Special prayermail

Dear Friends,

Thanks so much for your prayers for me this past week. The surgery took a little longer than planned but went well and I have made a steady recovery every day. I was released from the hospital on Friday – a day or two sooner than we at first thought possible. So now I can finally get some sleep. It was impossible in the hospital! Both the doctors and lab reports indicated the urgency of the surgery. Jason and I have been saying over and over again what a blessing it was that the surgery was able to take place in spite of the doctor’s strike. Not only that, the change of doctors and hospital seem to have been a gift from God. The hospital was much smaller than the huge university hospital in Cologne making it more personal and I felt like I got top quality medical care. Pray that I will be patient in this recovery period and not do too much too quickly.

Roy called me early on Monday morning before the surgery and the first of his huge AP Biology and Chemistry exams (4 hours long!). It was a precious time of sharing our burdens and praying together on the phone. He called again after the last Chemistry exam on Wednesday and the relief and lightness in his voice were almost tangible. Thanks for supporting him with your prayers. Continue to pray that he would finish well. He has three weeks of classes left and a week of tests before graduation on June 9.

Please continue to pray for the church-planting project in Hennef, which is now temporarily on hold. The tension was too intense for the last remaining participants and they have now all left the group. Wolfgang and Petra stand alone with us and the vision of a new church in Hennef. They refuse to let go of their calling to do this and remain confident and full of faith that God is working. Please pray for them. In spite of their positive attitude, this has been very hard for them and they are trying to learn from the experience. Jason is also prayerfully trying to understand what mistakes he may have made as their coach. Pray for wisdom and God’s leading as to what the next steps should be.

Yesterday Jason presented SPARK at a regional meeting of the Baptists in Kaiserslautern. About 100 people were in attendance. Please pray that God would SPARK the vision of church planting into a flame in many of their hearts and churches. Pray for these upcoming SPARK dates: 28 May – Ev. Free Church in Oldenburg, 30 May – National Baptist Committee for Missions in Berlin, 4 June – 2 Workshops at the national Ev. Free Convention in Bochum, 6 June – several of the National Ev. Free leaders and staff in Witten. Also pray for him as he preaches in our former church plants in Bergisch Gladbach (today) and in Porz (next week). We want to continue to be an encouragement to both of these churches.

Thank you for standing with us. We depend so much on your prayer and support as we face illness and hardship but also exciting ministry opportunities in Germany.

Sue (for Jason)

special prayermail

Dear Friends and Family,
Please pray for Sue as she has surgery on Monday (May 8) to remove her uterus and the fibroid tumor. Pray for the doctor, Detlev Katzwinkel, who is a friend of ours. Pray that all will go well and for a speedy recovery.

Please continue to pray for the church plant in Hennef. As of last week, the entire team has quit, leaving Wolfgang and Petra alone with their vision. Please pray that God will encourage them and work in their hearts and that they would discover what he wants to teach them through this difficult time. Pray that we would have wisdom as we look to the future. Hennef, with a population of over 40,000 desperately needs that church as there is no other gospel witness in that city.

Please pray for Roy who is in the final stretch of his senior year. With two AP science classes he has had a heavy load. He will be writing his AP Biology exam on Monday (May 8) and his Chemistry exam on Wednesday (May 9). It is an emotional time for all the kids at BFA as they prepare to say goodbye to their friends and classmates. Most of them are MK’s and know that they will probably never see each other again. Yesterday Roy was suffering from major back and neck pain and fainted at school.

Thank you so much for standing with us.

Jason (and Sue)