Wonderful, busy Sunday...

We had a great day yesterday!

We were invited to be the guest speaker at Bethel International Church in Frankfurt, Germany for the morning worship service.  Bethel is the second church of the International Baptist Convention established in 1958, and was the first IBC church that Carol and I ever attended.  In the early days, it was a dynamic and large church, reaching hundreds of US military members and their families.  With the draw-down of the military presence in post-Cold War Europe, the church has gone through a difficult but necessary transformation.  They are currently awaiting the arrival of their newest pastor, who reflects the IBC clearly - a Brazilian national, married to a German woman, currently working and studying in London, England!

The church is excited about the future, and we are excited to be able to serve in any way we can.  We've provided "pulpit fill" on several occasions over the last 10 months, and we have grown to cherish the church and its wonderful people.  We attended the service with Maina, a member of our congregation in Darmstadt who is from Kenya.  Maina is a wonderful friend and a delight to spend time with!

Following the service, while enjoying the fellowship time in the church cafeteria, we found ourselves in conversation with Margaret.  Originally from Poland, Margaret moved to Germany before the fall of the Iron Curtain, and is currently a teacher in the German public school system in Literature, English and Philosophy.  As we talked she shared with us that she had been in Wisconsin a couple of years ago on an exchange program with the University of Wisconsin at Appleton.  Margaret invited us to come to her home for dinner.


At their home, we met Dariusz (Derek), Margaret's husband.  Also a native of Poland, Derek is a certified translator of German, English, Polish, Spanish and French.  He's currently completing Law School at the Goethe Universitat.  We had a wonderful discussion about history, religion, and languages.  It was a beautiful afternoon and sat on their sun-soaked patio enjoying freshly prepared food and engaging conversation.

When we returned home, we decided to take advantage of the amazing weather and visit the Orangerie in Darmstadt.  It is a beautiful royal garden originally established in 1714.  It is filled with lovely flowers, lawns, fountains and features tropical fruit and palm trees.  It was a lovely time to walk and enjoy this favorite part of the city.



Upon our return to our apartment, we visited with our friends Orhan and Saladin in their restaurant on the ground floor.  We spent an hour having a great conversation about life, God, the Bible, the Gospel of Christ and His love for us.  A great way to end the day!

Mid July Update

We've had a couple of busy weeks!
  

Breakfast in Interlaken

We attended the International Baptist Convention's "Interlaken Summer Experience" July 7-12 in Interlaken, Switzerland.  This annual gathering of the IBC "family" has taken place every year since 1958.  This gathering is different from the other two annual IBC meetings in that it is meant to be broader in focus - beyond pastors and leaders, this meeting is for the entire community of IBC churches.  There are great workshops each morning, with gifted teachers and relevant topics.  (Bob really enjoyed his class with Dr. Lorin Cranford on the "Life of Paul" and Carol was blessed by Denise Glenn's "Five Priorities of a Woman's Life" class!) The workshops are joined with morning and evening worship services each day - which always feature excellent speakers.

Dr Lindsay Brown

This year's speakers were Dr. Lindsay Brown, a Welsh pastor and scholar, who for the past 4 years has been the International Director of the Lausanne Movement for World Evangelisation.  He was followed each evening by Dr. Billy Hanks, who worked with Dr. Billy Graham for many years, and is now the head of The International Evangelism Association.  With their backgrounds, you can imagine what the topic of their teaching was, right?  Evangelisation!  But more to the point - Effective Evangelisation, which is about Disciple-Making.  It is not enough to have a person agree with the facts about Jesus, or even to say a prayer of commitment.  Biblical Disciple Making, as Jesus commanded His disciples, means that we individually and intentionally help those new believers to "grow up into Him who is the head - that is, Christ."  (Eph. 4:15)

Carol and I were both deeply challenged by the messages and the theme of the conference.  We were reminded, and have been praying for God to grant us the insight and fortitude to be faithful to His call - not to a foreign land, not to church planting, not even to drawing a crowd of people - but to truly making disciples, who will in turn make more disciples...

Pray for us in this effort.

