6 posts tagged “craig & debbie”
***This is a copy of my first newsletter that I'll be sending out. In an earlier post, I was asked about my vision for ministry in Germany. Hopefully, this letter will answer that question as well. If anyone is interested in receiving this quarterly newletter by mail, just let me know. I am planning on posting them here when I write them, so if you don't want it via snail mail, then you're really only missing out on the asthetics of it. :)
Ever since my first trip to Hungary in 2005, I’ve been asking the Lord if this was where He was calling me. I’ve also been actively stepping forward, believing that if it is not, He will make it clear and close the door. So far, the doors for me to move to Germany and begin a ministry through music and English conversation groups have remained wide open, and He continues to confirm that this is indeed the direction I should go. I’ve had people ask me many different questions about what my next steps are, so I’ll try to answer a couple of them here and hopefully give you a better picture of what’s ahead for me.There were four of them huddled around a couple desks that had been pushed together. Their eyes smiled and they looked eager to begin the conversation. The rest of their peers had been divided into similar groups and these four young girls were the last to be assigned an English conversation partner. As I walked toward them, their grins widened and they leaned forward in anticipation. It’s one thing to study English from a book, but it’s another thing to be given the opportunity to practice what you’ve learned with a native speaker! This was not my first time to begin such a conversation. I had been taking trips to Germany and Eastern Europe for three years to visit schools, speak with the students and share my music. Typically, at the beginning of the conversation, I’ll ask them to introduce themselves and tell me some of their favorite hobbies. Then, perhaps, I’ll ask if they have any questions for me. However, this particular conversation was not typical.
As I took my seat, and before I even had a chance to ask for their names or introduce myself, one of them immediately asked, “Do you go to church?” I was taken off-guard a little, but eager to converse with them, so I responded with “Yes, I do”. Then she asked me to describe what it was like. So we talked about church. She attended the State Church; the others didn’t go to church at all. We discussed the difference between the State church and the “Free” church. Then came a statement from one of them that became the turning point for my whole trip. “I think that because we are so young, it is impossible for us to know if there even is a God.” It is true that they are young. And it’s true that if they’ve been raised in families that don’t believe in God, or attend churches that don’t teach the truth about God, they would have fewer opportunities to know Him. But it is not “impossible”. He makes Himself known in the most unexpected ways…even through a simple conversation in English class. As I sat there in the middle of this classroom in former East Germany, and told these young girls that there is a God who deeply loves them and created them with the intent purpose of having a relationship with them through Jesus Christ, I was humbled by the fact that God chose me to be the one to tell them.
“What exactly will you be doing there?”
There are two main tools that the Lord has placed in my hands for this ministry: English and music. My desire is to start English conversation groups for the school students with the purpose of building relationships with them that will introduce them to Christ. Although I will be living in Germany and focusing on ministry in that area, there are opportunities for this type of ministry throughout Eastern Europe. So I also plan to lead short-term teams into those places to engage in conversation with the students and teachers, give concerts, and support the local ministries.
“Will you be going alone or with a team?”
Although I will be traveling to Germany alone, I will not be alone in this endeavor. In fact, I will actually be a part of a couple different teams of people. This summer, I joined Fellowship International Mission (FIM), and will be partnering with FIM missionaries, Craig & Debbie Borgard, who I’ve had the privilege of working alongside on previous trips. Craig and Debbie have been living and working in Germany for the past 6 years, and I look forward to working with them in the years to come. However, this will not be the only team with whom I am partnering. In the next several months before I leave, my main responsibility will be to assemble those people whom God has called to support me in this ministry financially and in prayer. My target date to leave for Germany is May 1st, but before I am able to go, 100% of my financial support must be raised, as well as a team of 100 people willing to pray daily for me in the work of introducing young adults in Eastern Europe to the relationship with Christ for which they were created.
Young adults in Germany and Eastern Europe are asking questions about God and life. I’m willing to go and offer them some answers, and I’m excited about the team of people that God is raising up to be a part of this exciting ministry with me. Will you pray about whether the Lord might be calling you?
Because of His grace,
Mindy
This post is LOOOOONG overdue, and for that I apologize! For all you know, in regards to my last post, I could be still waiting to hear from the "Big Dogs" about whether or not I was accepted as an official appointee with FIM! Well, you can stop drumming your fingers on the desk now...I will put your minds at ease and let you know that my meeting with the Board of Directors went very well and I am pleased to announce that I have been officially accepted as a missionary appointee to Germany and Eastern Europe with FIM!
