Well, good morning. Welcome to the Word for Life broadcast brought to you by Brookside Baptist Church. My name is Ken Keltner. I'm the pastor at Brookside, just filling in for Pastor Greg. Today in studio, we have the privilege of having Melissa Carlson with us. Melissa has been one of our missionaries that we support here, and she has been in Sweden for seven years. I think we started supporting you right when you got ready to head out to Sweden. And so, Melissa, welcome. Thanks for being here today. Thank you. Well, if you picked up our last broadcast, you heard that Melissa grew up in Altona, Illinois, and more of a Swedish community. That's where her burden and her interest in Sweden, she had a grandfather from Sweden, a great grandmother. And so she got to know Sweden through her roots there growing up in northwest Illinois. Then moved to Watertown, Wisconsin, your sophomore year of high school, correct? That's correct. and attended Maranatha Academy, and then attended Maranatha Baptist University, where she graduated. And you had told us that your sophomore year of college, you knew pretty much that you were going to be on your way to minister there in Sweden, and you're going to go, and you're going to do that alone. I mean, I'm sure there were some times of anxiety, possibly, that hit you a little bit. Had you made some trips over there to see what you would do, some survey-type trips? At that point, I had not. I did wrestle with it a lot because I didn't know anyone in Sweden at that point, and I knew I couldn't just go over on my own completely. I had to work with somebody. And I remember going to talk to my dad about it and telling him, you know, I think God's leading me to be a missionary in Sweden. And he said, you know, I kind of thought the Lord would lead you that way. So he was pretty confident in that, and that was an encouragement to me. And so we just all were praying that the Lord would open the doors at the right time. I was still in college, so I had time to pray and to seek the Lord's will in that regard. And the Lord allowed me to meet a couple families going over there. So by the time I graduated from college, I was able to take a trip over, a survey trip over to Sweden and visit a few various different areas in the country to kind of get an idea of what the need was over there and where I could fit. It was actually through that trip that I met a missionary family in Jönköping, Sweden, which is where I am. currently serving in that area of Sweden, and it's kind of how the Lord just really opened the door there and allowed me to get a burden for those people. How far away is that from Stockholm? It's about three and a half, four hours southwest of Stockholm. And how long did it take you, Melissa, to get immersed into life in Sweden? At first it was challenging. I just moved over there. I moved in the wintertime, which is a hard time to move to Sweden. They get a lot of snow over there too, right? They definitely can, and they did that winter. And people in Sweden are not typically outside a lot in the wintertime, so it was hard to get to know my neighbors. And a lot of people are a little more reserved in many ways anyway. But I was going to language school, so I was able to have good connections with some people there from all over the world. And then a few months after I'd moved to Sweden, I got my dog, Riley. He's just a little puppy. What kind of dog is it? He's a Cavalier Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel mix. Can you give that to me one more time? Cocker Spaniel, Cavalier Spaniel mix. Wow. So he's a cute little thing, and the first night I brought him home, I was outside with him, and people started coming up talking to me. And that really broke ice with a lot of my neighbors. A lot of the kids came up and would ask about the dog, and it gave me a chance to work on my Swedish, too. And they were very understanding and would help me when I didn't know the words to say or whatever, but it just kind of really helped me get into my neighborhood, into my community. That was one thing I wasn't sure how it would work once I moved to Sweden, is how do you actually get into the community with the people. But I started playing in a community band and got to know people through that way. What instrument do you play? I play saxophone. Saxophone, okay. So that was just a neat opportunity as well to get to know people. I would start going to visit people in my neighborhood and talking to people. Once it started getting warmer outside, people would sit out and I'd just go sit down and talk to them. And so it just kind of happened. And then started doing a ladies Bible study and invited some of the people even in my neighborhood and got some connections that way. And so it was just neat to see how the Lord opened doors as we went along. So working with the kids, I had a good group of kids that just started to come over and visit me. So I said, okay, let's try to start a Bible club. And so we would do different things with that. Do you have the Bible club still going on then? We do. We meet every Thursday afternoon. I have the meeting hall of my apartment area. I can use it for free every week, and it's a good size, good place. We've used it for other things as well when we've done more like vacation Bible school type things. We use it once a month, we use it for coffee time for the neighborhood, and just invite anyone who wants to come to come. And we've had eight to ten people now that come regularly, and they're inviting people on their own as well. And so it's been neat to see the opportunities to witness to them and to share the gospel with them. A few of them have kind of backgrounds in church. I know two ladies in my neighborhood, older ladies, they grew up in pastor's homes. And they are very closed. They don't want anything to do with God at this point. But they've been, at the same time, they've still been open and interested in wanting to be friends and wanting to talk. So there's always hope. Do you have someone that just stands out to you that you were able to see God doing incredible work and they came to accept Christ? I haven't personally had the privilege of leading someone to the Lord. We have seen, we had a couple that we were working with. We had one teenage girl who was saved a few years back, and that was really exciting because everyone had been praying for her and talking to her and working with her. Unfortunately, she's not chosen to continue walking in a way that is probably wise. Unfortunately, that's very common with young people over in Sweden. There's just a real need to disciple them and to work with them. There's one young man right now, he got saved a little over a year ago, and he really just needs someone who can come alongside him and disciple him and encourage him because the world's call is so strong. I think you see that here as well, and you see it definitely over in Sweden. a popular thing to be a part of a church and to do something different than everyone else and live in a different way from everyone else. But right now I have three girls that are young, 12 to 13, and they have been so open. And