Team Germany 2007

Home Again

Brian Trainer — Sat, 19 May 2007 15:21:05 GMT

Team Germany arrived in Chicago on Friday at 4:40 pm. Right on time. The team is looking forward to a weekend of rest and then on to the challenges and joys of summer. We are grateful to those who faithfully prayed for us over the last two weeks. Only eternity will reveal the reward of the labor. Our prayer is that the lessons learned will be sustained in our lives. We also will continue to pray for those who faithfully serve without recognition in the land of Germany. Their labor will not be in vain in the Lord!

Last Post

Brian Trainer — Thu, 17 May 2007 21:15:16 GMT

This will be the last post from Germany. We just closed the trip with a final time of devotion, testimony, and prayer. It was an encouraging time of reflection on the goodness of the Lord over the last several days. The most recent reason for rejoicing is the presence of several members of the Ingolstadt volleyball team at the church cookout this evening. We had been praying specifically for one person to respond positively to spiritual conversation. During the cookout, Jessica and Bobbi began a conversation with a particular guest. As the conversation developed, the gals shared the gospel via the bridge tract. The pastor then came to help carry on the discussion. Together the three spent a hour with this young lady in sharing the truth. It was a cause for rejoicing.

Much more could be shared about the events and lessons of the day, but they can be communicated personally tomorrow night. As a reminder, our flight tomorrow is American Airlines 83 leaving Frankfurt at 2:20 pm and arriving in Chicago at 4:50 pm. We will certainly miss Germany and our new friends, but many of the gals are looking forward to being reunited with family and friends.

Thursday Morning

Brian Trainer — Thu, 17 May 2007 07:58:26 GMT

From Bobbi:

The reason I went on this trip initially was to catch a vision for missions, and the Lord accomplished that in my life these last two weeks. It has been so neat to see how missionaries start out their ministries, and then to see how God uses them to develop churches under national leadership. I cannot wait to get more involved in missions!

SHOUT OUT to Jenn! We miss you a lot and wish you could be here with us. I don’t even know if you are reading this, but if so…I may be wanting to come down to visit you sometime very soon…like maybe before camp if the Lord allows and I can find affordable transportation. What is your schedule like this week? Call and leave me a voicemail if you read this!!! Love you!

SHOUT OUT to Sheila, Vic, and Dadio—I miss you and love you and want to take you to Europe with me sometime in the future. Start saving up J

From Holly,

So Dad, next time you have to come with me to Munich so you can show me exactly where you were and what happened where, etc. It was so cool to see it, but there was one thing (person) missing, You. I’ve seen the videos and seen so many pictures of those Olympics but being on the grounds where it all took place made it come alive. The weather was beautiful too so we got some good pictures. And………WE FOUND YOUR NAME!!!!!! And we all got a picture in front of it. So cool.

On a more serious note, we also went to Dachau. I told our team this in our devo time, but it’s worth saying again. After watching the intro video and walking around the grounds, I was struck by the comment of the survivors. They promised themselves they would do everything they could to prevent another Dachau. As I walked around the thought struck me that no matter how hard they work to prevent it one day, the end days, this will happen again but to a greater magnitude. Mr. Trainer said it best, “That might have been a warning from God to how it will be.”

Well, another full day today, more relaxed but still full. Weather permitting we will play beach volleyball with the team we played last night and then have a barbeque with them and some church families.

Thanks everyone for writing back to me and the team. We appreciate it!!!

See you all tomorrowJ Love you!!!

From Jessica

Hey Everyone! I can’t believe this is going to be our last night in Germany! It kinda seems like we’ve been here for a year and like we just got here yesterday all at the same time. Last night we got to play one of the club teams from here in Ingolstadt. The competition was so good! We lost all the games but one, but it was so fun! Today we will play them again, and after the game we’re going to have a cookout! I know it will be a fun time, but Lord-willing also a great time to get to know the girls better and really get to talk with them. We just got done hearing from the pastor here and some of the church members. It was so interesting to hear their testimonies and how they came to accept Christ! It was neat to hear from a German couple that just got back from the United States. They were able to go to the churches that supported the missionaries that started the church here in Ingolstadt, just sharing the ministry here and thanking them for their support. It was cool to hear how the churches could see a visible end-product of all the prayers and offerings over the years!

Can’t wait to talk to you all back home! Please continue to pray for us! Miss you guys! See you soon! :0)

Wednesday - May 16

Brian Trainer — Wed, 16 May 2007 22:45:24 GMT

Today was a travel day from Erlangen to Ingolstadt. We are again working with a church that was planted by an American, but is now under German leadership. It is an encouragement to see the maturation process. In our travels today we stopped In Munich to see the site of the 1972 Olympic games. Holly Peterson's father won the gold medal in wrestling at that time. It was a enjoyable for the team to share in her excitement on finding her father's name in the wall of champions, viewing the stadium, and walking the paths where those memorable Games took place. We went from Munich to Dachau. Dachau was to be the model German concentration camp. The sight of the gas chambers, crematorium, and barracks brought chills to all. This trip has provided multiple opportunties to learn from the past.

