On the Road Again...

Wasn't it Willie Nelson who sang that song - 'on the road again, goin' places I've never been, seeing things that I may never see again. And I can't wait to get on the road again'? Well, I know what he means, kinda. I am hitting the road again, on an outreach trip to Hungary and the Ukraine. I am looking forward to it on the one hand - love to see what God does on these trips. But also not looking forward to it because I don't like to travel nor be away from the Phamily.

Tomorrow I take the train for 2 hours to Heidelberg to meet up with the outreach team from CC Heidelberg. From there we take a 2.5 hour bus ride to the airport. Then we fly 2 hours to Budapest, Hungary. Then we take a 3 hour taxi ride to Debrecen, Hungary. We spend Fri and Sat in Debrecen as we wait for the other half of the team coming from CC Stuttgart. Sunday morning I teach at CC Debrecen. Then after the service, we take a 3-4 hour bus ride into the Ukraine and spend the week there doing street evangelism. Next weekend we reverse the process as we head back home to Germany (more traveling - yeah! sarcasm, sarcasm). I'll post more on the trip after I get back.

Pray for Becks as she will be alone with all 4 kids for a week while I am gone! But 2 weeks after my trip, Becks makes the same trip to the Ukraine on another outreach trip. Then I will be home with all 4 kids. (Yikes!)

Pray for my back - don't know what I did to it, but there is constant pain in the lower back. Possibly a spiritual attack?? Never had back problems before.

On the Road Again...

Wasn't it Willie Nelson who sang that song - 'on the road again, goin' places I've never been, seeing things that I may never see again. And I can't wait to get on the road again'? Well, I know what he means, kinda. I am hitting the road again, on an outreach trip to Hungary and the Ukraine. I am looking forward to it on the one hand - love to see what God does on these trips. But also not looking forward to it because I don't like to travel nor be away from the Phamily.

Tomorrow I take the train for 2 hours to Heidelberg to meet up with the outreach team from CC Heidelberg. From there we take a 2.5 hour bus ride to the airport. Then we fly 2 hours to Budapest, Hungary. Then we take a 3 hour taxi ride to Debrecen, Hungary. We spend Fri and Sat in Debrecen as we wait for the other half of the team coming from CC Stuttgart. Sunday morning I teach at CC Debrecen. Then after the service, we take a 3-4 hour bus ride into the Ukraine and spend the week there doing street evangelism. Next weekend we reverse the process as we head back home to Germany (more traveling - yeah! sarcasm, sarcasm). I'll post more on the trip after I get back.

Pray for Becks as she will be alone with all 4 kids for a week while I am gone! But 2 weeks after my trip, Becks makes the same trip to the Ukraine on another outreach trip. Then I will be home with all 4 kids. (Yikes!)

Pray for my back - don't know what I did to it, but there is constant pain in the lower back. Possibly a spiritual attack?? Never had back problems before.

Jesaiah's birthday/Weekend in Switzerland

Jesaiah just turned 7 on Friday...I can't believe how the time flies! I remember when he was born like it was yesterday, I couldn't have wished for an easier or quicker birth! (Otherwise we wouldn't have made it to the hospital!) He is such a 'big boy' now. He is growing up so much, it is such a blessing to see his heart for God already, I am so thankful for him!
We didn't do a birthday party this year because we went to Switzerland instead. Taliah's Godmother lives in Zürich and we have been planning, since Febuary, to go and visit her and her husband and this was the only weekend that worked for everyone.
We went down on Friday afternoon and stayed the night in the youth hostel and on Saturday we went to a really cool children's 'museum' called kindercity.
We spent the whole day, from 10am til 5:30pm, it was a really interesting place, lots to do!
Jesaiah and Taliah each got to do a workshop, Jesaiah did one on cars, he learned how to change a tire and check fluids and he got to build his own model car to take home. Taliah did a creativity one where she built a lighthouse out of cans and a glass jar with a candle in it. The workshops were 90 minutes long so while they were in there the rest of us went through the other part, caleed 'wissenswege' (paths of knowledge). There was so much to do, and Zachy just loved it, there was a water 'game' with balls and air pumps and everything, there was also a music area with drums and piano on the floor to walk on. Another area had 'experiments' dealing with physical handicaps. We could practice in a wheel chair, try walking on stilts, sack race, the whole area was all about how our body works and what it would be like if something wasn't functioning like it should. It was very interesting. The biggest hit though were the peg boards. I don't know what they are really called but they have pegs in them and when you press your hand or something in them the shape is pushed out on the other side, they are really cool, and as you can see in the pictures we all had a blast with them!
The kids would love to go back, maybe someday!
We really enjoyed spending time with Lia and Manuel and having fun in Switzerland...thanks Lia and Manu!
Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

