Dearly cherished brothers and sisters,

In April we began making repairs and renovations to the previously empty apartment that we now live in.  Located three stories above the church in the heart of the city this apartment’s price and location has already been a tremendous blessing.  It makes the commute quite easy and puts us in a very strategic location for outreach into the community.  Of course everything has its price and we have had to invest a lot of time, energy and materials upfront into renovating this 60s era disaster.  Through a lot of man hours and materials loving donated from people in the church this apartment is starting to come together.  We are so excited to be moved in and finally have a place of our own after seven months.

Our primary focus has been in approaching God in intercession for the church and the community.  Yet God in his kindness has already delivered a few ministries under our care.  We have started an English Speaker’s Worship Service that has drawn in a few outsiders though no unchurched peoples as of yet.  However a local newspaper interviewed me yesterday and I believe that it will result in some good free publicity.  Also I have been given more opportunities to preach in the main service though the translation is still an obstacle I pray to hurdle in the coming months.  As Rolf takes his German-insurance-paid-health-retreat much of the care of the church will be handed over to me.  We are very happy that Rolf will get this break after seven years of bi-vocational ministry and I believe the time should be good for all of us.  Oddly enough God led me through a number of dreams to join the city basketball league yet this has proven to be my greatest connection into the non-believing community. 

We have begun meeting with a young “Jehovah’s Witness” couple and I hope to begin making some in-roads into the strong Muslim community through the Mosque/Turkish Hangout.  Trips to the park with Peyton have often sparked contact and the football Jacob Fletcher bought me has already served as an evangelistic tool towards curious young men.  Overall I am very excited about the future God has here although I have no external evidences to point to I know that as we abide in Him and His Word in us that we cannot help but bear much good fruit. 

Prayer requests – Language skills, open hearts, boldness, faithfulness and good birth of our baby boy in August.