BJU German Team 2008

The team has officially ended. Praise the Lord for his grace and giving us the strength to make it for 8 weeks! And thank you all for your prayers! They have meant so much to us.

It was so exciting to meet the missionaries in every city we visited. Each church is a work of God and the missionaries still need you prayers and support. Thank you to everyone who helped us on our way! Please pray that Christ will continue to be glorified in us.

A special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Adams. They were the best team leaders and they put up with, well, quite a bit.

We can’t believe it! It’s our last week! We’re here in Vienna, the capital of Austria. It’s beautiful and very hot. We’ve already seen some amazing things including the 1st district with the Hofburg, Stadtpark, Opera house and the Altedonau.

On Tuesdaý we took a boat ride to the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava. And on Wednesday we spent the day cleaning the church and working in the missionary homes. Tomorrow is the 4th of July and we’re planning on grilling out at Tony and Debbie Shelton’s house. We’re enjoying the wonderful fellowship with both Shelton families and the other church members.

Please pray for the rest of the week’s activities. There’s a Kinderstunde planned for Saturday, as well as witnessing in one of the parks. And pray that it won’t be too hot!! (And that our team members will come home in one piece).

Hello from beautiful Austria! The week started with an amazing train ride through the Alps, through Innsbruck and into Telfs. We’re nestled right in a valley of Alpine mountains. It’s amazing. And yes, we are going hiking.

Other events this week are Kinderstunde, tract distribution, visiting lots of local schools, services, and testimonies. Please pray that kids will come to Kinderstunde. We handed out about 100 invitations today and no one came, which was discouraging. But we’re holding several more this week, so please pray that some children will come!

We’re having fun walking all over this tiny Dorf, playing Rook, and having a wonderful time with the Gaudets at their home here. The girls are staying here with them, and the boys are rooming in the church, which is about a 10 minute walk away. More updates to come!

Photos of Telfs:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127339&l=4d915&id=508355284

Photos of Murnau:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126275&l=076ad&id=508355284

We are now within plain view of the Alps here in Murnau. The weather has finally cleared up a little bit, praise the Lord! The scenery is unbelievable! It’s a true testament to God’s amazing creation. And we’ve seen quite a bit of scenery in the last week! Tuesday we did some tract distribution into mailboxes in the neighborhoods surrounding downtown Murnau. After some additional tract distribution on Wednesday we headed to an Altenheim(senior center) and sang to the residents about Christ’s love for us.

Thursday we traveled to Schloss Neuschwannstein, Wieskirche, and a gorge that I can never seem to remember the name of. We did ALOT of walking. But it was all worth it in the end. Ludwig may have been mad, but he sure knew how to pic real estate! The castle and the view from it were incredible! No wonder it’s the #1 tourist attraction in Germany.

Today we tried our hand at farming! We traveled about an hour away from Murnau and spent the day mending fences, mucking out stalls, feeding the cows, riding the tractor, and just having a good time. We were able to get a lot of work done, and the weather was perfect for working outdoors.

Only a few weeks left! Next week we head deeper into the Alps into Telfs, Austria. Please continue to pray for health and safety of the team members and that we will be a blessing to the missionaries we’re working with and be able to share the gospel wherever we are.

Tchüss for now!

The Frauenfrühstuck went very well yesterday with about 20 attendees all together. Our topic was love and how Christ is the example of perfect love. We invited many of the women to church on Sunday or to join us tomorrow for Grillen und Sport.

Today was spent almost entirely painting the apartment buildings on the church property. It’s been very cold and rainy - a big contrast to Greenville(home for me), which has been having record highs. Thankfully Mia(our amazing cook) was kind enough to provide some more layers and a cup of hot chocolate when the work was done.

Tonight is our last night of Kinderstunde. We’ve had a pretty regular group of kids, and they are going to be singing a song and reciting verses in Gottesdienst on Sunday. The theme of the week is Glauben(faith). Our skits have been Noah,Abraham, Naaman, and Daniel - all performed with the highest quality costumes;).

Thanks again for all your prayers, and please continue to pray for us. We’ve only got 3 weeks left! Unfortunately a cold bug seems to have hit, and several team members have gotten sick. Nothing terrible, but it’s just a nuisance.

Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123574&l=93d31&id=508355284

So we’ve had to say goodbye to our new friends in Landshut, and are now here with the Daily’s in Bad Heilbrunn, a Dorf(village) near the Alps. It’s beautiful here, and we’re all excited to be housing together again.

The rain has followed us here from Landshut is seems. Not a problem though, we’ve still got lots to do! Please pray particularly for the women’s breakfast we’re having here on Thursday morning. There could be anywhere from 20-60 ladies present, many unsaved. Other ministries this week are the Büchertisch(book table), Kindernachmittag (Kinderstunde), painting around the church, and church gatherings (and of course, playing volleyball when the weather allows and mafia when it doesn’t).

