So, my church website now has a handy discussion forum. We’re using it for communication purposes for everything ranging from events planning and evaluation to what we’re talking about in our Friday Night Bible Study, which is specifically what I’d like to interest you in with this post.

Our Friday …

Okay… it’s defintely time for long-overdue update #2. maybe you don’t see this as humorous, but it kind of strikes me as being a little funny… here I am, claiming a desire to have a balanced blog, and apparently my definition of “balance” means not blogging. Hmm…

Well, that wasn’t exactly the thought I wanted to convey in creating this blog. Sorry, folks. I’ve been really busy (again). May was here and gone before I knew it, and June has too. We had 28 seniors graduate from my school on June 9th (19 seniors from the day school; 9 from our home school program). Dr. Bob Jones III spoke at our Baccalaureate service the day before. I’m currently working in the summer program for kids here at the school (think of it as a day camp, but we’re not calling it a camp because of all the legalities required when using the term “camp”). I just recently got my CDL learner’s permit so that I can (eventually) drive the church buses for camp and for the school’s sports teams. Getting a CDL is harder than you might think! The tests required some fairly intensive study, but fortunately I passed the first time and didn’t have to retake anything.

As far as what’s coming up… our music director’s last Sunday is July 3rd. After that, I’m it. Maybe I’ve just forgotten a lot since I did my church music internship back in the summer of 2001, but you have to do a fair amount of work in this job if you’re going to do it right! It’s not just choosing hymns 5 minutes before a service and then waving your arms while singing. I mean, I knew it was more work than that, but the amount of work still kind of comes as a bit of a surprise to me.

Well, I don’t know if there’s anything else that I need to say in this update. Again, I hope to write more often.

Working in the yard

Painting the ceiling of the basement

Helping build in the new cabinets

Cooking the meal for the banquet

Some of the decorations for the party on Saturday

The program on Saturday

Our last week was in Bad Heilbrunn, a small Bavarian town in the Alps. The church in Bad Heilbrunn resides in a building which used to be a camp. The first camp was held in the 50’s, so this week the church celebrated its 50th birthday.

To prepare for the festivities, we helped with yard work, cleaning, and renovations. Besides mowing the grass and weeding the flower beds, we also sanded and painted the ceiling of the basement and helped build in the new kitchen cabinets.

On Friday night the church held a banquet for some of the people from the town. The mayor, some of the children of people who had worked on the camp buildings, and some of the former missionaries and MKs who served here were joined by the adults from the church. This meal allowed the church to reintroduce the ministry to these folks who have had contact with the camp in former years. The team watched the church members’ children and helped cook and serve the meal.

On Saturday the church held an all-day “birthday party” with a program in the morning. The team assisted by providing both music and skits. After the program we mingled with all the visitors. Many of the surrounding churches brought groups to take part in the festivities. In fact, every church we visited had at least one person at the party.

Tomorrow we fly back to the United States. Please pray for safety as we travel. Thanks for your prayers this summer!

In recent weeks I’ve experienced a dramatic shift in the tides of a certain spiritual battle within my flesh. Temptation to this one particular sin in my life comes in transient waves dependent upon various circumstances within and without myself, but the decision to dive headlong into an approaching crest …

Christoph, the German pastor

We usually have at least one grillfest at each church

The team picked strawberries for people in the church

One of the incoming birds at the bird show

Nathanball, a game we came up with on the spot (similar to Calvinball)

Some of the damage caused by a water balloon launcher

The church and team after the Sunday service

It’s hard to believe, but Ingolstadt was our next-to-last week in Germany. We enjoyed our week in Ingolstadt, even while fighting against the extreme tiredness that was setting in. This week we held a couple different Kinderstunden (Bible clubs) in different villages around Ingolstadt. We also helped a little with a building project at the church.

On Wednesday morning, we went around to some of the older members of the church and sang a couple songs at their homes. It was such a blessing to see these old saints still serving the Lord even in their weakened conditions. We felt somewhat like the sons of Jacob when they received his blessings at the end of his life as we listened to these people encourage us to continue serving God.

On Friday the church people took us to a small castle for a bird show. They were quick to point out the best seats for watching the show. Little did we know that we would soon have large falcons, eagles, and buzzards flying inches above our heads. A couple times some of us even got hit by the edge of a wing. This show let us see some of God’s amazing creatures up close. Really up close.

Like many of the other churches we have visited this summer, the church in Ingolstadt is about ready to be led by a German pastor. The Ellis family will be leaving in a couple weeks for the states and Christoph, a convert of the Ellis family, will be taking full responsibility of leading the church. We had the privilege of sitting under his ministry as he shared some extremely valuable lessons from the book of James. Pray for the church during this transition period.

A fountain we saw during the city tour

A plaque showing the spot where books were burned during the Nazi era

Mr. Adams helping during a Kinderstunde

One of the churches we visited during the Catholic tour

The saint you pray to when you have headaches (yes, really!)

The church after a service

Pastor Jeff Brown doing a baptism

One year ago today. Wow. It went fast!

kids on the streets of Chittagong