Summer 2016 Update

Summer 2016

Carol with Sammy and quilt she made for her.

It has been one of the most demanding seasons of our time in Europe, and our communication to you has suffered as a result. We’re sorry this update is so late in coming! There has been a lot of activity in both our personal lives and in the ministry – we’ll try to give you a brief but full update.

Personal News: On 3 February at 7:00pm, our first grand-daughter, Samantha Rodman Marsh, was born.  She weighed 9 lbs., 7 oz. and was 19 inches long. She joins her big brother Levi, who was just 2 weeks shy of his first birthday.  Rachel and Andrew are understandably thrilled, as are we!  We had a chance to be at their home in Annapolis, Maryland, in May for a visit. At that time, Nicole and Eric, with their boys, Asher and Cayden, came to join us from New York; and John and his girlfriend Kefei came from Arizona for a full-family gathering!  It was the first time for everyone to be together!

Bob & Samantha

Just after Samantha was born, we received word that Bob’s dad was ill. He contracted a bad cold that developed into pneumonia, which severely weekend his heart.  Multiple body systems began to be strained, and fail. When told that he was not going to recover, and that he had only a few days to two weeks to live, he paused for just a moment, then said, “Well, ‘To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord!’ We should celebrate!”

We flew to West Virginia on 15 February, and were with dad and mom through dad’s last days on this earth.  He was in great spirits when we arrived, making jokes, sitting in his chair, and resting on his hospital bed in the living room of their apartment. But by Wednesday, he began to slip into more of a semi-conscious state, and in the early hours of Friday morning, 19 February, he went home to be with Jesus. Even in his semi-conscious state he quoted a verse of Scripture: “Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord…”  What a testimony! We are blessed to know dad is in heaven with Jesus!

Prayer Calendar:

June 7-10 – Feasibility Study Munich

July 4-14 – In New York to care for grandsons while Nicole & Eric minister in St. Louis.

July 17 – Visit and speak at church plant in Toulouse, France.

August 26-28 – Darmstadt church retreat in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse.

October 22-30 – IBC Annual Meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Summer 2016 Ministry Update

Blake Nobles

Ministry: In January we welcomed Blake Nobles to Darmstadt. Blake is finishing his Masters of Divinity degree at Truett Seminary in Waco, Texas. He came to complete his final requirement for the degree – a six-month ministry internship. While here in Darmstadt, Blake has been working to firm up our ministry to Young Adults in the area – university students and young adults just entering the workplace.  It has been a great learning experience for us as church leaders as much as for Blake!  He’s made good progress in establishing the ministry, and developing leadership to continue when his time is completed in June.

In March we attended the annual Ministry Leadership Conference of the IBC in Malta. The meeting was filled with great teaching, fellowship and encouraging connections with other pastors and ministry leaders from around the world. The meetings were followed by the first Multiply Conference, a two day focus on church planting in the IBC. Bob lead a discussion outlining the growing opportunity to reach the world by planting English-language churches in global cities.  We had a great time visiting the beautiful sites around the island that was first evangelized by the Apostle Paul when he was shipwrecked there. It is, to this day, the most Christian nation in Europe!

Blue Grotto, Malta

St Paul's Bonfire Chapel in Malta

Hong Kong

In April, Carol remained in the US to spend additional time with the grandchildren, while Bob flew to Hong Kong to attend the Global Church for a Global World conference. The conference brought international church leaders from around the world to learn about networking and ministry opportunities as we seek to fulfill the great commission together! 

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong with Os Guinness & the IBC Team

In May, we completed a Feasibility Study of Mannheim, a large city just 45 minutes from Darmstadt. This city looks like a great opportunity for a sister-church to the Darmstadt work. In June we will do a study of Munich, and later this year in Strasbourg, France. Please pray with us about these opportunities!

Feasibility Study Team - Mannheim

Financial Update:

Financial Update:  We have entered our fifth year on the mission field, and there has been some attrition in our support over the years. About 60% of our monthly support is being met from our supporters back home. The church in Darmstadt has stepped up to meet the need, so far. That is good, but as the deficit grows, and as we face the loss of some critical members in the church due to graduation or new work assignment, 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.

Here’s How to Support our work:

By Check

Make checks payable to: Converge

In the memo line of the check, please note account # 133261.   Send checks to:

Converge Worldwide Attn: J. LoGalbo

2002 S. Arlington Heights Rd.

Arlington Heights, IL 60005

-OR-

Automatic Withdrawal

Set up an automatic withdrawal from your checking account for contributions.  Here’s how:

Contact Jennifer LoGalbo

Telephone: 1-800-323-4215

Email: Jennifer.LoGalbo@converge.org

-OR-

EASY Web-based support! Go to:

www.convergeworldwide.org/give/133261 to set up a one- time, or ongoing support from your debit or credit card.

Update: Mannheim, Germany Feasibility Study

Team Mannheim: Blake, Kim, Susanne, Bob & Carol,
Nathan and Jeremy

Thanks for your prayers for us last week as we traveled to Mannheim. With help from church leaders from Darmstadt, Ramstein and Frankfurt Oberursel, we had a very productive and exciting experience! 

In reviewing the overall results of the Feasibility Study, the single word that comes to mind most is “positive.” It seemed that each of the meetings had a positive tone. The people we talked to from the various student ministries, Studenten für Christus, Student Misison Deutschland, Katholischen Hochschulgemeinde, and the Stadtmission Mannheim were all very positive.

We met with pastors Andale Weber from Haus des Herrn, and Pastor Walter Clark from Rhine River Baptist, who were also generally positive, but seasoned with the recognition that the work is difficult and the commitments must be long-term and enduring through the difficult times that will inevitably be faced. We heard more than once of previous efforts to begin new works in the city that had failed to gain a foothold.

During our time in Mannheim, we were not able to include input from the professional/business side of the expatriate community. We simply were unable to make the vital connections necessary and set up appointments. We are going to follow up with supplemental visits to connect with the international business community. Some of those meetings will be through new leads we discovered last week, others will be "cold calls" to places of business and industry. If you know someone in Mannheim who works for SAP, John Deere, BASF Chemicals, Roche Pharmaceuticals, or another international company, please pass that information along!  This certainly needs to be completed and entered into the mix as we consider future steps in the city.

Our final evaluation after last week's visit gave the city a green light, but we recognize that this is only a preliminary result. The addition of information from the professional realm will certainly provide further insight, and may alter the conclusions.

One conclusion that seems evident is that it will not be possible for us (Bob & Carol) to do this new plant in Mannheim while still fully engaged in Darmstadt. We will need to seek a new church planter, or an associate to help in Darmstadt to free us for Mannheim.

Thanks for your prayers for us!