Welcome to
Swedish L'Abri.

Swedish L'Abri is based in the old seaside resort of Mölle at the beautiful Kullaberg nature reserve in the south of Sweden. Swedish L'Abri was begun in 1981 by Per Staffan and Lisa Johansson. They had previously worked for five years with Dr. and Mrs. Schaeffer in Switzerland.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear friends,

As we told you in our last newsletter Per Staffan has been very ill. Early in the morning of December 4th he died in peace. You can all imagine how hard this is for Pernilla, his children and family. We are all in deep sorrow about this. He was only sixty years old and had stil so many wiches and hopes for his life and for L’Abri.

The memorial service was held in the Brunnby church 22nd of December, the same place where Lisa, his late wife, was burried only eight years ago. Wim Rietkerk, the chairman of L’abri Fellowship reports:

“When we arrived at the church many friends had gathered by entrance: Henrik Gustavson, Peter Henrysson and Stefan Lindholm (add some more). It was the first time I and Greta met Per Staffan’s two older brothers. Then we saw and embraced Per Staffan’s son and oldest daugher Gabriel and Lovisa. Pernilla and Rebecca, the youngest daughter were already by the coffin in the front of the church.
The Brunnby church is a very beautiful old church. The painting in right above of the coffin moved me, a picture of Jesus with the Emmaus disciples around the table. Per Staffan felt that this painting was a model for what we try to do in L’Abri: “…beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)

These were our first impressions before the solmenn church service. It started with Newtons hymn “Amazing grace” (in Swedish) followed by bible readings, sermon and prayers by the local pastor, Ola Johansson Per Staffan’s nephew. The service closed with “I know that my redeemer liveth” and organ music of Bach “Jesu bleibet meine Freude”. As this was played I prepared myself for carrying the coffin out of the church together with five other of the family members. We carried it to the grave nearby. All the guests dropped a rose or a flower in the grave as a farewell. All in all there were about 120 people from many different places - friends from near and far, local politicians, family and colleagues from the school where Per Staffan taught.

Family and friends met after the service for a very personal memorial. We enjoyed a well made bufé in Per Staffan’s taste. People shared their memories of Per Staffan, first his brothers first, then his friends and last Lovisa and Pernilla. (I could follow what was being said as Stefan was translating for me). There were tears but also laughter as all kind of memories were shared. I was glad to be able to speak for L’Abri about Per Staffans life and work in L’abri, thanking God for what He gave us in him - his lectures and compassion for truth, remembering Lisa and the 28 years of the Swedish work! It was really appreciated.
I was struck by the the godfearing character of Per Staffans family. It gave me real comfort to hear from the oldest brother how they “wrestled” through this horrible illness and death together with him in order to find peace. A week before his death Per Staffan was able to fully leave it in the hands of God, expressing hope that life could go on and that especially his now unfinished work could be taken over by a younger generation.”

The remaining Swedish L’Abri board consists of Peter Henrisson, Stefan Lindholm, Jock McGregor and Wim Rietkerk. We can assure you that we all feel united in the desire to continue the work of L’abri in Sweden. We will let you know in the nearby future where we feel the Lord leads us.
Please pray for Pernilla, Lovisa, Gabriel and Rebecca, the two brothers and the wider family in this time of mourning for deep comfort. Pray for the board of the Swedish work of L’abri as it comes together and seeks the Lord’s guidance for the future. Pray for Gods ongoing work in the lives of all who were so closely connected with Per Staffan.

Let us keep in mind - the whole kingdom of God is compared to a seed falling into the ground and seeming to disappear. At the same time we know that a far greater tree will spring up.

Warmly/ Wim Rietkerk, Peter Henryson, Jock McGregor, Stefan Lindholm

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------