Praise Team - Preview Service 4

Three days after our return from Switzerland we were excited to hold our fourth Preview Service. Despite the number of people who are on "Holiday" at this time of the year, we had a really nice turn-out and a couple of new young families who joined us.   We had a great time together worshiping the Lord.  We joined with the angels in heaven in song and prayer, joined around the Lord's Table for Communion and joined together in His word for learning and growth.

Caring for the young worshipers!

We are learning a lot in these services.  We've worked out many of the details, like how to run the sound and projection systems, where to have people to greet guests,  and even how distribute the bread and cup for Communion!  We have been blessed with many godly people who are gifted and passionate about the ministry of praise - what a great blessing! But we've also discovered new challenges - like a growing number of toddlers & infants. Pray with us that God will equip us with enough willing servants who will assist in that ministry as we move toward our public launch service in September/October.  

The Limits of our Knowledge of God

Today on the front of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Newspaper there was a photo and story about a map that was recently found at a library in Munich.  It is from the 16^th Century, and is the first map to show the New World as its own continent, and is the first to give that continent a name – America, after  the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.

The map is interesting because it shows an amazingly accurate depiction of Europe, Africa and Asia – much as we know them today.  But this newly discovered continent of America is shown as a large island, similar in shape to Florida, and is limited to what would now be the north-east potion of South America.

Yet in 1507, this map was the most accurate and complete summation of what was known of the world by the best and brightest of the day.  Certainly we can’t fault the cartographers of the 16^th Century for their limited knowledge and understanding of the nature and breadth of the globe – they were in the midst of learning.  The wisest among them recognized that there was much more to learn, and so exploration and discovery continued.

Perhaps the spiritual parallels are obvious – but I was struck by them nonetheless.  Paul tells us that “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. (I Corinthians 2:9).  Many are familiar with that verse, but Paul was actually quoting the prophet Isaiah, who wrote, in chapter 64, verse 4, “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen, O God, besides you, what he has prepared for him that waits for him”

The wisest of Christians realize that they have never fully grasped the heights and depths, the length and breadth of the knowledge of God.  That we will never fully plumb the fullness of God should not discourage us from our pursuit of Him.  May God forbid that we should find ourselves satisfied with our perception of who He is!  His love, His mercy, His holiness, His righteousness – all that make Him God - is worthy of our fullest exploration, our deepest desire, our ceaseless wonder. 

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above,

Would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

O love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure

The saints’ and angels’ song.

~The Love Of God

Frederick Martin Lehman 

Lyrics & Composer

1868-1953

July Newsletter

July 3, 2012

For a .pdf of this newsletter, click here.

Dear Friends,

We trust you are enjoying the summer season!  Isn’t it great how God blesses us with seasons of the year, each one special and unique in its own way?  Summer in Germany is much like we are used to in our part of the United States.   The daylight hours get longer – in fact, we are situated so far north that we are able to sit on our balcony until well after 10 p.m. and enjoy reading a book or just watching the world go by.   On the University campus, the students have taken to the parks to play badminton, enjoy a picnic, listen to music, and occasionally give the appearance of studying!  The school age children are thrilled to have their freedom for a couple of months.  The last week of June was the official first week of “holiday” in our state of Hessen.  That means that thousands of people head for vacation spots all across Europe and around the world.

Our “holiday” took place in mid-May.  We headed back to the US for our first visit home since moving last fall.  Each weekend was highlighted by special events that the Lord, in His mercy, brought together in a timely fashion for us!  The first weekend was mother’s day and Bob’s birthday, and we celebrated with our daughter, Nicole, who just recently learned that she is going to be a mother again!  During that week, we also had the opportunity to visit Carol’s dad and extended family in Mt. Lake, MN.

Our son John after his Graduation from UW Madison

The following weekend we made our way from Iowa to Wisconsin, where we celebrated the graduation of our son, John, from UW Madison, with a BS in Philosophy.We are so proud of this fine young man, and with the amazing intellect God has given him.John is spending his third summer working for Vivant Technologies, installing home security systems.We are excited to see how God will lead him in the days ahead!We celebrated John’s graduation with a special meal at his favorite restaurant – the New China in Mayville.

