Tag Archives: Travel

Missions Development… #3

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The next place I really remember being shaped in what missions is to me happened shortly after getting into volunteering at our church to work with Jr & Sr High youth. One of the guys that helped us with the youth group was an OB/GYN (aka “The Good Doctor”), & had a history of being a part of of a mission to Baja. So, we ended up backing into an opportunity that sounded really good – & was an opportunity to get our feet wet in cross-cultural missions.

The mission was to a little town on the coast of Baja, below Ensenada about 90 minutes, called San Quintin. The place was actually a combo of a church, hospital, & home base for the pastor & doctors at the hospital. The Good Doctor volunteered his time & skills for a week a year to help the hospital out with mass numbers of cases in a short period of time – cases beyond the experience of the local docs, & also non-emergency cases that just didn’t have time to get done otherwise. This environment allowed any students/others on the trip that wanted to check out working in a hospital to do so, often in a very hands on way (baby delivery, stitches, etc. Yes.)

The rest of us did work projects around the home base every morning – for the local church, helping out with clean up of the grounds, & some very amateur (yet very skillfully designed by the locals) building projects. In the afternoons, the majority of us would go to a nearby “migrant workers” camp – a fenced in collection of housing units, made up of row after row of shacks, made of corrugated metal, each sharing a common roof & dirt floor. The only plumbing available was a pump handled water spout in the middle of the camp, & the primitive latrines were often a trench at the edge of the camp.

Most of the people staying in the camps came from Oaxaca & Chiapas, the southern tip of Mexico, in the Yucatan peninsula. Most, if not all, came from an indigenous-Indian heritage, meaning indigenous dialect/language, very few spoke some rudimentary Spanish, & none spoke English. They lived a poverty that was poorer than poor… poor to a level that I’d never seen. I can remember as clear as yesterday thinking about what Jesus said, “The poor we’ll have with us always…” & crying out inside “dear God, the injustice…”.

It wasn’t uncommon for both parents to be working in the fields, chasing the harvest of whatever happened to be ripe at the moment – (hence the name “Migrant” ) – leaving the camps full of kids taking care of kids – 3 year olds taking care of babies, & the occasional nursing mom caring for the rest.

We did a VBS (vacation Bible school,) meaning we attempted to contextualize the gospel using hand motions, & acts of kindness; knowing all the while that we weren’t understood – but that the clothes & shoes we provided went to good use. Made me wonder if Jesus comes through in situations like this… the images are burned into my memory… the poverty & our helplessness… what could we do? Provide free labor, meet felt needs, & try to help in a seemingly hopeless situation?

One of the clearest pictures of the love of Jesus I’ve ever seen happened in a migrant camp. A teenager, a beautiful young lady from our church, (AP) came upon a little one that couldn’t have been older than my niece (13 months) – the baby was wearing a diaper that she had to have been wearing for several days due to the state of the diaper, the duct tape that had been used to secure it to the baby, & the very obvious overflow of dried excrement & urine all over the baby & her clothes.

AP gathered 3 or 4 other girls to help her, & they spent the better part of an hour soothing the baby’s tears, then cleaning the baby up, putting on a new diaper, fresh clothes, socks & shoes. Finding a sibling of the baby to give more diapers to, more clothes. Wipes. I watched & wept. They didn’t care about the mess, getting dirty. They jumped into a hopeless situation & didn’t ask, “where are the NEXT diapers going to come from?” They just did what they could – & loved that baby. I believe that we will have a reunion in heaven with that baby, & that AP & the others will see her again, & they will know each other, & rejoice.

Over the next years, we took several trips to San Quintin, & saw great relationships built within our team. Each time, we came away with a sense of gratitude for what we have at home; having been confronted with an incomprehensible poverty & how others live; questioning what we call necessities for our Christianity to be lived out, personally & corporately.

I always found myself comparing the message of the gospel as preached in my American context, to what is preached where we were – would the gospel message of the USA be understood or even relevant? It seemed to me that outside of our local, 1st world context, a lot of it just slipped through the cracks… If that was the case, that was not ok… wasn’t the gospel something that is applicable & real to everyone on the planet – regardless of background, education, culture, country of origin etc? & shouldn’t the stuff that was ‘important’ cross-cultural barriers?

