Goodmorning!

Yesterday we all went to a barbeque party at a villa a bit outside the city. On the way we stopped at a shopping mall (I have totally forgotten how to say mall in British English) and had pancakes. The Russians make a really tasty pancake with mushrooms in!

Anyway, the sun came out, the food was great (except for the tomato juice which I can’t make myself like) and a lot of nice people from United St Petersburg were at the barbeque. Its funny, a few times I've gone up to people, shook hands and asked if they speak English. They often shake their heads and ask if I speak Russian which I don't. Then we stand looking at each other for a while, smiling a bit awkwardly. But I've found most people know a bit more English then they say and there are ways to have a conversation even if half the time one person has totally misunderstood what the other one is talking about. Somehow it’s not so much what you talk about but more the fact that you stick around trying to communicate and get to know someone.

Afterwards a group of us took the metro back. One guy was sitting next to a girl, reading a book from over her shoulder and I was trying to work out if he knew her or not. We decided he didn’t when Emelie explained that’s not the way Russians behave towards people they know. Walking back to the apartment at 10.30 pm the city was still light and alive with people. St Petersburg is a beautiful city.

Today is Sunday and United day. It’s also mother's day in Sweden and there is no-one quite like my mum. I can't meet her today but we have a skype date I don’t want to miss so cya! 

fuel for life

Its always cool to meet great people and see their everyday lives. I think its in everyday life when the spotlights are off that you notice who truly is a great person. Thats where great people are built.

I'm not into cars and don't get much about how they work but I have understood that they need some kind of fuel to run. What the tank is filled with affects what comes out into the air. I think its the same with us. We all have tanks that need to be filled with something for us to run. We decide what we fill our tanks with and that affects what comes out of our lives. Thats why its so important to spend time with God and let him be our fuel. His love is so pure and never runs dry. What goes in is what comes out.

I find it easy to get caught up with all sorts of other things that seem so important and urgent in life that I don't leave enough time to spend with God. Other things fill my tank and become my fuel but that quickly dries up. But I'm thinking, if we want to live lives full of God and be people who are like him then we cannot afford to let anything else take his place as the our first source of fuel.

A car doesn't need to be tanked for hours, it just takes a few minutes before the tank is filled again. In the same way its not about spending hours each day doing nothing but praying. Get out and live! I think its about putting God first and making it important to spend some quality time with him. Everything else somehow tends to fall into place.

Hey! I just started a blog, again. This time I'm hoping not to get my page closed down for some reason like last time. No idea why that happened. Feels kind of funny to be writing about my life for anyone to read but I'm sure I'll get used to it, even if noone reads it.

Today I'm in St Petersburg, Russia, been here a week now and getting into the routines. There are a few things to remember about St Petersburg; don't drink the water, don't smile at people on the subway and don't be too helpful - it could be a trap. Its a cool city that would take three hours to drive through with a mix of new, modern buildings, beautiful old churches and houses that are falling apart. Plus a lot of people, traffic and a few, small parks.

What in the world am I doing here? Well, my church United, which I have to say is the best church in the world, is going global and starting churches in other cities in the world. One of them is St Petersburg and I got the chance to stay a month with the family that is starting a church here. The four kids are great but get alot of homework which is what I help out with in the afternoons. In the morning I have time to be with God, read books, keep an eye on what's happening on facebook and write on my blog.

I think its great how things can change around us, the scenery, the people, the language but still God is exactly the same. He's a friend that knows me inside out and never leaves my side. I can't outgrow him because he is everywhere I go. Pretty cool!

Well, the sun is shining again today so I'm gonna go out and enjoy it. Cya!