The Validation Verification Vortex

Official Seal of Hesse, Germany

It's amazing how different things can be from place to place and culture to culture.

In the US, if I needed a document notarized, I would go to the nearest bank, or a friend who is a Notary Public, and they would witness my signature, emboss the document with their embosser, stamp it with a stamp, and sign the document.  I might give them $5 for their trouble, and be on my way - total time: 5-10 minutes.

Carol and I recently needed a document notarized for our bank in the USA. The document was sent to us via email attachment. We printed it out, and took it to an attorney whose office is in the next building - perhaps 20 meters away. He looked over the document, asked for our passports, photocopied them, had us sign, and asked us to come back the next day to pick up the document.

Notarized Document with
Ribbon and Seal

We went back the next afternoon as instructed and were presented with the document, Attached to the original by a scarlet ribbon was a second document, complete with a wax seal, and numerous signatures. The attorney explained that we next had to take the two documents to the state courthouse to have an Apostille attached. This is very important, he explained, because he is audited every four years by the German government to make sure that every document and every penny charged was accounted for. Fee for his services - 24.99 EUROS - about 28 US dollars.

The next morning (now day three, in case you are counting), I called the State Courthouse, and was told I could come at any time between 9 and noon without an appointment. I made my way through the metal detector (they took my Swiss Army pocket knife), then up to the 5th floor. I was in room 204, but as I started down the hall, I as in the 300's. So I turned around and crossed the lobby - to find myself in the 100's...having lived here for a while, I figured that the 200's would be at the far end of the 100's, even though they would then be at the furthest end of the building from the 300's. And I was right.

I found room 204 - locked and lights out.  An inverted business card was stuck in the name-plate on the door that simply read "205" - I looked next door, and there was 205 - with a light on. I went in, and was greeted by a very nice government worker, who invited me to sit down while he finished something on his computer.


When he finished, I showed him the document, and explained in my limited German that we needed the document notarized. He asked which country it was for, I told him "USA".  He checked his computer, and said, "That will be 18 Euros" (about 20 US Dollars). Beginning to marvel at the complexity of this process, I took out my wallet. He shook his head and said, "No, not here - go down to the ground floor to the cashier. Pay there, then return."  I gathered up all my items, made my way down 5 floors, found the cashier, and paid the fee.  I received a receipt, and an officially stamped form documenting that I had paid, which I returned to the kind gentleman on the 5th floor.  He accepted the form, and asked me to take a seat in the waiting area at the end of the hall.

I went there, glad I had brought my Kindle, and read for a while until I heard a woman say, "Herr Marsh?"  I gathered up my document, which had now multiplied into three documents, and went to the post office to mail it to the US.  When I got to there, I thought that it might be good, since it is Christmas time, to check into some form of expedited post.  The man said, "Sure, we can do that - it will cost 60 Euros (about 65 US Dollars)..."  I went for the standard shipping and paid 3.95 Euros.

So - Three days, three offices, one original document, one document verifying our signatures on the original, one document validating the verification of the signatures on the original, one wax seal, two official government stamps, three receipts, and a total cost of more than 50 US Dollars.


I told the person at our bank in the US to frame the forms.

Christmas Greetings!

Bob & Carol Marsh

Winter 2015

“Christmas Greetings!” The Advent Season is upon us once again, and as we celebrate our fifth Christmas in Germany, we want to wish each of you a very blessed season as we remember the greatest gift ever given – the gift of eternal life as children of God through the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Church Growth

Church Growth:  This can mean a lot of things, can’t it? The growth of Converge International Fellowship in Darmstadt can be measured in a number of ways. As a three-year old “toddler” church, we sometimes wobble a bit, but by God’s grace we are maturing in Him! One of them is the growth of mature leaders. It was a great blessing to us to know that while we were gone for 8 weeks, the church was under the capable leadership of our Elders, Ministry Coordinators and the Church Council, who filled the pulpit and guided the continued ministry. 