Becoming a Man

This past weekend, Jesaiah turned a big 7! Becks and I had talked a few months ago about getting him a pocket knife for his 7th birthday, but had then forgot about that until this weekend. We were in Zurich, Switzerland over the weekend to visit Taliah's godmom and her husband and had a great time with them at 'KinderCity / KidsCity' (Becks will post that later - thanks Auntie Lia and Manu!). Anyways the youth hostel where we spent the night had a showcase of some very fancy, world-famous pocket knives - the renowned Swiss Army knives!

So we ended up surprising Jesaiah with his very own, 1st-ever pocket knife - an authentic Swiss Army knife! And it was even bought in Switzerland! He was so elated and hugged us so hard that I thought my neck was gonna crack!

Our first project was to whittle a little something with his fancy new knife. So today, on our day off, we went into the little woods behind our neighborhood, searched for some good wood to start whittling and got started. We had a great time and are so blessed to see our little boy becoming a little man.

Here are some pics...



Looking for wood in the woods



Can you find our hidden forest friend?








Here, Taliah using bro's knife to cut the yucky, black dead bark off











Jesaiah using the scissors in his knife to cut the sandpaper









Sanding down the wood...



















Nailing the pieces together...








Teamwork - the final product!

Jesaiah's birthday/Weekend in Switzerland

Jesaiah just turned 7 on Friday...I can't believe how the time flies! I remember when he was born like it was yesterday, I couldn't have wished for an easier or quicker birth! (Otherwise we wouldn't have made it to the hospital!) He is such a 'big boy' now. He is growing up so much, it is such a blessing to see his heart for God already, I am so thankful for him!
We didn't do a birthday party this year because we went to Switzerland instead. Taliah's Godmother lives in Zürich and we have been planning, since Febuary, to go and visit her and her husband and this was the only weekend that worked for everyone.
We went down on Friday afternoon and stayed the night in the youth hostel and on Saturday we went to a really cool children's 'museum' called kindercity.
We spent the whole day, from 10am til 5:30pm, it was a really interesting place, lots to do!
Jesaiah and Taliah each got to do a workshop, Jesaiah did one on cars, he learned how to change a tire and check fluids and he got to build his own model car to take home. Taliah did a creativity one where she built a lighthouse out of cans and a glass jar with a candle in it. The workshops were 90 minutes long so while they were in there the rest of us went through the other part, caleed 'wissenswege' (paths of knowledge). There was so much to do, and Zachy just loved it, there was a water 'game' with balls and air pumps and everything, there was also a music area with drums and piano on the floor to walk on. Another area had 'experiments' dealing with physical handicaps. We could practice in a wheel chair, try walking on stilts, sack race, the whole area was all about how our body works and what it would be like if something wasn't functioning like it should. It was very interesting. The biggest hit though were the peg boards. I don't know what they are really called but they have pegs in them and when you press your hand or something in them the shape is pushed out on the other side, they are really cool, and as you can see in the pictures we all had a blast with them!
The kids would love to go back, maybe someday!
We really enjoyed spending time with Lia and Manuel and having fun in Switzerland...thanks Lia and Manu!
Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

Becoming a Man

This past weekend, Jesaiah turned a big 7! Becks and I had talked a few months ago about getting him a pocket knife for his 7th birthday, but had then forgot about that until this weekend. We were in Zurich, Switzerland over the weekend to visit Taliah's godmom and her husband and had a great time with them at 'KinderCity / KidsCity' (Becks will post that later - thanks Auntie Lia and Manu!). Anyways the youth hostel where we spent the night had a showcase of some very fancy, world-famous pocket knives - the renowned Swiss Army knives!

So we ended up surprising Jesaiah with his very own, 1st-ever pocket knife - an authentic Swiss Army knife! And it was even bought in Switzerland! He was so elated and hugged us so hard that I thought my neck was gonna crack!

Our first project was to whittle a little something with his fancy new knife. So today, on our day off, we went into the little woods behind our neighborhood, searched for some good wood to start whittling and got started. We had a great time and are so blessed to see our little boy becoming a little man.

