Jesaiah's pictures

Jesaiah got a camera from Ong (grandpa in vietnemese) when we were in the U.S. in January. He loves to take pictures. I wanted to share a few of the ones he's taken since he got it.
We went to the zoo in Basel, Switzerland today and the battery in our camera was dead, so Jesaiah got to take all the pictures today. Well until his batteries died that is...at least we got a few to remember the day. So without further ado....



I don't know if you noticed in some of those pictures from the zoo, but it snowed on us there today! It was cold! At least there are several indoor exhibits to go in and look and get warmed up!

Pictures and more

It's been awhile since I've posted anything so I just wanted to say that I'm still here too! (Davey's been doing all the posting lately).
Things are busy, as one would expect with the situation. Clearing a household of 6 people who have lived here for the last almost 8 years is no small task!! It still hasn't sunk in completely that we are leaving here in just a few months, God is still preparing my heart for the 'goodbye'. I know that it won't be easy, but I also know that it is the best thing for everyone involved because it is obedience to God.
It is an exciting time as well. There is a German saying that is very fitting for the emotions involved... 'wir gehen mit ein weinende Auge' (at least I think that's right, spelling is most likely wrong ;) ), at any rate it means 'we are going with one crying (or tearing) eye'. It is a bittersweet time. I am looking forward to what God has in store for our Phamily, as well as the fellowship here in Freiburg...it really is exciting to walk with God!!
I also wanted to post a few pictures of the Phamily from the last few weeks. Dariah has gotten so big already, I can't believe how fast time flies! And Zachy has also 'grown up' alot in the past couple of months, he is such a 'big' boy now. It is such a blessing to see how they all love one another, and care for one another. Of course they fight, (they are siblings, what else can we expect!), but they also truly care for one another and it is so sweet! Jesaiah is a very loving big brother and Taliah is a little momma hen who loves to help and especially with her little sister. So here are a few pictures from our, sometimes chaotic, always loud crew!



The ones of Dariah with the blue lips is from her chewing on a paper from the Crayola color wonder set the kids have. The pages are black and you use a special pen to color on them, but apparently slober works just as well! And she learned early that if you want something from the kichen counter, like cookies for example, just push a chair there and help yourself! She is a climber let me tell you!

Jesaiah's pictures

Jesaiah got a camera from Ong (grandpa in vietnemese) when we were in the U.S. in January. He loves to take pictures. I wanted to share a few of the ones he's taken since he got it.
We went to the zoo in Basel, Switzerland today and the battery in our camera was dead, so Jesaiah got to take all the pictures today. Well until his batteries died that is...at least we got a few to remember the day. So without further ado....



I don't know if you noticed in some of those pictures from the zoo, but it snowed on us there today! It was cold! At least there are several indoor exhibits to go in and look and get warmed up!

Pictures and more

It's been awhile since I've posted anything so I just wanted to say that I'm still here too! (Davey's been doing all the posting lately).
Things are busy, as one would expect with the situation. Clearing a household of 6 people who have lived here for the last almost 8 years is no small task!! It still hasn't sunk in completely that we are leaving here in just a few months, God is still preparing my heart for the 'goodbye'. I know that it won't be easy, but I also know that it is the best thing for everyone involved because it is obedience to God.
It is an exciting time as well. There is a German saying that is very fitting for the emotions involved... 'wir gehen mit ein weinende Auge' (at least I think that's right, spelling is most likely wrong ;) ), at any rate it means 'we are going with one crying (or tearing) eye'. It is a bittersweet time. I am looking forward to what God has in store for our Phamily, as well as the fellowship here in Freiburg...it really is exciting to walk with God!!
I also wanted to post a few pictures of the Phamily from the last few weeks. Dariah has gotten so big already, I can't believe how fast time flies! And Zachy has also 'grown up' alot in the past couple of months, he is such a 'big' boy now. It is such a blessing to see how they all love one another, and care for one another. Of course they fight, (they are siblings, what else can we expect!), but they also truly care for one another and it is so sweet! Jesaiah is a very loving big brother and Taliah is a little momma hen who loves to help and especially with her little sister. So here are a few pictures from our, sometimes chaotic, always loud crew!



The ones of Dariah with the blue lips is from her chewing on a paper from the Crayola color wonder set the kids have. The pages are black and you use a special pen to color on them, but apparently slober works just as well! And she learned early that if you want something from the kichen counter, like cookies for example, just push a chair there and help yourself! She is a climber let me tell you!

How To Swallow a Pill

As I was reading this 'how-to' I realized I was doing it all completely wrong! No one ever ever taught me how to swallow a pill. But this 'how-to' was sooooo helpful. And now I know how to do it correctly. Here are some of the tips on how to best swallow pills...