There was also a lot of growth in the congregation while we were gone. We bid farewell to many of our faithful friends and members earlier this year as their contracts for employment ended, or they graduated from school.  Thankfully, while we were away, many new students and professionals became part of the church – we are still getting to know many of them! 

We had a Thanksgiving dinner for our Thursday night LIFE Group, and after enjoying the meal, the group gathered in a circle and shared their gratitude for God’s blessings. So many of them shared how thankful they were for the “family” God had led them to in Darmstadt – and we are thankful, too!

Expanding Ministry

Bob is Captain of the Central European LEAD
Team - Planting churches from France to Ukraine

Expanding Ministry: 

The week after we returned from the US, we had a full week of meetings in Bratislava, Slovakia. It was the Annual Convention Meeting of our European Agency, the IBC. Part of that week was a meeting of the Church Planting Ministry Team, in which Bob is the leader of the Central European LEAD Team – focused on church planting in Europe from France to Ukraine. It was a very encouraging meeting, as we discussed new church plants in Paris and Strasbourg, France; Munich, Kaiserslautern, Frankfurt and Mannheim, Germany. We will be conducting Feasibility Studies in 3 cities in the Spring of 2016, and the Darmstadt church will be especially involved in the planting of a new church in Mannheim/Heidelberg as God leads.

We are very excited to be welcoming a University Ministries Associate, Blake Nobles, in January. The plan is for Blake to spend 2016 building a sustainable student ministry in the city. There are at least three German-language campus ministries at work on the campuses, but no English-language ministry for the thousands of International Students who are here. We hope to work with the German groups to change that!  Our church will pay about 30% of the cost of his ministry, and he is raising support for the rest. Pray for Blake as he raises his support and transitions to Darmstadt! 

We continue to seek ways to minister to the Refugees who have made their way to the Darmstadt area. So far, the opportunities have been scarce. They are being kept in a segregated area, where we have no access to them, and they cannot freely get out.  Pray that God will open doors for us to reach out to them with the love of Christ!

December, 2015  Financial Update: 

Please pray for us regarding our continued financial needs. We have entered our fifth year on the mission field, and there has been some attrition in our support over the years. Some churches have changed their giving policies, or fallen on difficult financial times. Some individuals have also struggled to continue, and some have been taken ill, or died. Only about 60% of our monthly support is being met from our supporters back home. So far, the church in Darmstadt has been able to keep up with the shortfall. That is good, but as the deficit grows, and as we face the loss of some critical members in the church due to change of employment, etc., the situation can quickly grow critical. Will you consider joining us in our efforts to reach the English-speaking International Community of Darmstadt, Central Europe and the world? Please pray for God’s provision for us, and for His guidance for you and your family.  

Every word of God proves true;
    he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.  Proverbs 30:5

25 Proverbs 29:25   Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
    but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

19 Proverbs 27:19  
As water reflects the face,
    so one’s life reflects the heart.

This week's IBC CareNet: Please pray for these churches and needs around the world!

Prov 26:20 For lack of wood the fire goes out,
and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.

This Sunday we begin our Christmas Series of talks: 
"Mary Didn't Know - Christmas Stories of Remarkable Faith." Come join us each Sunday at 17:00.

Proverbs 24
19 Do not fret because of evildoers
    or be envious of the wicked,
20 for the evildoer has no future hope,
    and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

What is the solution to Bible-illiterate churches?

http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/july/epidemic-of-bible-illiteracy-in-our-churches.html

24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
    he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
25 Let your father and mother be glad;
    let her who bore you rejoice.
                                                       ~ Proverbs 23:24&25 (ESV)                                      

Building His Church in a Refugee Crisis

Excellent article on the Christian response to refugees.

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/building-his-church-in-a-refugee-crisis

It is not good to be partial to the wicked
    and so deprive the innocent of justice.
~ Proverbs 18:4

The start of a quarrel is like a leak in a dam,
    so stop it before it bursts.  Proverbs 17:14

Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established. ~ PR 16:3

Ladies!
Check out the information on the IBC's Ladies conference in Berlin, 22-24 April!
http://www.ibc-churches.org/events/womensconference

Hey, men!
Check out the information on the IBC Men's retreat and ski weekend in Lenk, Switzerland! 15-18 January. 
http://www.ibc-churches.org/events/menswinterconf

"Which Bible translation should I use?"

