Stranded in Finland during the pandemic, Kathy finds friendship, faith, and a new spiritual family at OIKOS House, where a simple prayer for one true friend leads her to baptism and a life of welcoming others.
When Kathy stepped off the airplane in Finland, she carried two suitcases, and a very lonely heart.
Kathy had grown up in Slovakia, a country far to the south of Finland. She had come to the city of Helsinki for an internship connected to her university studies. She was excited—but also nervous. She didn’t know anyone. She didn’t even know much about Finland before she arrived.
Then something unexpected happened. Because of COVID restrictions, the borders closed, and Kathy couldn’t go back home. Suddenly, the adventure didn’t feel exciting anymore. It felt scary.
The winter days in Finland were long and dark. Snow covered the streets. The sun seemed to disappear. Kathy missed her family. She missed hearing her own language. Most of all, she missed having someone to talk to.
“I just wanted one true friend,” she said later.
One day, someone told her about a small church group that met in a house in Helsinki. It wasn’t a big church building with stained-glass windows. It was simply a home where young adults gathered to read the Bible, sing, pray, and eat together. The group was called OIKOS House.
Kathy wasn’t sure what to expect. But she decided to go.
When she rang the doorbell, she wondered, What if I don’t belong here?
The door opened, and smiling faces welcomed her inside.
That evening, people talked with her. They listened carefully. They asked about her life. They didn’t rush her or pressure her. They simply cared.
Kathy kept coming back.
Sometimes they played board games. Sometimes they cooked meals together. Sometimes they studied the Bible. No one forced her to believe anything. But Kathy began to notice something different about these young people. They were kind. They were patient. They seemed to truly love one another.
“They loved me even when I felt broken,” she said.
As winter continued, Kathy felt both lonely and hopeful at the same time. One night, she decided to try something she hadn’t done seriously before.
She prayed.
“God,” she whispered, “please give me one true friend.”
She didn’t ask for ten friends. She didn’t ask for a big group. Just one.
But God had a bigger plan.
Little by little, Kathy realized something amazing. The people at OIKOS House were becoming more than friends. They were becoming family. When she felt like crying, someone sat beside her. When she felt homesick, someone invited her for dinner. When she had questions about the Bible, someone opened Scripture with her and read patiently.
One evening, she read a Bible promise that said, “When you walk through deep waters, I will be with you” (Isaiah 43:2). It felt as if God was speaking directly to her heart.
“For the first time,” Kathy said, “I felt loved by God.”
Her simple prayer for one friend had been answered in a surprising way. God had given her a whole church family.
In May 2021, as the weather grew warmer and the ice melted, Kathy made an important decision. She chose to be baptized. In a beautiful Finnish lake, surrounded by her new church family, she gave her life to Jesus.
It was one of the happiest days of her life.
Today, Kathy still lives in Helsinki. She helps welcome other young people who come through the doors of OIKOS House. She knows what it feels like to be new. She knows what it feels like to be lonely. And she wants others to find the same love she found.
“I prayed for one true friend,” she says with a smile. “God gave me a family.”
Across Finland, many young people are searching for friendship and hope—just like Kathy was. Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help OIKOS House grow and start new home church groups, so even more people can find a place where they belong.
Your offering can help someone far away discover that they are never alone, because God is always listening to even the simplest prayer.