We finished the evening with a five set practice game with one of the better teams in the area. The games were close, but they won the majority of them. Afterwards we once again presented them T-shirts and gospel presentations. Tomorrow we will play them again. We hope that relationships will quickly form so that the gospel can be shared. We are in need of your prayers for strength and boldness. Tonight no one was in bed before midnight, and the thought of being home is creeping up on some. Pray that we complete our work here in a way that is pleasing to God.

From Nadine

Hey mom and dad! Sorry i have not written you back in like forever. I am glad to hear that you made it back safely!! Tell Ev hello. Don't worry i have eaten all my food, and have eaten all my meat. I may not have liked it but i tried not telling anyone that. Tonight we played a volleyball club team, they were pretty good. We were 1 and 4, but we played pretty well. We had a good time, and were able to talk to them for a while after the game. We actually get to play sand volleyball tom. weather permitting. So that is so nice. We actually invited them to a cookout after we play tom. and they seem really excited about that. i really hope that they all really do end up coming!! i cant wait to see you! I think i am going to stay the weekend at school. I am not sure who with yet, but that is my plan, i will obviously call you when i get to Chicago.

Hey Lo, thank you for the blog! It was nice to hear from you. i never wrote you because i didn't know if you would read it at all. I hope your classes are going well!! I will have to tell you our funny stories!! I am planning of being at school the whole weekend when i get back so i will see you then, i will call you after i get back sometime. I miss you and look forward to seeing you!! I will see you soon.

Mrs. Bond, Mrs. Pfaffe and i want to you know that we got you chocolate, but our bags were too heavy so we had to eat it all. It was sooooo good, you really missed out, sorry! It was nice to hear from you! i hope you are doing okay with all boys in your house. I will def. have to see you before i head home!! i will talk to you soon!

Sam, sorry i have not been able to blog you in a long time. i never did get a chance again to check my e-mail. I am just so excited to tell you about all of our stories, and to see you. i feel like a keep repeating myself, but i really miss you sooo much!!!!! i seriously think of you like every day!! i wish so badly that you could be here, or that i had a million dollars to get you something from everywhere we have gone. i love hearing from you, it makes me smile!!! i will see you in just a few days!! I hope you remember what i look like. Well, i need to let other's blog, i love you so much!!!!! I'll see you sooner than later.

From Kedra:

Today began with a drive and a few turn-arounds on our way to Ingolstadt. We went to Munich to the Olympic Village and saw the soccer stadium and the track. Drew and Eric, you would have liked it! We also went to Dachau the concentration camp. It was sobering to think again of how cruel people can be. Tonight we were able to play volleyball again. We played 5 games. It was exciting to see afterward as we taught them our "bind us together" song how much they wanted to talk and get to know us better. Then they taught us a song in both English and German. It is so neat to see how God uses the little things to make such a big difference. He works in different ways and in His perfect timing.

Hi Mom, Dad, Torey, and Drew. I hope you are all doing great! It was nice to talk to you the other day, Mom. Ill see you in a few days! We were talking about the house today and wondering if there were anymore people looking. Torey, Ill be there in a few days to reclaim my stuff- But for now its ok. I love you and miss you.
Hi Eric, I hope you made it back home ok. Thanks for calling the other day! It was nice to talk to you for a few minutes. I miss you and cant wait for you to hear all our stories!!

From Janessa,

Just wanted to say a quick hi! Hope everything is going well back home! Can't wait to see you mom and dad! Thank you for finally blogging, Josh! I'm glad to hear you got the job at Dick's! It will be a good but busy summer for the both of us! So you’re planning on coming this weekend? I'll call you when we get in to Chicago. Are you coming Friday night or Saturday? Can't wait to see you either! I miss you so much too.

hese past few days have been great! We got into Ingolstadt today and are having a great time here already! We got to go to Dachau and see a concentration camp. It definitely is something I never will forget seeing. It’s a very emotional place to be, but I’m so glad we got to go. Our last days here are ending and they have gone by so fast. I’m so glad and thankful God has given me this opportunity to come here. I will never forget it. Thank you to all of you who gave me money for my trip. I appreciate it so much! Can’t wait to see you all when I get home! I love and miss you all!