The whole experience at Candidate Orientation was a very good one for me. For starters, it was great to be able to go through the week with Craig and Debbie (my new teammates!) :) They've been in ministry in Germany for the past 6 years and were the ones who initially began "twisting my arm" about moving to Germany and joining them. Last year, they switched mission agencies and were thus required to attend this year's Orientation. It just so happened that the Lord's timing in calling me to this ministry and His timing in opening the doors for them to join FIM allowed for us to attend the Orientation at the same time! What a blessing that was...not to mention more fun than we probably should have been allowed to have! :) I am so thankful for Craig and Debbie and the relationship that we have. One of my biggest concerns in the past about "being a missionary" was having to be on a team. I have to say that in this case, I'm excited to be a part of this team!
Several months ago--March to be exact--I was in Germany. It was one of four trips that I've taken there in the past three years. Right before I came home from that trip I posted this blog about what God had been doing in my life and the ways that He was leading me. Since then, my plans to move to Germany have been in the back of my mind, but I haven't really been able to focus on them as I've had a ton of other commitments over the past few months that have sort of taken precedence. I've been taking tiny steps toward Germany when I've been able (i.e. filling out the application for FIM and interviewing with the staff), but I feel like I haven't been able to really invest a whole lot of emotional/mental energy into the process...until now.
It's interesting--I've experienced a shift take place internally over the past two weeks since the Exodus conference. Germany has been on my mind a lot more, and when I think about it, my excitement to return and be a part of that ministry has increased. It's a good thing this "shift" is taking place now because this morning I leave for a week of intense meetings and seminars at the Candidate Orientation for FIM. I'm both excited and nervous about this week. According to the schedule that I received in the mail, it's a jam-packed week with what appears to be very little down-time and few opportunities for solitude--which, to this melancholic, intorverted, creative-type, means certain doom. In fact, I just might implode by Wednesday. At the same time, I'm excited to spend this week gathering the information and tools needed for this next step. I'm also excited about the fact that Craig and Debbie (my--hopefully--future teammates in Germany) will be attending the Orientation also. I have no doubt that this week will be instrumental in team building for us as well and I'm thankful that the Lord had it in His plan to have us all there at the same time.
I will try to keep you posted as the week progresses, but like I said, it's going to be pretty full, so don't get your hopes up either...just in case it doesn't happen. :) Thank you all, in advance, for your prayers for me as I move forward in this. It is by faith that I move.
It's good to be back in Hungary, but I have to say that it's a bit strange to be here without members from my church. If any of you who have been with me to Hungary in the past are reading this, know that you are missed. The other strange thing right now is trying to type on a Hungarian keyboard. VERY strange. I'm managing though. :) What's really good, is having the chance to go and sit by the Danube, which is just a short walk from the Bible Center and which is one of my favorite places in the world. I've spent a lot of time by this river and have talked to the Lord about many differnt things there, so it is a significant place for me. It's good to be back.
We arrived here at the Bible Center in Dömös on Saturday evening after a very long and tiring trip from Leipzig. It took us about 13 or so hours, but we finally made it and were greeted by Ernö and Katrin (Ernö is director of the Bible Center), and of course, Tünde ("toon-da"), our wonderful cook. She had a meal all prepared and waiting for us, and even though none of us were really hungry, we sat down and forced ourselves to eat. Sunday morning we got up and drove another hour or so to a small, but growing, church near Budapest. The people there seemed so warm and it was wonderful to share communion with them and attempt to sing with them in their language. (Apparently, Hungarian is the second or third most difficult language to learn!) I sang a couple of my songs for them, and Jack, from the Pennsylvania team, gave a message. Afterwards, we all split up into smaller groups and ate lunch in the homes of various families from the church. I always love these times of interacting with the people and having the opportunity to get a small glimpse into their lives. I went with Ernö and Katrin to the home of "Willie" and Eva. (I'll hopefully have a chance to upload some pictures later today).
Sunday evening I gave a concert here at the Bible Center for various friends and neighbors of the staff here. I sent the songs ahead last week, so Katrin and her friend, "Kristy", who is not a believer, translated them into Hungarian so we could project the lyrics behind me. There were about 30-40 people there and some even came who are professing atheists. The Gospel was explained and I simply tried to talk plainly about meaning of life and relationship with God.
