Dear friends,
We have shared with you from time to time about our friend Kalle, neighbor to the pastorenatelier. For years, he was addicted to drugs and alcohol and was a drug dealer. About 12 years ago he met Jesus in Berlin and was miraculously saved. He has been clean ever since. He moved back to Cologne and right into our lives. Kalle is not shy about his faith. He talks to anyone and everyone about Jesus. Hardly a day goes by without the words “Jesus lives” coming out of his mouth. In his winsome, disarming way he doesn’t seem to have ever met a stranger.
With all that Jesus has done in his life, unfortunately he was never able to stop smoking. Recently, he was having some heart issues which were causing dizziness. While getting that checked out, they found a large tumor in his lung. It wasn’t a surprise as he has smoked his whole life - but the news is still difficult to hear. The tumor is inoperable. They could remove the entire lung, but he is already missing half a lung on the other side - so that is not an option for him. He is hesitant to do chemo but is checking into alternative medicine.
Please pray for Kalle. Pray that in His sovereignty, the Lord will show his power and strength in and through Kalle.
I recently invited the new parish priest for a cup of coffee and had a delightful visit with him. Michele is from Rome so we share the fact that we are both foreign pastors in Germany. But that’s not all. He told me about how he heard the call to be a priest in Denver while on a catholic youth pilgrimage to the USA when he was 16! We both chuckled as I told him that I went to Denver Seminary. Although we don’t share the same theology, as we chatted, his love for Jesus and for people became apparent to me. One more thing in common that we discovered: we both loath administrative work! Pray for Michele in his work and that we would be a mutual encouragement to each other.
We had a great weekend at our annual GEM Germany field retreat in March with almost 90 adults plus kids! Lots of great fellowship. I had the privilege and joy to work with a team of volunteers to plan the Sunday worship service with one of the GEM core values as our theme: “PASSION - GEM workers are passionate about seeing the lost saved and disciples multiplied.” As part of the service I delivered a monologue which captures the dream that we have for Germany. If you have a few minutes, check it out here.
In May we went on our annual church retreat. We chose the theme of wisdom: God’s vast wisdom and the wisdom that He wants to impart to us. Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Gratefully,
Jason and Sue