Tuesday Post

Brian Trainer — Tue, 15 May 2007 20:22:16 GMT

Throughout the trip the weather has been rainy, but cooperative. Today it wasn´t. Through the cold rain we visited the home of the hotbed of Nazism: Nürnberg. There we visited a museum that documented the rise and fall of the Third Reich. We then went to the large stadium at which Hitler spewed forth his vile message. Standing on the very spot he stood, as a team we quoted our memory work in Matthew 5:1-12. It was a healthy reminder of the eternal kingdom yet to come. We stayed in Nürnberg through the late afternoon visiting the old town hall, the ancient dungeon and torture chambers, and picking up a few items for you back home. Due to the rain our volleyball game was canceled, but we replaced it with a singspiration and testimony time with the church family. It was an appropriate way to finish our time in Erlangen.

Tomorrow we head to Dacau, Münich, and our final stop in Ingolstadt. We will all be staying at the church which will be a first for the team on this trip. We look forward to a good time in ministry.

From Janessa

Hello again from Germany! I’m sorry that you weren’t home either, mom! I might try calling tonight again so I hope that your home! I’m glad to hear that the guys took you out to eat and I hope your day was special! Did dad take you out for a ride? Thanks for giving me josh’s number. I haven’t talked to him this whole time I’ve been gone! He hasn’t blogged me either! Could you call him for me and get on his case for not blogging me and tell him to get on it! =) Ask him if he’s planning on coming to our house this weekend too because I’m not sure if I will be able to get a hold of him until Friday. How are you guys?! It’s going awesome here! God is continuing to work in all our lives and I love it so much here! I can’t believe we’re flying home in three days! I’m kind of sad, but so excited to see all of you guys! We went on a gorgeous hike on Sunday after church in the hills and through the woods. Dad, you would have loved it! Yesterday (Monday) we went shopping at the adidas and puma outlets and went shopping downtown Erlangen as well. Just what a girl loves! We got to visit a catholic cathedral as well that has fourteen saints that people pray to for different areas that they are having trouble with in their life. It’s so sad to see how people are so lost and believe in a religion that is so dead. It definitely opened all our eyes. Well, I’ve written quite a bit already so I’ll let somebody else what we did today. Hope everything is going well back home! I miss you guys so much too! Love you tons! See you probably on Friday night!

From Jessica and Kedra:

We both just wanted to say something quickly before we leave to go to our host family’s house. We went to downtown Nuremberg. We toured through the dungeon and torture chambers. That was not a pleasant tour. It was sad to see how people can treat other people in those cruel conditions. There was also some more art!! Again it rained as we were shopping. But we’re getting used to it raining on us. Those are the best days to take pictures!! We were supposed to play volleyball with the church but because of the rain, we had a testimony and song time. That was such a blessing to hear how God is working in other people’s lives.

Hi to Jessica’s family! I love you and miss you!

Hi to Kedra’s family! I love and miss you and hi to Eric, I miss you too.

From Mom(Cindy), Grandma,

I love and miss you all. I just want you to know that I did receive both of your blogs. Thanks to all of you for blogging to me. It was a real eye opener tose the dungeon today and the torture

Chamber. We also went to see 2 Catholic Cathedrals yesterday. I may not to get to blog again before I leave but I will see you and tell you all about the trip when I get home.

Love, Mom and Grandma

From Bobbi:

Vicki! I’m so glad you guys finally figured out the blog! I love and miss you and think about you very very often while I am here. I keep buying random things for you guys because I am thinking about you a lot! Hope you like it all J

Amy (and kids) it means so so much to me that you are praying for me. I can definitely tell that you are offering up prayers for us because of how often we have been able to see the hand of God at work among us and among the German people.

Ethan, I tried Mezzo Mix and it is my FAVORITE!!! Thanks for giving me the heads up on this blessed new beverage.

Love and miss you all!!!

From Laurie:

Being in Erlangen has been such a HUGH blessing!!! Since I was here 5 years ago, seeing the work under missionary leadership and to come back and see the work under GERMAN pastoral leadership is truly awesome! This is a growing, vibrant, mature church with so many strong, stable men and their families! It is hard to communicate how wonderful it is! God is so good and faithful! Looking forward to seeing and talking to my family a little more frequently J!

Maggie – I have some pfeffernuese!

From Margaret

This trip has been a real eye opener. We saw a church in the very beginning stages in Berlin and we see one that is growing and doing well in Erlangen. We look forward to seeing what God will show us in Ingolstadt. It has been great to see the impact that it has had on the girls as well as on the adults. They have been great ambassadors for the Lord!

From Julie

Hello everyone! Thanks coach C. for writing me on the blog...i tried to respond on the soccer blog...but cannot remember my name and password. Anyways, Yesterday we played some volleyball against a club team...we won...but they were very good! We got an opportunity to exchange emails with them and give them t-shirts and a dvd. I think they really enjoyed it, and i know we did! We had a testimony\song night at the church tonight and it was a blessing. I do wish we could stay here a bit longer, but we must move on. Well it is now time for me to try and cram all my souvenoirs and things into my one suitcase...it is actually a great challenge. Continue praying!