Sit down with a glass of water and relax. But it doesn't say how long you should sit there. It says you can try some calming music or even meditation. Hmmm.

Numb your throat by spraying or gargling a topical anesthetic. WOW, isn't that kinda extreme?

Salivate. Ok, I don't know about any of you, but I have a hard time salivating on cue. (No, I am not part dog.) Maybe if I sit and relax and meditate long enough, I could salivate. The article suggests 'rubbing your tongue quickly side to side between the frontal lower lip and your teeth.' I tried this and couldn't get the hang of it. Where am I supposed to quickly move my tongue?? Maybe I should do this in conjunction with the second-to-last tip below - follow up with food.

Take a deep breath. Do I do this before or after I put the pill in my mouth? If I do it after I put the pill in my mouth, wouldn't I suck it down my windpipe? That couldn't be good, could it?

Put your chin to your chest. Ok, this I truly did not know. And was doing it completely wrong! I was lifting my chin up and throwing my head back. Wow, all these years and I haven't sucked any pills down my windpipe. Knock on wood. Not that I believe in knocking on wood.

Follow up with food. This is my favorite tip. How about a steak, some corn on the cob and a nice crisp green salad. And follow that up with some of Becks' specialty - apple and cranberry pie - mmmmmhh, my favorite dessert! Question though - if I had numbed my throat with topical anesthetic, would I still enjoy the food as much? I think not! And do I need to keep my chin to my chest while eating too?

And lastly, repeat until you feel comfortable. I'll go for that. Especially the part about following up with food. Or could I just skip all the other tips and just do this one?

Hope you learned something from this 'how-to' - I sure did! The full article is here.

How To Swallow a Pill

As I was reading this 'how-to' I realized I was doing it all completely wrong! No one ever ever taught me how to swallow a pill. But this 'how-to' was sooooo helpful. And now I know how to do it correctly. Here are some of the tips on how to best swallow pills...

Sit down with a glass of water and relax. But it doesn't say how long you should sit there. It says you can try some calming music or even meditation. Hmmm.

Numb your throat by spraying or gargling a topical anesthetic. WOW, isn't that kinda extreme?

Salivate. Ok, I don't know about any of you, but I have a hard time salivating on cue. (No, I am not part dog.) Maybe if I sit and relax and meditate long enough, I could salivate. The article suggests 'rubbing your tongue quickly side to side between the frontal lower lip and your teeth.' I tried this and couldn't get the hang of it. Where am I supposed to quickly move my tongue?? Maybe I should do this in conjunction with the second-to-last tip below - follow up with food.

Take a deep breath. Do I do this before or after I put the pill in my mouth? If I do it after I put the pill in my mouth, wouldn't I suck it down my windpipe? That couldn't be good, could it?

Put your chin to your chest. Ok, this I truly did not know. And was doing it completely wrong! I was lifting my chin up and throwing my head back. Wow, all these years and I haven't sucked any pills down my windpipe. Knock on wood. Not that I believe in knocking on wood.

Follow up with food. This is my favorite tip. How about a steak, some corn on the cob and a nice crisp green salad. And follow that up with some of Becks' specialty - apple and cranberry pie - mmmmmhh, my favorite dessert! Question though - if I had numbed my throat with topical anesthetic, would I still enjoy the food as much? I think not! And do I need to keep my chin to my chest while eating too?

And lastly, repeat until you feel comfortable. I'll go for that. Especially the part about following up with food. Or could I just skip all the other tips and just do this one?

Hope you learned something from this 'how-to' - I sure did! The full article is here.

Failure...Or Is It?

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This is part of the series on 'Get Outta Da Boat!' See this post and this one.
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Anytime you step out of the boat to attempt to walk on water, there is the very real risk of sinking. And for most of us, there WILL come a time when we will sink; when we get distracted and stop looking at Jesus or when we step out too soon or perhaps even when we stop when we should be walking. And we sink. We, in this sense, fail - we fail to accomplish the task we were sent to do. We fail to get to our goal.

Have you ever failed like this? I think most of us have failed at one point or another. And we hate it, right? We hate the shame and discouragement it brings. We hate that sinking feeling in our stomachs when we realize we failed. We hate the hopelessness that failure often leaves behind. But have you ever thought that failure can be a good thing? That there are positive benefits to failure? Here are a few...

