Saturday evening my Syrian friend Abby called me to tell me that her husband had returned to her, begged her forgiveness and wanted to start over again. I was shocked to say the least and wondered if he was serious. I invited them to come to the Lighthouse on Sunday morning for a little gathering with another couple on our team and a couple of neighbors they had invited. We had no idea how this morning would go, no real agenda and just prayed that God would be present in our midst and lead the way. In the end, we were 4 Americans, 3 Syrians and 1 German + 4 children (2 American/2 Syrian) The German is a lady who lives upstairs from the Lighthouse and has a Syrian PhD student living with her. They both came and the woman told us that she believes God brought us to this place just for her. (ha! we thought it was for the refugees) She had been hiking a few weeks ago and out of the blue, starting thinking about Jesus Christ and wondering what he was all about. She came 45 minutes early and sat reading the Bible in German. She exclaimed with tears how happy she was to find us and that she never felt such love & acceptance before. Abby & her husband (Henry) joined in the conversation and also seemed to be "sucked in" by the love they were shown. Our teammate was leading the discussion and told the group that we want to become a body that loves deeply and has total freedom to share openly what we're going through. We started out with a robust German brunch (which they're famous for) and then sat around tables discussing what it meant to "cast our cares on Jesus". It was a great Sunday and we plan to do this every week for now and see how it evolves. We may have a general devotional and then break up according to language groups and discuss more deeply. Yesterday everyone's level of English was adequate to have a meaningful discussion together in English. Although we are primarily here for the refugees, we are seeing a steady stream of Germans coming by and asking what we're all about. We are seeing a spiritual hunger among them that is shocking. (since we've always heard how difficult they are to reach) Who knows what this Lighthouse will mean in this community? We envision now a day for Spanish speakers and Arabic speakers and German speakers. Who knows what God has in store for this place? We are ready and excited to see!Monday, September 19, 2016
Sunday surprise!
Saturday evening my Syrian friend Abby called me to tell me that her husband had returned to her, begged her forgiveness and wanted to start over again. I was shocked to say the least and wondered if he was serious. I invited them to come to the Lighthouse on Sunday morning for a little gathering with another couple on our team and a couple of neighbors they had invited. We had no idea how this morning would go, no real agenda and just prayed that God would be present in our midst and lead the way. In the end, we were 4 Americans, 3 Syrians and 1 German + 4 children (2 American/2 Syrian) The German is a lady who lives upstairs from the Lighthouse and has a Syrian PhD student living with her. They both came and the woman told us that she believes God brought us to this place just for her. (ha! we thought it was for the refugees) She had been hiking a few weeks ago and out of the blue, starting thinking about Jesus Christ and wondering what he was all about. She came 45 minutes early and sat reading the Bible in German. She exclaimed with tears how happy she was to find us and that she never felt such love & acceptance before. Abby & her husband (Henry) joined in the conversation and also seemed to be "sucked in" by the love they were shown. Our teammate was leading the discussion and told the group that we want to become a body that loves deeply and has total freedom to share openly what we're going through. We started out with a robust German brunch (which they're famous for) and then sat around tables discussing what it meant to "cast our cares on Jesus". It was a great Sunday and we plan to do this every week for now and see how it evolves. We may have a general devotional and then break up according to language groups and discuss more deeply. Yesterday everyone's level of English was adequate to have a meaningful discussion together in English. Although we are primarily here for the refugees, we are seeing a steady stream of Germans coming by and asking what we're all about. We are seeing a spiritual hunger among them that is shocking. (since we've always heard how difficult they are to reach) Who knows what this Lighthouse will mean in this community? We envision now a day for Spanish speakers and Arabic speakers and German speakers. Who knows what God has in store for this place? We are ready and excited to see!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
This is so exciting. Praise Him for answered prayers! Praise Him for putting you there and for the giftedness He has given you!
This is the stuff we pray for and is so exciting to read. You guys are very busy but taking the time to write these things keeps us going. And a great reason to go on living so we can keep on praying for you and His work around the world. Ms.Merkel's party may have lost but He used her open door policy to bring the Gospel to Germany in ways no one could have envisioned. So happy for you all, Love, Jude
Our God is doing a great work there. Hallelujah!
I will keep praying for the outpouring of His power.
Very exciting to hear the stories! Praying for your Syrian pastor to arrive soon!
Thank you for the vivid updates, so excited in hearing of the answered prayers, glimpses of God's Glory is how i refer to them. I continue to stand at awe!
Praying for Syrian Pastor and his wife to arrive and for the Lord to go before and have a place for them before long.
Praying for you and your team also!
gean
Post a Comment