Hello and so glad to be here! (Guten Tag und sehr angenehm for our soon-to-be fellow mission members in Germany!)
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Thank you Michie! So excited to be here. We were basically off-line and off the grid for a few weeks starting to get set up in Germany but hopping on when we can on our swing back, arranging to get our things shipped over. Probably going to be like this for awhile, it's a lovely village over there, quaint in some ways like right out of the pages of a fairy tale. In having said that, even in the very rural areas they do have access to Internet and tech when they need it, but I guess for cultural and community reasons they don't emphasize it and there's a real strong emphasis on old fashioned meeting up in person and going to get-togethers to be with other people. Which I admit we really like, and besides itt looks like just settling in will be a full-time job over the next few months or so.Welcome Wendy! So happy to see you here. I look forward to seeing you around when you find the time. May God bless you all in your journey!![]()
Thanks to you Reluctant Theologian! We've actually been pleasantly surprised by the kind reception we've gotten and the eagerness of the people to connect and return to worship. Especially with the young people, it's in fact something our mission planner mentioned to us and he was right. To our surprise it's really the youth, in our own little hamlet and all over Germany who most excited about re-joining worship and participating in the church, and we get to basically serve as guides to help them. And yes happily we do have many local contacts there, in the target area and in general, in fact to our surprise there are already a lot of Americans in and around that and the neighboring villages and small towns!Welcome to Europe - be blessed with witnessing - Mission usually is hard in secular and prosperous areas. It's great you undertake it. Have you got contacts with other missionaries or churches in your target area?
Funny enough, we ran into a young man with his family who spoke perfect German and thought he was a local. Turned out, he was born and raised in Florida and his wife from Alabama, but been there over 10 years and blended in totally. You're right it can be challenging and that's one of the ways the missionaries there make it work. They make full commitment to the permanent move and become part of the community fabric as citizens, raise their kids to be not only fully German but also members who know their village or town there as their home. Our cousin in France did the same thing with his family there, speaks fluent French and his son grew up and identifies fully with the town they moved to. As result, the local people have embraced them as full members instead of outsiders, and so when they preach and hand out Bibles or hymnals, or coordinate events and get-togethers, people even from other towns and villages are enthusiastic to participate. Some of the missionaries are even building their own churches. Like one of our mission teachers taught us, that excitement and the commitment is contagious and it helps make the mission successful.
Thank you linux.poet! We did in fact find our way over to Missions and check in when we can to collect some of their pearls of wisdom. So great to know we can tap into the wealth of knowledge of the great minds and hearts of those who came before us and are participating right along the side with us in their own missions and passionate ministries.Welcome to CF!
Missions, Evangelism, and Witnessing seems a good place for contributions. Might as well stop by the Prayer Wall and tell us how to pray for your mission work so we can support you in prayer. May the Lord bless you for your obedience to the Great Commission.![]()
Thank you so much RileyG! And thanks again to all of you for the well and encouraging wishes.Welcome Wendy!
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