Dear Friends,
I had seen D., 61 years old, many times looking at my signage in the window of the Pastorenatelier. He couldn’t gather the courage to come in until recently. His wife died 2 years ago and he has struggled in his grief, looking for help and support in various places. He related about his disappointment in both the Catholic and Lutheran church. He underwent therapy in a psych clinic for a time but broke it off as he felt that all he was being offered was medication. D. told me how encouraging the quotes are that I put in the window and change out every week or so. We talked about how a person's faith can help them through the hard and lonely times in life. He asked me what I meant by faith. I was able to tell him about having a personal relationship with God and explained the Gospel to him. I then invited him to our small group that was meeting that evening and he came and participated and seemed to be blessed by our fellowship, prayer and time in the Word. I invited him to come to church on Sunday but he didn't show up. Unfortunately, I didn't have his phone number and didn’t see him again until I bumped into him a few days ago. I said that I had missed seeing him again. He replied that he thought that we were all nice people, but that it just wasn’t his “thing” and he will continue his search for answers in other directions. Please pray for D. Pray that he would find the Lord in his searching.
In March, we attended the annual GEM German field retreat. It was encouraging to have GEM's new president, Jon Burns, join us for a day. But the highlight for us each year is the extensive time we take to share with each other about our joys and struggles and pray with and for each other. As you can see from the photo, our field is growing.
I had seen D., 61 years old, many times looking at my signage in the window of the Pastorenatelier. He couldn’t gather the courage to come in until recently. His wife died 2 years ago and he has struggled in his grief, looking for help and support in various places. He related about his disappointment in both the Catholic and Lutheran church. He underwent therapy in a psych clinic for a time but broke it off as he felt that all he was being offered was medication. D. told me how encouraging the quotes are that I put in the window and change out every week or so. We talked about how a person's faith can help them through the hard and lonely times in life. He asked me what I meant by faith. I was able to tell him about having a personal relationship with God and explained the Gospel to him. I then invited him to our small group that was meeting that evening and he came and participated and seemed to be blessed by our fellowship, prayer and time in the Word. I invited him to come to church on Sunday but he didn't show up. Unfortunately, I didn't have his phone number and didn’t see him again until I bumped into him a few days ago. I said that I had missed seeing him again. He replied that he thought that we were all nice people, but that it just wasn’t his “thing” and he will continue his search for answers in other directions. Please pray for D. Pray that he would find the Lord in his searching.
In March, we attended the annual GEM German field retreat. It was encouraging to have GEM's new president, Jon Burns, join us for a day. But the highlight for us each year is the extensive time we take to share with each other about our joys and struggles and pray with and for each other. As you can see from the photo, our field is growing.
I (Jason) have once again taken on a leadership role within GEM Germany. The German field has been divided into three main regional areas. Since 2016 I have become the Regional Leader of the Cologne area. There are 12 GEM missionaries (plus kids!) currently working in this region. Please pray for me as I lead this group of dedicated and gifted servants. Pray for wisdom and patience in the many administrative tasks and for the ability to encourage, inspire, and wisely counsel these colleagues. Pray too that God would send us more workers for this part of the harvest field that we love so much.
In that regard, we are delighted to let you know that Dan and Elly MacLean and their two daughters will be arriving in Cologne next month to work with us in our church plant with a focus on refugee ministry. Elly's parents are former colleagues of ours in Germany and Elly grew up here and still speaks German. Dan and Elly met, married and worked in Afghanistan for eight years and are fluent in Dari. We are excited they are coming. Please pray for them as they prepare to move and say their goodbyes in Pennsylvania.
Auf Wiedersehen,
Jason and Sue