1. Failure is universal - everyone fails. We as humans are not perfect, and we WILL face failure. Look at some of the 'great Bible heroes' - Abraham, David, Elijah, Paul, Peter - all failed at some point in their lives. And so will we - we're not SuperSaints with SuperSuits (mine is at the claeners)! When we accept this fact, it will release us from undue pressure. We don't have to try to be perfect 100% of the time - we CAN'T! So accept it and stand upon God's grace, mercy and love when we do fail.

2. Failure doesn't have to be permanent. Each of us has a choice when fail. We don’t have to let it keep us down forever. Rather, we CAN get up and keep going. Peter did - he didn't let this sinking failure keep him down. He didn't quit being a disciple and go back to fishing, did he? No, he kept going. In fact, he failed again later - he denied Jesus! Did he quit then? No, he got up, and kept going. And became one of the greatest apostles!

Why is it that for some, failure brings despair? While for others, failure drives them on even more? Because they choose to get up and continue walking with God. They don't give up. Why do we admire heroes of the faith like Abraham, David, Paul, Peter? Not because they were perfect, but because after experiencing failure, they got up and kept on going. Prov 24.16 - 'though a righteous man may fall seven times he rises again.'

3. Failure can teach us things that success can't. I think Peter needed to learn about faith and humility as he stepped out of the boat. And the only way that he would really learn it was to sink. This failure probably taught Peter more than if he had walked all the way to Jesus. Imagine if that happened - he would have been so proud of himself! 'Yo, dat's right, dat waz me! I'm da man!' He NEEDED to fail, to sink. Sometimes we do too (I know I do!)- because failure can often be a better teacher than success.

4. Failure is NOT our identity. Or it doesn't have to be. Jesus didn't call Peter a failure, did He? God never calls us a failure. Even though our parents might call us that, or our spouses or our bosses. Or our society might label us failures. Or we might even call ourselves failures.

But our Lord never calls us 'failures'. What does He call us instead - 'more than conquerers' (Rom 8.37); 'friends' (John 15.13-15), beloved, children. See, failing is NOT the same as being a failure - there's a big difference. Even though we fail (some of us more often), we ARE NOT failures. Ps 145.14 - ‘The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down.’

So take heart, learn from your failures and keep on keeping on. Take the example of Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. Do you know how many tries he made before he found the right materials and connections for the first working light bulb? Over 10,000 times! What if he had stopped at 9,999 - simply just gave up? We'd be sitting in the dark!

People, don't let failure keep you down - get up, learn, keep going. And rest in God's grace. And remember - failures are also just stepping stones towards victory.

Failure...Or Is It?

*******************************************************************
This is part of the series on 'Get Outta Da Boat!' See this post and this one.
*******************************************************************

Anytime you step out of the boat to attempt to walk on water, there is the very real risk of sinking. And for most of us, there WILL come a time when we will sink; when we get distracted and stop looking at Jesus or when we step out too soon or perhaps even when we stop when we should be walking. And we sink. We, in this sense, fail - we fail to accomplish the task we were sent to do. We fail to get to our goal.

Have you ever failed like this? I think most of us have failed at one point or another. And we hate it, right? We hate the shame and discouragement it brings. We hate that sinking feeling in our stomachs when we realize we failed. We hate the hopelessness that failure often leaves behind. But have you ever thought that failure can be a good thing? That there are positive benefits to failure? Here are a few...

1. Failure is universal - everyone fails. We as humans are not perfect, and we WILL face failure. Look at some of the 'great Bible heroes' - Abraham, David, Elijah, Paul, Peter - all failed at some point in their lives. And so will we - we're not SuperSaints with SuperSuits (mine is at the claeners)! When we accept this fact, it will release us from undue pressure. We don't have to try to be perfect 100% of the time - we CAN'T! So accept it and stand upon God's grace, mercy and love when we do fail.

2. Failure doesn't have to be permanent. Each of us has a choice when fail. We don’t have to let it keep us down forever. Rather, we CAN get up and keep going. Peter did - he didn't let this sinking failure keep him down. He didn't quit being a disciple and go back to fishing, did he? No, he kept going. In fact, he failed again later - he denied Jesus! Did he quit then? No, he got up, and kept going. And became one of the greatest apostles!

Why is it that for some, failure brings despair? While for others, failure drives them on even more? Because they choose to get up and continue walking with God. They don't give up. Why do we admire heroes of the faith like Abraham, David, Paul, Peter? Not because they were perfect, but because after experiencing failure, they got up and kept on going. Prov 24.16 - 'though a righteous man may fall seven times he rises again.'

3. Failure can teach us things that success can't. I think Peter needed to learn about faith and humility as he stepped out of the boat. And the only way that he would really learn it was to sink. This failure probably taught Peter more than if he had walked all the way to Jesus. Imagine if that happened - he would have been so proud of himself! 'Yo, dat's right, dat waz me! I'm da man!' He NEEDED to fail, to sink. Sometimes we do too (I know I do!)- because failure can often be a better teacher than success.

