Sunday, February 23, 2020

You Want to Study What?!?!

When we asked our youth group kids what they wanted to study at their Winter Retreat, they said, "The Wrath of God". Well, that sounds like a fun retreat, don't you think? When I first heard, I wondered how in the world we where going to cover this, but what an interesting time it turned out to be! We asked questions such as, "Would you want a God who could not get angry?" "Is there such a thing as righteous anger?" "How do I balance the shame I feel about my country's history and the anger I feel toward what happened?" It was an incredible time with the incredible kids of our youth group!

The Winter Retreat Group
Finally...our teammate, Rachel, arrived just a little over a week ago, and she is already going strong! We are so thankful for her! We are exploring the possibility that she will be living about 1 1/2 hour away in Magdeburg, working with a youth group there, as well as being our Summer Intern Director and oh, so many, other things! Thank you so much for your prayers in getting her here!!!!

Rachel arriving at the Berlin Airport. Can you tell I'm excited?!?!?!
We feel so blessed! God is so good to us in every way! On top of all these blessings, Jim and I get to go to a Marriage Conference that Josiah Venture puts on for us, their missionaries, every few years. We will leave tomorrow and spend 4 days in Krakow, Poland, getting time with our spouses and getting opportunities to work on our marriages. There will be 108 Josiah Venture couples there, as well as counselors and marriage coaches. This year, Jim and I have the privilege of being Marriage Coaches for 2 couples during the conference, as well.

Please, pray for us:

  • That Jim and I will have a wonderful time strengthening our marriage at the Marriage Conference
  • That Rachel will settle in well and find the right apartment.
  • For Jim and I as we prepare to teach a Workshop on Marriage at the European Member Care Conference in Malaga, Spain, March 16-19. You can read about the speakers here.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

So, What are We Really Doing in Germany?

Ever wonder what Jim and Lina are really doing in Germany? Sometimes it's hard to explain, but some of our young people made this incredible video for us that will help you understand! It's less than 4 minutes long and well worth the time!



Not only that, but we are finally getting our first FULL TIME team mate!!!!! We are so excited that Rachel Birkabile will arrive February 12! Thank you everyone who had helped make this possible! I know many of you have been praying with us about this for a long time!


Prayer Points:

  1. Pray for Rachel as she arrives, that she will settle in well and integrate quickly to culture and ministry.
  2. Pray for us as we are in the midst of Camp Planning Season, that things will go smoothly and that many young people will come to camps this summer!