Jews for Jesus

Shalom. My name is Arne Tafjord. I'm a Norwegian, who is living in Odessa, Ukraine since 1992. I'm married to Alla, who comes from Odessa. We have two children, Harald Emmanuel (4/2000) and Hanna Elisabeth (1/2004). I joined the ministry of Jews for Jesus in 1997 after a time of being a volunteer. Now I'm serving in Odessa as the Chief Financial Officer of Jews for Jesus in the former Soviet Union.

Below is a brief history of my life and how I came to know Jesus.

I was born in the city of Drammen, Norway in 1965. In 1977, after years of searching, I finally found that Jesus could give complete forgiveness of sin. I surrendered to him, and my life was changed. An amazing peace immediately filled my heart, as I knew that God had forgiven me, and promised eternal life to me in His Son Jesus. That happened on a meeting at a scout camp with the Salvation Army in Sweden.

The next year I joined a church in Oslo when a classmate invited me to join him. As a young believer I was eager to serve the Lord and searched for opportunities where I could share about Jesus. During the years to follow I would take part in evangelistic campaigns and outreaches both in Norway and internationally, including serving two years on the MV Doulos, a ship launched by Operation Mobilization.

In 1989 I started my university study at the University of Oslo. At the same time I was also actively involved in evangelism work with OM.

In 1992, while still a student, I finally got the chance to visit the former Soviet Union. For many years I had been praying for the persecuted church of the Soviet Union, and I had even learnt the language, while never having had the opportunity to speak it. I was invited to come along to join an evangelistic outreach in Odessa, Ukraine. Alla and I met on my first day in Odessa!

She introduced me to Jews for Jesus, where I became a volunteer. Alla and I were part of the music group for many years. Alla got to know Jesus as a little child, being brought up in a Christian home. She and her family had to face much opposition in the Soviet times. For example she was not allowed to have a regular job, since she was not a part of the Comsomol", a communist youth movement. However, God helped her, so when she applied for a job nearby, it happened that a piece of paper covered the place where it said that she was not a member of the "Comsomol", and she was finally accepted.

In 1994 I graduated from the university of Oslo and from the Lutheran Theological Seminary with the subjects: Mathematics, computer science, English and Russian Languages and Theology. In 1995 Alla and I got married. At the same time we started to build a house in the garden of Alla's parents in Odessa. We still haven't finished the building, but we think that we're living quite comfortably compared to previous years.

Now you know us a bit more. I regularly send out prayer letters, although for now they are only available in the Norwegian language. Please, feel free to write to me at: . We would also be very grateful if you would consider to pray for us and support us. May the Lord abundantly bless you as you serve Him.

In Y'shua,
Arne Tafjord
Rom. 1,16