Monday Evening

Brian Trainer — Mon, 14 May 2007 22:54:02 GMT

Greetings from beautiful Bavaria. Monday was a day of continued enjoyment. The morning was spent shopping and walking the streets of downtown Erlangen. Once again we were struck by the comfortable pace of the city, the genuine friendliness of the people, and the spontaneous merriment that the team can have together. In the afternoon we visited a Roman Catholic Basicila that honored fourteen "saints". The building was beautiful in location and architecture. But the tour was sobering as we were once again reminded of the lostness of the people. It prepared us spiritually for the evening volleyball match with a local club team. The match was evenly played. The German team was made up of ladies aged 20-25. They had height, athleticism, talent, and played hard. For that reason we gave up the fourth game after taking the first three by close margins. After the game we taught them "Bind Us Together" with the hand motions, gave them a video presentation of the gospel, and provided them with a Team Germany T-shirt. The spirit was great before, during and after the game. The German players and coaches were very disappointed that we could not play more and have a cook-out together. The church in Erlangen showed great support and are already making plans for future games and follow-up. Once again the Lord blessed with a great day. Thank you for your prayers.

Today, tomorrow, and Wednesday our schedule allows for little time to blog. Tomorrow and Wednesday we start at 8:00 am and go through 10:00 pm. The days will be filled with travel, fellowship, volleyball, and always ministry. In light of that we will do our best to communicate, but it will be limited. We trust you enjoy the new picture gallery of our day in Erlangen.

Late Sunday Evening

Brian Trainer — Sun, 13 May 2007 21:28:57 GMT

Today we enjoyed worshiping with God´s people in German. The entire service, save our little part, was in the native tongue. We scattered throughout the auditorium with various English speakers who translated during the preaching. The spirit of the service was excellent as we sang together hymns, read the scripture, and prayed together. It was a little preview of heaven when people of every language, tribe and nation will sing together "Worthy is the Lamb." Our little part consisted of two testimonies, Jessica and Bobbi, and two German songs. All were done with a sweet and excellent spirit.

We concluded the day with a cookout and hike through the Bavaria hills with the church folks. It gave us a time to enjoy their fellowship and the beautiful of southern Germany. Many of the little towns look like postcards. Tomorrow we have the morning free to see more of the town and shop. The afternoon will be spent in seeing a Roman Catholic Basilica. The evening will conclude with a volleyball match against a local club team. There we will hand out T-shirts, tracts, and a gospel video.

Below are a few new additions, plus we have a new picture gallery. Thank you for the feedback; I can assure you that it is being read voraciously each morning.

From Julie:

Hey Mom, Happy Mother´s Day!! We´ve been busy today. We handed out tracts in Erlangen. Holly and I are staying with Marco and Maurine. I had met them both last summer; they are very good hosts. Tomorrow we´ll be singing in the morning service. I´m very excited to see more of the church people. The Browns returned from the States on Thursday, so they are around as well. Mel, Abby, and Jason B., if you guys are reading this - I would like to say hello and wish you were here. Oh, and Andrew . . . take care of my nano!!! OK, Love you all, especially Mom! (This post should have gone up yesterday. It was my mistake, BT.)

From Kirsten:

Today we were able to go to our first church service in Germany! It was so cool to see how the people worshipped God. I was not able understand their language, but God's presence was clearly seen among the German believers. We were able to understand the serice thanks to several members of the church who knew English and German and were able to translate. We were finally able to sing our songs in German!!!! After practicing for many months, we sang two of our songs we learned in German. Then for lunch the church held a barbeque in the yard for us. I really think I like German food so much better than American food. Everything we eat here is good! In the afternoon, many members of the church and the team went hiking in a valley close to Erlangen. The landscape reminded me of home...rolling hills and valleys covered in green forests and fields. Dotted among the hills were small villages with houses and churches. The hike was not hard, it was almost more like a walk up and down a trail but it was so much fun to talk and just be with people from the team and the church. There is no evening service here at the church so we were able to go back with our host families and relax and spend time with them.

Thanks to all who continue to pray for the team. Please pray for the people we have been able to meet and interact with. We have had several opportunites to share the Gospel in different ways to German people of different ages. Pray that we would take the opportunites given to us and that we would be humble and let God use us in any capacity.

To my Family, Kate & Paul, Emily: Love you all so much! I don't think I want to come home! Miss you!