Monday morning, Craig, Debbie and Peter (from Germany), left to take some medical supplies to Romania...which means that I have been somewhat in charge of overseeing the group. Yesterday and today have been spent working around the Center and tomorrow morning we'll be heading into the school to speak with the students studying English. I'm looking forward to connecting again with the teachers and students there and introducing the team to the wide open opportunities for building relationships in the schools.
Well, I know this post has been mainly factual, but hopefully it will keep you appraised with what's going on in my world over here. Thanks for all your prayers.
Lesson #1: Admit your limitations
I'm not too proud to admit that I do NOT know the European transportation system like the back of my hand. I'm not afraid to try things out, be independent, or go places on my own using the trains and such, but I'm also not as confident as I would like to be. That said, let me tell you about my day yesterday...
I made plans last week to go to Mannheim to visit Diane, one of my best friends from college. Her husband, Douglas, is stationed here as a JAG officer in the U.S Army. They have one ridiculously cute 2-year old daughter named Eliana, another baby on the way, and a beautiful black lab. Apparently, last night Eliana was anxiously awaiting the arrival of "Aunt" Mindy, but unfortunately had to wait up waaaaay past her bedtime because "Aunt" Mindy did not arrive on the train she was supposed to arrive on!
But it wasn't my fault.
Lesson #2: Be prepared for uncertainty.
After we ate lunch at the church in Schkeuditz yesterday, I gathered my things and got on the Strassenbahn (tram) that would take me into the main train station in Leipzig where I could catch my train to Mannheim. I've been on this Strassenbahn several times so I wasn't concerned about where I needed to get off or what to do. However, as I began to look around, I noticed that the stops and the streets were just not looking familiar. In the back of my head I had the idea that most, if not all, of the Strassenbahns go to the main Train Station, but I wasn't 100% sure. Fortunately for me, I am a Cingular customer and have automatic universal coverage on my cell phone. For obvious reasons, I don't just sit around and talk on my cell phone while in Europe, but it certainly has been helpful on a number of occasions when I've been in a pinch. Yesterday, the possibility of being on the wrong Strassenbahn that might take me in opposite direction of the train station, thus causing me to miss my train to Mannheim constituted as "a pinch". So, I powered up the phone and made a quick call to Craig and Debbie and confirmed that I was indeed on my way to the Train Station. Phew!
Lesson #3: Don't listen to your iPod until you are on your train.
Once inside the train station, I found the track for the train to Frankfurt (I had to switch trains in Frankfurt before heading on to Mannheim). My train, ICE 1556, was scheduled to leave at 15:09, and I was actually about 40 minutes early, so I had time to purchase some gummy bears from the vending machine, browse through some songs on my iPod, and look over my ticket a couple times before the train actually arrived. Around 14:45, the train pulled in and people began scrambling to their respective cars...me being one of them. I wasn't seeing my car, so I whipped out my limited German and asked one of the conductors where wagon 31 was. He spouted off something back to me in German and pointed to the far end of the train. So, I picked up my pace, hopped in my car, and found my seat. But something seemed "off" for some reason. First of all, I had asked for a window seat and seat 38 was clearly not a window, but I sat down and pulled out my ticket and looked at it again. My gut, however, was telling me to get up and make sure. So I turned around and looked at the information sign above the door. ICE 1559. But it said Frankfurt on the list of stops...but... This time my gut was shouting at me, "Find someone to ask, Mindy!" So I found another not-so-friendly conductor lady standing outside the train, asked her if she spoke English (which she didn't), and showed her my ticket. Although she was explaining in German, I was able to pick out enough words to understand that this train was heading to Dresden, from Frankfurt, not to. So I raced back inside gathered my things and got off the train just as Conductor Lady was holding up her paddle to signal that the train was pulling out. At this moment, I realized two things: 1. Trains are not like planes that pull in and wait for long periods of time before pulling out again, 2. had I not been listening to my iPod, I would have heard that this was the train to Dresden. :::sigh::: and 3. God was most certainly looking out for me! I also remembered that this particular train was the one I inadvertantly left my passport on last fall and it DID go to Dresden!