That same weekend, while in Wisconsin, we visited our home church in Mayville. It was such a blessing to worship again with our brothers and sisters there, whom we shared so much of our lives with.We are so grateful to God for the wonderful new pastor and excellent leaders that He has raised up in the congregation, and to see the church continuing to impact the community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Son-in-law Eric completes training.

The next weekend we were blessed to be in attendance at Community Heights Alliance Church in Newton, IA as our son-in-law, Eric completed his studies for the ministry with the Christian and Missionary Alliance.Eric and Nicole are excited to begin applying and interviewing for a youth ministry position. It was very special!

Following that weekend, we took a Family Road Trip – something we have done since the earliest days of our marriage. We packed up 4 adults and a 2 year old and drove from Iowa to Florida –more than 20 hours!God was very good to us – we had no problems at all along the way. The car, the other drivers, Asher, even Bob were all well-behaved (well, Bob was well-behaved most of the time!)

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Marsh!

 We made that trip for the event of the next weekend – the marriage of our son, Andrew to Rachel Edwards of Jacksonville Beach, FL.Rachel’s parents were amazing hosts to us and our family who made the trip, and the entire journey was one blessing after another. We are so grateful to God for the wonderful, godly woman that He has led to our son, and we are enriched as a family to have her.Of course, you can’t take a grandchild to Florida without visiting Disney World, and we had a wonderful day there with Asher, Nicole and Eric.(It seemed Nicole & Carol were more excited than Asher most of the time!)

The Family at Disney World

The final weekend was Nicole and Eric’s fifth wedding anniversary, another great opportunity to recognize God’s incredible blessing on our family.The final days in the US were spent for Bob in Minneapolis, where he served as an assessor at a Church Planter Assessment Center, observing two candidates for church planting in Germany and Sweden, respectively.

On our return, we had some really exciting developments.Just after our return, we spent a day with a young exchange student from Hungary. After finding us via Facebook, she read about our efforts in Darmstadt on our blog.She was particularly intrigued by the concept of a “prayer walk.” She communicated with us via email while we were in the US, and she determined that she wanted to do a short documentary film about our work here, particularly our prayer efforts.She spent a day with us, filming, taking still photos, and interviewing us.She also attended a prayer time that we held at a Darmstadt scenic overlook.The film will be shown at an art show in Budapest after her return.We made sure we gave her information about our International Baptist Church in that city – when she saw the address, she was excited that it was close to her home.

Preview Service 3

Our third Preview Service was held on June 15, and the people of the church did a great job of serving and working to bring everything together.We have seen new people join our church family from Argentina and India in recent weeks, and we are excited to continue toward our “Public Launch,” which we are still planning for September, God willing.  During these summer months, pray for maintained momentum as many will be enjoying their vacations abroad.Pray that we will continue to grow and reach new people in Darmstadt, with the Lord blessing us with a fruitful harvest!

Preview Service 3

Preview Service 3

Preview Service 3

     

May Newsletter

It has been a busy spring here in Darmstadt!  As the city seems to come to life with flowers and leaves appearing, birds singing and bees buzzing, we are having the joy of watching God give live to a new church!
Easter Sunday was a unique day of contrasts for us.  In the morning we attended the worship service at Grace International Baptist Church in Heidelberg.  It was their 50th Anniversary as a church.  They were one of the early churches planted in the International Baptist Convention (IBC), founded with a focus on the American military population in the Heidelberg area, and over their 50 years they ministered to thousands of people.  That city, like many others in Germany, is facing what is called a “Draw-down” of American forces.  By next year all the military people will be relocated to other bases or returned to the States.  As a result, the number of people at the church has fallen off, and the leadership made the difficult decision to “finish well.”  Their 50th Anniversary Sunday was also their last Sunday.  They were able to celebrate what God has done; they released their pastor to future ministry opportunities, and passed on a portion of their legacy by donating several items to the new church that is getting started in Darmstadt. 
Meanwhile, back in Darmstadt, our team had made a decision – we were going to spend our first Easter together!  So in the afternoon we met at the home of one of our members for a wonderful day of fellowship.  We grilled all sorts of wonderful foods, had salads, chips, desserts, topped off with great conversation and lots of fun!  We were blessed to have Dr. Jimmy Martin, the General Secretary of the IBC, and his wife Laurie with us for the day.  The celebration of resurrection people enjoying life fully was terrific – and went well into the evening when we made “S’mores” around a wood fire under a beautiful moon-lit sky.  Easter is a time when what seems like an end, (death on a cross) is actually a beginning (victory over the grave).  We saw both an end, and a beginning this Easter, and we worshiped the God of grace-filled conclusions and hope-filled commencements.
On April 11, we officially received our Resident Visas!  All in all the process was smooth, in good German style.  We went upstairs in the City Hall to get our Driver’s Licenses, which we could not get previously.  Bob’s was handled right away, but the photo of Carol that we brought with us was unusable, so we will have to go back later to get hers.  We are blessed that Germany and Wisconsin have an agreement that allows Wisconsin drivers to submit their license and receive a German replacement without going through the otherwise mandatory driving course, first aid course, and written exam (which can cost as much as $2,000)!