From Mandy, Deb, and Nadine:

Hello everyone, praise the Lord for a blessed sunday! The weather was beautiful!! We went to church in the morning, and had a small part in the service today. We sang a group song and then Bobbi and Jess gave testimonies about how the Lord is so powerful and how the Lord gave them strength and the opportunity to share the entire plan of salvation with those individuals yesterday. Their testimonies were not only a blessing to us as a team, but also to the church body. I can not even tell you how many people i saw or heard tell them how much of a blessing thier testimonies were to them. After their testimonies we sang another group song. They were able to understand our german better in this second song i guess, at least the is what some told us. Many said how much they enjoyed our singing. The preacher spoke on the importance of spreading the gospel, and the importance of missionaries, it was a very good message!! After the service, we were able to eat with the entire church body. It was fun getting to fellowship with some of them. After lunch our team and again the church body all went on a hike. We took a lot of pictures, and had a great time. There was a spring on our hike that we were able to take a drink from, so that was interesting. We also stopped towards the middle of the hike and taught them all 'Bind us Together' (in german and then in english). That was fun and pretty interesting. It was so neat though to see all their faces when they were trying to do it. There were so many smiles, and so may people laughing at themselves trying to do the hand motions. After our hike, we all got to go back to our host family homes for dinner. Mandy, Deb, and Nadine are actually watching soccer (football) with our host family. Soccer is very big here!! Well, we really appreciate all your prayers, and enjoy hearing from you all! We will update you tom. on our day. We are going to get to shop, to sight-see, and to play some volleyball, so it should be a pretty exciting day!!

From Holly:

Today we went to our first real German church service. It was so neat to see how different yet how similar it was. The congregation sang, there was a choir, and the little kids even sang a song for Mother's Day. The team sang two songs and Jessica and Bobby gave testimonies. It was the first time either of them had spoken through an interpretor but they did very well. It's been so awesome to see God work during the past week through a bunch of college studants who speak no German but have a desire to share the Gospel. Like Mr. Trainer said, "God will use those who are willing, not only those who are qualified." I'm so glad that is true, because I know I am not qualified to share the great message of redemption yet He chooses to use me.

This afternoon we walked through the hills about 20 min from the church. It was so beautiful. I'm a nature girl so I loved it. We got to drink from a spring, a first for several of us. I think we got pictures of it. We then taught "Bind us together" to the German church members with us. Out in the forested hills singing with fellow believers, is there anything better? And no worries, we got pictures of us trying to teach them how to do the hand clapping, the german words, and the english words. They picked it up pretty quickly!!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!!! I love you and hope your day was wonderful. Tell Andy and Laura hi for me and I miss them. Tootles!!

Happy Mother´s Day

Brian Trainer — Sat, 12 May 2007 19:51:14 GMT

The team wishes all a Happy Mother´s Day from Germany. Some of the events of the past few days are explained below from the gal´s perspective. Every team member contributed to today´s blog. I would encourage you to read each of them. They are a blessing. Personally, I would like to wish my mother a Happy Mother´s Day. It has been years since we have been together to celebrate, but I know that your greatest joy is knowing that I am serving the Lord wherever that takes me in this world. Also, I would like to express my love for my wife who shares that same joy with a gracious, selfless spirit. I so wish you could be here. The team is definitely one girl short!

We have posted a few special Mother´s Day pictures. We hope to have the time to post more pictures of team members in the near future. Thank you again for your prayers. We look forward to worshipping tomorrow with our German brothers and sisters in Christ.

Brian Trainer

From all:

SHOUT OUT to our new friends—Laura, Heidi, Arna, Christpoh (ha-ha—we mean Christoph), Anne, Steve, Tim, Fredrich, Jules, Marcel, Peter and Max! We had so much fun with you, and we miss you already. Thank you for teaching us about life in Germany—you’d better keep in touch.

SHOUT OUT to Wencke (and Leah). We love you—you are in our thoughts and prayers. May the Lord remind you of His love.

SHOUT OUT to Mrs, Mueller. We can’t thank you enough for preparing us for this trip. You are love and missed by the families of Erlangen.

SHOUT OUT to the Talley family! What an impact you have made on our hearts. Thank you for your faithfulness in ministry. We hold you in our prayers.

From Kirsten--

Thank you to everyone who has faithfully been praying for our team…we are constantly witnessing the amazing hand of God every day on this trip.

Mom- Happy Mother’s Day Mommy!!! I hope you have a wonderful mother’s day.Thank you so much for being my mom (not like you had a choice!) and for always giving of yourself to others.

Rissa- That is absolutely awesome that you were able to raise more money!! I cannot tell you how excited I am for you to go to Ireland, you will absolutely love it. I can’t wait to show you pictures and tell you all about this trip. I love you sister!!!

God has been so good to us…even when this seem to go wrong, every single detail has been worked out for His good. I can’t wait to share with you all what God has done…

--Kirsten

From Cindy:

Happy Mother’s Day, Shanna, Jaysha, Veronica, and Melissa!! We are now in Erlangen. We are staying in houses with the German people. Hello also to Harold, Harold(Trey), Garth, Bob, Tony, and all 6 grandsons. Love, Mom (I will write more later.)

