Driven by Prayer

After returning home from our stateside visit in late January, ready to jump in with vigor, both Chris and Hunter caught the flu. This meant lots of down time in bed and on the couch resting. It was an opportunity to reflect about how we do ministry. Chris and I came to the conclusion that we had gotten away from an essential factor...prayer. I think we had been relying too much on our own ability to produce results. So with that, instead of getting down to work, we quieted ourselves before our Lord and asked Him to produce the results. What I am going to tell you is not shocking nor surprising, PRAYER WORKED! Whenever we were presented with an obstacle, we put it on the list and hit our knees. In one month, we have seen answer after answer. I would like to share just a few of the many answered prayers with you today:

We have been trying to create vibrancy in our ministry to reach more kids and have our Club become a place kids desire to be. After just two weeks of prayer it happened, our Middle School Club exploded to 35 kids; this was more than we had ever had at this Bible Study. There was energy, excitement, and the kids were attentive to what was being shared. Things have continued to grow, now we just need more volunteers to help us love on all these kids.

In mid-February, Chris took 8 teens on a leadership ski retreat; 4 girls discipled by Cheyenne and 4 guys discipled by Chris. They met up with 90 other teens from 10 other Posts from across Germany. We had transportation arranged through the transportation office here on Post. At the last minute, we lost this benefit, and so we began to pray. Not only did the transportation office give us one van, but rather two, so the teens would not be cramped. The groups are pictured above in Garmisch, Germany (about 2 hours from Hohenfels). Chris and Cheyenne were able to speak to these young teens, and affirm them in their walk with Christ and living it out.

Another huge answer to prayer is the blessing of a car. We still have our RAV4, which is getting up there in age, and then we had a "hoopty", or as we call it in my family a "bessie"-that was in need of repairs beyond which we could afford. First, we were able to sell "bessie" to a man who is able to fix up old cars; then, a friend of our who just recently moved back to the states, told us she would give us her car for whatever we sold "bessie" for. Her car is 4 years younger than ours, with significantly less mileage and in GREAT shape. It brings tears to my eyes, as I think about how God's timing is never LATE, and He knows our needs better than we do.

Hunter is back to Kindergarten and speaking German fluently, well for a 3 year old. His English grew immensely during our time stateside. Everyone keeps mentioning how tall he has gotten. We have some funny stories on potty training that are not appropriate for public display, but if I talk to you, I will be glad to share my experiences and now expertise (haha). For those of you who had been praying with us, I am blessed to report that Hunter does not need tubes in his ears. He passed enough of the tests that he will be able to go without the surgery; instead we just had to find a good allergy medicine that is effective for his seasonal allergies (common during the moist winter months in Bavaria). With Easter just around the corner, my time will be consumed with Worship leading and preparing music for various services over the next month. We are entering a season of being super busy with Easter, Service Project, Leadership Retreats, Beach Break, and so on. Please pray for the hearts of kids to be ripe to hear God's voice on HIS plan for their lives; kids like Courtney, Bethany, Christy, Damian, Russ, Kayla...