Here are some pics...



Looking for wood in the woods



Can you find our hidden forest friend?








Here, Taliah using bro's knife to cut the yucky, black dead bark off











Jesaiah using the scissors in his knife to cut the sandpaper









Sanding down the wood...



















Nailing the pieces together...








Teamwork - the final product!

SoFa

SoFa stands for Sommerlager familie. In other words family camp! This was our first family camp with the church. Our youth pastor and his wife organize (with an army of helpers ) youth camps every year. They have teens for 10 days then have a few days break then they have kids (9-12 years) for 7 days. This year they decided to do families in between.
The campsite is in a big field on top a hill about 25minutes outside of Freiburg. The field belongs to a farmer who allows our church to use it for the month of August. The camp gets water and power from the farm which is just down the hill. It is amazing what they set up and how it all functions! There are 'real' flushing toilettes and a kitchen capable of cooking for 100-150 people. And it is all temporary, they build it all at the end of July beginning of August, and break it all down at the end of August. It is a lot of work, but when you see the fruit in the lives of the youth and kids, it is well worth it.
For the youth camps last year it rained pretty much non-stop and was cold. This year they had nice weather for the teens, but it started raining before family camp and rained the first day and a half. Needless to say there was a lot of mud! The kids thought it was great of course, and we adults had to just remember that 'washing machines are made to wash clothes' (and let me tell you, I had a TON of laundry when we got home!)
But mud aside, it was a great time. Saturday and Sunday morning there was child care and the parents had time together and the topic was raising kids. The discussions were very 'open', everyone was comfortable with one another and shared things from their lives. It was encouraging and challenging.
In the evenings we had a campfire where we roasted marshmellows the first night and the second night we made pancakes. We played a game where we had two teams, some from each team had to go into the forest and 'find' the ingredients for pancakes. There were people hiding in the woods holding the ingredients and our teams had to find them (the ones hiding were flashing their flashlights). They were only allowed to get one ingredient at a time, ie one egg, 1 cup of flour, a bit of oil, or a liter of milk. Once they collected the items they had to run them to us who were making the batter and there were others trying to catch them. If they got caught they had to give up whatever ingredient they had. It is very hard to make pancake batter when you get the ingredients all mixed up! It was a lot of fun and the pancakes were really yummy!
After 3 nights sleeping in a tent on the ground I was happy to sleep in my own bed though!

P.S.
All the awnings and tents and other wooden things were all made by the teens while they were there. That is part of SoLa, they get to design and build anything they can imagine, and some of it is really cool! There was even a swing this time (I'll try to remember to take a picture this week when we visit the kids camp)

SoFa

SoFa stands for Sommerlager familie. In other words family camp! This was our first family camp with the church. Our youth pastor and his wife organize (with an army of helpers ) youth camps every year. They have teens for 10 days then have a few days break then they have kids (9-12 years) for 7 days. This year they decided to do families in between.
The campsite is in a big field on top a hill about 25minutes outside of Freiburg. The field belongs to a farmer who allows our church to use it for the month of August. The camp gets water and power from the farm which is just down the hill. It is amazing what they set up and how it all functions! There are 'real' flushing toilettes and a kitchen capable of cooking for 100-150 people. And it is all temporary, they build it all at the end of July beginning of August, and break it all down at the end of August. It is a lot of work, but when you see the fruit in the lives of the youth and kids, it is well worth it.
For the youth camps last year it rained pretty much non-stop and was cold. This year they had nice weather for the teens, but it started raining before family camp and rained the first day and a half. Needless to say there was a lot of mud! The kids thought it was great of course, and we adults had to just remember that 'washing machines are made to wash clothes' (and let me tell you, I had a TON of laundry when we got home!)
But mud aside, it was a great time. Saturday and Sunday morning there was child care and the parents had time together and the topic was raising kids. The discussions were very 'open', everyone was comfortable with one another and shared things from their lives. It was encouraging and challenging.
In the evenings we had a campfire where we roasted marshmellows the first night and the second night we made pancakes. We played a game where we had two teams, some from each team had to go into the forest and 'find' the ingredients for pancakes. There were people hiding in the woods holding the ingredients and our teams had to find them (the ones hiding were flashing their flashlights). They were only allowed to get one ingredient at a time, ie one egg, 1 cup of flour, a bit of oil, or a liter of milk. Once they collected the items they had to run them to us who were making the batter and there were others trying to catch them. If they got caught they had to give up whatever ingredient they had. It is very hard to make pancake batter when you get the ingredients all mixed up! It was a lot of fun and the pancakes were really yummy!
After 3 nights sleeping in a tent on the ground I was happy to sleep in my own bed though!