4. Failure is NOT our identity. Or it doesn't have to be. Jesus didn't call Peter a failure, did He? God never calls us a failure. Even though our parents might call us that, or our spouses or our bosses. Or our society might label us failures. Or we might even call ourselves failures.

But our Lord never calls us 'failures'. What does He call us instead - 'more than conquerers' (Rom 8.37); 'friends' (John 15.13-15), beloved, children. See, failing is NOT the same as being a failure - there's a big difference. Even though we fail (some of us more often), we ARE NOT failures. Ps 145.14 - ‘The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down.’

So take heart, learn from your failures and keep on keeping on. Take the example of Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. Do you know how many tries he made before he found the right materials and connections for the first working light bulb? Over 10,000 times! What if he had stopped at 9,999 - simply just gave up? We'd be sitting in the dark!

People, don't let failure keep you down - get up, learn, keep going. And rest in God's grace. And remember - failures are also just stepping stones towards victory.

Stop, In The Name of Love...

Who sang that song anyways? Got it stuck in my head - 'Stop, in the naaame of loooovee....' The song is probably in a different context, but hey at least the first line fits.

So ok everyone, thanks for all the support in response to the comment left by captain anonymous on the post 'Changes' below. Haven't received THAT many emails in a long long time! And not to make light of the whole situation, but I just had to share a few of the emails that helped me to 'lighten up' myself and to remember the first lesson about ministry - gotta have thick skin and soft hearts.

So here are a few of the more humorous ones...

"[my] comments were prayerfully comprised while my claws were in the retracted position. had they been made otherwise, the sky would have parted, the earth would have quaked, and the red dot would have been obliterated."

"Boy, people need to lighten up a little bit. Probably more fiber in their diet would help."

"best thing is forget about it and comments like that. They just didn't get it."

"as i read this i wonder: does it even matter? Just let them talk..."

"Schade nur, dass es dann Leute gibt, die dann anonym so blöde Kommentare schreiben... "

And my all-time favorite...

"How do I put a comment on you blog space? I have never done this....I know what a blog spot is. But it’s rather Greek to me."

Becks and I had a good, much needed laugh after getting that email! LOVE YOU K. for sending that email That one released all the tension!

So with that, shall we all move on? I am sure we all have bigger and better things to do, eh? Thanks again for your support.

And in all fairness, let's pray for captain anonymous. She/he IS still a sis/bro in the Lord. And this IS still a public forum. And there IS still freedom of speech. And captain anonymous IS still welcome here. Peace and good night.

Stop, In The Name of Love...

Who sang that song anyways? Got it stuck in my head - 'Stop, in the naaame of loooovee....' The song is probably in a different context, but hey at least the first line fits.

So ok everyone, thanks for all the support in response to the comment left by captain anonymous on the post 'Changes' below. Haven't received THAT many emails in a long long time! And not to make light of the whole situation, but I just had to share a few of the emails that helped me to 'lighten up' myself and to remember the first lesson about ministry - gotta have thick skin and soft hearts.

So here are a few of the more humorous ones...

"[my] comments were prayerfully comprised while my claws were in the retracted position. had they been made otherwise, the sky would have parted, the earth would have quaked, and the red dot would have been obliterated."

"Boy, people need to lighten up a little bit. Probably more fiber in their diet would help."

"best thing is forget about it and comments like that. They just didn't get it."

"as i read this i wonder: does it even matter? Just let them talk..."

"Schade nur, dass es dann Leute gibt, die dann anonym so blöde Kommentare schreiben... "

And my all-time favorite...

"How do I put a comment on you blog space? I have never done this....I know what a blog spot is. But it’s rather Greek to me."

Becks and I had a good, much needed laugh after getting that email! LOVE YOU K. for sending that email That one released all the tension!

So with that, shall we all move on? I am sure we all have bigger and better things to do, eh? Thanks again for your support.

And in all fairness, let's pray for captain anonymous. She/he IS still a sis/bro in the Lord. And this IS still a public forum. And there IS still freedom of speech. And captain anonymous IS still welcome here. Peace and good night.

Drumroll Please...Introducing...

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This is a continuation of the previous post - 'Changes' (you can call this 'Changes - the Continuing Saga'). ;-) Please scroll down to read the previous post.
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Some have asked who this German youth pastor is, who will be taking over the church here in Freiburg. So I am happy to introduce you all to him, although you have to meet him personally to get the full effect!