From Janessa:

First of all, Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! I’m sorry I couldn’t be home on your special day! I just want to say I love you and thank you so much for being the best mom I ever could have. You have been the best example of a mom and I hope I do as good of a job as you when I’m a mom. I miss you and love you! I miss and love you, too, Dad J Tell hi to Justin and tell Jeremy and Kelley about this website, too, so they can see. Can you possibly blog to me back Josh’s cell phone number, too, because I forgot his area code. Thanks for blogging! I honestly didn’t think you guys would be able to figure it out, unless Justin helped. J I’m not sure if or when I can call, but hopefully I will call you guys Sunday afternoon. So blog me and let me know where you’re going to be Sunday afternoon. It has been so awesome being here this past week. We already have planted so many seeds in people’s lives and we have pray that they will continue growing. We met kids our age playing volleyball on Wednesday and then they all came to our cookout the following night that we invited them to (and were about an hour and a half late for). Let’s just say Thursday was the worst and best day of each of our lives. I’ll explain when I get back. This past week has changed my life and many of the other girls’ so much. I can’t wait to see what this next week brings! Continue praying! I love and miss you guys so much! Josh, I don’t know if you’ve looked at our website yet,but I just wanted to say I miss you a lot! I hope I can call you on Sunday afternoon, so keep your phone by you! Tell your mom I say Happy Mothers’ Day and tell your family I say hi and I miss them as well. I can’t wait to see you all again. With much love, Janessa

From Mandy:

What a great day we had again today. The Lord has been working in our lives here. I would like to wish my MOTHER a Happy Mother’s Day. Wish I could be with you today, but when I return maybe we can have a mother-daughter date. We had 3 training sessions this morning and they went well. Then this afternoon we went out witnessing in the city of Erlangen. What an eye opener for me! Just like in the States, people need to have a hope of life after this life. We were able to hand out tracts and share the Gospel with a few people. The Lord is working. We are staying in homes with the German people of the church where we are. Well, Hello to the rest of my family. I miss you all and cannot wait to share many great stories with you. Love you all and miss you. Happy Mother’s Day!

From Holly:

Happy Mothers’ Day, Mom! (Katie, don’t forget!) Got somethin’ for ya, Mom J. I know you will love it. Have a wonderful day. Sarah, thank you for catching up the office work. It makes me feel so much better to know that’s being taken care of. Tell Little Mister hi for me. Didn’t quite understand what he said. A couple mis-spelling that threw meJ. What kind of thing would Maynard like? Dad, I wish you could have been with us yesterday. We went to Wittenberg and into the church that Luther nailed the 95 theses to. It was so cool to stand inside and imagine the events that unfolded there so many years before. Also challenging to think of how much courage it took to do it. I wonder if I could have done it. Hey, Bryan. Hope work is going well and the volleyball shindig was a blast. Much love to everyone!

From Bobbi:

I will never forget the “Typhoon” that hit us on our crazy adventure through the city of Berlin! The rain was horizontal and the wind broke my new umbrella! Good thing I have some meat on my bones or else I would be wrapped around a windmill! Cold, wet, and tired, we entered the concentration camp to take a tour--an outdoor tour, in the typhoon. Obviously, we waited for it to settle down and then took a walk on our own around the camp. How sobering to realize that what we “suffered” through as tourists for 20 minutes in a light rain was a grim, 24-hour-a-day reality for thousands of Holocaust victims. It was chilling to think about the suffering and murdering that took place on those same grounds. Following the concentration camp was an unfortunate series of events that led us on a 3 hour train adventure through Berlin. But WOW—what an incredible finish for our day, though! I genuinely enjoyed the company of our new German friends and I praise God they still came to the cookout at the Talleys’ house despite the poor weather conditions.

Now that we’re all caught up, I’ve saved the BEST FOR LAST. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, VIC!!! I love you so much and I miss you a lot. I want to publicly say thank you for being a mother and a close companion to me. Thank you for helping me grow up to be responsible and independent, but for still giving me “motherly reminder” now and then on vital things you know I’m prone to forget. Thank your for your patience. Thank you for your love. Hugs, kisses, and special German treats to follow upon my arrival back home!

From Keds:

Thank you for all the prayers for us! The past few days have been very eventful. There are so many stories from each part of each day—I can’t think of a favorite one. Thursday probably had the most excitement. It started very early and ended late with many fun memories made in the middle. We learned our way around town quickly after getting on and off trains and running to the right spot. All through the day we had history lessons. We visited a castle where we had to put house slippers on over our shoes. We slid around while we were listening to a guided tour. We continued our day by going to a concentration camp. That was sobering just to think of all that happened there. We didn’t get to spend much time there so we didn’t get to read much outside the information building. We began our journey back to the Talleys’ house where we were to have a cookout with our German friends. Once we arrived back after a few detours, the evening was great. We all talked and played games. All today was amazing to look back on and see how God was in it all. As we thought everything was going wrong, He was testing our faith and trust in Him. Friday was a great day of bonding time with the drive! Once we got to the church our host parents came to pick us up. Jess and I stayed at a lady’s house who spoke Spanish. I am now trilingual—English, German, and Spanish! It was such a great evening just talking and getting to know her better. Today was great being able to pass out tracts to the people in the streets of Erlangen. Happy Mothers’ Day, Mom! I love and miss you! Also to Grandma and Mrs. O! I hope you have a wonderful day today! I love you!