P.S.
All the awnings and tents and other wooden things were all made by the teens while they were there. That is part of SoLa, they get to design and build anything they can imagine, and some of it is really cool! There was even a swing this time (I'll try to remember to take a picture this week when we visit the kids camp)

Still here!

Yes, we are still here! It has been awhile since our last post, we've been busy and on the road. I have lots of pictures from our many adventures recently. Uploading them and posting about them will have to wait. But stay tuned one of us will get around to it before too long!

Still here!

Yes, we are still here! It has been awhile since our last post, we've been busy and on the road. I have lots of pictures from our many adventures recently. Uploading them and posting about them will have to wait. But stay tuned one of us will get around to it before too long!

We Can Live in Germany Forever...

...well, at least until we die or Jesus returns for us or God moves us on! After 11 years living in Europe, 10 years of it in Freiburg, we finally were able to apply for our unlimited, permanent visa for Germany. Up to now, we had to go back every 2 years and apply for a renewal of our visas (for the first 3 years, we had to go back EVERY year).

I know for some of you that isn't such a big deal, but it has always been a burden at most and an irritation at least for us - the Foreign Office is not the greatest place to hang out for a couple hours on a hot, muggy summer day. We have seen fights break out because people cut in line in front of others, we have seen clueless people get yelled at and others just having grumpy attitudes (the workers sometimes also) - it's just a plain hassle. And because it's the FOREIGN office, there are many foreigners (go figure!) there - us included. And some of them come from cultures that are not so used to order and structure - hence the fights.

For us it has always been just an uncertainty and hassle - 'Will they renew it this year? Do we have all the paperwork filled out? Are there any loopholes? How much will it cost this year?' In any case, this permanent visa takes care of all that! I love the German word 'Erleichterung' - it means relief, like a burden taken off your shoulders. And that is exactly what it is for us - 'eine Erleichterung'!

Check out the pictures above - because of the new EU rules for passport photos, we are not allowed to smile for the photos (mom being a rebel of course). Try to tell that to kids who are (1) natural hams (do they take after mom or dad or both?); (2) always told to smile every time a camera is pointed at them and (3) can't sit still for more than 2 minutes! That was an adventure in itself - trying to get passport photos for all 6 of us. But thank God it's all over now! At least until the kids turn 16 years old - then we have to bring their passports back to have the permanent visas put in.

We Can Live in Germany Forever...

...well, at least until we die or Jesus returns for us or God moves us on! After 11 years living in Europe, 10 years of it in Freiburg, we finally were able to apply for our unlimited, permanent visa for Germany. Up to now, we had to go back every 2 years and apply for a renewal of our visas (for the first 3 years, we had to go back EVERY year).

I know for some of you that isn't such a big deal, but it has always been a burden at most and an irritation at least for us - the Foreign Office is not the greatest place to hang out for a couple hours on a hot, muggy summer day. We have seen fights break out because people cut in line in front of others, we have seen clueless people get yelled at and others just having grumpy attitudes (the workers sometimes also) - it's just a plain hassle. And because it's the FOREIGN office, there are many foreigners (go figure!) there - us included. And some of them come from cultures that are not so used to order and structure - hence the fights.

For us it has always been just an uncertainty and hassle - 'Will they renew it this year? Do we have all the paperwork filled out? Are there any loopholes? How much will it cost this year?' In any case, this permanent visa takes care of all that! I love the German word 'Erleichterung' - it means relief, like a burden taken off your shoulders. And that is exactly what it is for us - 'eine Erleichterung'!

Check out the pictures above - because of the new EU rules for passport photos, we are not allowed to smile for the photos (mom being a rebel of course). Try to tell that to kids who are (1) natural hams (do they take after mom or dad or both?); (2) always told to smile every time a camera is pointed at them and (3) can't sit still for more than 2 minutes! That was an adventure in itself - trying to get passport photos for all 6 of us. But thank God it's all over now! At least until the kids turn 16 years old - then we have to bring their passports back to have the permanent visas put in.

Geschaft!

