Tonight was the second Life Group meeting for the week. This week the topic of study for the groups was the second chapter of the Gospel of John. A good discussion of the Wedding at Cana, the first "cleansing" of the Temple, and the early "belief" of people who saw the miraculous signs Jesus did. Between the two groups we had 17 people in attendance. Pray that we will be bold in inviting new people to come, and that the Holy Spirit will go ahead of us and prepare hearts to be receptive to both the invitation, and, more importantly, open to the Gospel!
Carol and I have signed up for an intensive German course beginning next month. It is 5 hours a day, 5 days a week for four weeks. We are excited and a little nervous about the class - but we look forward to learning to better communicate with our new neighbors and friends.
After our walk today, we stopped at the restaurant downstairs and had a great visit today with our friend Orhan. We continue to develop our friendship with him and his assistant, Saladin. They always greet us with a bright smile, a warm handshake and good conversation - though it takes some time in German! Today we simply sat and had some soft drinks and talked about family histories - names, heritage, etc. His Turkish roots are actually from small tribal group called Zaza, in the eastern part of the country. We had a great time talking about family.
Last Sunday, we had a chance to introduce Orhan to a new friend of ours, Andy Cauble, who is a Southern Baptist missionary to Turks in the Frankfurt area. Andy has located and begun pastoring a group of Turkish believers here in Darmstadt. Andy and his wife served the Lord in Ankara, Turkey for a number of years, and speak Turkish very well - it was great to watch and listen to Andy and Orhan talk!
Please pray for us as we build this friendship, and others in the city with Germans, Turks, Kenyans, Chinese and Koreans...pray for open doors, receptive hearts, and spiritual eyes that God has illuminated. "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:4-6)
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