Interesting to look back on my own thinking – missions clearly in that context had a felt-needs application. Often it seemed that there was no real connecting with those that we were ministering to/with… part of it was due to the language barrier, but to me it seems that it may have been more of a ‘great white hope brings their stuff, $, & resources” relationship… an unequal relationship based on superior/inferior economic status; a dependent relationship.

Made me think & wonder: How do the locals think about us after we’re gone? What sort of things do we ‘help’ them to learn in order to get our $/resources, to have a team come & visit? How often have we downloaded our ministry methods, (aka “the right way”) that people do things in the States that they should be doing too – stuff that is 100% method based, not about message?

I am eternally indebted to the “Johnson” family for a quantum leap in my formative missions thinking process. They were an American missionary family that had relocated to the Baja. From my observation, it seemed that they’d found a good life – one where they could minister to the locals by serving as a liaison for teams (& $) from the US to the local churches & pastors;to get missions support from the US, from those that couldn’t/didn’t come to save the locals. All the while living a very comfortable life in the Baja – satellite dish, fishing & skiing boat, & nice cars. At the same time, hosting the occasional American team (at a cost of $50/head,) so that the team could do some VBS work… & also be a part of the beautification, landscaping, & clean-up of their property, affectionately dubbed the “Johnson Family Compound.”

BTW: Lest you think I’m treating this too harshly – a couple of our days of VBS work in the migrant camps were cancelled because our guide, Mr. Johnson, decided to take the boat out for some fishing instead. And to watch game 7 of the NBA Finals. Truly. And in place of going to VBS, we got to listen to Mrs. Johnson talk to us for 3 hours about “putting on Christ.”

I know that I saw through this – & that the students on the trip did too. Made me feel sick – people working a system of inequity, for personal gain (didn’t Paul write something about that.?)

I determined that I wasn’t going to be a part of something like this in the future – & therefore, needed a clearer guiding philosophy to be able to know what to say Yes & No too.

Here’s some things that came up:
• Every trip needs a ‘scouting trip’ – where the details of the time in-country would be checked, double-checked & worked out, leaving as little to interpretation as possible.
• Coming as equals, not as financial saviours
• Has to be giving & receiving – from both sides.
• Based on relationship – not a one hit wonder (going 1 place, 1 time, then looking for another place to go “next time’)
• And what else???

Coming up:
• Adventures at Street Church in Vancouver, Canadia
• The Russian mob in Romania
• A chance meeting in Germany

Missions Development… #2

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Rather than type the whole title out every time, I think I’ll just call it the ‘Missions Development’ series… Also, this isn’t going to be a blow by blow of every “missions experience” I’ve had – more like the Kodak moments that have been most instrumental in crystallizing my ‘philosophy’, values, & manner of living it out – so I’ll spend some good time in some places, & completely ignore other stuff. But that’s ok, because really, blogging is for me & my processing. If others read it & get some sort of insight into me, life, &/or other things of significance or minutiae, so be it. English-language dictators beware: there is a lot of tense & person jumping ahead…

I was there in June ’86, very shortly after the big E earthquake that happened on my (& Jeni’s!) birthday, 1985. Mass destruction, buildings in rubble everywhere. And a bustling city, full of life, all around it. I’d never seen “modern Mexico” before… I was used to the 3rd world-type portrayal of the country/people seen in pop-culture, Zorro, & the Tostitos/Doritos commercials. Which existed, usually right alongside a 1st-world city. What blew me away was the seeming absence of any sort of middle-class at all. People seemed to either be filthy rich (marble garage floors? Yes. I kid you not.) or filthy & poor, without access even to life’s basics, & I’m not talking about cable. Gross generalities to be sure, but this is seen through the lens of memory.

What sort of gospel is applicable to both extremes? The rich & the poor? My preconceived ideas failed me. The largely cultural, method, & technology based gospel of the “world inside my head” was exposed for what it was – a little of Jesus, & a lot of personal preference. A Christ, & a Christianity created in my own image. I am lost. Inadequate. Exposed. Finally seen in a mirror that shows all the details, excruciating though it may be.

I don’t remember how many people were on the mission trip, but I know that I was in a bit of a fog – confronted with my small Jesus, knowing that I needed a completely different world-view, & more importantly, to see Jesus as He really is, not just captured on the pages of my Bible as a series of anecdotes & historical events. In retrospect, I think one of the main things that I struggled with was how impersonal our ‘relationship’ was shaping up to be – with the people we had come to ‘minister’ to, let alone minister with.

