PCCO (in Oakland, PA, near the universities) celebrates its 30th. I was pastoring the churches when the daughter church was planted back in 1995.
• Continue to pray for Isaac’s job in Sweden and for others who have needs.
• I’m seeking an international team, with each member overseeing new language resources in a specific language.