I quickly learned what it means to stand in faith and resist the Devil the hard way. I pressed through against the odds in an anti-Christ European nation. The fruit of the Christian lifestyle is excitement, fulfillment – and warfare. Since the very nature of the Christian life is warring unto breakthrough, learning the art of war is a given.

I joined the staff of what was then one of the largest apostolic ministries and Bible schools in Europe. The church’s vision was to preach the Gospel and establish new churches in Scandinavia, Russia and around the world. It was so exciting to be a part of an active church where every believer was challenged to evangelism, missions, an overcoming lifestyle and holiness, and the services were filled with the glory of God. But the excitement and fulfillment was also accompanied by battles and challenges that were, at that time, new to me. There was a feeling in the overall atmosphere of constant heaviness and oppression. It almost felt like I was breathing depression. I knew it was not homesickness or even the adjustment to a whole new culture, rather I had entered a completely different spiritual climate – one that I had never known before.