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)!
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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!
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| 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!
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.
