The Carlén Family HomepageThe Carlén Family

The
Carlén family, serving as missionaries from St Paul’s

Hi there! We’re Anders and Susan Carlén. Together with our children we are serving overseas as missionaries with OM in Sweden – sent out by St. Paul’s.

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The Vision

We both feel that everyone deserves the chance to hear about Jesus at least once, to hear about God’s love and plan for the world and everyone in it.

That’s why we have left our careers and work with the international missions organization OM. Their vision is to see lives and communities transformed by the love of Jesus.

OM stands for Operation Mobilization. OM works in over 80 countries (and two ships!). OM has, since its beginning, focused on the least reached, those people who are least likely to have the chance to hear about Jesus — including Eastern Europeans under communism, and in the Middle East and North Africa for more than 50 years.

Some of the things we like about OM:

  • A love for the local church. Wherever OM works, it actively partners with local churches.
  • Ecumenical and international teams. OM team members come from every Christian tradition and ethnic background. The majority of OM missionaries these days come from the global south.
  • Creativity and passion for Jesus. OMers have a strong can-do attitude and are not afraid to try new things or use their creativity to share God’s love with the people around them.
  • Learning by doing. OM has always been happy to welcome young people, train them, and disciple them as they serve. They have a long track-record of sending out young people in mission teams where few others are going.

OM International website »

The Task

We have been asked to use our experience and gifts to help shape and form a new generation of young missionaries by working in the OM Sweden office, helping to send teams into North Africa, the Middle East, and pockets of Europe where people have not yet had the chance to hear about Jesus.

Anders is working with communication, telling the encouraging, challenging, and inspiring stories of what God is doing. Susan is caring for missionaries, helping them to survive and thrive through coaching, mentoring, and pastoral care.

Office work?! What does that have to do with missions?

Here is a story:
One day a forest fire started near a group of cottages on a lake. The neighbours all started pitching in, running with buckets of water from the shoreline up to the houses to contain the flames. Suddenly a young man grabbed a shovel and started digging in the sand. “Can’t you see the fire?” the others called out. “What are you doing?”

The man replied, “I’m digging a channel.”

We long to see a new wave of missionaries raised up and sent out, and would like to use our skills and gifts in a strategic way to further God’s work. For us this means doing “channel-digging” work in the office!

The Ask

We are asking for the St. Paul’s community’s support. We value your guidance, we need your prayers, and we are grateful for your financial support: we are responsible for raising $6,500/month to provide for our family as we serve.

No salary?! How does that work?

How it works

OM does not pay normal salaries. All OMers have to raise their own financial support, through friends and family and their church.

Our projected monthly costs are:

Projected monthly costs CAD / Month
Living costs for a family of 5 *) $2300
Housing (rent) $1500
Income and payroll tax $2797
Total $6597
*) based on the minimum cost of living according to the Swedish national standard for financial assistance

Family Matters

Since all of our children were born in Sweden, and we all have Swedish passports, we don’t need any special permissions or work visas to join the OM Sweden team. We all already know the language. Because of our background we have a unique opportunity to serve in this country.

Your part

There are three ways you can be involved:

PRAY — We are happy to send you our prayer letter! Let us know if you would be willing to be part of a group who would commit to praying for us one day each week.

GIVE — We are responsible for raising our own financial support to cover our monthly costs of $6,500. We would love your support—whether a monthly donation or a one-time gift, everything helps.
(Gifts to OM receive an income tax receipt.)

CARE — We would love to have a group who would care for and encourage us in practical ways. For example, the occasional email to let us know we are being thought of would mean the world to us. It would be great for our children to receive birthday cards from their St. Paul’s family. Encouragement happens in lots of ways.

 

Lord Jesus Christ:
send us out with confidence in your word,
to tell the world of your saving acts,
and bring glory to your name.

In the name of Christ.
Amen.

The words of Dismissal  from The Bridge Service, 
30 October 2016

Camping under the stars, the young men on OM:s Traveling Team trek through the Middle East and North Africa bringing Scripture to those least reached.
Photo by Garrett Nasrallah