Lesson #4: Always travel with flexiblity and a spirit of adventure
ICE 1556 finally pulled in and I was on it. I found my seat and settled in for the 3 1/2 hour ride to Frankfurt. Unfortunately, and for whatever reason, it was running behind schedule--highly unusual for Germany, one of the most punctual cultures on the planet. But what started out as 10 minutes behind schedule, turned out to be 35 minutes behind schedule when we finally arrived in Frankfurt--not a good scenario when you're supposed to arrive at 18:27 and be on your next train at 18:50, but don't actually arrive until 19:00. However, there wasn't much I could do, so I just decided to go with the flow...whatever that meant at this point. I walked around the Frankfurt Station for a few minutes looking for an information desk, but to no avail. So I went up to the Departure board and looked for the next train to Mannheim. I found one that was leaving in 10 minutes and quickly located the track where it was waiting. People were boarding, so I followed suit and prayed to God that I wouldn't get kicked off this train in the middle of nowhere because I had the wrong ticket. I struggled through the very narrow isles of about 5 or 6 cars before I finally found a seat for myself and all my stuff in a car with 5 Russians and an Indian girl. When the ticket lady came through, I explained my dilemma, and she assured me that I could take this train to Mannheim. She was very kind, even though I know she was thinking, "You poor, pitiful American."
Needless to say, I was very glad to see Douglas waiting for me outside the station in Mannheim. And I was extremely excited to embrace my dear friend Diane when we got home...and of course, shower Eliana with hugs and kisses. I'm really glad to be here, and although I have a couple mini-concerts on the base later this week, I'm just looking forward to having some down time to rest after a very full...but very good...week.
I apologize for the silence over the past several days. My intention was to keep up the blog a bit more than I have, but it has literally been non-stop since the team arrived on Friday. So many good things have been happening though, and part of me doesn't even know where to begin now that I am blogging again! I'll try to share some highlights...
Friday morning a team from a church in Pennsylvania arrived. There are 12 of them, half of which are under the age of 21. It's really cool to see such an enthusiastic group of young'ins. They've all jumped right in making attempts at the language and asking lots of questions about the people and culture here. One of the things that Craig and Debbie did differently with this team is have an orientation meeting at the beginning on the day they arrived to talk about what to do and what not to do, as well as give them some German phrases to practice and try out. They invited some of the people from the English group to come and help introduce the team to the language.
Another highlight for me personally, was visiting with Martina. Some of you reading know who Martina is from my previous trips, but for the sake of those who don't I will explain. Martina lives directly across the street form Craig and Debbie, and although she is a professed atheist, over the past couple years has spent much of her time with Craig and Debbie and other believers from the church. On our trip to Hungary last year, she came along to help Debbie work on a putting together a cookbook to raise money for the church. The whole week in Hungary she was exposed to the Gospel as she attended team devotions, and saw it lived out in the lives and relationships of everyone around her. On my last trip to Germany in October, I stayed with Martina,
Finally, the next big thing that happened this week was our visits to the local high school to provide conversation with the English classes. This is something that we've done in Hungary over the past several years and it has been a super way of getting to know students and teachers, and on some occasions has led to invitations into their homes for coffee. This is the first time that I've done this in the German schools and wasn't really sure what to expect, but it turned out to be an explosion of ministry opportunities and possibilities. In some of the classes we split the class into smaller groups and each of us took a group to converse with. I sat down with a group of girls in the one
There is so much happening here that I don't have the time to write about. The opporutinities are endless. For the past year or so, I have been going back and forth about what my role is in this place, and now I can't turn my mind off to the possibilities and endless ministry opportunities here. Perhaps it is time for me to "take the plunge". But more on that at another time. Right now, I have to organize my songs for tomorrow night's concert. It will be from 7:00-8:00 pm here, which will be around 1:00-2:00pm EST. Please pray for Isabel as she translates more of the songs today, and also as she interprets for me during the concert. Sometimes speaking with an interpreter can be confusing and I can easily lose my train of thought, so I would really appreciate prayer for that. I have been given an opportunity to share openly in a public venue the hope that is found in relationship with Christ. The concert has been advertised in the Leipzig newspaper, in the schools, and today the team is handing out flyers on the street, so there is no way of knowing how many people will actually be there. I believe, though, that God will bring who He wants, whether that's 2 or 200, and so I rest in that.
Love you guys. Thanks for supporting me!!
