Birthday Gifts

Birthday Cards

Birthday with the Home Group

Friday night, during home group, we celebrated Lucy's birthday with fun, food, and flowers.

We were 12 that night: the women ate in the dining area and the guys were in the living room.

And almost every one brought flowers for Lucy.

She also received a journal book, a scarf, a card with baby Elijah on the front.

Sabine baked a cheesecake with chocolate in it. Everyone loved it - the cake just was not big enough.

John-Paul created an I Love Lucy card with Desi Arnez on the cover. Last year, John-Paul gave me a card with my face photo-shopped in a Jimi Hendrix photo. John-Paul is very creative.

We still found time to sing, pray and discuss the gospel of John, ch. 8. It was a great night.

Birthday Lunch

Lucy's day was blessed by Christina and Katrin. Christina (the shorter one) called Lucy and sang Happy Birthday in German, prayed for Lucy in German while on the phone, then invited Lucy to lunch.

Katrin, a journalist in Berlin, invited Lucy to dessert after lunch. She treated Lucy to ice cream in a park. It was a rare sunny day in Berlin-God's gift to Lucy:)

Christina and Katrin have been blessings in our lives here in Berlin.

Lucy's Birthday Flowers

Lucy had a birthday on March 22 and the Goering family came to give a gift of flowers and love.

Stephi came with Sarah, Luke and Joshua. The children picked out the colors of the flowers. How cute is that!

Cowboys in Texas

Celine, one of the single women at RB, asked us to bring back a cowboy. And here I am giving it my best effort. But the cowboy's wife said no:)

(this is Lucy's brother, Gerry)

I, at least, came back to Berlin with my cowgirl.

Family in Texas

Lucy was able to visit with lots of family at the wedding. Here she is with her mom, two sisters, one sister-in-law, a niece, and a great-niece. Lucy had a great time sharing stories of her ministry in Berlin and hearing about the things she has missed.

It was a great opportunity for us to talk about how God is working in Berlin.

Wedding in Texas

In March, we had the privilege of traveling to Texas for a family wedding, and even officiating the ceremony. The beautiful couple is Stephanie and David.

Listening for Heaven's Sake

In Feb. we hosted Patricia Flynn and Linda Kitchen from the Amsterdam church. The two lead several Rock Berliners in the seminar, Listening for Heaven's Sake. We talked about how to love one another through better listening. We worked often in small groups and did role-playing to practice the practical lessons.

Book Table at the Retreat

Part of the blessing of the women's retreat was the Bood Table. Pat Hillebrand and Betty Christopher from Indiana organized the table and brought donated books that were given to the Europeans at no charge. What a great gift!

Women's Retreat in January

Women came from the states to bless the women in Europe. At this retreat, Lucy, Stephi and Kathy found some quiet outside near the retreat center.

The other picture shows women from the states blessing others with manicures. A hairdresser also made the trip and offered her services. Lucy took advantage of the manicure and a hand massage.

Women's Exercise Outreach

We have written in our updates about Maria starting a women's outreach through an exercise class for new moms. Maria decided to use exercise balls for the class and storage became a question. There is not much storage in German homes. Maria's husband, John-Paul found a creative solution - hang them from the ceiling.

The class is still going and Maria is developing a few close relationships with the women.