Visiting with Ismail

The weekdays found us at our twice-weekly LIFE Group meetings (Mondays and Thursdays).  Our groups added people this month from Denmark and Argentina, and we had a new friend from India join us at one of our Worship Services.   We also attend community meetings like Kontakt Darmstadt, an American-German friendship club that meets on Tuesdays.  We had a great visit with Ismail, a 16 year old Afghani who we met in language school, and Carol hosted some couples at our apartment to watch Courageous.

Saladin and Orhan - great friends!

One amazing and exciting development has been the connection we have made with a Turkish-language mission work in Darmstadt.  The Southern Baptist Convention has a missionary in Frankfurt named Andy, who has been coming down to Darmstadt weekly to meet with a group of believers he found here.  This month, a couple of SBC missionaries were expelled from Turkey, and they have been relocated to Darmstadt!  We have met with Mike and Paula a few times, and we are excited about what God might do as our two new works team up to reach the city of Darmstadt!  We introduced Andy and Mike to our close friends Orhan and Saladin, who operate the restaurant in our building, and they are now hosting a men’s Bible study there each Wednesday night! 

Speaking at North Sea Baptist, Stravanger, Norway

On April 15 we were at International Christian Fellowship in Oberursel, Germany, where we were privileged to fill the pulpit.  The church is a great mix of German locals and International folk from around the globe.  It is always a joy to worship with them, and an even greater thrill to be asked to preach!  On the 22nd, Bob was invited to attend a Men’s Retreat and to preach at North Sea Baptist Church in Stravenger, Norway.  The men at the retreat were a terrific bunch of guys, and the speaker, Dr. Rodney Woo, was challenging and inspiring.  Sharing on Sunday was a great opportunity to share the vision and challenge of Church Planting – with both of these churches!

First Preview Service

Our first “Preview Service” took place on April 22.  Thirty eight of us met at the Evangelisch-Freikirchliche Gemeinde Baptisten – the local German Baptist Church that is just a few blocks from our flat.  It was a great time of worship. Everybody pitched in to help with ministry – from set up of the sound system and instruments, to greeting people at the door and children’s ministry, it was a great example of the “Whole body, jointly fitted together.”  We sang, prayed, read and studied the Scriptures, celebrated communion and had a great time of fellowship.  Our second service was held on May 6.  It was a joy to apply what we had learned and experienced at the first service, and grow from it.   Preview Services serve two purposes – to “worship” – we want to honor and love the Lord our God.  And secondly, we want to “learn,” to find out what we do well, and what we need to give attention to as we begin to hold services.  We will continue to hold these services through the summer as we build toward our “Public Launch” in September.
As we write this, we are preparing for our first visit back to the US since we moved here last year.  Our son, John, is graduating from the University of Wisconsin on May 19, and Andrew is getting married to Rachel Edwards in Jacksonville, Florida on June 2.  We are so excited about these events in our family, as you can imagine!  We are also excited to be planning to worship and visit with our “church family” in Mayville on Sunday, May 20.  There will be a lunch/reception after the service at Mayville Middle School.  If you are in the area, we would love to see you there! 
Thanks for your prayers and financial support!  Our work here is impossible without your partnership!

