The Unoccupied City — The Gfeller Family

Berlin is definitely not the city that comes to mind when considering the unoccupied cities of our world. In fact, Berlin would probably be the first city to come to mind when thinking of historic occupations of the past. Berlin is ground zero for one of the greatest conflicts the world has ever seen and is at the heart of the struggle for good and evil. Thousands fought to occupy Berlin and break the chains of oppression that were unleashed on the world from this city.

So why does our family see this city as unoccupied? Samuel Zwemer once said “the unoccupied fields of the world must have their Calvary before they have their Pentecost.” Berlin is one of these places, a pivotal city at the center of the fight between the sons and daughters of light and the forces of darkness in our world. The fight for the destiny of Europe is on and the urgency for foot soldiers of the cross to run to the front lines and occupy the dark places of our world is greater now than ever before.

Berlin is the epicenter of gospel impact in our world at this current moment. Current events have created one of the greatest opportunities for the gospel as Christians in Europe have the unprecedented ability to openly share their faith with the unreached peoples of our world. In fact, three of the least-reached countries in the world (Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan) saw more than 660,000 people seek refuge in Europe in 2015. A third of these sought refuge in Germany. The fields are white for harvest, but the laborers are few in this unoccupied city. The winds of change are blowing over this continent and we feel burdened to take the gospel of hope to the hopeless.

Our family had a great month making preparations to raise support full-time starting in September. We enjoyed spending time with our family in Charleston, SC for a couple of days and thankful to have the girls back in school! We are amazed how God has begun to assemble a team of partners around us and we can only praise Him for His grace in our lives. We hope that you have a great month serving others and sharing the good news in your own unique ways.

Prayer Requests

God's continued guidance in directing us to like-minded ministry partners
Our girls as they adapt to school
Safety in travels as we present our ministry