From Margaret:

Happy Mothers’ Day to all of you mothers. You would be so proud of your daughters if you could see how well they are doing. Their lights are shining wherever they go. They have been a blessing to the missionaries and to the German people they have met. They have been so cooperative and cheerful. We are enjoying being with them.

Dave, Jon, Kim, Tim, Valarie, Jenna, Carly, and Keira, my thoughts and my love will be with you tomorrow. I will be missing all of you. Kim and Valarie, have a happy Mother’s Day. I am proud of both of you and the good job you are doing in rearing your precious girls in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Dave, I love you and will be missing you. Hopefully we can talk after church Sunday night. Please call Mom A and tell her I love her and tell your Dad that Mom H. is very near to my heart right now. She is in a better place, but we all miss her so much. She was a godly example to me. Love, Margaret

From Julie:

Hey Mom, Happy Mother’s Day! We’ve been busy today. We handed out tracts in Erlangen. Holly and I are staying with Marco and Maurine. I had met them both last summer, they are very good hosts! Tomorrow we’ll be singing in the morning service – I’m very excited to see more of the church people. The Browns returned from the States on Thursday, so they are around as well. Mel, Abby and Jason B. if you guys are reading this…I would like to say hello and wish you were here. Oh, and Andrew…take care of my nano J ok, love you all, especially MOM!!

From Marsha:

To ALL my family: Thanks for all your prayers. I think about you all everyday. Yesterday (Thursday) was full of interesting experiences culminating with Laurie and I getting separated from Brian Trainer when we went downtown Berlin to pick up the rental cars. Laurie and I were stranded with the first 3 turns of a 1-2 hour trip. We found 1 person (little English) and a map of Berlin and made it back! Unbelieveable!! When we got back, 8 of the high schoolers we had played the day before were there. Today, we did street witnessing in Erlangen. That puts you outside your comfort zone. 13 people were talked to about Jesus Christ and many others received tracts. Jess was able to present the gospel to 4 Turkish girls. Church tomorrow. God bless each of you, Love Marsha

To my grandchildren – Emily, Alyssa, Maggie, Aubry, Kaitlyn, Meghan, Saylor, Genesis, Isaac, Trinity and Tag – I LOVE EACH OF YOU. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU. I WISH YOU COULD BE WITH ME IN GERMANY. PLEASE RESPOND TO THE BLOG OR EMAIL ME. LOVE, GRANDMA.

From Nadine:

Happy Mother’s Day!! I am sorry I can’t be there for Mother’s day! I know it’s nothing abnormal, but still. I hope you have a great Mother’s Day! I love the fact that we have gotten closer since I have been in college! At least I feel like we have! I love you and can’t wait to see you. (Tell Grandma C. and Grandma G and Deanne HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY for me). Anyway, I hope everything went well with picking up Everett! I can’t wait to see you all and to tell you all the stories from the trip. The Lord has been very creative in showing His power and control over every situation throughout the day. Today we learned a lot about the German culture, and we got to go witnessing in downtown Erlangen. That was a good opportunity, we did have 2 ladies laugh in our faces and 2 men hand the tracks right back to us, but Mandy and I did get to talk to one lady and give a quick plan of salvation before she had to leave on the bus. A group of us also got to talk to 2 young boys who had a pretty rough home life. Bobbi and Deb go to talk to a lady for a good 15-20 minutes and she was very open to everything. Jess was talking to some girls, and by the end of her salvation presentation there were about 8 kids listening. That was pretty awesome!! We then had a tour of Erlangen and that was interesting; it was so nice because someone in the church set up and paid for that tour. We then came back and practised singing to get ready for tomorrow’s service. I love and miss you all, and I look forward to hearing from you. Sam, I love you!!! I hope school is going well! You can tell your mom Happy Mother’s Day for me if you remember! I miss you and can’t wait to see you and to update you on all our stories! I love you and will talk to you later.

From Jessica:

Hey everyone! First, a HUGE `Happy Mother’s Day’ to Mom!! I love you and miss you so much! Thank you for being such an example and encouragement to me and for just being you! Happy Mother’s to Gramma and Granny too! I love you!