We stood in a group & handed out tracts outside the soccer stadium where the semi-finals & finals of the Copa Mundial were held. I watched many of the people, people from all over the world, throw away what they’d been given, often without even looking at it. I thought about what we were doing, in the 3rd person, & wondered: if a group came to Reno to do what we were doing, what would I do? I’d probably ignore them & if I took their material, I’d throw it away too. Because the message, separated from knowing the messengers, was really, really hard to hear, esp. when it was spoken/delivered in a culture & language irrelevant to the receivers…

We did a couple of work projects in a ‘small’ (150K) suburb of La Ciudad. Did a few open air presentations, meaning we sang some songs in Spanish, did some skits (which I remember as both painful & awesome somehow), & then a fluent Spanish speaker would give a short message & an altar call. And then we’d pray with any people that wanted it. In the poorer areas, people hung out for ‘prayer,’ which meant that they were looking for a handout – something to meet their very real physical needs.

One thing that really was truly awesome was the soccer games. They started in one barrio when my cousin John & I were hiding in the neighborhood around our whole teams ‘home base.’ We were hiding so we didn’t have to do the manual labor at the main house (latrine duty) – & came across about 10 guys playing soccer on a ‘field’ strewn with rocks – but with two very real “soccer goals.” We played, sometimes well, sometimes not so well – & ended up attracting a massive crowd of locals that wanted to see the two ‘gabachos’ playing their national sport. The noise from the game ended up drawing a large chunk of people from our team, people that had been sent out to find the two lost Americans. Our team leaders frustration turned to joy when he saw that in the soccer game, more people had gathered than we’d seen in our previous week of ministry ops. Interesting…

In my rear-view, it looked a lot like American Christian Imperialism, where a brand of little “c” christianity was exported, message, style, & methods, to a less-fortunate (read: poorer) group of people who needed to have our good news brought to them. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looks or sounds – I know that the motives of our team weren’t evil or bad – more ignorant, or naive. Definitely self-serving, without realizing it. Like a baby is self-serving because she wants pastries all the time & will use what/whomever to get to where the pastries are. I see/saw our mission as a way of serving ourselves, to have an experience, stories to tell. Knowing that what we were doing would ‘play well’ in the context of the christian world. Because we were helping those less fortunate, & bringing christianity to the natives. Whew.

I had, & maybe others did too, feelings of fruitlessness – where were the masses flocking to Jesus? We were doing it “right,” right? I had lots of questionings: is this what missions is? And what happens to the people who HAVE responded while we’re here when we go home? Is there any people or place that they could be connected to, church-wise? Hmm.

On that note, fortunately for me, the “Reno team” was staying with the brother of a dear friend that had relocated from Mexico to Reno… having 10-15 Americans staying at their house was a major opportunity for hospitality for them, & they absolutely relished it. We’d have breakfast together, us & about 4-10 members of their family, all of whom took time off of work at their very real, just as important as we had at home, jobs. To be with us, spend time together, & to shuttle us around the biggest city in the world. Then, late at night, we’d get home (after they picked us up from the mission site, of course,) & it was snack time – talking around the living room, getting to know each other in a way that only happens when you’re cooped up together in the same house/place for an extended period of time.

Our last night together, we even put on a cross-cultural talent show & spent the evening cracking each other up. How surprised was I to find that two family members ended up giving their hearts to Jesus as a part of the evening – not from our presentation, but because of the relationship (one that still exists,) & tangible love of Christ that had somehow leaked out over our two weeks there.

At the time, I didn’t see the stark contrast between the two ways of life – maybe because the hanging out with the Mexican family was too normal – & fun. Definitely not the kind of thing that people in the US would give you money to sponsor a “mission trip” for.

twelve, thirteen…

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Saturday was Roundabout day – more like mini-compressed Roundabout day – our last two meetings (11/2007 & 5/2008) have been Wednesday p.m. through Saturday noon events – where people, mostly between 20 & 30, representing many nations of Europe (approx. 10) get together for a few days of intense worship, prayer, building & making friendships, & being encouraged to continue in their calling, with faith & courage, no matter the cost.

