Holidays

Lucy has been helping in two schools by teaching English to the children. One school went on a field trip to a nursing home for Christmas. Lucy assisted the teachers and the class of second graders to pass out cookies the children made. Lucy did not make it into a picture, sorry. But the teacher did, her name is Christina Serafy from Columbus, Ohio.

We are in the middle of the holiday season. The Christmas markets have closed down, but many lights are still shining brightly. We had a Christmas Eve service at RB (Rock Berlin) which started at 4p.m. Gifts are exchanged on Christmas Eve in Germany so the folks were looking forward to worshiping and getting home to family and gifts. Germany also closes down for two days following Christmas Eve. We spent most of the first day calling family via Skype.

We enjoyed a quiet Christmas in Berlin, but we have been told that New Year's is a different story. Fireworks are a major part of New Year's Eve. We were advised that large numbers of people are out overnight setting off fireworks anywhere and everywhere. We saw a church with long rockets set up like a teepee waiting to be set off! We will watch the fireworks from the safety of an apartment belonging to one of RB's members.

In the previous blog we mentioned recycling. Recycling is very important in Germany. There are special containers for every building and also along the sidewalks.

These three containers are for different colored glass, green, clear and brown. Cute, aren't they?

God is slowly stretching us - Dieter helped out during the service on the 29th by leading the music which included two songs in German (Shout to the Lord and I Love You Lord). Lucy was interviewed for an article about Forgiveness to be published in a German Christian magazine.

We also helped redecorate the church. Remember, we rent space on the first floor of an apartment building. We've included a few pictures to help you visualize Rock Berlin.

Rock Berlin has about 35-45 people that attend fairly regularly. The space can hold double that number.

Next week we will travel on the high speed train to attend a Great Commission Europe conference called Awaken. There will be six countries represented at this four day meeting, Jan.2 - 6. Please pray for God's blessing and that He is glorified. Thank you and may God bless your new year.