A good reference list for those deciding which Bible translation to use.  From Mel Lawrence:

http://www.thebrooknetwork.org/2015/11/02/bibles-for-studying/

Summer 2015: Why We Do What We Do - part 2

In this newsletter, we’d like to share with you the story about a young woman from China, named Na Tianye. “Tia,” as we call her, came into our lives more than a year ago, brought by her husband, Jason, who is a Chinese-American from the Pittsburgh area. Jason has been a believer for a long time, but his wife was not. They moved to Darmstadt as part of Jason’s work for Merck Pharmaceuticals. Tia is a professional writer, and works from their flat, directly across the street from our apartment. Both attended the church regularly, came to a LIFE Group, and Tia met with some women at a Friday morning Bible study. She expressed that she was not a believer in Jesus, but she liked coming. God was at work in her life, however! One evening at LIFE Group, Tia shared that she had given her life to Jesus, and had asked Him to be her Savior. That same evening, she came to Bob and said, “Pastor Bob, we were married in a Chinese civil ceremony – but we I want to get married in the church – will you do that for us?”  Then she added, “And I want to get baptized at the same time!” Of course, we agreed! 

 So on a beautiful early summer evening, with family from China and the US attending, our church gathered for its first wedding ceremony. Jason joined Bob in baptizing her, and Tia shared the following testimony. We know it will bless you!

"Hello everyone, thank you for being here. Today I will have my baptism; I want to share a few important moments on my way to be saved. Since I was a child, I have believed there must be a God in heaven, who is almighty, knows everything, and handles everything. That's an intuition of mine, like a hole God put in my heart to be filled.
"As a Chinese person, Buddhism is the first religion I have ever heard. I knew a lot about Buddhism, but I didn't think it's the god in my heart. I met Jason in 2010, at that time I knew almost nothing about Christianity, but I'm interested in it, I asked Jason many questions about Christianity, sometimes discussed with him. I remember one day, after my curious questions, Jason asked me a question: so you trust yourself in your life? I said 'of course, I have no one else to trust besides myself.' And Jason asked: 'but you are not perfect?' I said, 'I knew that. But I have no choice, all I have is myself. I must rely on myself.' Jason told me, 'that's the difference between us, Christians never rely on ourselves, we rely on LORD Jesus.' It sounds really unbelievable to me, can you really rely on someone you can't touch and see? But after that, I can't stop thinking about this discussion. It really shocked me, I began to doubt can I really trust and rely on myself? Is Lord Jesus the God in my heart? Then I began to read The Bible, and I wanted to know more about Christianity.

"The second moment is the day when we got our marriage certificate. I was still not a believer at that time, because I still trust myself, my own judgment, my brain, my logic. According to the Chinese marriage law, we went back to my hometown in China to get the certificate. It's not a modern city, I thought there were no Christians in that city at all. That day after we got the certificate, at noon, we went to a very, very small restaurant for lunch. It's less than 10 square meters, and the food is very cheap. But it's a Christian restaurant; they had biblical story pictures on the wall, and Christian brochure on the table, and some posters on the table under glasses. We were really surprised, that's the first time I felt God is blessing our marriage.

"A few months later, we moved here from China. I thought living in a strange country and city must be very hard and lonely. But we found this church, everyone here is really nice, friendly, we felt like we found a family here, I never knew the life overseas could be so warm and easy. We also went to LIFE study at Pastor Bob's home every week. There we learnt bible together, and we can ask any question about Christianity in our mind. The atmosphere is really free and open minded. There I got many answers about my doubts about Christianity, Pastor Bob is so knowledgeable and helpful. Gradually, I knew this is not only a religion, this is the truth. Lord Jesus is the god in my heart, I finally understood this. Thanks for God who opened my eyes.

