Daniel and his wife Paulina are an example of people who live through faith and even in spite of challenges, continue to push forward. Daniel grew up in Sweden and was part of missionary work from a young age as his family were missionaries. Daniel and his wife dedicated their lives to missionary work, and immediately they were challenged. 

In 1998, Daniel and Paulina were captured at gunpoint by Chechen rebels and were held captive for 165 days. The people responsible were ruthless. They were the early seeds of ISIS and had a deep loathing of the Christian movement. 

Daniel goes on to talk about this experience. How he and his wife were captured, what that experience was like, and what their expectations were during this time. 

Daniel speaks about going almost six months without seeing sunlight. His only time to leave their small make-shift prison cell was to go empty the bucket they were given for their waste. That would happen at the dead of night and he was often beaten during this exercise. 

There is a story of hope in this though. Daniel and Paulina were able to negotiate access to their bag which had a Bible in it. There is a good story about a scripture verse that was shared with them by Daniel’s sister right before the kidnapping that became foundational to their hope and expectation of the future in this scenario. 

Daniel then goes on to share how the church was the driving force behind their release. The government had their hands tied so a task force was set up by the local church in Sweden. After 165 days in captivity they were finally released. Daniel talks about that experience and how the story and the subsequent release was an opportunity to minister through that testimony. 

After being in captive, Daniel and Paulina took a break from ministry to assimilate back into the regular ebb and flow of life. Daniel worked as a teacher for a year but then got back into ministry, working at Life Church. 

Daniel and Luke talk about that time as a youth minister in Sweden. There are some fun anecdotes about Victoria, Luke’s wife, who leads ECGI with Luke. 

Daniel then goes on to talk about a prophetic word he got to pursue ministry in Bangkok. Not somewhere he had spent time prior, but had a clear calling to go. Daniel talks about how Pastor PJ and the Life Center team empowered him and Paulina to go and live this out. 

There are strong examples of how their faith and relentlessness planted the seeds of people who were saved and set the foundation for a strong ministry. This did not come easy though. Daniel talks about how broken people there were, and how challenging it was to get traction initially. But through God’s work and their faithfulness they have been able to make a strong impact.

There is a lot of nuance to this discussion and a lot we can all pull from this on faith, bravery, perseverance, and hope. This conversation will bring perspective and energy - there’s something in here for everyone. We hope you enjoy.