The conference wrapped up with one pastor from each region, ‘the regional leader,’ giving some prayer points for their region – North, South, West, & Middle – there’s really nothing going in the FEGW in the former East Germany – not for lack of trying over the years, but the difficulty & opposition is great.

After hearing from each leader, all of the pastors represented from that region stood up, & people gathered around them to pray for encouragement & also for the specific requests that we’d all just heard.

Afterward, we had a few minutes where we could ‘break bread’ with each other – pull a chunk off of a flat, garlic loaf, & go to another person to share with them (the bread.) Part of the sharing was to be an opportunity to pray blessing on each other. It was a very moving & powerful time together. I was really touched by the prayers & blessings prayed over me… and by the number of people who said encouraging things to me.

This is the 3rd year I’ve been at the conference, & so far I haven’t ‘done’ a whole lot – just got to ‘be’; spend time with people that were interested in spending time with me, usually over meals & in the gemeindeshaft (fellowship :) time after the service in the bistro – answering questions, listening quietly, & trying to pick up as much as possible what was going on around me. I go because I was invited, & because I feel a ‘call’ to support the pastors & leaders of Germany – I do that in prayer, at home, but also by being present, & by looking for a person that seems open to talk & get to know each other (aka “the hungry bird” -) It’s trusting in God’s Sovereignty for provision in the connections that I am to make. It’s how I met Roland & how Julia has ended up in our house.

It seems that this year, more than the others, I can feel the acceptance & belonging – I heard from at least 10 people that being present, again, is a point of encouragement, for several reasons:

The last few days have been mostly good – greatly enjoyed the 2nd presenter, Michael Winkler – he’s a church strategist, but didn’t preach ‘models & methods’ – rather values, priorities, & Spirit-led life… in a way that could be understood by ME… I’m pondering all sorts of things, esp. being home, being with friends, & being at Hillside… feeling hopeful.

I’ve been spending lots of time with others – & really enjoyed my time with Roland Lorenz. He’s the pastor of “Arche Ottesweier” the church where Julia comes from. There is a special bond that has been growing, something that has gotten stronger having someone dear to him in our home & in our life. Hard to explain, but I can really sense a connection, much like I would feel if I knew one of the Eichhoernchen were in Deutschland.

I’ve also really loved that I got to hang out with Eddy – the pastor of our sister church. We have had opportunity for some very good talks over good hefe, & I am thankful that the connection with TPLF will continue. I want to ask you to pray for Eddy & Laura (his wife) – for wisdom & favor – its a tough thing to come into a church transition, even under the best of conditions. I’m thankful for him being open to me – & very much believe whatever challenges there are, he is the man for the job. Talking Church with Eddy (vs the Machine,) is one of the favorite things so far.

The person who coordinates the FEGW conferences is named Dagmar – She is a woman that theBean really hit it off with a few years ago – & is a gem of a woman; hospitable, thoughtful, organized. Though she likes theBean the best (who doesn’t?) she has made my time here very, very easy, & did a lot of the ‘pre-Deutschland’ connecting & registering for me. Without her, I’d have had to go at it on my own, & that can end one up on the wrong train. (Or so I’ve heard.)

Found out that there has been some changes at home. Painted rooms. Hallways. Julia driving, living like a real American. My car even. :) Its a highlight to me in coming home, to see how theBean has chosen to occupy her time. She even got onto Facebook & changed her profile picture, with a leeetttllle help from the Weez, of course.

Ooops. Coffee break. Kaffee pause, I mean. Don’t want to miss that.

Tonight, its back to Alex & Linda’s, then a meeting with Jan at 8 in the a.m. Then a train to Frankfurt, & meetings with the rest of the Roundabout team.

Thanks for reading, & for posting too. I love to hear from you.

Ciao!

NOTE:
I found the wifi, but for some reason can’t post pictures. Bummer. Sorry Bean. Anyway…

Piet spoke today on not being afraid of evaluation, cultivating an environment of love & unity within the church team BEFORE doing any evaluating… The text was Revelation 1 & 2, hearing what the ‘Spirit is saying to the churches.’ It was an interesting take on how Jesus speaks to the churches, pointing out the things they’re doing well, & also the areas of sin/hindrance that need to be addressed, changed, repented from, things that are unhealthy.

Then, this afternoon, we got into small groups & used some of the tools that Piet gave in order to take a look at the church specifically – I really think that Holy Spirit-led evaluation is one of the best things that a church can do… esp. when its tied to measurable effectiveness… I’m really glad to have sat in the sessions today, as the info was incredibly practical & applicable across cultural/national barriers – reminded me a bit of the Christian Schwartz (a German) material – Called NCD – Natural Church Development – which measures 8 characteristics of healthy churches. Cool beans.