Finished, done, made it, etc...! That is what 'geschaft' means, and our friend Eva (one of Zachy's godmothers) has finished her teaching degree! The three older kids and I went with another friend to her 'graduation' in a city about an hour and a half away. It was a short ceremony, a very short speech, a couple of songs and then they all got their diplomas. It was cool to be able to be there and celebrate with her. Congratulations Auntie Eva!!!

After the ceremony we went to a wildpark (wild in German is the same as in English except that it can also mean wild animals), so it was a wild animal park, but get this....it's free! I am often so amazed at the things here that are either free or very cheap. We payed 2 euros for parking and then we bought two boxes of food for the animals for one euro apiece. So for four euros we spent about an hour, it was already getting late when we got there, looking at and feeding all sorts of animals! And there were 3 or 4 really cool playgrounds mixed in the park as well.

Afterwards we went to dinner in cute little restaurant where we could sit outside in the 'hof' (courtyard) which was surrounded by a wall of sandstone covered in ivy and attached to the original city wall of the town built in 1550-something. (I don't know if the wall around the restaurant hof was that old, but inside the restaurant there was a section of the old wall still standing). It was really quaint, with good food.

After dinner we headed back to Freiburg. It was a really fun afternoon and we enjoyed getting to spend time with Eva and Jacque. (Thanks guys for hanging out with us!) Jacque and I took a bit of a 'scenic' route home (sometimes hard to tell where the sign's pointin' ;-) ), but it only took us about an extra 10-15 minutes, and when you have good company what's a little extra driving time, right?

Geschaft!

Finished, done, made it, etc...! That is what 'geschaft' means, and our friend Eva (one of Zachy's godmothers) has finished her teaching degree! The three older kids and I went with another friend to her 'graduation' in a city about an hour and a half away. It was a short ceremony, a very short speech, a couple of songs and then they all got their diplomas. It was cool to be able to be there and celebrate with her. Congratulations Auntie Eva!!!

After the ceremony we went to a wildpark (wild in German is the same as in English except that it can also mean wild animals), so it was a wild animal park, but get this....it's free! I am often so amazed at the things here that are either free or very cheap. We payed 2 euros for parking and then we bought two boxes of food for the animals for one euro apiece. So for four euros we spent about an hour, it was already getting late when we got there, looking at and feeding all sorts of animals! And there were 3 or 4 really cool playgrounds mixed in the park as well.

Afterwards we went to dinner in cute little restaurant where we could sit outside in the 'hof' (courtyard) which was surrounded by a wall of sandstone covered in ivy and attached to the original city wall of the town built in 1550-something. (I don't know if the wall around the restaurant hof was that old, but inside the restaurant there was a section of the old wall still standing). It was really quaint, with good food.

After dinner we headed back to Freiburg. It was a really fun afternoon and we enjoyed getting to spend time with Eva and Jacque. (Thanks guys for hanging out with us!) Jacque and I took a bit of a 'scenic' route home (sometimes hard to tell where the sign's pointin' ;-) ), but it only took us about an extra 10-15 minutes, and when you have good company what's a little extra driving time, right?

Phun at home

David already posted about our crazy schedule the last week or so. It really does seem like we've been going non-stop now for at least two weeks, with no sign of slowing down for at least another! It's all great stuff and we wouldn't change any of it though!

But amidst all the craziness and going, going, going the kids have found time to play here at home and enjoy being brothers and sisters. We've kept them home from kindergarten for a couple of days this week just because we've been going so much, they need time at home too so they can unwind. Here are a few pictures of what they've been doing here at home....


Just being silly (thank you Auntie LanChi for the cool pjs!)


We were having fun with hair. We were even able to give Dariah hairdoes to match not only Taliah....











but Jesaiah and Zacky too!














Just sitting and contemplating....not really sure what he was doing, but he's cute whatever it was!












Paper hat day! (I love Zachy's diaper look)
Jesaiah made paper hats for everyone and even a bow and arrow out of popcicle sticks.










Mush! Or is the horse pulling her highness?











Jesaiah was pretending to be a Huskey pulling a dogsled.

A Step of Faith

The Lord has been laying something heavy on my heart in the last year or so - something that is totally new for me and us. It is something that will require us all to step out in faith and see what God will do.

