Travel day #8
Dear friends, brothers and sisters in Christ,
we write to you from Hartenstein in Saxony, Germany, where we are staying with my (Harry's) sister and enjoy a few quiet days after two very busy, exhausting, yet also blessed weeks!
June 24th was Harry's last working day at the Christian High school in Doberlug-Kirchhain. Before that, and especially afterwards, we were busy packing boxes, dismantling furniture, giving notice for and cancelling all kinds of things and "signing out of" Germany. Thank God we were able to rent the attic room above our old apartment and stored our belongings there for our move to a Croatian place later. That took most of June 25th and 26th.
On June 28th, we were actually able to paint the entire apartment, so the next day we could look for fitting roof racks and a roof box for our car since, while moving out, we were forced to realize that not everything we wanted to take with us for the next few months was going to fit inside the car. All this fast renovating, organizing and packing up was possible thanks to the help of many friends, especially from our home group in DoKi. Without the numerous hands cooking for us, packing with us, carrying boxes and furniture upstairs, helping to renovate and looking after the children, everything would have taken much longer and would have been much more stressful.My dad also wanted to come to help renovating, but my mom had to go to the hospital unexpectedly. The Lord heard the many prayers for her and she was actually able to attend the family reunion just last weekend! Nobody would have thought that five days earlier.
We drove to the reunion last Friday after we said goodbye to Luna's mom in Berlin on Wednesday and had a lot to pack, buy and organize on Thursday. We are also grateful for wonderful farewell moments from our church family in DoKi, the night before we left as well as in church the Sunday before and at our farewell party in the garden on June 13th.
The family reunion took place where my mum grew up in Thüringen. There is a nice campsite by the lake there. Some of my five siblings camped with their families, others had an apartment. We stayed at my aunt's house. Because of the corona uncertainty, we had a rather relaxed set-up this time without fixed gathering times or meals, but that also contributed to a relaxed, happy weekend. On Sunday morning we celebrated a nice service together with a theater performance of the parable of the two sons (Luke 15).
What's next?
Next week we would like to visit a friend in the Black Forest, who had repeatedly invited us before. Now we are free to take the time to visit her. :-)
Then it's off to Croatia!
Many will know that we actually wanted to live, work and learn in a friendly Christian community in New Zealand for nine months. But New Zealand has been keeping the borders closed for foreigners - God knows whether we can go there soon or only much later.
In Croatia we want to follow the mission Jesus gave to his disciples:
"When you enter a town ... heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’" (Luke 10: 8-9)
Jesus repeated a call several times (see Mt 10.7-8; Mk 16, 15-18; Joh 20.21, Acts 1.8) and in the book of Acts we see how the followers of Jesus carried out precisely this call. At no point is it withdrawn or modified, so it applies to us today as well as the promises of Jesus that go with it:
What's next?
Next week we would like to visit a friend in the Black Forest, who had repeatedly invited us before. Now we are free to take the time to visit her. :-)
Then it's off to Croatia!
Many will know that we actually wanted to live, work and learn in a friendly Christian community in New Zealand for nine months. But New Zealand has been keeping the borders closed for foreigners - God knows whether we can go there soon or only much later.
In Croatia we want to follow the mission Jesus gave to his disciples:
"When you enter a town ... heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’" (Luke 10: 8-9)
Jesus repeated a call several times (see Mt 10.7-8; Mk 16, 15-18; Joh 20.21, Acts 1.8) and in the book of Acts we see how the followers of Jesus carried out precisely this call. At no point is it withdrawn or modified, so it applies to us today as well as the promises of Jesus that go with it:
"Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Mt 28:20)
We do not yet know where exactly we will start, where we will find a church community and look for an apartment. We trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who will always show us the next steps.
Luna and I do not consider it presumptuous or naive to go into the unknown, because we have experienced over many years how God keeps his promises faithfully and that his word is absolutely reliable and still alive today.
There are also other Christians who experience the same thing. "The Last Reformation" has many encouraging videos on YouTube. In the following example Thorben shares some testimonies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4d9oAr4oec
God does not call every Christian to leave his home, family, etc. and serve Him elsewhere. Nevertheless, everyone can experience that Jesus' words still apply today in his home town. We want to encourage all of our brothers and sisters in Jesus to reach out for everything He has in store for us!
We pray that the peace of Christ, His Shalom, may rest upon you!
We will write again soon,
We do not yet know where exactly we will start, where we will find a church community and look for an apartment. We trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who will always show us the next steps.
Luna and I do not consider it presumptuous or naive to go into the unknown, because we have experienced over many years how God keeps his promises faithfully and that his word is absolutely reliable and still alive today.
There are also other Christians who experience the same thing. "The Last Reformation" has many encouraging videos on YouTube. In the following example Thorben shares some testimonies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4d9oAr4oec
God does not call every Christian to leave his home, family, etc. and serve Him elsewhere. Nevertheless, everyone can experience that Jesus' words still apply today in his home town. We want to encourage all of our brothers and sisters in Jesus to reach out for everything He has in store for us!
We pray that the peace of Christ, His Shalom, may rest upon you!
We will write again soon,
Harry, Luna, Junia and Amos
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However, we cannot see your email address in this way. If you would like to be in touch with us, please write to: berlinmountains@gmail.com.
P.S .: If you want to receive our updates, it is best to register with your e-mail address on the right. Then you will get an e-mail every time we write an update.
However, we cannot see your email address in this way. If you would like to be in touch with us, please write to: berlinmountains@gmail.com.
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