October / November 2021
Over the past month, I have been reminded of the importance of hospitality and the role that welcoming others into fellowship has played from the very beginning of the Church. Fellowship is what we really need, and it is our greatest desire as men and women created in the image of God.
As I write this, I have just received news of a close friend and coworker, who lost her daddy. At the depth of her despair is the reality that she has been temporarily separated from his presence. Fellowship is the foundation for joy. John says in the close of his second letter, “I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete”. Joy is found in the presence of others, and it is through hospitality that we are not only welcomed into each other’s presence, but that we understand the fellowship that can be had with the Father through His Son.
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
Philippians 2:1-2
It’s this great hope that finds our family once again in a foreign country during a time of year that we so desperately long for fellowship with close friends and family. This longing for being with loved ones takes me back to another day that has played a pivotal role in God’s plan for our family. It was the day Cherry’s dad passed away, a day fellowship was abruptly lost, but a day that opened our eyes to a greater reality, that even in our darkest moments God has made a way for fellowship to be restored.
Through His very Son, God has made a way for reconciliation. Christ has torn down the wall of hostility that would keep us from fellowship with the Father. The great news is that through Christ God has welcomed us back to the table to experience joy in His presence and it is for this reason that hospitality must reign in the hearts of His people, because our current heartache does not compare to the glory that is coming.
A great day is coming when our joy will find perfect fellowship face-to-face with our King.
It is for this reason that as we journey on this way, we must warmly welcome weary travelers into our presence. We pray that as you draw together in fellowship this Christmas season that the God of hope would reign grace in your hearts. That through His people the world would see what it truly means to be people that are fellowshipping with the King and that this may cause us to offer ourselves freely to those around us so that they too may find joy in His presence.
Ministry Update
We have been pushing forward in this regard and have welcomed many into our home over the past two months. Cherry and Jeannie have given abundantly of themselves to provide hospitality to so many. We live in a city full of people yearning to be close to others and we have used our home for the purpose of providing lodging, meals, singing together and the study of God’s word. Our desire is to consistently provide opportunities for disciples of Christ to be built up and encouraged to live out their faith and we see our home as a refuge for this purpose.
Unfortunately, the way we minister in this way and fellowship together has recently come under threat by government restrictions that would seek to diminish our ability to meet together in homes and even as a church. Would you please pray for the leaders of our church? We have some very tough decisions to make with recent developments in Germany as to how we can pursue face to face fellowship within the context of the current Corona situation here.
October and November did give an opportunity with relaxed travel restrictions to host two couples from the States in our home. Luke and Sara Holderby joined us in ministry in October and played a tremendous role in our fall break basketball outreach to local international and German youth. Luke also spoke at the camp and to the men in our church while they were here. They were a tremendous blessing to us and they truly filled us up. We are so thankful for their ministry to us!
Wes and Norma Ooms stayed with us in November and were also a tremendous blessing to us and our community. Wes spoke to a number of our small groups and preached two Sunday’s in November at our church on how we are called to live missionaly with a purpose to proclaim Christ. They were a tremendous encouragement to our body.
Our work in the city is continuing in key communities. We continue to run our weekly soccer outreach in Reinickendorf even as the days become colder and darker. We are thankful that the kids continue to come, and we are continuing in our study of Luke.
We are also regularly connecting in a refugee accommodation in Spandau. We have a team of men and women from our church that support this community with language help and community gatherings. We recently had a Turkish style barbecue and dinner with the men and were able to meet some men that have recently arrived in Berlin.
Please pray for Ali and his family, they have recently arrived from Syria (Idlib) and their family’s story of survival is harrowing. Ali’s son’s name is Isa (Jesus in Arabic) and I am praying this family comes to know the true Jesus! Our church will be delivering Christmas gifts to the children in the accommodation and putting on a small Christmas festival there if we are allowed to with new restrictions.
Please continue to pray for Omid and Arash, two refugee brothers from Afghanistan and Iran who have been attending our church. We are meeting regularly and studying God’s Word. Pray that the gospel will continue to grow in their hearts and that they will be witnesses to their people here in Berlin.
Family Update
Much of our time over the fall has been engaged in community and reaching out and we are excited to take some time together as a family this month. We had the opportunity to drive down to Leipzig a couple weeks ago and have enjoyed the Christmas markets that have opened up in Berlin. We were surrounded by friends at Thanksgiving and we look forward to spending nights together as a family, doing puzzles, watching Christmas movies and reading a good friend’s Advent devotional as we await Christmas.
Quinn and Gracie are doing really well in school. God has given them both good friendships and favor with their teachers. They are both progressing in the language and we are thankful for their hard work and resilience with all they encounter. Cherry and I had the opportunity to go hear the Berlin Chamber Orchestra and get dinner at Five Guys a couple weeks ago, we enjoyed having a night out!
We celebrated Quinn’s birthday two weeks ago. She is growing into a beautiful young women and we are so thankful for how God has made her! She has been receiving allergy shots for the past five weeks and will complete her treatment in two weeks. Her appointments are right across from our little Christmas market in our area of the city, so this has given us a weekly opportunity to spend time together. She even lets her little sister tag along too! Thank you for those of you who were so generous to help us with the cost for her medicine.
Thank you for those of you who gave toward Quinn’s medical needs and our transportation costs. I can joyfully say that every penny was provided for. We are so grateful. If you are praying about giving a year end gift, we would greatly appreciate you considering us. We are recognizing some unforeseen increases to our heating costs this winter. Hosting groups and ministry guests in our home has increased our energy costs and with an energy crisis in Europe the prices for heating oil have increased to around 3,200 Euro to provide warm water and heat to our home for the year. We are preparing for this cost, but wanted to communicate this if you would like to help us in continuing to provide a warm environment (literally:) for those we host in our home. Thank you for those of you who make it possible for us to minister to how God has called us and for giving us the honor of representing you in Berlin.
Prayer Update
Please pray for concerning developments in Germany that would shut people out of society who are not vaccinated. This is a concern for our church leadership and we need wisdom to know how to shepherd all those in our church with many different opinions on this issue.
Please pray that our gospel efforts to refugees, international students and German nationals will not be hindered by new measures.
Please pray for us as we recover from a busy season of ministry and that we would find rest in the busyness of the Christmas season and the responsibilities that we have.
Please pray for the extension of our visa that we applied for last week. We were asked to provide some further documents. Please pray that the documents we provided would be sufficient to meet the requirements to secure our new resident permits.
Lastly, Merry Christmas! May your season be filled with joy, regardless of whether you can be near to those you love, because God has come near to us!