Falk came to Christ about 9 years ago through a friend of his who attended CCF at that time. He visited Becky and my home fellowship way back in the late 90's (wow, before we had kids!) a few times before he headed off to Canada for a year of studying abroad. There he connected with Campus Crusade where his faith was strengthened.

After that year, he returned to Freiburg and got grounded in the Word and ministry through our 1 year School of Discipleship program. He then came on staff, heading up the Building Maintenance area, leading our outreach and evangelism area and was helping out with the youth. Not long after that he became Youth Pastor, overseeing the youth and kids ministries.

As we saw him grow and mature in his faith and giftings, we asked him to consider joining us as an elder, which he did a few years ago. And last year, I asked him to take over all the administrative duties from me which he gladly did (administration being one of his gifts!). Also, he and his wife have led our summer camps (SOLA) for the last 5 years, overseeing between 30-50 workers and between 100-150 kids and youth every August. They literally camp out at the campground for the whole month, and that with 2 toddlers!

So step by step he has grown into this role as pastor and shepherd of this flock. And it is with great joy that we can hand off this flock to such capable, faithful and loving hands. We truly believe that Falk and Irina (and their 2 kids, plus one on the way) will take this fellowship to the next level of faith and service to our Lord.

Drumroll Please...Introducing...

***************************************************************
This is a continuation of the previous post - 'Changes' (you can call this 'Changes - the Continuing Saga'). ;-) Please scroll down to read the previous post.
***************************************************************

Some have asked who this German youth pastor is, who will be taking over the church here in Freiburg. So I am happy to introduce you all to him, although you have to meet him personally to get the full effect!

Falk came to Christ about 9 years ago through a friend of his who attended CCF at that time. He visited Becky and my home fellowship way back in the late 90's (wow, before we had kids!) a few times before he headed off to Canada for a year of studying abroad. There he connected with Campus Crusade where his faith was strengthened.

After that year, he returned to Freiburg and got grounded in the Word and ministry through our 1 year School of Discipleship program. He then came on staff, heading up the Building Maintenance area, leading our outreach and evangelism area and was helping out with the youth. Not long after that he became Youth Pastor, overseeing the youth and kids ministries.

As we saw him grow and mature in his faith and giftings, we asked him to consider joining us as an elder, which he did a few years ago. And last year, I asked him to take over all the administrative duties from me which he gladly did (administration being one of his gifts!). Also, he and his wife have led our summer camps (SOLA) for the last 5 years, overseeing between 30-50 workers and between 100-150 kids and youth every August. They literally camp out at the campground for the whole month, and that with 2 toddlers!

So step by step he has grown into this role as pastor and shepherd of this flock. And it is with great joy that we can hand off this flock to such capable, faithful and loving hands. We truly believe that Falk and Irina (and their 2 kids, plus one on the way) will take this fellowship to the next level of faith and service to our Lord.

Changes

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This post will be a bit longer than normal. But it's VERY IMPORTANT so we wanted to share with our friends and family so you could be praying for us. Sorry for any inconvenience.
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Life is full of changes. Otherwise it would get boring I guess. But this was one change we hadn't really counted on nor were looking for! We are excited (and sad at the same time) to announce that we believe Jesus is calling us to step out of the boat and to walk on the water to Him. What that means practically is that we will be HANDING OVER THE CHURCH! Bet you never saw that one coming, did ya?! We didn't really either. After being in Europe for 12 years, almost 8 of those as head pastor here, God is moving us on. (Or 7 years according to the calculations of some - see comment left by Anonymous on Sat Mar 08, 10:43:00 PM CET and the comments that follow that). ;-)

It started about a year ago, when (I believe) the Lord popped a thought into my mind - 'David, your task here is finished'. At first I didn't believe this, nor want to believe it. So I just kinda ignored it. But then again in Spring 2007, the thought came again. Now, just a bit of background - there were no major problems in the church, no personal conflicts with people, no sin, no family problems, nothing that we would be trying to 'run away' from. In fact, we were just about to start some new and exciting ministries! And there was even a growing enthusiasm in the fellowship. So there was no cause for this thought. But it kept coming back.

So in late Spring 2007, I talked with Becks and we agreed not to say anything to anyone and just to pray and seek the Lord. But inside, I still couldn't believe it nor want it. It wasn't until around Summer of 2007 that I finally came to the point where I had to say - 'Lord, if this is from You, You have to make it absolutely clear. To us and those around us. We will not make any moves based on thoughts, ideas, feelings.' I came to the point where I was beginning to accept that this could be from God and was open to whatever He wanted.