"As a person who got used to trust my own judgments, sometimes I still have question about this belief. But When I asked my deepest heart, do you believe Him or not? The answer is definitely yes! I knew him, I have faith in him, I can hear him, I wish to be saved by him! Besides that, I can ask Pastor Bob my questions at any time, he would help me with the answer. 

"From 2010 to 2015, five years passed, my life has been totally changed. Thanks to my husband Jason who led me to Lord Jesus, thanks to this church family. But all in all, thank you my dear Lord Jesus who showed mercy to me, blessed me, open my eyes and saved me."  

As you can imagine, there were lots of smiles, and tears of joy as Tia shared her story! Thanks so much for your support of our mission here in Darmstadt! You are a vital partner in this ministry as you pray for us, and financially support our ministry here. There are thousands of international students and professionals in this city, along with their families, who are lost, lonely and need to hear of the love of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

KEEP US IN YOUR PRAYERS!

• Pray for us as we plan a brief home tour.  We leave on 14 September for 7 weeks of Home Service – we will visit supporting individuals and churches from New York to Kansas! (See schedule below). Pray for safety as we travel and God’s anointing as we share!
• Pray for the church – pray for our elders and deacons as they lead the church in the weeks of our Home Service. Pray that the church will grow in size, depth and impact!
• Pray for our financial support. The cost of living in Europe is very high, we are very blessed by solid support, but some has slipped in recent months. Pray that God will continue to supply.

Our USA Tour: (if you’re in the area come see us!)

• 15-18 Sept.      Elmira, NY area
• 18 Sept.   Darmstadt, IN (Remedy Church)
• 27 Sept. Mayville, WI (Gateway)
• 2 Oct. Hartford, WI (Wellspring)
• 4 Oct. Algoma, WI (Lakeside)
• 11 Oct. Baldwin, WI (Village)
• 18 Oct. Des Moines, IA (Union Park)
• 23-25 Oct. Hutchinson, KS (Union Valley)

Spring 2015: “Why We Do What We Do…”

Xiannan (pronounced SHEON-nan)

In this newsletter, we’d like to tell you the story about a young man from China, named Xiannan Meng. He comes from northeast China near the Russian border.  Xiannan walked into one of our “Preview Services” back in September of 2012. The church wasn’t officially open yet, and was doing a series of worship services in preparation for public launch. Some flyers and posters had been hung around the city center and university campus to invite people to come and check it out.

Xiannan had arrived two days earlier from China. It was his first time outside his homeland. He was enrolled in Technische Universität Darmstadt as a PhD student in Mechanical Sciences – specifically Fluid Dynamics. Though he was a student from China, studying for a PhD in Germany, all of his classes were to be conducted in English. He had studied English in his studies in China, but it was apparent as soon as he arrived on campus that his speaking abilities were not up to par.  His supervisor told him on the very first day that he was going to have to improve his English, or he would be dismissed from the program.

Later that day, Xiannan saw a flyer in the student center. The top read, “Speak English?” and included information about a meeting two days later. When he walked through the doors that Sunday, it was the first time he had been in a church. He was warmly welcomed and introduced to other graduate students from India, Korea, Lebanon, Germany and Kenya. Xiannan explained to them that he was there to have an opportunity to hear and speak English, and improve his skill so that he could remain in his program.

Learning to bake a cake with Carol.

As it happened, a group from the church was going to attend an English-language movie in the city that night, and Xiannan joined them. He latched on solidly to his new friends. He began attending a small group in the pastor’s flat, and sometimes a second weekly group at the home of another church family.  By the time the new church had been opened 6 months, Xiannan was among the most faithful in attendance – hardly ever missing a service or bible study, and often coming to Bob and Carol’s flat for a meal and to practice his English pronunciation (like the difference between “great,” “green,” and grain”). He was given an English-language Bible for Christmas that year, and he treasured the book with the gold-gilded pages, and showed evidence that he was reading it.   But after those first months, when giving him a ride home from a meeting, Bob asked him, “What do you think of what we talk about – God’s love and Jesus’ death and resurrection?” Xiannan smiled broadly and said, “Ah, It all seems a bit absurd to me! It doesn’t make sense!” But he kept coming.

