finally updated

So I have been very bad about this blog thing. It is hard to keep everyone up with what is going on this way. Too much to say, in so little space.

Well, we took a trip to Berlin with my neighbor and his fiance'. They were great. They showed around Berlin and took us to all the sights. Berlin is a big city, and full of life. It definately has a different feel to it that Duesseldorf does. Most of all, we just really enjoyed our time with Gregor and Magde. They are great people. We are going to miss them a lot when we leave, but I think Emma will miss them the most.

On May 1st we drove to Muenster with Andre and his family to visit the zoo. We had a great time of fellowship with Andre and Batina, and Emma enjoyed seeing all the animals and hanging out with Ari (Andre and Batina's son). The funny thing is, every time I ask Emma what she saw at the zoo, the only thing she seems to recall is the pony pooping. It was a very impressionable moment.

Ministry has been going well. I have had a few opportunities to speak, and have helped lead worship at a couple services. A few weeks ago, I spoke at youth group on the subject of Forgiveness. It was a very good time in the word, and probably one of the best jobs I have ever done preaching in German.

This brings me to the biggest lesson I have learned these last few months. On easter Sunday, I was asked to preach in a nearby town. I prepared the message, knew what God was leading me to say, and was really excited about the opportunity to preach. A few days before I was to preach, I decided to do it in English with a translator. No big deal. There was someone in the church who was very good at translating, and I really felt like I could get my point across better in my own heart language. Well, the day came and I got up to speak. I said everything I planned on saying, and preached the Gospel very clearly, but after I was done, I felt so empty. I felt as if I had missed something or had not said something I should have. It bugged me all the way home, and when I came in the door I shared how I was feeling with Kristen. After a few minutes Kristen said, "why did you do it in English anyway? you can preach in German." then I realized what God was teaching me. While I was preparing for my sermon, I was preparing everything in German, and felt God leading me and preparing my heart and my mouth. Then I chickened out and relied on my own strength, my own ability to give the sermon. I was disappointed at my quick decision to scape goat out of speaking in German, instead of just trusting God and doing what he was calling me to do.

well, that's about all I have for now. We only have a few weeks left in Germany before we head back to the U.S. and to seminary. I would ask everyone to be praying for us as we prepare for this next journey.

Already Almost May

Ok, so it is still a couple weeks away, but time for us is really flying by.

In March my parents came to visit for about 10 days, and we really enjoyed our time with them. We drove to France to see the Gorski's and spent a few days with them. What an encouragement it was to see them and see how God is working in their lives. The best thing about hanging out with a close friend after not hanging out for so long, is that you pretty much just pick up where you left off. It was a lot of fun, and we really enjoyed getting to know Valariee. Mike definatly out punted his coverage.

Ok, so we drove to Paris, and Versailles (pronounced correctly for all of those who live in Versailles Indiana) and then back to Duesseldorf. We stayed over a couple days before heading back out to drive to Nuermberg to visit Eugene (the exchange student who lived with my folks last year) and then up to Eisenach to see Wittenberg Castle and see a little bit of Luther history.

The last days were spent just seeing Duesseldor, and we were able to spend an afternoon with Andre is Wuppertal. It was great to sit down with Andre and my dad and just talk about ministry. We are praying if and how the two churches may be able to partner and minister to one another in the future.

As we begin to plan the next step in our lives, it is beginning to hit me that I am actually leaving. It is a strange feeling. My greatest prayer is that the time I have spent serving here will bear fruit, preferably by the time we leave in 8 weeks(just kidding). Seriously though, As I look back on everything God has put into our lives, I pray that the work he put before us will be for his glory and for the advancement of the Gospel here in Germany. I also pray that the last 8 weeks will be focused on what is left to accomplish.

Sitting in this small room, it was hard to escape the load of questions that were coming at me. I could not answer them fast enough, and when a simple “I don’t know” was all I could say, it fell upon deaf ears, and was quickly replaced by the next question. As I sat in my chair, trying to answer deep questions about faith, religion, and the reason for all the bad in the world (all in a language I have yet to become very comfortable with) I began to pray for wisdom and for a word from the Holy Spirit.

