Adventkyrkan i Växjö: Adventist Church in Växjö

This past Sabbath was wonderful! I finally located the nearest Adventist church in Växjö. I tried attending previously but ended up taking the wrong bus and being that there is a limited bus schedule on Saturdays I missed the entire service. This week was different however; I was resourceful and planned my entire trip online using the Swedish bus webpage (no translation in English). I was a little weary at first but I stepped out with the assurance that surely God would help me find the place. I spoke to the church clerk earlier in the week and she let me know that service started at 10:00am. On Sabbath morning I set out for church at 9:15am...yes, its true folks...I was determined to make it to church ON TIME this week! Unfortunately, I didn't properly understand the Swedish bus schedule and missed the bus by a few minutes. Uh oh, here we go again I thought...I would miss the whole service but I kept on waiting...and waiting...and waiting...and waiting...mind you, it was FREEZING outside...minus 4 degrees Celsius. I waited over 45 minutes in the freezing cold before the bus finally arrived. I thought of just going back home in my warm bed bus something told me to keep going.

By the time I got to the correct bus stop to get off at it was 10:30am. Even though Swedes are notorious for being on time and service was due to start at 10:00am I proceeded anyhow. While walking up to the church I noticed there were only 3 cars in the parking lot and nobody outside, still I kept going on. When I arrived inside there were only 4 or 5 jackets on the coat racks and no one in sight. Hmmm...I thought to myself that this must be normal attendance for such a small town. I hung up my jacket and proceeded into the sanctuary. IMMEDIATELY, smiling faces approached me and started speaking in Swedish. Great I thought...just what I needed...all alone at church with no interpreter. But to my astonishment, as soon as the greeters saw the puzzled look on my face they began speaking English...thank God!

I met a few more people and the church secretary told me that today was a special day and that service normally starts at 10:00am but that today was family day so service was starting at 11:00am. Praise God...I made it to church on time! As a matter of fact, I made it to church EARLY! Yes, for those of you who know me this is an astonishing feat...lol! By the time church began there were more than 50 members present. Almost every single person greeted me, including the babies...guess I've got the magic touch...lol! Service was beautiful, they had a piano and violin accompaniment for hymns and several families presented the different days of creation. Even though the entire service was in Swedish I still managed to receive a blessing. I recognized a few songs O Store Gud (How Great Thou Art....originally written by a Swede) and one of the special musics was a song in English (God & God Alone).

After church there was a potluck service and I sat at a table with families from the Philippines, Congo, and Romania. Another interesting fact about this church is that there are hardly any Swedes at the church. The majority of the members are immigrants from African, Asian, and Eastern European countries. It makes for a wonderful cultural mix and I'm able to meet many more friends from around the world. I've already been invited to spend Sabbath evening with the family from the Philippines and I'm sure there'll be more invitations in the future.