And it was around that time that God began really speaking - through Bible verses, other people (no one knew except Becks and I at this point) and circumstantial confirmations. Now I am normally a very cautious person and want to clearly and loudly hear from the Lord before I make any moves. So the Lord had to really pound it through my thick head. So here are the confirmations we got, over a 6-9 month period.

Biblical confirmation:
1. God gave us a verse when I first took over as head pastor at CC Freiburg. Paul writes to Titus in Titus 1.5 - 'for this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you.' That was what we were to do here. Now, this verse came back to my mind at the same time as the thought to leave. And the Lord spoke through this and said - 'David, what I sent you to do is finished'.

And as I honestly thought about it, He was right. A lot of the things that were lacking are now set in order. There is stability, maturity, unity and most important of all - real trust and openness towards one another. Plus, people have grown tremendously in their relationship with Jesus and others. And when I took over, there were no elders. They were 'let go' or 'sat down' (or however you call it) before I returned to Freiburg. But now we have several awesome elders (and I mean that - no better elders have I seen anywhere, in any other church). They love the sheep and truly have carried the burden with me over the last 8 years. So our task seems to be finished.

2. In 2Sam 7 and 1 Chron 22 King David had such a heart to build God a house, to build the Temple. But God basically told David - 'no, not you, you are not going to build the Temple, but your son Solomon will.' And that spoke deeply to me. It humbled me - I didn't really want to hear this! 'What do you mean, Lord? Why not me? What did I do wrong?' - all these thoughts ran through my mind.

3. Last fall I was preaching on Rom 15.20 (and 2Cor 10.16) about preaching the Gospel where the name of Jesus has not been named before. This was our vision for planting a network of home churches (not home bible studies) in the neighborhood where we currently live. But in studying, Rom 15.23 was the verse that struck home. Paul writes 'but now no longer having a place in these parts...' Again, I didn't want to accept this, but hmmm, it was there in black and white. Could it be that God was saying that we don't have a place in these parts any longer?

4. Our missions Pastor visited the church here last December and preached on Acts 8 on one of the Sundays. In this chapter, Philip was preaching in Samaria and people were getting saved (v4-8). But in v26 the angel of the Lord told him to 'arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is desert.' As I was sitting there, the whole message and especially this verse hit me like a load of bricks. We were to arise and go. Whereto? South, into the desert. And immediately Murrieta came to my mind -it's in SOUTHERN Cali and it's desert, geographically.

And just like Philip who didn't know why he was supposed to leave the revival in Samaria to go into the desert, that was what God was calling us to do. To leave the new and exciting things going on at CCF and go into the desert. The next part I reeeaaaalllyyy didn't want to hear. But it seemed like it was going to be a spiritual desert for us as well as a physical one. That He was going to take us into a time of dryness, but we won't know why right now. We just need to step out in faith like Philip did - 'so he arose and went' (v27). And when he went, God then revealed the next step. So that is our challenge - arise and go, without knowing why or what the next step would be.

There are several more passages that the Lord brought to us, but I won't go into them except to list them now - Heb 11.8; Gen 31.3.

Circumstantial confirmation - not only did the Lord speak through His word, but also through others and the circumstances around us.

1. Last summer, a friend of ours had the same dream about us - twice. It involved us handing the church over and leaving. Little background - the Lord speaks very often to this person in dreams, so we don't think this was just a 'fluke or coincidence'. And for him to have the same dream twice! And this was 6 months before we told anyone about our thoughts! Hmmm.

2. In December of 2007, we got a call from the real estate agent who handles the apartment we are renting. He informed us that the owner wants to sell the apartment. We met with the agent the next morning and he said he hopes the transaction will be completed by summer 2008. So it seems like God is trying to boot us out the door (or is it the boat?), literally!

3. We came back from furlough at the end of January 2008 and I had a talk with our youth pastor. Both Becks and I believe he is the one to take over. But as I told him all this (for the first time), and after getting over the shock, he grinned and started laughing in disbelief. Without us saying anything, he already felt led to hand over the youth ministry to one of his assistants and was taking steps in that direction! Amazing how the Lord prepares both sides!

4. The day after we told the elders, one of their wives was having a hard time with the idea of us leaving. She then just randomly opened her Bible up and it opened up exactly to one of the passages above that confirmed it for us. Later that day she did it again - randomly opened her Bible and it came to another one of the verses above. So it was clear to her - this is God's leading.

Another elder's wife read in her devotional a few days after we told the elders. The devo was on Eph 4.11-12, and how the gifted people were given to equip the saints. And when that was done, the 'gifted men' are to move on. In fact, they are supposed to 'work themselves out of a job', in the shortest time possible. Paul did - he started churches, taught, equipped, raised up leaders and handed the church over. She saw that was what God was doing here. So she also had peace about this.

