Deutschland, here I come.

Since there was only a limited space in my update letter to share about my decision to head back over to Freiburg, Germany, I thought I would provide a little more info in the form of a Q & A here. I hope it helps with questions you may have. Please feel free to ask anything not covered here...or email me and ask.

1) Are you crazy?

Probably. But that is not why I am going to Germany.
I desire to follow God wherever he would take me and whatever he would have for me to do. This is just the next step of faith in which I believe he is leading.

2) What led you to decide you will go?

Well...a lot of things. But a few are: the critical need for a man to direct the transition to German leadership for the campus there and knowing that God has prepared me to fit that well. Also, wanting to take a step of faith that will force me to depend on God for something that is way too big for me...and this is a great step for that!
In the end, I also know that God is calling me to trust him. If he desires that I should stay here, I trust that he will make sure that happens. I want to step out in faith and trust that God is God and in control of all this.

3) When will you leave?

Sometime around September or October.

4) How long will you be there?

Likely 3-5 years, but it is really dependent on how the transition to German leadership goes.

5) Are you crazy?

You already asked that.

6) What will you be doing there?

I will be helping direct a team of staff as we seek to build a movement of Christ-following German students who will trust God for their campus. Currently, there is a strong ministry going, but it is led by a team of Americans who work with the student leaders. The desire is to see Germans joining staff, working full time on campus to raise up laborers there to take the message of Christ to all of Germany and the world. So, I will be trying to work myself out of a job.

7) Didn't you live in Freiburg  before?

Yes, I did. Good memory.
I spent a year on a STINT (Short Term INTernational--a one year team helping plant a ministry overseas) in 2000-2001. That was near the beginning of this partnership, when we were just connected with a few students and trying out different things.

8) So, do you speak German?

Not as well as I'd like. But I speak conversationally and can get by. Well, that and most German students speak English pretty well. I intend to work at becoming fluent and am thankful that I have a good start on that.

9) Seriously, are you crazy?

I would say what is crazy is how often I give in to my desires for an easy, comfortable life. God wants so much more for me/us and there is a whole world out there that needs to hear about Jesus. And it is exciting to think how God will use this to draw me closer to him.

10) Will you have to raise more support?

Definitely. Thanks to our friend, the Euro, and how strong it is against the Dollar, the cost of living has shot up for an American. Please pray for the exchange rate...it is making it hard for a lot of US supported missionaries in Europe.

11) What does this mean for the ministry here?

We are still trusting God for the college students of Illioins and I am trying to keep my focus on finishing out this time well...investing in future leaders and caring for our team. I also trust God will raise up the right man to replace me as director here and know that Laurie and the team will do a great job without me. We certainly NEED more laborers everywhere and are asking God to bring others to join with this team to get to those campuses that still have no group intentionally seeking every student.

12) What would you like prayer for?

-Focus on what God still has for me here.
-Strength against the doubts and fears that Satan would have me hold onto. Especially fearing loneliness, difficulty with language, and being inadequate for the task.
-Support to come in quickly when I start with that this summer.
-That a man would be found by the end of the semester to take my place.
-That our students would want to live lives of faith and take the gospel to the ends of the earth, as well.

13) You ARE crazy.

That was not a question.

God is bigger than India

 I would like to put a few stories up about the trip to Mumbai(Bombay), India, but I will just start with a few pictures and some short captions...that may turn into stories, we'll see. I promise I will share the story about getting attacked by a monkey soon. Soon.

Our team...aren't they great. Seriously, we could not have had a better team. God brought the perfect fit for this project. We had such a great time together and everyone was so gracious as we continually changed plans and tried to figure out what we were doing.

As I mentioned plans changing...well, to my surprise I ended up preaching in a church the second day of the trip! First time I've done that. Why not Bombay then, right?
Rev. Mecwan set me up to preach at his church and translated for me. It really was a blessing and I'm glad I did it even if I may have wet myself a little...but that was just the sweat..it was pretty hot in there.

You may not have known this, but Mumbai is an island. It actually used to be 7 islands, but was formed into one. It is also one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the world. It was literally almost impossible to get away from masses of people. But you get used to it...kind of.

One of the things you just can't miss in Bombay is the insane traffic/driving. You could not pay me enough money to drive there. I referred to the driving there as "freestyle driving" because it did not seem to matter how you drove...as long as you kept your horn blaring, that was the important thing.
Most of the cars were small taxis much like the auto-rickshaws here. And of course the pedestrians weaving in and out, cows, carts, motorcycles, and once...an elephant.

The other thing you couldn't miss was the poverty. One of these two boys only had a shirt on and both were covered in dirt. Just about everywhere you went there were people sleeping in the streets and there were slums/makeshift "houses" all over...basically just a tarp stretched from a wall...or maybe a 5 x 8 aluminum shack. I've heard that even up to 5 million of the 18 million in the city live in slums/slum conditions. I don't doubt it after being there. Amazing. Sad.

We took way too much comfort in McDonald's while we were there...and they even deliver! McDelivery. Wow. I think I ate more McD's in the 3 weeks I was gone than the last 3 years here. Not so much that I craved the taste, but so many other places you didn't know how safe the food was. And then there were the other issues a lot of Indian food helped with...uh, yeah.

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Living as a World Christian

Living as a World Christian

"We have a God who delights in impossibilities."
Andrew Murray

"Why do you need a voice when you have a verse."
Jim Elliot

"The history of missions is the history of answered prayer. From Pentecost to the Haystack meeting in New England and from the days when Robert Morrison landed in China to the martyrdom of John and Betty Sham, prayer has been the source of power and the secret of spiritual triumph."
Samuel Zwemer