First Preview Service Weekend

The first "Preview Weekend" of Converge International Fellowship of Darmstadt was held on Saturday and Sunday, 21 -22 April.  The weekend activities kicked off with a prayer walk through the city.  We had 8 teams of 2-3 people each that spread out in all directions from the city center.  As we gathered in a parking lot, a cool rain was falling, and it was a dreary day.  Some friends from our sister church in Ramstein came over, and they drove through rain the entire trip to Darmstadt.  We were not going to let a little rain stop us from praying for the city, however!

Marienplatz

The lot where we gathered is the site of the old Royal Cavalry barracks and stables for the city.  Long ago destroyed, the lot is now a bit of an eyesore, but at one time precision mounted military teams marched on the parade grounds there, and prepared for battle.  As we gathered to pray before setting out, I thought of the battle we were entering - a spiritual battle with powerful enemy forces who would do anything to stop us from reaching this city with the love of God and the gospel of Christ.

We prayed - we thanked the Lord for the opportunity - even if it meant marching in the rain - we did so to pray over this city and call upon the Lord of Heaven to bring His glorious light to this spiritually dark region.

We split up into teams, and headed out - by the time my partner, Eric and I had reached the second block, the rain had stopped, and within a few more blocks, the sun broke through the clouds and was warm, encouraging and energizing as we prayed. 

Stolpersteine - "Stumbling blocks"

One of the first things Eric and I did was stop at a particular spot not far from our apartment.  It was a brass marker on the sidewalk.  The markers are common all over Darmstadt.  On gleaming brass markers called Stolpersteine (“Stumbling Blocks”) memorialize the places where Holocaust victims last lived.They are markers that indicate the the location of the home of a Jewish person who was arrested and sent to a concentration camp.  We confessed the sins of this city from the past.  We confessed that it is still a city filled with sinful, needy people whom the god of this age has blinded, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)  We asked for God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," to make his light shine in their hearts to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  Will you join us in that prayer?

As we walked, we looked for prompts for prayer.  University dormitories, fire and police vehicles, children in a park, and an impressive, grand. old bank building.   As we walked, other teams did the same praying over schools, churches, neighborhoods, hospitals and anything else that the Holy Spirit used to impress a need.

Russian Orthodox Church - Darmstadt

After about two hours, most everyone made their way back to our flat for some sandwiches, beverages and cookies that Carol had made up for the group.  We talked and enjoyed each others' company for a long time into the evening.

Sunday morning found Eric and I headed to the Evangelisch-Freikichlichen Gemeinde (EFG) - the Baptist Church that has opened their doors to us for our meetings.  We attended the service and then spent some time with the Tech crew learning the ins and outs of the sound and projection systems.  It is a beautiful, modern facility, with an airy, open worship hall, full dining room and kitchen, and ample children's areas.

Preview Service

At 4:30 we began to gather at the building.  Everyone immediately started working on their areas of ministry - Tech crew, praise team, refreshments, child care, ushers, greeters, Communion set up all got busy.  The praise team began to warm up and practice.  Six o'clock came really quickly, but we started on time, and the Lord was SO good! (no surprise there - He's ALWAYS GOOD!)

"Vessels of Clay"

We had 38 people in attendance, with friends from our sister churches in Ramstein and Oberursel.  It was a really great evening. 

It went well - it accomplished all we had hoped.  We worshiped (our #1 goal).  The primary reason for the church, after all, is to glorify God.  We want to bring Him the honor He is due, and give Him our very best.  If He is glorified, and if His people worship Him in spirit and in truth, then the rest is just details!

Fellowship Time

There were things that we learned for the future, (which is our number 2 goal), , we got to use the building for the first time, we got to use their sound and projection system for the first time, we worked through things like childcare, greeting, refreshments, praise team, welcome and announcements, sermon, offering and communion...then we spent about 30 minutes after the service having a great tome of fellowship in the Foyer. 

Great friends, great food.

The next Preview Service is scheduled for 6 May, at 18:00.  Please be praying for us as we continue these service monthly through the summer - and culminate with our "Public Launch" in September, Lord willing!

One final request.  Tomorrow (Wednesday, 25 April,), I will be going to a ear nose and throat specialist to have a biopsy done on a spot on my tongue.  The General Practitioner that I saw on Monday said that it did not look serious, but "we must be careful with these things," so I am going to have the biopsy done tomorrow.  Please pray with us about this situation.  Thanks!

