The Loss of a Friend

We are so sad to hear about the loss of our dear friend Christina Hadley. We are keeping the Hadley family in deep prayer here in Berlin. 

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose."

Romans 8:28

Tests and trials

Difficulty finding God? Why does God hide himself in darkness? Many of us have prayed a prayer just like Job did in Job 31:35..."Oh that one would hear me! Behold my desire is that the Almighty would answer me." Right in the middle of our trial, when we need God the most, we hear nothing. We demand of God that he answer us immediately. But nothing. Then comes the morbid introspection. Job 32:1..."So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous IN HIS OWN EYES." vs 2b..."because he justified himself rather than God." We begin to justify ourselves, telling God why we don't deserve this trial, totally oblivious to the fact that God IS righteous. The fact is, we DESERVE much worse than the trial, but God is so gracious to draw us back into fellowship with Him. We try to justify our way back into His presence, as if our lives were based upon works, not faith. God is just quiet and waits. 

Then why won't God speak to me at that moment? Why does it seem like He isn't even there? Maybe God actually is speaking to me. Maybe I'm too busy defending myself that I don't hear his still small voice. Psalm 46:10..."Be still, and know that I am God." We start to trust in ourselves, and our own performance to get us back into fellowship with God. When all we need is to trust Him, and see how gracious He really is. God is speaking to us at that difficult moment, in a still, small voice. When we rest in Him, we can hear his voice. It is calling us back, assuring us that we are loved right at that moment. And we are righteous at that moment, because the just live by HIS faith, not OUR performance (Habakkuk 2:4). Not only is God speaking to us in the middle of our trial, but He is waiting to be gracious unto us (Isaiah 30:18). He is gracious to gently draw us to Himself, gracious to comfort us in the trial, gracious to bring us through the trial, so that He can be even MORE gracious to us! What a God we serve!

Youth Group

We did our first unofficial "Youth Group" event in Berlin on Friday. The teens in the church here don't currently have any sort of organized youth group, so we have begun to start one up on Friday's and see how it goes. This past Friday we made a miniature golf course in the Groenewold's back yard and had a serious golf tournament. Followed by making our own pizza's. Please keep in prayer the youth in the church here in Berlin. Please pray for growth, for direction, and a hunger in their hearts for the Word. 

... There was a three way tie for first place... Matt won the golf tournament, Nick came in a close second, and Daniel came in third, after two playoff holes... in case you were wondering... :)

Prayer Request

Please keep Emily in prayer as she has been sick for weeks and finally got a chance to see a Doctor today. The Doctor said that she is suffering from a bacterial infection in her lungs, and the infection is so strong that her body developed a form of asthma as it was trying to fight it. 

Please pray for the hospital bill as it comes in, that God will provide funding, and that it will be a small bill. Please also pray for money to cover the prescription drugs that Emily will need to get better. And of course keep her health in prayer!

--Matt & Emily

Heidelberg

Once a month Pastor Gary has been traveling to the city of Heidelberg, which is a 6-7 hour drive from Berlin. There are people there who do not have a Pastor or a church, that set aside one weekend every month to attend Bible studies, go soulwinning and spend time with Pastor Gary and whoever he may bring with him. These people are amazing people. They have sweet hearts and such a love for God. On the way to Heidelberg we took a detour to a town called Kitsington (I'm sure that is not spelled correctly). In this town, Pastor Petri lives with his wife and 5 children! We stopped and had a brief coffee and met the family before heading up to Heidelberg. It was such a blessing to stop there. Here we are in a random town in the middle of Germany and there is this family living there with the same message that we carry. We were sitting around his table and he was telling us about the moment that he realized that he was free from the law. What an amazing testimony he has!

We finally made it into Heidel

berg, with the help of our GPS navigation, at 7:30- exactly when the Thursday night Bible Study was starting. We had a Bible Study in the girls apartment- there are 3 girls in Heidelberg that all live together and have been a part of the Heidelberg group for years now. They are Daniella, Claudia, and Verena. The opened up their home to us that night and Pastor Gary started the weekend's theme of GRACE. The next day we enjoyed the sites of Heidelberg a bit, walked down the longest walking street in Europe (pictured on the right), climbed 360 stairs to reach the castle that overlooks the city (pictured below). 

That night we had a Bible study at the home of Juliana Keyser. A lot of you may know her sister Nikoli Lyons who helped pioneer the work in Berlin. Nikoli lived in Berlin in her college years and her and her friend prayed for someone to be their Pastor. They started inviting their friends and anyone that they met to their apartment for a Bible study, but still continued to pray for a Pastor. Years later the team from Ba

ltimore came, back in 1998 and the rest is history. Her sister Juliana, who lives in Heidelberg welcome us with opened arms. We had a great time at her BEAUTIFUL house, which overlooks the city. We had singing, a Bible study, food and an awesome time of getting to know each other. It was like being together for Christmas, but you didn't know anyone, everyone had such joy. Below is Juliana and her three children. They were so sweet! Made us chocolate chip muffins and had prepared a special song for us. Paul Lipsett is on the right, and the other two men live near Pastor Petri, in Kitsington. They all travel up to Heidelberg every time Pastor Gary comes in to town. The trip takes about 3 hours.

Welcome to Our Home...

We are renting part of an apartment here in Berlin owned by a wonderful couple in the church, the Wollenburg's. We have our own kitchen, bedroom & bathroom. It is right off the S-Bahn, one major form of transportation here in Berlin, and minutes away from the Groenewold's home. This is a picture of our kitchen. It is so amazing that this kitchen even exists! The Wollenburg's literally put it weeks before we got here when we asked if there would be a kitchen we could use. This family has been so helpful to us in our transition here. We usually sit at this kitchen table to check our emails and have our breakfast... and when you crack the windows you can hear the hustle & bustle of Berlin right below. 

This is the view from outside our kitchen window. You can see the S-Bahn on top of the overpass to the right. We use this to get to the church and it only takes about 15-20 minutes.

Our Address is:

Teltower Damm 39a

14167 Berlin

GGWO Duetschland Celebrates 10 Years

The church in Berlin recently celebrated 10 years of Greater Grace's presence in this city. Pastor Gary and Kathie have been there for every year. The conference was an amazing weekend. Pastor Matti, Pastor Barry and Pastor Gary had a theme of choices. People came from Budapest, Sweeden, and even France to be there for the conference. Pastor Matti shared these tips for being Spiritually minded:

1. Look for one new thought daily. Ask; when you ask you will be amazed at what God does.

2. Ask God for a spiritual ministry.

3. Make a commitment to church services. Come and bring your ministry with you. God honors commitments.

4. Share your testimony often

5. Support your church regularly.

6. Support Missions

7. Call/Email another believer daily.

8. Have a spiritual activity with your family daily.

9. Read the word systematically.

10. Pray for your Pastor and for people in your church.

Skype us!

We are now connected to Skype! 

We are able to skype via chat, voice or video. 

Our screen name is mattandemilymay.