The story behind Revival Study Tours
Revival Study Tours was born out of a deeply personal encounter with God.
During a journey to California in 2023, our family connected with California Will Be Saved and had the privilege of spending time with leaders such as Ross Johnston and Joel Mott. Through prayer, worship, authentic Christian community, and a personal encounter with God, my heart was healed in a way I can only describe as supernatural.
That experience transformed not only my life but also my understanding of ministry. I realized that while God can meet us anywhere, there is something powerful about stepping outside our everyday environment to seek Him together with other believers. Encounters with people who faithfully follow Jesus, hearing their stories, praying together, and witnessing what God is doing around the world strengthens faith and often creates a greater expectancy for what God can do in our own lives.
When we returned home to Sweden, the first thing we wanted to do was invite others to experience what we had experienced. It wasn't something we could fully explain with words—we simply carried a deep longing to create opportunities for others to encounter God, learn from the global Church, and discover His calling for their own lives.
Among the first people to join us on these journeys was Robin Ahlström, and later Filip Bjurbäck also became part of our trips to California. Today, they both serve on the board of Revival Study Tours, together with us, sharing the same vision of equipping the next generation through biblical teaching, revival history, discipleship, prayer, worship, practical ministry, and authentic Christian community.
Our vision is not built around one person's testimony, but it was born from one. We believe that God still transforms lives and that one encounter with Him can change the direction of a life. Revival Study Tours exists to create opportunities for young people to encounter God, learn from the global Church, build lasting relationships, and return home equipped to strengthen their local churches and communities.
Below you can read the personal testimony that became the starting point for the vision behind Revival Study Tours.
A Personal Testimony
The story of how God brought healing, restored hope, and planted the vision that would become Revival Study Tours.
When God Heals the Heart
For as long as I can remember, faith has been part of my life. I grew up in a loving Christian home where God was always present, although my relationship with Him has looked different through different seasons of life. Most people who know me would probably describe me as a positive and outgoing person. What many people don't know is how broken and unwell I once was.
When Everything Changed
In the summer of 2016, I experienced a traumatic event that changed my life. It left me living in survival mode, filled with anger, grief, disappointment, and a deep desire for revenge. I questioned everything. I was angry with God, angry with people, and I allowed bitterness, unforgiveness, and darkness to take root in my heart. At the time, I felt I had every right to carry those feelings.
For more than two years, I tried to move forward in my own strength. Outwardly, life looked normal. I enjoyed my work, spent time with family and friends, and kept a smile on my face. But inside, I was carrying a heavy burden that very few people could see.
By the end of 2018, I was convinced that the coming year would be a fresh start. I had resigned from my job and accepted what I believed was my dream position. Finally, life was turning around. Just two weeks after handing in my resignation, everything collapsed.
While sitting at work, I suddenly heard a loud snap in my head. Everything went black for a moment. When I came to, I was dizzy and unable to focus. Only two weeks later, I was signed off work against my will. The doctors told me that my body had simply reached its limit.
My Darkest Season
Once I was home, things became even worse. I could hardly tolerate light or sound. I couldn't walk into a grocery store alone. I wore sunglasses indoors because ordinary light felt unbearable. I barely ate and survived mainly on nutritional drinks. I felt trapped inside my own body, overwhelmed by anxiety, and convinced that my life was over.
At the same time, our family had a long-planned trip to Australia to visit close friends. I didn't want to go because I had no strength left, but we decided to travel anyway. By the time we reached Singapore, I had spent the entire journey crying and shaking. Jet lag, exhaustion, dizziness, and weeks of poor nutrition left me completely empty. I had reached the darkest place I had ever experienced. I genuinely felt that I didn't want to live anymore.
One evening, I fell to my knees and cried out to God.
I asked Him to forgive me for allowing hatred and darkness to take root in my heart. I chose to forgive those who had hurt me, and then I prayed the simplest and most desperate prayer of my life:
"God, if You are real, You have to show Yourself to me now, because I can't go on anymore."
A God Who Sees
When we arrived in Australia, our friends invited us to church. Even walking into the building was difficult because of the lights, the music, and the number of people. But I felt it was my only hope.
Before one of the services, my husband Hugo and I prayed together. We asked God for one clear sign—something so personal that there could be no doubt it came from Him.
When the pastor stepped onto the platform, he said he had prepared a completely different sermon, but throughout the week he had felt God leading him to change everything because someone in the room was struggling with complete exhaustion.
The message that followed described my life almost word for word.
For the first time in months, hope returned.
Everything didn't change overnight, but something shifted inside me. I knew that God had seen me. Recovery became a journey rather than a moment, but little by little life returned.
Recovery and New Beginning
After returning to Sweden, I only managed to work one week at my new dream job before I was dismissed during my sick leave. Instead of becoming the year of success I had imagined, 2019 became a year of recovery, healing, and rebuilding.
Looking back today, I can see that God was working even when I couldn't understand it. New people entered my life. New opportunities opened. In 2020, I started my own business I never believed I would have the strength to build.
Over time, life became good again. I had learned to live with the scars. The memories remained, and there were still emotional triggers, but I had accepted that this was simply part of my story. Little did I know that God wasn't finished yet.
A Journey That Changed Everything
During the summer of 2023, I came across a short Instagram video showing hundreds of young people worshipping Jesus on Hollywood Boulevard during an outreach organised by California Will Be Saved. I was deeply moved. More than anything, I wanted our children to experience a generation that boldly loved Jesus and wasn't afraid to live out their faith. Although we didn't really have the time or the money, our family felt strongly that we needed to go.
On October 31, 2023, we attended an outreach in San Diego with the California Will Be Saved team. Before we left, Ross Johnston asked if he could pray for our family. After praying for everyone, he came back to me and said:
"I believe God is showing me that there is a root of disappointment, grief, and bitterness in your heart. Let's pray that God removes that root completely, starting today."
As he prayed, I encountered the love of God in a way I had never experienced before.
For several days afterwards, I cried almost constantly, not because I was sad, but because something deep within me had changed. Then I realised something extraordinary. The memories were still there, I knew what I had been through... But every emotional trigger was gone. The pain that had followed me for seven years had disappeared. God had healed my heart.
The beautiful thing is that I wasn't asking for more.
Life had already become good.
I had accepted the scars and learned to live with them.
But God knew there was still deeper healing available.
Why I Share My Story?
I don't share my story because it is unique. I share it because I believe God still heals, still restores, and still transforms lives today. You cannot always choose what happens to you, but you can choose what you allow to take root in your heart. Hatred, bitterness, and the desire for revenge may feel justified, but they slowly destroy us from within.
Forgiveness does not mean that what happened was right. It means choosing to entrust justice to God and taking responsibility for your own heart, because everything in life flows from it. Looking back, I can honestly say that everything changed because I prayed one desperate prayer:
"God, if You are real, show Yourself to me."
He did and all glory belongs to God.
And that encounter continues to shape my life and the vision behind Revival Study Tours—to this day.
If He can do it for me, He can do it for you!
Ann-Charlotte Bjurbäck