Holiday Greetings/News from Germany

2012 is fast approaching a close, and there are    great victories    to report in our German    camp! Some of the many reasons for rejoicing are…

*We completed a very successful 8th deputation in America before returning recently to our own home and work in the midst of 83 million people living in the land of our calling. We added significantly to our long list of faithful supporters and we wish to THANK YOU ALL, the old and new partners alike, for working with us in the GREAT COMMISSION! Your investment is reaping eternal dividends and we only wish that each and every one of you could experience the excitement of the HARVEST firsthand.

*As you may recall, before we left Germany for deputation in 2011, we were able to place pastors into the two churches that we started in northwestern Germany - one in Paderborn and the other in Northeim. These men, the Denk brothers, went from converts in our second term of service in Germany to called and trained ministers of the Gospel by our fourth term of service. They are dedicated to propagating the Apostolic message. They remain deeply grateful because their extended family found Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior after emigrating from Kazakhstan to Germany in the early 1990’s. It is a thrill to return to our fifth term of service and find that the churches we planted are alive and well in their capable hands!           

*In early October, just a few weeks after settling back into German life, we began to travel to Paderborn with our newly-purchased used Sheaves for Christ vehicle. The grand reunion with the Paderborn church coincided with the annual Erntedankfest service. Alan preached to a packed house as the presence of the Lord filled the place. Erntedankfest is the German equivalent of Thanksgiving Day. Unlike America, it is more of a church celebration than a family celebration. Fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and grains, as you see in the photo, are gathered for this occasion and are offered at the end of the day of celebration to those in attendance.

 Worshiping and Working in One Accord for the Harvest

      
 *Just a few weeks later in November, we celebrated our 9th Anniversary in the building presently being rented for the Paderborn church. Our guest speaker, Missionary Filippo Ciulla from Belgium, blessed the church with his anointed ministry. The altar was filled at the end of the service, and his evaluation was that “the church in Paderborn was a wonderful experience!”

*The church in Paderborn has clearly outgrown its present building, so we are facing a GOOD problem! The brethren have begun looking for a larger facility to rent. WOULD YOU JOIN US IN PRAYER THAT THIS NEED BE MET QUICKLY? We need more space and more chairs to reach more people with the Gospel.

*We returned to Germany to find our preaching point just south of Bonn in good shape also, thanks to a faithful worker in the Kingdom, Petra Akeme. This group started with immigrant Spanish-speaking women from the Dominican Republic who are married to German men. We baptized these believing women in the Rhine River just a few months prior to our departure for deputation and have been teaching them in German. In our absence, some others south of Bonn joined the group and a Spanish-speaking Apostolic family from Ecuador moved into Bonn. Efforts are underway to bring these separate groups into one united body to reach out further in the Bonn area, in both the German and Spanish languages. 

These are times of in-gathering from every tribe and every nation in every part of the world. Remember that YOU are helping to gather this HARVEST even as you support our ministry. WE THANK GOD FOR YOU EACH AND EVERY DAY!