As I was listening to this persons philosophy about life and eternity (one he claimed to be a mixture of Buddhism and Christianity), I sensed that the Holy Spirit was beginning to speak to my heart. I realized that the heart of this man’s questions was not about how many years had passed between Christ’s time on earth and the first Gospel; the question was not about why bad things happen to good people. As he was speaking, the question that came to my head was, “but who do you say that I am?” (Mathew 16:15)

When it was my turn to fill the void of silence between us, I asked him, “and who do you think Jesus is?” It was this question that turned our “spiritual conversation” into an encounter with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I did not need to have a deep, smart sounding idea about his perspective on life, or a neat little one liner to make my faith sound catchy or cute ( my German is not that good). I gave him the Gospel. I was able to explain to him what the Bible says about Jesus, and who he said he was. In the end, that is all I have. I left him with the assignment to read the Bible for himself.

In this great scene in Matthew, Peter answers the question with, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Is this not what our hearts sang when we turned to Christ, and is it not the answer we want to hear from those with whom we share? However, it is Jesus response to this answer that rang in my ears as I was driving home, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” No matter how many hard questions I can answer, or how many debates I can come out of, I will never convert someone outside the work of the Holy Spirit. I am responsible to share with people who the Jesus of the Bible is, but it is God who reveals it to their hearts.

A good January

January came and went, but it was not without its blessings. I had yet another chance to preach this month, and God opened up the door for us to share the Gospel with people. In truth, it was a month that I would hope would be like every month. I enjoy teaching and preaching, and I love the opportunity to share with people I meet the good news of Jesus Christ.

A few weeks ago, I spoke at the Youth Group in Wuppertal, and told them the short amount of time I have left with them. Although the months will go by fast, I wanted to stress my desire to encourage and see them grow. I said, "it is my aim in these last few months to encourage each of you to start or grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ." Two weeks later, Ette and I led a discussion time about alcohol. I shared from Eph. 5:18, and asked them why drunkenness and "being filled with the Holy Spirit" are in opposition of one another. It was a great discussion, and Ette closed the evening with a short encouragement from Galatians. The point stressed, was that if we are filled with the Spirit, then Christ is at the center of who we are and what we do. If he is the center, there is no more room for the corruption of the flesh. Afterwards, many of the kids thanked us, and we could tell God was working in hearts. We continue to pray for this group.

While in a cafe last week, Chris and I met a couple ladies who were meeting for lunch. We struck up a conversation about the elections and our new president (I would like to personally thank our new President for coming to Germany during the election. It has opened up so many opportunities for me). Through this time, we were able to share what we were doing in Germany, and I was able to have a conversation with one of them about the simple message of the Gospel. Although we did not have a lot of time with them, it was long enough to share the truth of Jesus Christ. It is the small moments like this one that get me excited.

February is just a few days away, and I am praying for more opportunities to teach and more opportunities to meet new people.

The prayer that I shared at the end of my message, and the prayer that I shared to and for the youth group comes from Ephesians 3:14-21. And so I share it with all who read this blog,

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."

simplicity

This Sunday I am preaching in Mettmann. The title of my sermon is “die Einfachkeit der Gute Nachricht” (the simplicity of the Good News). This will be the first time that I preach in German without having typed every word of my sermon out, and having it corrected and edited. I have an outline of what I want to say, and I trust the Holy Spirit to work through me. My German is not perfect. I will probably make a lot of mistakes, but I believe God desires to work in spite of my shortcomings. I believe he will glorify Himself in my weakness.

This theme is something that has been on my mind for a while now. We are bombarded with programs and strategies to get the word out to people. We can go to seminars and conferences that teach how to do church and how to implement new ways of reaching people and making the un-churched feel warm and welcomed. I am not speaking against these things, but I am saying that they can take over our thought, and complicate things when we do not keep the main thing the main thing.

Recently, I read a blog that taught how to be “missional” in how we dress. I won’t go into details, but it basically gave a step by step tutorial on how to shop for the right clothes (and how they should fit) so that you can better reach the post-modern society. I am not against dressing for the times, but again, I just see this as something else that complicates and distracts us from what we are really about. Futher, I don’t believe anything we wear is going to make the message of the Gospel seem cooler or easier to accept. Just be yourself. God made you just the way you are for a reason.