I just keep praying that the Lord is going to see these girls get saved because they have asked some great questions. And they've just been so interested. It's that the issue of sin and how just, you know, they think they're kind of the good people and how one sin can send you to hell is hard for them to grasp that seemingly good people could end up in hell without Christ. So, but in that regard, it's been encouraging to see them because I've seen them, even especially this past year, to see where they started and to see the questions that they're asking and the interest that they have. That's been encouragement to see. If you're just joining us today, we are with Melissa Carlson. She's one of our missionaries out of Brookside here in Sweden, been there seven years. Hard country, dark country, but the gospel light can still shine forth. And we've been talking a little bit about opportunities that she's had there with the gospel. Currently hasn't really seen anyone personally that she's led the Lord. The church has seen some folks. What about, you have this kids club every Thursday afternoon, the kids come to that, how are they, I mean, are they excited when they hear Bible stories about Jesus and what He's done? Do you have to let the parents know what you're teaching? Are there parents that want to come and talk to you about the stories that are being taught? I mean, is that a conflict, or has that been a good stepping stone to even get into with the parents? I have always been very open with the parents and the people in my area of what I'm doing and call it straight up Bible club. So there's nothing hidden there. I do know a number of the parents, and I have a good relationship with them. I have had one mother come and talk to me to ask me about what things go on there and what we talk about, and I told her, and I don't think she was too happy because she doesn't let her kids come to Bible Club. We've had kids kind of coming in and out through the last several years, especially that as they're getting older, a lot of them just aren't interested. It's not cool. And I've seen some of the kids that could come and try to disrupt and have tried to really influence their friends that, hey, you shouldn't be in this Bible Club. So we've done week-long things. So we're having the lesson time and they might be making a fuss and Eventually, most of those kids have just kind of gone on their way and done their own thing. I still see them and have connection with them in the neighborhood. They're learning, they're hearing the gospel. I just keep praying that it will not just be this head knowledge, but the Lord can use that in their lives at some point so that they can come to Christ. Right now, I have these three girls. They come, and they're very excited, and they're interested. We don't always do a very formal, like, here's what we're going to do here, here, here. But sometimes it's just, you know, hey, come. After school, we'll talk, we have a snack, play some games. And the whole time, though, we're communicating and talking with each other. And a lot of the best conversations we've had have been in those times and those moments. I have a little jar that they can ask any questions they want anytime. If they're afraid to ask out loud, they can write it down and put it in there, and I'll get an answer to them. And they've asked a lot of really good questions. and one gal in particular, real atheist mother and just real atheist family, really. And she knows that I am teaching her daughter truth from God's Word, but she doesn't mind. And her daughter is getting the gospel, and she's asking a lot of really mature questions, very much searching. And I think it's more like she told me once, you know, you have to prove to me that God exists. But it wasn't that defiant, you know, how some people can be, just prove it to me. It was more of, please show me that God exists, more of seeking something from that. And then you're involved in your local church there? Yes, first I was in one church, and then a year ago I went to help a newer church plant. Unfortunately, that church actually just closed a couple weeks before I came back on this trip to the States. And so now there's actually another couple, and he is going to be working on starting a new church plant. And then this other missionary couple is coming over, and I'm going to be helping with that new work. And so when you get involved in helping with these churches, I take it you teach children's Sunday school, women's Bible studies, anything else that you... Anything I can do to help. I usually help with the music in the church, play the piano, organize that. I've written some songs to use in the church there in Sweden. I do ladies' Bible studies in my home, and We do have done stuff with the kids as well in the church and in the various churches I've helped with. We've done some church camps and some Bible conferences and such. So really just jump in and help with whatever needs done. What would you say in your seven years has been the biggest blessing that you have been able to experience there? I think the biggest blessing to me right now is these three girls that have been coming. They started coming at a time when I was feeling extremely discouraged because it's a very atheist society, and when you're constantly talking to people that are just not interested in what you're trying to share with them, it can be very discouraging. And there's just a lot of things going on at that time, and I was starting to, in my mind, I kept thinking, God, is there A reason why you're keeping me here when it seems like nothing is happening." And it seemed like just right at that time, these girls started coming. And the one girl, she comes over to my house just to hang out, and she asks tons of questions. We'll talk for four hours sometimes just about the Bible. When those girls started to show that interest and started coming, it was just like, this is why I'm in Sweden. It's because I want to see these people get saved. And these girls, they're not growing up in a place where they're going to hear the gospel otherwise. And they need people who can tell them the truth. They're asking questions, they're seeking, and they're interested. And I truly believe that God, Lord willing, will save these girls just to see that fruit. They've been probably the biggest encouragement and blessing. Well, Melissa, thank you so much for sharing with us today on Word for Life. We ask that folks listening would really be in prayer for Melissa and the opportunities there, and that God would open doors in Sweden, and that God would open doors for each of us here in the Milwaukee area, that we would be willing to take that next step and share the gospel message. And we trust that you have a church home. If not, we'd love for you to come and visit with us here at Brookside. Our morning services on Sunday are at 9 and 1015. and then at 6 p.m. on Sunday evenings, and then we have activities and Bible studies throughout the week. If we can be a help to you, please come by and visit with us. We'd love to meet you. Thank you for listening today, and may the Lord bless you.