Springer Prayer Chain -- July 20, 2001
Dear Friends, Greetings from Bremen! I hope the Lord is filling your summer with good things as He is ours. So far, the emphasis has definitely been on getting to know our new contacts and this has been encouraging. ENGLISH BIBLE READERS Every year after the Harding students have done their good work of introducing people to us and to reading the Bible in English, it becomes our task to get as many of them as possible to continue studying with me. Usually their very primary interest is practicing their English. We hope that they will, over time, let God's Word work in their hearts, and usually it takes quite a while before that interest is aroused and with some it remains merely a language exercise. You can imagine our joy when we see the slightest bud of faith developing. It is definitely a work of patience. Although many people are still on vacation, we've gotten 4 groups started this year, two each on Mondays and Thursdays with the following people ranging in age from 20 to 70: REGINA, IMI, ANNA, VIKTOR, ALEXANDER, OLIVER, AYSE, MAKSYM, KATJA, GERALD, UTE K., SOENKE, HANS-PETER, HARTWIG, BEATA and FRANK who is a friend of Ute's. (I list these people by name especially for the four Harding students who worked with them and who are praying for them individually!) Elsa is also still meeting with WIEBKE regularly and several others have said they want to join the groups in August. We had an ENGLISH EVENING BAR-B-Q on Saturday - about 25 of us - which gave us the opportunity to get to know each other better and for some of the other Christians to meet these folks too. SPECIAL INTEREST What is unusual about this year's follow-up is that the Lord has sent us a number of people who already have an interest in him and even in the church. >>MANUEL, 20, was the first to attend worship and we assumed it was primarily to be with the students. He's on vacation in China (his mother's native land) right now, but before he left, he said he would be seeing us regularly when he returns. >>Then there's REGINA, 39, who attends ALL the services of the church including ladies' class, where she took part in the sentence prayers last week thanking the Lord for letting her find this group of Christians. >>UTE, 56, came also one Wednesday night, saying she hoped to be back after her vacation. >>GERALD, 49, doesn't believe in God but says he very much wants to. Besides studying with me, he visited Wolfgang Zastrow to discuss the existence of God from a scientific standpoint. (Wolfgang was a physics, math and computer science teacher for 38 years and has used this perspective effectively both in writing and preaching to promote faith in the living God.) Gerald went out and bought a Bible this week so he can read for himself between studies. >>KATJA, 30, also got a Bible this week and has started reading Luke. She's at a crossroads in her life, having quit her job and preparing for further training in the Fall. Such times seem to open the door for spiritual changes as well. At least that is what we are hoping. Yes, this year it seems that we are not just planting seems but are getting to start right out with the watering and nurturing of sprouting plants. Please pray for all our new friends, but especially for these. >>Another interesting person to pray for is BARBARA, who didn't come to us through the English work. Barbara is about 50 and the wife of the local Luthern pastor. She comes regularly to the ladies' class with her friend Dorit, who is the wife of a Luthern elder. Barbara is very frustrated by the lack of true faith in her life and church and is seeking answers in God's Word. She's not an easy person and her questions and challenges are not easy either, but she keeps coming. ETM We've just sent out posters to all the churches advertising the fall session of the Basic Course - "Basic Training for Evangelistic Workers". In the coming spring we will offer an intermediate course, "Bible Study that will Make Your Faith Grow". Please pray that the information will reach the right people and that they will have the courage to take on the challenge. Because a third mentor, Stephan Kallus, who preaches in the Munich church, will begin his work with ETM, it will be possible to accept as many as 18 new trainees in 2002 instead of the usual 12 per year. MARK Thank you for all the notes of caring and encouragement concerning my brother. At present he has rejected chemotherapy and radiation in favor of various alternative treatments but is being monitored by his oncologist, leaving the conventional options open also. I'd appreciate your continued prayers for him. PEL We will be on the road for the next couple of weeks - first at the 3rd annual Pan European Lectures (PEL) in Athens, Greece and then for a week with our daughters and a rented car on the Peloponnes visiting my roots, that is, the area where my grandfather was born and lived before his family sent him to the USA at age 14 to build his future. Perhaps we will even find some relatives, though I doubt my knowledge of New Testament Greek will enable a very deep discussion. Kosmas is a little village east of Sparta in the mountains. They just got a paved road a few years ago, or so I read. At any rate, the trip's a triple treat for me and my first time to Greece. We wish all of you could be with us at the PEL. The unique combination of inspiring lessons, great fellowship and mission emphasis right on the field is sure to be a high point in our year. Please pray also for all the travelers' safe return. Gott mit euch! Your fellow servants, Jim and Elsa SpringerRelated pages:
By Jim and Elsa Springer | EUROPE | Germany | Let's Start Talking