The German pastors got into their ‘regional groups’ for discussions & I came out to think & to blog – all this talk about church has got Hillside on my mind… part of it is thinking how I would evaluate myself… our church life & communications – how well people know the Main Thing, & if they even know what I think the Main Thing is. And what Hillside’s Main Things are, & how we try to define a “WIN” – how we know when we’re hitting the mark. Its an area I want to grow in, not just to be able to mark a box on an evaluation form, but for life’s sake -knowing, living & walking together as a church family – & by knowing, celebrating the freedom of living for Jesus in such a way that we can see more people come to know Jesus, His salvation, healing, & equipping. Hmmm…

Sunday started at the breakfast table with Alex & Linda, along with a double espresso & a croissant with plum jam. It was an especially nice way to segue into the next part of my trip – & was a great end to my time on the Laurenziberg.

On 2 November, TPLF, our sister church, & the FEGW (Foursquare Germany) appointed a new pastor – Eddy Dueck. I’ve known him for the last 3 years, having met him through the FEGW conference that I attend each November. This morning, Eddy drove about 40 miles out of his way to pick me up & take me to church this morning. We had a great talk on the way into town, esp. nice over a groß cup of McDonald’s coffee.

Got to church about 9, & got to spend the a.m. talking with old friends & renewing acquaintances – sat with Sam & Mirjam Clayton, & held my god-daughter (their daughter Rebekah) until she realized that the kids crawling around on the floor were having more fun than she was. There was no translation – so after worship, I got to practice my German comprehension – the cool part was that I actually got a couple of the jokes, & probably understood about 50% of what was said. Yay me.

My friends Sandra & Martin (who Joni & I traveled to Strassburg with this time, last year,) invited me over for lunch & to spend the afternoon with them – turns out they have a new member of the family that they wanted to introduce me to… a brand new Swiss coffee machine. Got to have a cup or 5, & then we ate, talked, laughed, & caught up on what’s been happening in the last year. Had a few things to talk about…☺

My ride to the FEGW conference was Wilfried, the assistant to the pastor at TPLF – & we drove the 1 hour trip to Oberwesel. Had a little bit of trouble finding the youth hostel – in our quest, Wilfried joked that it probably was the castle on the hill. Turns out it wasn’t, but it WAS right next to it.

The FEGW conference has two speakers – one from Holland, the national leader, Piet Brinksma. He’s teaching some practical sessions on Holy Spirit-led evaluation – both personal & church. The other guy is German, Michael Winkler, & he’s talking about developing a healthy church. I’m interested & intrigued.

There’s about 100 people at the conference, many that I know from previous years – got to see Roland Lorenz, the pastor of the church where our houseguest, Julia goes in Ottesweier – then after worship & the meeting, I got to hang out with Aris, Alex, Johannes & Anja Livelli in the bistro over the best Hefeweizen in Germany. Lots of laughs & a late night which wrapped up with a good phone call to theBean.

Today, we had a leisurely day – ate pancakes (blueberry & quark) & sat around the house in the sun; Nowhere to go, nothing to do, except enjoy the sun – & Alex & Linda. We sat at the table & talked; Later I wrote (I’m working on “Revolution of the Soul”.) & got my stuff ready for the next phase of the trip – the Pastors Conference in Oberwesel, about 30km from Mainz.Then, this afternoon, we decided to go to Ingelheim & Bad Kreuzberg, where my hosts took me up to an old tower – we climbed up inside it & I took pictures of the surrounding landscape… but didn’t go too near the edge. There’s also a picture of Alex & Linda & Alex & me, with my HUUUGE melon blocking Alex, leaving him in the shadows behind the VIRTUAL planetoid, like sputnik, quite pointy in parts…

Later, in Bad Kreuzberg, we walking through the hillside vineyards. There is something very soothing to me, standing amid the symmetrical rows of vines, knowing that no matter where I look, the vines are laid out in straight lines in every direction. Absolutely awesome, (& a little OCD…)



We found a mexican restaurant – something new for me (& them) in Germany, so we went in – had nachos, chicken fajitas, & tamales. Very authentic – & cheesy, like the best really dicey American take on mexican restaurants are, down to the ‘mix-tape’ of spanish versions of the moody blues, simon & garfunkel, & george michael. Very nice – & the food was not bad. Ate til full.

We made our way home & watched a movie with Liam Neeson – brand new, called, Taken a “spy’s daughter got kidnapped & sold into white slavery so he’s going to get her back, no matter what” movie. Better than Bond, I’ll tell you that – quite the action flick, just the kind that theBean would not only absolutely refuse to watch if she knew the premise, but further, she would never sit down throughout the whole thing if she actually watched it. I liked it.

Now its late, & I’m headed for bed. Big day tomorrow – to TPLF (yay) & then to Oberwesel. Thanks for praying for me.