This year, due to some extenuating circumstances, it was condensed to one day, from 10-4, which of course meant that the people attending were 100% living in Frankfurt… a total of 12 of us came together & I believe that the purpose of Roundabout was fulfilled… there’s a lot firmer structure in existence now, & the roles of the leadership team are more defined. Next meeting will take place in 11/2009, with the intent of doing this 2x/year after that, May & November.

After Roundabout, we cleaned up the church, & then I hung out with Levent & Ines. Went to Ines’ ‘hometown’ called Koenigstein, & drank a coffee in a little cafe there. Then we headed to her childhood home & I got to meet her parents. What gracious people, very open & giving. They are both very handy – she makes jams & jellies, & all kinds of home-made baked goods; he makes his own ‘apfel-wine’ & is quite the wine-aficionado. I couldn’t leave without 2 jams. Very nice.

Levent wanted to give me a little taste of Turkey, so we went to a restaurant called “Manolya” which in Turkish means “Parsley.” We ate 2 sampler platters – one of vegetarian foods with lots of Turkish yoghurt, & one with a selection of meats… Some of the best meats I’ve had in a long time. Very nice. I’m very garlic-ey right now, as the main ingredient in most of the veggie foods was “knoblauch” (garlic.) Sorry theBean. Hope its gone before I get home.

This morning was church at TPLF – I was the guest speaker & talked out of Matthew 9:9-13 & Luke 18:9-14. Aris translated; its always a challenge to try to put the words I’m speeching on into complete sentences & thoughts so that the translator has something to work with & doesn’t have to wrestle with trying to guess what I’m saying. Overall, I think it went ok; a girl from SriLanka that has been in the church for about a year, searching & asking questions, gave her heart to Jesus. Cool beans.

I really enjoyed reconnecting with many old friends – & heard from many, many people: “Thank you for being here.” And also, “please thank your wife, kids, & Hillside for releasing you to be here. It is very, very important & meaningful for us.” I’m glad that the relationship between our churches is still growing, & that there has been a ‘recommitment’ to each other, in the face of TPLF’s pastoral transition. On that note, I’m also thankful for Eddy & Laura – the new pastors; pray for them.

This afternoon, a group of about 10 of us (the twenz) went to a stand-up pizza place. I got pepperoni-wurst & pineapple, & a good bier to wash it down – lots of talking & laughing over what was supposed to be the best pizza in Frankfurt. It was good. I’m looking forward to measuring it against Pizza Plus tomorrow night. :)

Came to Levent & Ines’ house for part 2 of the party. A variety of cakes & other sweets, hanging out with Aris, Levent, Ines, Alex, Linda & Evita, Alex’s ‘little’ sister (she’s 18.) A good time was had by all, & I really enjoyed my last day here with many good friends. As the group shrunk, we sat around the table, ate leftovers, & talked. Very nice.

They say that all good things must end, & so now I’m in the process of packing (& blogging!) so that I can get up at 04:30 a.m., drink a coffee or two, & head to the airport, where my plane takes off at 8 a.m. First to Chicago, then to SF, then home again. Reno. I can’t wait. Please pray for safe flight, good connections, & peace. I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.

Blessings to you.

elf…

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…elf is the number “11” in German, & doesn’t refer to my favorite holiday movie, which, by the way, I’ll be digging out of the box for the yearly deluge of showings. After coming back from the conference, I spent the night at Alex & Linda’s one more time – they had a meeting of some potential sponsors in their ‘twenz’ group – a College type, 20ish age range group – & they were SO jazzed by the outcome – a real move of the Holy Spirit in their talks. Good times. I love seeing them both, esp. Linda, so excited that they couldn’t sleep, even though she had to get up in 5 hours. The Portugueser, a wine made by the guy next door, (literally!) helped with the celebration.

Thursday a.m. I met with Jan, the German national leader – we had some great coffee in his living room, & some great talks – the thing that stood out to me the most was that he & FEGW have really have received & accepted me – not just as a guy coming to their conferences, a friend of TPLF that ‘tags along’ (his word) to their meetings – but as a person with a unique calling to support & encourage German pastors & leaders. He asked me to consider plotting & planning how I can see this happen in a more ‘official’ capacity, so when I come to visit, I can help out in these areas not only at TPLF, but also in other churches in the FEGW. This, coupled with the honoring that he & Roland gave me at the conference, is very, very encouraging to me, esp. as it comes 10 years after theBean & my original call to Germany, one where we even explored moving there (here?) but it didn’t work out. And at the time, we were crushed. I’m glad now, because we ended up at Hillside, & also because God’s plans are so much different & better than mine ever could have been. I’m sort of floating on Cloud 9 – & am smiling a lot. This was big for me.

