Home Sweet Home

Well, we have been back in Freiburg now for a few days and I have to admit it feels good to finally unpack (not to mention to sleep in your own bed!). It seemed like I was on the road so much these last 3 weeks - Poland, Tools of the Trade Conference, and a couple of all-day weddings outside of Freiburg.

In any case the Conference was totally refreshing, encouraging and extremely challenging. It gave me (us all) much to think about and pray over. One of the most memorable moments for me was actually not even any of the teaching sessions. Pastor Ricky Ryan gathered us senior pastors and those in the process of planting churches and we just had lunch together, away from any others. And he just shared from his heart such words of encouragement for us in Europe - that Europe is on the verge of something great spiritually, that God is doing something huge here in Europe and we are on the frontlines. He sees the state of the church in the USA and is grieved with the way some are headed (yes, even some Calvarys).

So, his exhortation for us in Europe was to remain true to the Word, to continue to love the people and to always be taking steps of faith and reaching out. And not to allow the circumstantces that we see in the USA to affect us in Europe. The whole meeting felt like the Apostle Paul gathering his Timothy's and Titus' and just exhorting them to remain true to and strong in the faith! What a blessing!

Here are a few pics of our team and 'phamily' - well extended phamily...



Freiburg Phamily (minus youth pastor and family - had to put kids down to bed)

back, L to R - John, Jacque, Doro, Becks w/Dariah.
front, L to R - Jesaiah on Antje's lap, Zachie & Taliah on my lap.








Youth Pastor Falk (and son) being encouraged by Pastor Tommy Schneider from Vail Valley, CO, USA










Irina (Falk's wife - far left) sharing a moment with Becks, Dariah (middle) and Jacque (far right).










Our 3 kids sharing their favorite scenes from the movie 'Robots' w/ a new-found friend (white shirt) whose family is planting a church in Düsseldorf in northern Germany.