Bob helps Xiannan edit an article for
publication in a professional journal.

Soon Xiannan began to show signs of change. He began to pray in the groups, beginning his heart-felt prayers with “Father, thank you…”, and lifting up his own needs as well as those of others in the group. He asked questions and made observations from various passages of Scripture. One evening, as Bob dropped him off, he asked again, “Xiannan, what do you think now of Jesus?” He responded, “Yes, now I believe that Jesus died for me, and I am going to heaven!” In the weeks following, he demonstrated a new confidence from trusting in God – he no longer worried about his success or failure – because, he said, “my life is in God’s hands.”  In a recent Bible study of Jesus on Leadership, the teacher asked the group what they felt their mission was. As people around the room responded “children,” “music,” or “teaching,” Xiannan said, “I believe my mission is to return to China and tell people about Jesus!



Thank you for your prayerful support that makes our mission possible!

Xiannan reading Scripture at a LIFE Group.

Winter 2015

December, January and February have been months of great celebration and exciting opportunities! We are so grateful for your support of our mission to the nations of the world, as people from around the globe come to Germany for study, work, or find refuge and begin a new life.

Darmstadt: Anyone who has lived in or visited Germany during the Christmas season will tell you it is a very special time.  Every city and village hosts their Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market), with seasonal foods and drinks, beautiful decorations, local handmade gifts and holiday concerts. Yet for many people whom we minister to, it is a difficult time, because they are very far from home. We do our best to gather together as a church family, inviting students and expats from all walks of life for meals, parties and worship. We were especially blessed to have gatherings at our flat and at other church homes for both Christmas Eve and Christmas day. 

 
 

   

Our LIFE Groups continue to grow – we have new people in the groups nearly every week. In fact, on Thursday evening we had 18 in our flat – and seven of our regulars were missing!  We are excited to be starting a new group in February that will be meeting in a penthouse restaurant atop the tallest building in the city. We met a new friend, Mr. Chan, at a small Christmas Market in the courtyard of a tall residential building across the street from our apartment. He is a Chinese businessman, and a Christian. As we talked, he expressed that when he purchased the buildings, he had a strong desire to see them used for the purposes of God. He has agreed to host a new LIFE Group in one of the towers. It is a great location – near the center city, right at a tram stop. We've talked with Mr. Chan about our mission to reach out to the student and science communities in Darmstadt, and we hope to work together toward that goal. He has described a vision for a new property he is considering in Leipzig, a possible business venture with a church plant as part of the plan. Pray for this new opportunity!

Carol’s ministry is expanding greatly. She is busy almost every day of the week meeting with individuals or groups. She helps new arrivals get acclimated to life in Germany – things like shopping, spouse and children issues, cooking, and simply encouraging. She serves as surrogate sister and mother to a wide range of students, business people and their spouses. It is such a delight to see God using her gifts and caring spirit in our mission.

Church Planting Around the World!

 The last two months have proven to be some of the busiest yet for Bob in his role as Coordinator of the Church Planting Ministry Team for the IBC. During one week, for example, we were in Rome for the launch of our newest church plant. It was a great experience! We had been part of the feasibility study at the beginning of the process, and the assessment of the potential planting pastor and his wife. To be able to attend their first service was such a blessing! And Rome is...well, it's Rome!

We returned home from Rome on Monday. Tuesday was spent finishing up preparations for a Wednesday meeting in Dusseldorf of the Northern European LEAD Team – a regional group of pastors who meet to plan church planting efforts. We had 5 new pastors at the meeting – all enthusiastic about reaching Europe through the planting of new international churches. After an 18 hour day of travel on Wednesday, Bob found himself in Frankfurt on Thursday for a meeting at IBC headquarters. In addition, Bob meets weekly via Skype with the Church Planting Executive Leadership Team and the planter of our new church in Munich, who is raising funds in the US. We also conducted and interview with a potential new church planter from Texas via the internet.