Frankly, I believe the reason we try so hard to find new ways to make the Gospel "attractive" is because we are ashamed. Ashamed of who we are, and ashamed at the simplicity of our faith. Maybe it’s fear, but in reality, I think shame is just fear’s shy, self-centered little cousin. We don’t believe that the simple story of Jesus is enough to reach people, so we have to “do” things to up our chances at seeing someone converted. When are we going to figure out, that it is not our job, nor is it within our ability to convince people to become Christians. We plead the cross with them, yes. We must always be ready "to give an account for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15), but we do not have the power or the ability to convince someone they are a sinner and in need of a Savior. Only God is able to change a heart (Eph 2).
We can’t convince anyone. No model or program we apply to ministry will be the missing link to revival. All we can do, is give the simple message of the Gospel. In 1 Cor. 15:1-5, Paul writes,
“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received in which also you stand, by which you are also being saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”

Paul calls the Gospel, “the power of God unto salvation”(Rom 1:16). That’s it. Is it possible for us to just love people, and share the simple message of the Gospel? Is this all it takes for God to change a heart. Yes. Not only is it enough, but it is the only thing that will open the eyes of an unbeliever to their lost condition. God never promises to bless the model, or the program, or the outfit. He promises to bless his Word.

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

A Busy November

So things this last month have been extremely busy. There are some great blessings, but all is not without trials. But we are thankful, and rejoice in that which we have been called.
First off, our Thanksgiving was such a blessing. We held the dinner at our house, and invited some people from our building to join us. Almost everyone we invited came and we had such a great time. Julie brought a couple friends along as well to make the group total around 10 people. We were so thankful for the opportunity to invite our neighbors into our home and share Thanksgiving with them. We are just praying for more opportunities to get to know them better, and for the chance to share with them. It was also the first time Kristen and I cooked a Turkey, and we are pleased to announce it turned out great, and no one got sick J Now that I have carved a turkey, I am a complete American dad.

Saturday was a continuation of Thanksgiving. We drove to Bonn with our team to celebrate with a couple colleagues who live there. We had a great day of fellowship, and once again stuffed ourselves on some Traditional American Thanksgiving food.

In another area of ministry, I was given the chance to preach at a youth service in Wuppertal. We had a good turnout, and a great evening of ministry. This is now my third or fourth sermon that I have preached in German, and although it is still difficult, and requires a lot of preparation, it is getting easier. Please pray that Etta (the youth leader) and I can continue to encourage and challenge the young people to live a living and continual relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Seekers” continues to meet, but we have been having a hard time getting through an hour together. For the last two weeks, the kids have not lasted more than twenty minutes before they go nuts, destroy the room and practically each other. Please, please continue to pray for Andre and I as we seek for a new and better way to reach these teenagers. God has given us a heart for them, but we are met with great opposition.

Christmas is such a great time of the year, and it opens up so many possibilities to minister to people. We are hoping that during this season, God will give us opportunities to share what is most important, and why we can truly celebrate.

“He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:2-5)

"Seekers"

In the last few weeks I have been working with Andre on a new outreach he has titled "Seekers". It is a weekly meeting for teenagers (12-14) from the neighborhood who want to come and hear stories about Jesus. When we started, we were barely getting anyone to come. Then one week three girls started to come. Soon after, some of the boys from the neighborhood came and now we have around 8 or 9 students who come every week. At first, it was really frustrating. The kids were more interested in yelling at each other than they were in hearing the story or being a part of the activities. However, last night was the first time we made it through the story and the activities rather smoothly, and with minimal yelling (minimal meaning less than normal). Even better, we only had to ask one student to leave the whole time.

It was also the first time in all the craziness that Andre, Sabina, and myself stopped to pray for the kids before they came. God really answered our prayers. He gave us patience, and wisdom, and created an enviornment where the kids actually participated.

Where God really answered prayer was on a personal level. In honesty, for the first few weeks I dreaded going. The kids were really hard for me to love, and I really thought I could be using that time for something "more profitable". This last week, I realized I needed a love for these kids. As we were ending the prayer, I prayed again that God would give me a heart for the kids who came.

As we opened the doors and the kids came screaming in (literally) it hit me that these kids will grow up, live life and die without ever hearing about Jesus Christ. unless...
Unless God has placed the three of us in their path to share with them the great message of Jesus Christ. Maybe the right person for the job is not the next person I can find to fill my place, but me. As the kids sat down, one of the girls (who can be the biggest trouble maker) tugged on my arm, smiled and said, "hallo David." She was actually happy to see me. I knew at that moment that I was the person God has called into their lives at this time.

I never thought I would be a part of a ministry that reaches out to teenage imagrants in an unknown city called Wuppertal, but here I am. God has changed my heart toward these kids, and I look forward to the opportunity to see them again. In hope, I pray these kids will turn to Jesus.

"So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building." 1 Corinthians 3:7-9