5. While on furlough, Becks had a vision, a picture during worship time at CC Murrieta. She saw clearly a cardboard moving box that she folded out and put together herself. But there was no lid yet. And she couldn't do the lid herself. Then she saw God fold a lid together and place it on the box and put the box aside, as if it were finished, packed, done. Pretty clear, eh?

So there we are. I don't know how much more the Lord would have spoken to us. But this was enough, we had to obey, no matter what we felt, thought or feared. Our part was to simply trust God and obediently and with whatever faith we could muster up, step out of the boat and onto the water. We have told the elders, then the general leadership and now also the whole church. And it seems like most were shocked at first, but then also admitted that they can see God in this.

Our plan is to hand over the church by Fall this year, then head back to SoCal for a season. And after that we believe the Lord will take us back out on our 3rd (my 4th) missions adventure!

So our youth pastor and his wife have prayed about this and have said yes, they'll take up the baton now and pastor this flock next. For them it is also stepping out of their boat. And really, the whole church is stepping out of the boat and looking to Jesus, as we all begin to walk on the water.

Pray for us. It is not easy for us - this has been home for the last 12 years for me, 11 for Becks. The kids have all grown up here, never having lived anywhere else. It will be a HUGE adjustment going back to SoCal, but we know God will give us everything we need. Thanks to all for your prayers, support and just by standing by us. We love you all!

Changes

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This post will be a bit longer than normal. But it's VERY IMPORTANT so we wanted to share with our friends and family so you could be praying for us. Sorry for any inconvenience.
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Life is full of changes. Otherwise it would get boring I guess. But this was one change we hadn't really counted on nor were looking for! We are excited (and sad at the same time) to announce that we believe Jesus is calling us to step out of the boat and to walk on the water to Him. What that means practically is that we will be HANDING OVER THE CHURCH! Bet you never saw that one coming, did ya?! We didn't really either. After being in Europe for 12 years, almost 8 of those as head pastor here, God is moving us on. (Or 7 years according to the calculations of some - see comment left by Anonymous on Sat Mar 08, 10:43:00 PM CET and the comments that follow that). ;-)

It started about a year ago, when (I believe) the Lord popped a thought into my mind - 'David, your task here is finished'. At first I didn't believe this, nor want to believe it. So I just kinda ignored it. But then again in Spring 2007, the thought came again. Now, just a bit of background - there were no major problems in the church, no personal conflicts with people, no sin, no family problems, nothing that we would be trying to 'run away' from. In fact, we were just about to start some new and exciting ministries! And there was even a growing enthusiasm in the fellowship. So there was no cause for this thought. But it kept coming back.

So in late Spring 2007, I talked with Becks and we agreed not to say anything to anyone and just to pray and seek the Lord. But inside, I still couldn't believe it nor want it. It wasn't until around Summer of 2007 that I finally came to the point where I had to say - 'Lord, if this is from You, You have to make it absolutely clear. To us and those around us. We will not make any moves based on thoughts, ideas, feelings.' I came to the point where I was beginning to accept that this could be from God and was open to whatever He wanted.

And it was around that time that God began really speaking - through Bible verses, other people (no one knew except Becks and I at this point) and circumstantial confirmations. Now I am normally a very cautious person and want to clearly and loudly hear from the Lord before I make any moves. So the Lord had to really pound it through my thick head. So here are the confirmations we got, over a 6-9 month period.

Biblical confirmation:
1. God gave us a verse when I first took over as head pastor at CC Freiburg. Paul writes to Titus in Titus 1.5 - 'for this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you.' That was what we were to do here. Now, this verse came back to my mind at the same time as the thought to leave. And the Lord spoke through this and said - 'David, what I sent you to do is finished'.

And as I honestly thought about it, He was right. A lot of the things that were lacking are now set in order. There is stability, maturity, unity and most important of all - real trust and openness towards one another. Plus, people have grown tremendously in their relationship with Jesus and others. And when I took over, there were no elders. They were 'let go' or 'sat down' (or however you call it) before I returned to Freiburg. But now we have several awesome elders (and I mean that - no better elders have I seen anywhere, in any other church). They love the sheep and truly have carried the burden with me over the last 8 years. So our task seems to be finished.

2. In 2Sam 7 and 1 Chron 22 King David had such a heart to build God a house, to build the Temple. But God basically told David - 'no, not you, you are not going to build the Temple, but your son Solomon will.' And that spoke deeply to me. It humbled me - I didn't really want to hear this! 'What do you mean, Lord? Why not me? What did I do wrong?' - all these thoughts ran through my mind.