For several years now, we have lived in a neighborhood of Freiburg called Rieselfeld. This place is fairly new - the oldest building was only finished in 1996/7 (in fact our building was one of the first finished). This neighborhood caters to families and children - it's probably the highest concentration of families in all Freiburg! There are currently about 8,000 people who live in this neighborhood, with still more apartments and houses being built weekly. The projected population will be around 13,000 people when it is built out - my guesstimate is that about half that number are kids and youth! And it's a very 'yuppy' neighborhood - the average adult age is probably mid-30's to mid-40's, families with 2.3 kids, 2 cars, 2 incomes, cat or dog or rabbit, etc. In fact, it is like its own little village, with its own shops and markets, banks, businesses, events, etc. It seems to have everyything - at least on the material level.

But on the spiritual level, it seems to be lacking greatly. For these 8,000 people or so, there are only two churches that try to minister to them - the local Catholic church and the local state (evangelical) church. They share a building (see photo to right) that makes me go hmmm. Yes, that is the finished product - looks like a concrete bunker. Now I have always wondered 'how many people do these 2 churches actually minister to - several hundred?' Even if we include other believers who live here and generously say 1,000 people (highly doubtful) know Jesus, there remains a question that has been burdening my heart lately - what about the other 7,000 people? Have they heard the Gospel? Do they know that God loves them? Do they know that they can have eternal life? Has anyone shared Jesus with them? In any case, we have built many relationships with people in this area - neighbors, parents at Kindergarten, others, etc. and many are so hungry for 'spiritual things'.

So God has placed upon our hearts to step out in faith and start a new work for the Lord here. I have shared with the elders in January of this year, the leaders in March and the whole church in June about us all taking this step of faith together - whether in prayer or active participation. Right now, we are seeking the Lord for more confirmation and also how to start, what to do, when to do it, etc. I have been praying about a combination of the principles of the 'organic/simple/house' church and the more conventional church. I don't have all the details but I know He wants us to step out in faith and trust Him to lead us. So pray with us, for us, for the people who live here, for God's leading through His Spirit and Word.

Here are a few passages that I believe are from the Lord and have ministered to me lately...

And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation, but as it is written: "To whom He was not announced, they shall see; and those who have not heard shall understand." Rom 15.20-21

...to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's sphere of accomplishment. 2Cor 10.16

Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you-- the sure mercies of David. Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, a leader and commander for the people. Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you." Isa 55.3-5

Phun at home

David already posted about our crazy schedule the last week or so. It really does seem like we've been going non-stop now for at least two weeks, with no sign of slowing down for at least another! It's all great stuff and we wouldn't change any of it though!

But amidst all the craziness and going, going, going the kids have found time to play here at home and enjoy being brothers and sisters. We've kept them home from kindergarten for a couple of days this week just because we've been going so much, they need time at home too so they can unwind. Here are a few pictures of what they've been doing here at home....


Just being silly (thank you Auntie LanChi for the cool pjs!)


We were having fun with hair. We were even able to give Dariah hairdoes to match not only Taliah....











but Jesaiah and Zacky too!














Just sitting and contemplating....not really sure what he was doing, but he's cute whatever it was!












Paper hat day! (I love Zachy's diaper look)
Jesaiah made paper hats for everyone and even a bow and arrow out of popcicle sticks.










Mush! Or is the horse pulling her highness?











Jesaiah was pretending to be a Huskey pulling a dogsled.

A Step of Faith

The Lord has been laying something heavy on my heart in the last year or so - something that is totally new for me and us. It is something that will require us all to step out in faith and see what God will do.

For several years now, we have lived in a neighborhood of Freiburg called Rieselfeld. This place is fairly new - the oldest building was only finished in 1996/7 (in fact our building was one of the first finished). This neighborhood caters to families and children - it's probably the highest concentration of families in all Freiburg! There are currently about 8,000 people who live in this neighborhood, with still more apartments and houses being built weekly. The projected population will be around 13,000 people when it is built out - my guesstimate is that about half that number are kids and youth! And it's a very 'yuppy' neighborhood - the average adult age is probably mid-30's to mid-40's, families with 2.3 kids, 2 cars, 2 incomes, cat or dog or rabbit, etc. In fact, it is like its own little village, with its own shops and markets, banks, businesses, events, etc. It seems to have everyything - at least on the material level.

