Urgent prayer requests

Dear Friends,
Please pray for the city of Cologne this weekend. Last Saturday, the day before the mayoral election, Henrietta Reker, one of the candidates was attacked and stabbed and critically injured by a Neo-Nazi. Frau Reker is known for her compassionate, pro-refugee convictions. Thankfully, she is recovering from her injuries and will be able to begin her duties as our new mayor in due time. She won the election by a large margin. Her attacker told the police that his intention was to kill her and that he was doing the country a favor.
 
This coming Sunday, Oct. 25, there is a huge radical right-wing demonstration scheduled to take place downtown. The police tried to ban the demonstration because they cannot guarantee security - but the organizers went to court and won the right to demonstrate. Freedom of speech is a highly held value in Germany. Thousands of hooligans and skinheads are expected. There are also counter demonstrations planned by various pro-migrant groups but also left wing radicals. There will be at least 2000 police on the streets as the potential for violence is high.  The downtown church led by Tobias Saenger, a young church-planting pastor who interned at our church and continues to be mentored by Jason, has cancelled its service because it will be too dangerous to meet at their location.
 
Please pray for safety and that the Lord will cause many to turn to Him in these troubled times.
 
Please continue to pray for the German language class for refugees.  Sue is the lead teacher for the team of helpers.  We are in the 9th week but are never quite sure what is going to come at us.  There are an average of 8-10 participants plus 3-6 helpers in Jason's one-room Atelier.  Currently, the participants originate from Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Armenia, Iraq, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.  With that constellation we are also asking ourselves how difficult it is for them to be sitting next to each other at the same table - or if they would rather pull out guns and be shooting each other…. We have gotten to know a few of them better over the last few weeks and are starting to hear their stories…and so we have had to provide them with the German words for “bomber, military jet, machine gun", etc., and also the word for "cross", depicted in one of Jason's paintings in the Atelier.  But we are also the sounding board for broad prejudices and we are asking God to help us respond in a gracious way - in a way that might gently offer a way out of the cycle of violence, a path towards reconciliation with God and man.  We are also thankful for the helpers who have volunteered tirelessly in the last 8 week - mostly from our part of Cologne but some from further afar.  Most of them we did not know before we sent out a plea for help.  They, too, are asking us about our church, what motivates us, etc. 
 
Pray that God would draw both Germans and immigrants/refugees to himself.

Your,
Jason and Sue