Dan & Geert picked me up at McDonald’s in Gau Algesheim – & drove me to Frankfurt, where we met with the Roundabout team to revisit our purpose, values, mission, & plans – it was an all day affair, & was very good. At the end of the day, we drove as a group to Eddy & Laura’s home in Mainz, about an hour away, for tea. And the best pumpkin bread ever. Laura is a cook. Like LeBron James plays a little basketball, & like theBean is hot. We talked about Roundabout, & got to hear Eddy’s heart about it too – very important, as TPLF has hosted the last couple of meetings, & will be hosting the one this Saturday. Important for him to not only know what’s up, but to be on board as well.

We rushed back to Frankfurt & were just in time to meet my hosts, Levent & Ines – they are co-leaders of the twenz group at TPLF, & had just finished cleaning up after their meeting. They took me to their home & got me settled. I love the modern look of their flat, & esp. the colors they used. I am staying in the room that Brother defiled – he soiled the carpet with his dirty suitcase wheels. Silly brother.

We sat on their couch & looked out over the Frankfurt skyline, while we ate some cheeze & drank a great Pinotage from South Africa, a wine that cost 2Euro. 2Euro for what I’m sure would have been a $12-15 bottle, easy. Got to bed at 12:30, so I could be up at 6:30

Levent took one for the team & brought me to the church at 7:30 – not only that, he hooked me up with a travel mug of homemade java. I love this guy. What a treasure. And not just for the coffee. But it helps. :)

We drove 2 hours south to visit Johannes & Anja in Geert’s awesome new Ford Galaxy (like the Windstar, but bigger & better,) with a great navigation system that speaks 15 languages. We settled on Dutch, Geert’s 1st language, & named the system “Betty” after Betty Ford. Long story.

A great breakfast & lunch with our friends. Good talks. Laughter & tears. Johannes isn’t pastoring right now, & is in a time of healing & restoration, with the hope of getting back into ministry again at some point when FEGW feels the process is complete. I’m looking forward to that time.

Spent the day with them, then drove back here to TPLF – Dan is headed home to Portland tomorrow, & the rest of us are going to host Roundabout, a day-long meeting for young leaders – to encourage them in their calling, to strengthen friendships, & spend some time together. Dan & Geert are headed to hang out with Aris; I’m going to see the new Bond flick with Martin & Sandra. Right now I’m just waiting for Martin to pick me up; I’m grateful for the wait, because its allowed me to post this uber-long blog.

I’ll take pics tomorrow & try to post some, but no promises. I’ll take the pics for sure though.

I’m speaking at TPLF Sunday – 2 services, 10 & 11:45, talking about Jesus & God. :) Really, I’m talking about Jesus, grace, & judgment. Appreciate your prayers.

Ciao!

zehn

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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:

  • Its a reminder that they are apart of something bigger than themselves – FEGW is about 30 churches, & some have said that it can feel that they are very small.
  • Someone is praying for them & their situation – which means that they are not alone, forgotten or insignificant.
  • We have a ‘unity in the Spirit” that transcends culture, national origin, & even language. The fact that we’re fellow Christ-followers is incredibly uplifting, like being at Disneyland & seeing someone from your own neighborhood, a friend. An unexpected & uncommon love. (I love that phrase, uncommon love. Sharlee M. prayed it for theBean at the Womens Retreat last week, & now I can’t get it out of my head. It’s begging for a book… on how Christ-followers are to love each other, deeply, faithfully, & without condition…)

    I don’t always get to know the WHY of my call to Germany, or understand HOW stuff is supposed to look or to work. I just want to be faithful to it – & to be an encouragement, a giver of courage to others, that they would be strengthened in their faith, & in their God-given identity & their own call. And it also makes me thankful for Hillside, & for the people I am blessed to know & be known by there. Traveling reminds me how blessed I am, & all the areas that God has shown His favor to me.

    Thank you.

    • sieben, acht, neun…

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    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!

    sechs…

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    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…

    Funf…

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    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.

    vier…

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    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.

    drei

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    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.