God bless you!

~ Bob

April Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Greetings to you in this Resurrection Week 2012!  He is Risen!  Hallelujah!

 

Germany, like much of the world, experienced “the year without winter.”  We had only one day with measureable snow in Darmstadt, and while there were two weeks in March that were “cold,” it was not really too bad at all – it never got below zero degrees Fahrenheit, which is how we measure cold in Wisconsin!  For many of us it was an incredibly mild winter – but it’s still great to see Spring arrive!

All around our city, there are reminders of resurrected life.  It is our first spring here – so bear with us as we gush a little.  All around the city, wild flowers have begun to pop up.  It began weeks ago, in early March, with crocus plants blooming in purple, white and yellow.  In more recent weeks, voluntary tulips have shot up next to the now-fading crocuses.  Those flowers, together with the flowering trees, shrubs and quickly greening grass, remind us of the renewal of life in Spring – and they serve as a reminder of new life in Christ.

Think about it.  On the night before He was betrayed, rejected and crucified, one of the chief thoughts on Jesus’ mind was that His disciples would forget.   He established the Lord’s Supper – Communion – Eucharist – as a reminder of His death.  He knew (of course) that as human beings, we would have a tendency to forget.  He knew that the hectic pace of life would distract us.  He knew that our memories are short – “What have you done for me lately?”  He knew that the enemy of our soul would do all he could to cause us to forget – like eggs, rabbits and chocolate.  So He established reminders…broken bread, poured out wine.  Let’s add another reminder – new life.  When you see a blossom this season, let it trigger within you a response of worship – to marvel at the new life we have in Chirst. “And you has he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins…” (Eph 2:1)

Converge International Fellowship - March, 2012

In this Spring, 2012, we continue to witness the emerging new life of Converge International Fellowship in Darmstadt.  Our LIFE Groups continue, and were highlighted by two combined meetings where we all gathered together for Bible study, prayer, worship and fellowship – it looked a lot like church!  We’ve seen more folks join the groups, and have added a tenth nation to our roster – welcome, Lebanon!  One of the highlights of one study was the reading of one verse from our Bible text in 5 languages - English, German, Korean, Romanian and Spanish.  In John 8:12. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  How wonderful it was to hear that bold claim of Jesus read in 5 different languages of the world that He loves and came to save!

We’ve had some really great times of fellowship over the past few weeks.  Several of the women of the church organized a “Ladies Night” at our flat.  A group of the men got together at a cook out that one of the guys had previously scheduled with some of his neighbors and co-workers.  A good time to connect with each other and meet some new people. 

The Kyle Tromanhauser Family in Pompeii

The last part of March was highlighted by International Baptist Convention meetings in Sorrento, Italy.  Because the distances are so great, we tend to “bundle” our meetings, so we had a meeting of the Church Planting Ministry Team, LEAD Teams from around the world, and the IBC Leadership Conference.  It was a great period of connecting with old friends from around the globe – especially our dear friends Glenn and Susan Herschberger, who were partners with us in reaching Wisconsin, and are now serving in Panama City, Panama.  We also met some new friends, Kyle and Matilda Tromanhauser, and their two sons (at right), who are answering the call of God to plant a church in Munich.  It turns out that we were students at St. Paul Bible College with Kyle back in the 80’s!  We had a great time meeting and getting to know them.  Pray for the Tromanhauser family as they move forward in the process of coming to Germany to plant an International Church.

EFG Darmstadt

Our first “Preview Service” is scheduled for April 22.  Preview Services are times for us to gather for worship and have some “trial runs” as a group before our public launch as a church.  We will have several of these services through the summer.  We will be meeting at the Evangelisch-Freikirchliche Gemeinde Baptisten – the local German Baptist Church that is just a few blocks from our flat.  It is a beautiful facility and the leaders have been very welcoming and encouraging.  We are excited as we move to this next phase.  Please join us for a week of concentrated fasting and prayer in the week prior to that service – more details will follow as the date draws close! 

Thanks for your prayers and financial support!  Our work here is impossible without your partnership!