3. Last fall I was preaching on Rom 15.20 (and 2Cor 10.16) about preaching the Gospel where the name of Jesus has not been named before. This was our vision for planting a network of home churches (not home bible studies) in the neighborhood where we currently live. But in studying, Rom 15.23 was the verse that struck home. Paul writes 'but now no longer having a place in these parts...' Again, I didn't want to accept this, but hmmm, it was there in black and white. Could it be that God was saying that we don't have a place in these parts any longer?

4. Our missions Pastor visited the church here last December and preached on Acts 8 on one of the Sundays. In this chapter, Philip was preaching in Samaria and people were getting saved (v4-8). But in v26 the angel of the Lord told him to 'arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is desert.' As I was sitting there, the whole message and especially this verse hit me like a load of bricks. We were to arise and go. Whereto? South, into the desert. And immediately Murrieta came to my mind -it's in SOUTHERN Cali and it's desert, geographically.

And just like Philip who didn't know why he was supposed to leave the revival in Samaria to go into the desert, that was what God was calling us to do. To leave the new and exciting things going on at CCF and go into the desert. The next part I reeeaaaalllyyy didn't want to hear. But it seemed like it was going to be a spiritual desert for us as well as a physical one. That He was going to take us into a time of dryness, but we won't know why right now. We just need to step out in faith like Philip did - 'so he arose and went' (v27). And when he went, God then revealed the next step. So that is our challenge - arise and go, without knowing why or what the next step would be.

There are several more passages that the Lord brought to us, but I won't go into them except to list them now - Heb 11.8; Gen 31.3.

Circumstantial confirmation - not only did the Lord speak through His word, but also through others and the circumstances around us.

1. Last summer, a friend of ours had the same dream about us - twice. It involved us handing the church over and leaving. Little background - the Lord speaks very often to this person in dreams, so we don't think this was just a 'fluke or coincidence'. And for him to have the same dream twice! And this was 6 months before we told anyone about our thoughts! Hmmm.

2. In December of 2007, we got a call from the real estate agent who handles the apartment we are renting. He informed us that the owner wants to sell the apartment. We met with the agent the next morning and he said he hopes the transaction will be completed by summer 2008. So it seems like God is trying to boot us out the door (or is it the boat?), literally!

3. We came back from furlough at the end of January 2008 and I had a talk with our youth pastor. Both Becks and I believe he is the one to take over. But as I told him all this (for the first time), and after getting over the shock, he grinned and started laughing in disbelief. Without us saying anything, he already felt led to hand over the youth ministry to one of his assistants and was taking steps in that direction! Amazing how the Lord prepares both sides!

4. The day after we told the elders, one of their wives was having a hard time with the idea of us leaving. She then just randomly opened her Bible up and it opened up exactly to one of the passages above that confirmed it for us. Later that day she did it again - randomly opened her Bible and it came to another one of the verses above. So it was clear to her - this is God's leading.

Another elder's wife read in her devotional a few days after we told the elders. The devo was on Eph 4.11-12, and how the gifted people were given to equip the saints. And when that was done, the 'gifted men' are to move on. In fact, they are supposed to 'work themselves out of a job', in the shortest time possible. Paul did - he started churches, taught, equipped, raised up leaders and handed the church over. She saw that was what God was doing here. So she also had peace about this.

5. While on furlough, Becks had a vision, a picture during worship time at CC Murrieta. She saw clearly a cardboard moving box that she folded out and put together herself. But there was no lid yet. And she couldn't do the lid herself. Then she saw God fold a lid together and place it on the box and put the box aside, as if it were finished, packed, done. Pretty clear, eh?

So there we are. I don't know how much more the Lord would have spoken to us. But this was enough, we had to obey, no matter what we felt, thought or feared. Our part was to simply trust God and obediently and with whatever faith we could muster up, step out of the boat and onto the water. We have told the elders, then the general leadership and now also the whole church. And it seems like most were shocked at first, but then also admitted that they can see God in this.

Our plan is to hand over the church by Fall this year, then head back to SoCal for a season. And after that we believe the Lord will take us back out on our 3rd (my 4th) missions adventure!

So our youth pastor and his wife have prayed about this and have said yes, they'll take up the baton now and pastor this flock next. For them it is also stepping out of their boat. And really, the whole church is stepping out of the boat and looking to Jesus, as we all begin to walk on the water.

Pray for us. It is not easy for us - this has been home for the last 12 years for me, 11 for Becks. The kids have all grown up here, never having lived anywhere else. It will be a HUGE adjustment going back to SoCal, but we know God will give us everything we need. Thanks to all for your prayers, support and just by standing by us. We love you all!