Jon the Baptist.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeellllll, we’re headin off to other parts of Germany now.  Good ol Espolkemp and then to Dresden.  We get picked up around 11 – 12 am then drive for couple hours to Espolkemp to hang out with like 40 – 60 youth for the whole week.  We met some of them at different times as they have come to Berlin to hang out, but this will be the first time that we actually go to the church and meet the entire crew / church.

We are supposed to do loads of fun stuff like leading church service stuff, giving testimonies, playing cheesy youth games, going to small groups, and actually doing our first Drime.  A “Drime” being a small skit / play without words, but with music and a powerful message that doesn’t need words.  Good for those cross cultural ministry things.  Though I know the impact we are likely to make is much smaller then someone who could speak the language, live for years with the people, grow with the people, our hopes are in God, and thats really all we got.

God gave me some really cool idea’s about a month ago during a night where I had so much on my mind I couldn’t sleep.  I just started writing and make a really passionate play / Drime / skit, but with words.  It would be very powerfu being done right in the right language, but in this case the language would be the big problem.  So with the help of mainly, Kidron, and Kenton’s drawing skills, we came up with the same idea but with no words.  And I really love it.  It’s really cool because it is not a normal Drime situation where you act out some thing to a song that you watched on a video, but it came from the hearts of our members.  So we all are naturally able to be into it, making for less cheese and more… more… I dunno, a word that means the opposite of cheese.  So we’re gonna try our “bring the show”, as we call it, kind of ministry for the next 2 weeks. Where we go from place to place, church to church, and see how we can encourage and grow our own understanding of what God is doing in peoples lives around all of Germany, not just Berlin. (not really all… but two other cities).

After Espolkemp, we head out for a 13 hour train right to Dresden.  I big beautiful city, where a church awaits our “bring the show” arrival.  We are actually going to be living with the youth in that church for the whole week.  So its gonna make for a crazy time.  Were attending loads (by loads like 3) of small groups in the 1 week we are there. As well, we are on for the sunday service; kids, adults, youth, worship, preaching, you name it, Trek team is on.  So were pretty excited for that.  Then we come home, stay in Berlin for a week, then head out to Rome for 5 days vacation. Wew.

Then last, we come back to Berlin for 4 or 5 more weeks until we head home to abbostford for 2 weeks debrief.  Then I am home!

God Bless,

Jon

We have just had another amazing week.  This week was our first event that took place at the new building.  We had a “Sport Speil Spas” camp – aka a Soccer Camp.  Three days of youth helping, kids playing, and adults complaining… Well. not really, but it had been a very interesting experiment to see how people in the community would react to church events.  Considering most of them would rather of had the building torn down and make into something really pretty (like an old catholic church), we had a fairly good response.  Not saying that every adult was against the church, but there are many old people that don’t know what church is actually for.  They have an idea set that church is just for Christians, and that a church coming will have nothing to do with them because they have not been saved.
This idea is very widespread in Germany.  Being a country as a whole that is nearly 70 percent catholic (in some areas 95 percent, others 99), people see religion as personal.  Many catholics think its rude to talk about there faith, even to other catholics.  Church is strictly for going, getting yourself cleansed of sins, and then going home to your ordinary life.  There is no idea of actually living with Jesus each day.  The effect being on most non-believing Germans is that they perceive church as being very privet (i.e. no outsiders; i.e. just another building were people are going to go to be exclusive).  Hence some not welcoming the church, but looking to pic it apart each small mistake at a time.  A small example is while the kids were playing soccer in this 50 by 35 foot -ish barrier and having the ball get kicked high and going not only over the barrier but over the church fence.  One of the older kids would go after the ball and hop over the 5 foot metal fence.  I thought this to be fine, knowing that the fence is owned by the church and to go around would take much longer.  But sure enough, and older lady comes to explain that “people” do not like that.  I mean I’m grateful that she told us… but I mean how picky are these people that they would complain about kids jumping over this 5 foot metal fence that is owned by the church to get a ball?
Though… Oh I have a good story.  I will never forget this story, for is showed just how much that you should always, ALWAYS, be a good example, event when you are working alone with absolutely no one around besides you and God… or so I thought…  I was trimming some of the plants that were overgrown at the back of the church.  I few people would walk by, maybe one or two every half hour.  But I was doing my thing, working hard, digging stuff, cutting other things, and after 4 or 5 hours I went home.  BUUUT…  What I didn’t realize was that 3 weeks later I would receive a little present in the mall.  Turns out that some guy had taken…or I should say “sniped” pictures of me from his 3 floor apartment living room window.  They were zoomed in and had me shoveling, and working on my own listening to my mp3 player.  How this guy knew Andrew’s address, I don’t know.  But sure enough Andrew comes to me with a very strange look on his face saying, “Jon… we’ve got a present for you in the mail…”  I look inside the envelope and Andrew just bursts out laughing, as well as everyone else in the room who had seen them before I had.  All laughing out of how strange this situation being.  Nobody knew they guy, but he “sniped” me and sent them also with a note.  The note was the explanation behind it all.  The reason being that he wanted to encourage the fact the I was working hard with no boss around, no money being made.  It was a great thing in the end.  Though a little creepy, the end product made for a great story that I will take with me for the rest of my days.  And I never forget to realize that no matter secluded or alone I think I am, people are watching what I do.  So I should made sure that I’m not just a fake in my walk with God.  Only being behaved, or a Christian, when people are around, but always.  Knowing that even if no people are watching, God is watching…