But on the spiritual level, it seems to be lacking greatly. For these 8,000 people or so, there are only two churches that try to minister to them - the local Catholic church and the local state (evangelical) church. They share a building (see photo to right) that makes me go hmmm. Yes, that is the finished product - looks like a concrete bunker. Now I have always wondered 'how many people do these 2 churches actually minister to - several hundred?' Even if we include other believers who live here and generously say 1,000 people (highly doubtful) know Jesus, there remains a question that has been burdening my heart lately - what about the other 7,000 people? Have they heard the Gospel? Do they know that God loves them? Do they know that they can have eternal life? Has anyone shared Jesus with them? In any case, we have built many relationships with people in this area - neighbors, parents at Kindergarten, others, etc. and many are so hungry for 'spiritual things'.

So God has placed upon our hearts to step out in faith and start a new work for the Lord here. I have shared with the elders in January of this year, the leaders in March and the whole church in June about us all taking this step of faith together - whether in prayer or active participation. Right now, we are seeking the Lord for more confirmation and also how to start, what to do, when to do it, etc. I have been praying about a combination of the principles of the 'organic/simple/house' church and the more conventional church. I don't have all the details but I know He wants us to step out in faith and trust Him to lead us. So pray with us, for us, for the people who live here, for God's leading through His Spirit and Word.

Here are a few passages that I believe are from the Lord and have ministered to me lately...

And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation, but as it is written: "To whom He was not announced, they shall see; and those who have not heard shall understand." Rom 15.20-21

...to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's sphere of accomplishment. 2Cor 10.16

Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you-- the sure mercies of David. Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, a leader and commander for the people. Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you." Isa 55.3-5

Dalai Lama Coming to Freiburg

This coming weekend, the Dalai Lama is coming to Freiburg to dedicate the new Buddhist house and to speak at the Uni on the topic of 'Science and Spirituality'. Hmmm....

Well, just be praying that believers here in Freiburg would be able to stand strong against the subtle attacks of the enemy as he brings lies into our midst. What the Dalai Lama and others teach all sounds soooo good - peace, unity, spirituality. And people in these last days have itching ears (2Tim 4.1-5) - they don't want to hear about sin, repentance forgiveness nor Jesus. They just want to hear 'peace, unity, we're all one, we should all accept one another and just get along. There is no absolute truth, we are all gods.' These are the lies the enemy is feeding people in these last days. So pray, pray and pray some more.

Life in the Fast Lane

Well these last couple of weeks have been a blur (which is nothing really new for us I guess). We have been on the go and it seems like it won't slow down until August - but we are loving it. We love to see God work in the hearts and lives of people! Here are just a few of the highlights...

After 2 years meeting every Friday night (except summer of course), we finally come to the end of the School of Discipleship. We started out with 25 students or so and ended up with 13 who stuck through the whole 2 year program. In these 2 years we taught them some principles of ministry, IBS, OT & NT Survey, Basic Theology, How to Teach the Bible among other classes. And they all learned the discipline of keeping a spiritual journal, taking sermon notes and reading through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Plus they learned servanthood and most went on a short-term missions trip to Poland, Romania / Hungary, France, Spain, Germany. I am so proud of these who stuck through until the end - they learned much, built many good friendships and laid a good foundation. Two of them have come on staff now, a third is heading out on a 2-year missions assignment with Operation Mobilisation. Some shared that the Bible came alive to them during these 2 years. And others shared that they built lifelong friendships in the S.o.D. What fruit!

On Sat morning we also had the Children Ministry workers over for breakfast, just to say thanks! It was a great time of fellowship and just enjoying the time with one another without talking too much about 'the ministry'. I wanted them to know that they are valuable to me and us just for who they are - children of God themselves. The ministry they give to the church is secondary - their value is based on who they are and not just their ministry.

Then on Sunday right after the morning service at CCF, we packed up the Phamily and drove about 2 hours north to minister at a small church that has been w/o a pastor for almost 2 years now. I have had the opportunity to help them out with teaching many times before and it is always a joy to go and just bless them. They are beginning to suffer the effects of not having a pastor. They are like sheep w/o a shepherd - kind of wandering aimlessly. My pastor heart breaks for them, but I know I can't do more than teach them and encourage them now and then. I will be doing their Fall church retreat (which will be combined with CC Heidelberg and CC Gruenstadt) in November so we will get to see them again then.

One of the leaders of that church has 9 (count them, 9 kids with 2 sets of twins!) kids. His wife is the twin sister of one of our elder's wife here (this elder is now serving at the CC Bible College in Mallorca and with whom we stayed with back in June when we were in Mallorca). Anyways our 2 oldest got along with their youngest set of twins and they became fast friends this weekend. They even called themselves the 'quadruplets'!