The Lord has really blessed us with so many chances to speak to others about Christ on the streets, in trains, and on buses, as we travel through Germany. We’ve been passing out literature at the book table, which often leads into conversations about Christ and eternity. Please pray for continued strength and boldness to share Christ without fear.

It’s month yesterday that we’ve been in Germany!

Landshut photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=121501&l=6349e&id=508355284

Hello again! After a mad dash to the train station with only 4 minutes to spare,  we’re here in Landshut with some rainy and mercifully cool weather. It’s been a blessing.

Today we had a kids actvity and distributed tracts into mailboxes(which is legal here in Germany). We took a trip into downtown Landshut and saw the largest church tower made of brick in the world! We also saw Regensburg yesterday and took a boat ride down the Donau.

The team went to a school today and got to talk with the students and teachers for a little bit. We’ve been having a lot of fun playing Round Robin with the Krauses and jumping on the trampoline in their backyard.

Keep praying for us! More than anything we seeking to glorify Christ in every word and action. Please pray specifically for the Ladies Breakfast taht we’ll be hosting next week in Bad Heilbrunn. Photo link coming soon!

After a series of memorable events yesterday(which included a flat tire, leaving someone in Dachau, leaving someone on the subway) we were glad to have a little break today. We spent some time yesterday in Munich helping the Freie Baptisten Gemeinde at their book table and pass out tracts at a very busy plaza downtown. Afterwards we attended their Wednesday evening prayer service and sang.

Today we visited Rosenurg castle for an amazing falcon show. Incredible! We also went a little mini-rollercoaster in the countryside. We also played soccer and volleyball with some local residents and ended the night with a game of mafia.

Tomorrow we are going to be finishing up some projects around the church and having a church event later in the afternoon.

We had a great time to witness while in Munich both at the book table and on the streets. Tomorrow we’ll be heading back into Ingolstadt’s park, asking questions and handing out tracts to the people we meet. Please continue to pray for health, strength, and the power of the Holy Spirit as we continue to serve the Lord here in Germany.

Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119219&l=d9b61&id=508355284

Hallo alle! We made it to Ingolstadt today after a short train ride and many sad goodbyes.

We’re having a lot of fun housing here in the church in Ingolstadt. Makes commuting in the morning much easier! After a little bit of down time this afternoon, we went in high gear and started helping out around the church. The girl’s projects included cleaning out the shed(with spiders!!) and getting ready to paint the downstairs hallway. The guys tackled the hedge outside and pulled a good bit of it out.

The Reuttgers treated us to ice cream after all our hardwork - my personal favorite is Schokolade and Stracciatella. Yummy! Afterwards, many church members came for a special cookout to meet the team. We had a great time of fellowship and laughs.

And just to mention it, a major blessing this last week in Erlangen was the ministry we had in the Schlossgarten park. We were paired a native German speaker and went into the park to strike up conversations with anyone we might meet. We asked if they had time to answer some questions about faith. Most said they didn’t have time, but many were more than happy to talk with us. We went through a series of five questions leading up to sharing the plan of salvation. One thing we’ve all realized is that if we can witness in a different country and a different language, there should be no reason for us not to witness in our own country.

So this week we’ll be doing two Kinderstunde’s, witnessing, seeing Ingolstadt, and a day-trip to Munich. We’re so excited to be here and can’t believe 2 weeks have already gone by!

links to more photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117635&l=5e644&id=508355284

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=115799&l=02ecc&id=508355284

Glad I finally got a chance to update! This week has been great! We can’t believe how fast it’s gone by!

Today we went on a Catholic tour because it was a catholic holiday. We saw some well-known monuments where Mary or the Christ child had supposedly appeared. Later several of us went to pastor Meyer’s home and held a Kinderstunde while the rest went to the Schlossgarten in Erlangen and witnessed to the people in the park. Many of us were able to go through the complete plan of salvation, but no one came to any decision.

On Wednesday we helped paster Brown paint and clean their building for the new church he is planting in Nurnberg. We work for the whole day and were able to get the large assembly room, kitchen, and hallway painted(as well as our faces and clothes).

Tomorrow we’re going to Bamburg for our free day, then we will be holding a family night at the church.

Please continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will give us boldness to witness for Christ and that we will not be afraid.

I’ve had such a hard time loading pics onto the blog, so I’m going to try giving the public link to one of my albums on Facebook, which you can see without having an account. Thanks again for all your love and prayers!

Photo album link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116867&l=ae492&id=508355284