Wow, I don’t even know where to start!! I will definitely not be able to convey even a fraction of what God has been doing these past few days on the blog or I would be writing for the rest of the trip! I will try to hit the highlights and fill in the details later! 2 things that God has so opened my eyes to these past few days and this whole month is how utterly sovereign He is and the power of prayer! So many examples come to mind, but I only have time to share a few, and even that will get long! First, this whole trip I’ve been trying to communicate in German, and in the back of my mind I was thinking/praying abut how cool it would to be to be able to practice my Spanish like that. I was floored when I got here to Erlangen and found out Keds and I were staying with a lady spoke Spanish and German! It has been so fun using Spanish to communicate! Another amazing thing God has done was while passing out tracts today, God just clearly showed me the power of prayer and how I can do nothing of myself. Completely in God’s strength and sovereignty, He gave me the opportunity to share the Gospel with a whole group of Turkish kids! There were 4 that were really interested and 1 girl especially said she would pray and accept Christ when she got home. Please pray that all the seeds that were planted will grow! Many received tracts and were invited to church, so pray that they would come and learn more about accepting Chris! I just want to thank you all for your prayers! I know there are so many prayer warriors who are faithfully praying for us! As you can see, prayer is SO powerful! Praise God for what He has done so far and what He continues to do both in Germany and in our hearts! I miss you all back home and can’t wait to share the details with you! Love you all!

From Deborah:

I just want to thank the Lord for answering our prayers so much more than I could ever imagine. Thursday was such an amazing day as you probably read from Uncle Brian. I don’t think it could have gone more disastrous, but despite all the disappointments the Lord showed His sovereignty. Looking back on the day I can do nothing but praise the Lord. On Friday, the Lord gave us safety in travelling south to Erlangen. Today was very cool because in the morning we had some training meetings and then in the afternoon we went street witnessing. Bobbi was my partner and we were able to clearly talk through the plan of salvation with a lady, and give a tract to 2 young boys. It is so humbling to know that we have been given the privilege of sharing the Gospel. Changing gears a bit, I want to let my mother dear know how much I love her. Under any other circumstances I would say how much I wish I could be with you tomorrow, but I am so excited about what the Lord is doing here! The best I can do is wish you the happiest of mother’s day!! Thank you so much for everything you do. I love you much!!

From Laurie/Grandma:

Dearest Mother - thank you for being the best mom in the whole world! You are such an example of a godly wife and mother to us all! Have Susan and Scott give you a hug for me!!

Jack and Max – please hug your mommy for me and tell her I love her and that she is a wonderful mother!!

Corey – I am sorry that we all are scattered and have left you alone. You are so gracious to us all! I love you and miss you and I am already planning on the 2 of us going on the Russia missions trip in 2 years!! It will be awesome!!

Micah and Mica – congratulations!! I am so happy for you both and am glad the surprise was a success! The autobahn drive is still definitely my choice of driving terrain!!

Kyle and Kimberly- thanks for watching out for Dad and Sam. I really appreciate it!! I can’ wait to fix a German meal for the 4 of us! Today we had white asparagus soup – I LIKED it!!! I love & miss you both!

Family – it has been exciting and an encouragement to have you blog to me!! I feel like one of the kids! I wish each of you could experience a missions trip – it opens your heart and eyes to so many different things!!! Thank you all so much for your support and prayers.

The experiences we have had here and to see how the Lord has prepared and planned each single moment of each day is truly amazing!

Sam – I have a stick from Erlangen for you to chew on when your teeth grow back!

Friday Evening/Saturday

Brian Trainer — Fri, 11 May 2007 21:09:11 GMT

Once again, there will only be one post today. Today was a travel day from Berlin in the north to Erlangen in the south. Along the way we had the joy of stopping and shopping in Wittenberg, the location of the hanging of Martin Luther´s famous 95 thesis. The shopping for many was a joy. The gals have been diligently searching for just the right gifts for friends and family members. Many have been successful, while others are still searching. While there, it was humbling to stand on the spot where men of old took a stand for justification by faith alone. Yet, it was sad to see little evidence in the town of that theological position.

We were greeted in Erlangen with a wonderful meal and warm fellowship. The most meaningful time was spent together as a team reflecting on God´s goodness thus far and on lessons learned. There were many smiles, much laughter, and more than a few tears. We now focus on the task at hand. The church here is well established and very prepared for our coming. The team members are staying in the homes of German hosts. Tomorrow morning we will be participating in workshops on German culture, theology and witnessing. Then we will go to the streets to put our knowledge into practice. As always we will need the good hand of God upon the work. The gals will have the opportunity to continue blogging tomorrow. Thank you again for your prayers.

Friday very early

Brian Trainer — Thu, 10 May 2007 22:27:52 GMT

From Laurie/Grandma -
Thank you for your notes! As you can see from Thursday's blog, it was a very exciting, eventful day! God is SO good! Please keep praying for us all. I miss you all!