Linda’s long day is Thursday, so while she was at school, Alex & I decided to take a field trip to a town nearby, called Bingen, which sits right on the Rhein River. I’m including some pictures taken from a park/’look-out point’ that Alex & Linda discovered. Those of you who have been to Erden, Traben-Trabach, & the Moesel region will recognize the very family look that a wine-growing area in Germany has.

We walked along the river just as the sun had set & what there were of city lights reflected off of the water in a manner that makes theBean feel all mushy inside. Missed you.

Then, we headed towards the downtown, which was a lot like the other small village/towns we’ve been too – with the very misplaced, high-end retail shop thrown in to remind me that some people like their fashion, & that being a snappy dresser knows no geographical boundaries.

I’m also including a picture of Alex & Linda’s front door, & by popular demand, am showing a picture of one of the massive roosters that enjoys serenading me at 4 a.m.

One of these times, I might even get a picture of me with the people I’m hanging out with too.

I ended up sleeping almost 11 hours… & was woken up by a combination of Alex’s knock on the door & the 47 pound rooster across the street declaring his existence. Everything in me wanted to drag out my sleep longer; it would have been 10x worse if I’d used the Euro-‘blackout’ blinds. I’ve learned my lesson on those – if I use them, my sleep/wake schedule will never get adjusted. This is a picture of my room & comfy bed.

Gau Algesheim is a lot like Golden Valley, in that the occasional horse & poultry are ok to have, but its still not the full-fledged goat/dairy farm one might find in say… the country. (Like Smith Valley? Do they have dairy farms in Smith Valley?)

Linda has to travel to Frankfurt every day for school & practicums, leaving the house shortly after 5 a.m., often returning about 7 – the commute (by train) is 2 hours, every day, & is a part of the price of Alex & Linda following their calling in continuing their pastoral internship, which most likely will continue for another 3-4 years.

So today, Alex, Jonathan (the puppy,) & I hung out around the table over tea, great German bread, & plum preserves, talking about life. Conversation with Alex is always very enjoyable, & over an incredible range of topics. Today we talked the current state of American politics, what’s happening in the church in Germany, the news w/in the Church at large, discipleship, grieving loss & change, moves of the Holy Spirit & the migration of people to those moves (ala Lakeland & to an extent Redding,) & the desperate need for each Christ-follower to be developing a systematic theology & understanding of God that is not theoretical but is practical, livable, & flexible. And rather than simply accepting an ill-fitting Christian label, (evangelical, charismatic, pentecostal, fundamentalist, reformed, etc.) a label that often divides & brings misunderstanding, even before a working definition is offered up, its paramount that we lead with love, acceptance, & forgiveness. I can see while the Apostle Paul led off & closed his letters with “Grace & Peace” to his readers… because he knew, by the Holy Spirit, that those two elements are vital for the long-term life & health of relationships.

Don’t have many plans today – Alex is working from home while I blog, then we make take a voyage to the village of Bingen, which is only about 5K away… see what there is to see.

Found out last night that Johannes & Anja will be attending & participating in the Pastors’ conference next Sunday-Wednesday. I’m greatly looking forward to spending time with them there.

Last night, we got to walk the streets of Gau Algesheim, putting flyers for the church that Alex & Linda attend in mailboxes of people – at 9 p.m. I tried to be as quiet as possible, yet found several reasons why I could never go ‘stealth’ if I wanted to:

Left Chicago on time, 6:48 CST. Turns out I was in a totally & out flight, & the lady with the turban & the baby wanted to know if I could change seats with her – my aisle seat, more space & leg room, no built in TV, left side of the plane, for her aisle seat, built in TV, right side of the plane. I was the 5th person asked – and I switched, for purely practical reasons. TV in my seat. Not much difference in leg room. Comped goodies from the flight attendant for making their life (& the mom/baby’s) easier. And I didn’t even know about the comped snacks when I agreed to move.

Slept for about 4 hours – & woke up an hour out of Frankfurt. Just in time to beat the rush to the john. Good times.

All my bags showed up (yay!) & I cleared customs in record time. Went to Segafreddo for a doppio & waited for the 12:38 train where I would meet my host & travel to Gau Algesheim. Time passes slowly when one is trying not to go to sleep, when every ounce of ones body, soul, mind, & strength wants nothing more than to sleep. Anywhere. But I made it.

Linda G. met me on the train & we traveled for about 50 minutes to the G.A. stop – where Alex & the big puppy Jonathan picked us up in the car & drove to their house. And it is awesome!

Went for a short walk (1 hour) while Linda cooked a phenomenal chicken curry that had enough spice to clear my sinuses & then some. Very nice. Laid down for 30 minutes, talked to theBean on the phone, & now am trying to orient myself to my surroundings & to buttress my resolve to stay awake until at least 9 tonight. Only 3 1/2 more hours.

Firmed up my Frankfurt plans – I’ll be with Levent & Ines. Another yay, another unknown falls by the wayside.

Until later.