Fall Outreach Photos

Keep Going!

We have now had a full week of feeling the transition of the Groenewold's departure and having Pastor Stephan leading church services. We were really blessed on Wednesday evening by a group that came from America to do gospel concerts as a form of outreach in the city of Berlin. They were led by the same person who sent a group last year around this same time, and last year we held the concerts in the Uckermark (East Germany). This year God was very sensitive to timing and we actually didn't have to plananything for them, they just showed up and sang for almost an entire church service. It was beautiful to see them afterwards spending time with people in the body, one and one and praying with different people. The presence of God was there, and you could really sense that God had this for our church at this particular time. The group was encouraged by the way that our church was continuing on with a new Pastor, and as a result they encouraged other body members here in the same way.

Pastor Gary spoke an amazing message at his last church service here. He said, "Success is believing God is gracious and then receiving grace. Only know one message, the message of the grace of God. Be simple. Believe it. Receive from God. Receive truth." What an amazing message to leave on. If we continue on in grace there is nothing to worry about. The worry comes when we try to run our own race and do it ourselves. We cannot afford to miss the grace of God. So as we think about Pastor Gary we cannot help but think about the things he would say to us daily, "don't stop, keep going, push through the walls" and by God's grace, we keep going!

The Groenewold's last church service... Stephan becomes Pastor Stephan

Some photos from this past Sunday's church service.

Pastor Gary preached a beautiful message on success...

He then had all the men stand up in the church and thanked each of them.

He also prayed over Stephan and presented him to the body as the new Pastor.

It was an unforgettable church service.

... and lots of puffy eyes.

Preparing for a New Phase

As many of you that read our blog probably already know, we are preparing for the new phase in our church here in Berlin. The Groenewold family is heading back to America in exactly 3 weeks from yesterday. We are prayfully anticipating the unknown as we go forward here in Berlin and in the church. We made the decision to stay in Berlin for the next year, after hearing the Groenewold's would be going back to America. And our decision was affirmed in our hearts when we came back to Berlin and were able to tell the body members here that we are staying. We are holding our new church leader, Stephan Stein, up in prayer and also the body members here. That we would have unity, oneness, and press forward as a local assembly. I think Philippians 2:2 is a great verse for our church right now... "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind."

Please keep the Groenewold family in prayer, as you can imagine the expenses of moving over the ocean are quiet steep. Pray for their finances, their family, jobs, and a place to live in the States.

Some pictures from the day we helped the Groenewold's

pack up their furniture and boxes to be shipped to America.

TEEN CAMP '09

I know this happened a while ago, but we never got a chance to post this slideshow that we made. We wanted to give all of our followers an opportunity to see what God is doing in the youth here in Berlin, Germany. We were so blessed to have such an amazing Teen Camp last year. We had 16 Teens be a part of our camp from a total of 6 teens that are regularly in the church. Many friends of the teens in our church came and heard the gospel in a very fun setting, for the first time, in some cases. Please keep the youth of Berlin in your prayers!

Kari Jobe & Gateway Worship in Berlin

What a weekend! We were really excited to find out a few weeks ago that Gateway Worship and Kari Jobe would do a concert/seminar weekend in Berlin for free. We listen to their music a lot, particularly myself playing Kari Jobe loudly in the house, so it felt really personal to us to have them visit Berlin of all places. Friday night was their first free concert, we had a group of about 15 people from our church meet us at the train station so we could all head out together. It was there that the night took a significant turn downward for one of us. I got food poisoning! It started to hit hard just as we were leaving for the concert. The farther we got on the trip there the worse it got, and by the time we got off the train, an hour away from home, it really hit. Thank God for Kathie Groenewold, who being a mom, took me to a restaurant, got me a coke, and a place to sit with some fresh air for a bit. Matt had to continue on with the group to the concert, as he was the only one who knew how to get there! At that point we were so far from home, I was already sick, and there was no way to get home but to go back on the subway for about an hour which I knew I just couldn't stomach. I thought maybe if I just got to the concert there would be an alternative way home. The church that hosted the concert had the nicest people working for them. They sat me up in a spare room on a "bed" until the concert was over, and they even found someone who lived in our neighborhood who offered to drive me home. Looking at this picture now I realize how pathetic this looks, but when your sick and away from home, the opportunity to lay down in a quiet place was amazing. I only realized later that I was practically in a Janitor's closet.

In the meantime, those who came from our church had a great time getting to experience American worship music. They also got to meet Kari Jobe and the worship team afterwards and speak with them for a bit. She was so available to speak with people, nothing but nice and down to earth.

Well after what felt like an eternity 24 hours of recovery, I was able to make it to the second concert on Sunday night. It was an amazing night of worship and from what I heard a much more intimate setting then on Friday night. It was such a blessing to get to be a part of that worship service. Often times we say that one of the things that we miss the most about being in our home church is the worship service. When we are here we are so involved in the services (Matt plays the guitar, I take care of the screen projector and sound board) that we rarely get a chance to really take in a worship service. We were so thankful for Kari Jobe and the bands time that they spent in Berlin. We got the opportunity to speak with them afterwards, and ride home on the train with 2 of the lead guitar players and we felt like we had been friends with them forever. It's a real testimony to the body of Christ, I think, the connection that we can sense with other believers. And it's always refreshing to spend time with Americans! Thank you Gateway Worship and Kari Jobe for visiting Berlin!

Persian Dinner

Okay, so maybe this is starting to turn into a food blog. I'm already anticipating our next posting, as we have invited a Chinese girl over to our house this weekend to cook traditional Chinese food. But who doesn't love to talk and hear about food, right? We've come to learn that there really is no better way to get to know someone's culture and family then to have a meal with them. Being new to Persian food (Persisch, in German) we had no idea what to expect, but another thing we have come to learn is that when someone wants to make you food from their home land it will never disappoint. These recipes have been passed down for generations, and they are sure to have every last ingredient, there is no quick version, or substitutions. These dishes take all day to prepare, and we learned that most of the ingredients were shipped from Iran, such as a pomegranate paste that they use for flavor rather then tomato paste. Pictured below is just some of the food, there were a couple of other dishes on another table, she made 3 kinds of rice, a chicken dish, a lamb and eggplant dish, a beef and pomegranate dish, soup, salad and all sorts of sides and appetizers to munch on. It was an absolute feast.

Just to give a quick testimony and explain a little bit about our churches connection with this family: Fariba (pictured in the middle, below) started coming to our church this past spring. We met her on the street at Nollendorfplatz (where we do our book table outreach to the language school). She was on her way from class and was very excited to meet believers in Berlin and came to church that same weekend and has not stopped coming since. Her family, which includes her husband and two sons, are not believers, however they are not Muslims. Fariba believes that God is opening their hearts slowly and revealing Himself to them. Just after this photo below was taken of myself, Fariba, and Kathie in the kitchen, we had the opportunity to pray with Fariba before the dinner started. We prayed that this would be a time of new beginnings and that God would reveal Himself in her families hearts. Her sons repeatedly said that their mother has not been this happy in a long time, and that she usually does not have many friends because she is a little particular with who she spends time with, and they were so excited to see that she now has so many friends that she loves. I think that that testimony alone must start to work in her families hearts to some extent. Pastor Gary also got the opportunity to share a little bit about God's love before we left. They all listening very intently and Fariba just sat there with a grin on her face. They are a beautiful family, and we are sure to see them again, since we promised them a traditional American dinner... whatever that means! Please keep this family in prayer, I don't want to post their last name on our blog, just for privacy reasons, but look at their faces and remember them when you pray!

(the three in the middle of this bottom picture left to right are Fariba's 2 sons, and husband)