Happy, Merry, Happy and February
To everyone, we want to wish you a belated, yet none the less heart felt, Happy Thanksgiving! Merry Christmas! and a Happy New Year!
That’s how long it’s been since we have written an update, and it’s a sign of just how busy we have been.
We have praises to share with you and prayer requests for you, trusting you will stand with us in prayer.
We had a great Christmas even though it was the first Christmas we have had without Ashley. We had a couple of our German friends over for Christmas dinner and we enjoyed a wonderful meal and great fellowship.
We looked forward to the New Year but we were faced 
with a problem. We needed another car. We had been praying for a long time that the Lord would give us another car and as time passed, it just seemed that the need grew greater and greater. Well, God blessed. We found a 2004 Ford Focus Kombi (station wagon). It was driven by an older gentleman to go back and forth to his doctor. As a result it has less than 50,00 kilometers. It’s like a two year old car. It is really nice because it’s an automatic. They are rare in Europe and it’s what Tina has really wanted for a long time.
February 2nd through the 6th, I attended the Western European Pastor’s Conference at the castle in Milllstatt Austria. I asked one of the guys who is serving in our children’s ministry to accompany me. It 
was a tremendous blessing. There were pastors from all over Europe. David Guzik and Brian Broderson came from the states to lead it. The pastor’s Conference is probably the most refreshing time of the year from me. Not only do I get to sit and be taught, I get to reconnect with pastors that I have made friendships with over the years, but don’t get to see during the year. It’s also a great time to catch up on what the Lord is doing in our sister churches across Europe, and to get away with the Lord to hear from Him, receive encouragement and strength.
Calvary Chapel Ansbach is doing really well. There 
are always challenges and struggles, but when you take a look at the overall picture, the Lord is to be praised. Our little fellowship is made up of about 25 adults and 15 or so kids. As you know it’s primarily American Military and people connected to to military, but we also have expats, Germans and a British family. We continue to meet Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights in our home. That’s one of our challenges. We just don’t have the space any more. As you can see we have people in the hallway, in the entry way, which you can’t see, and behind the camera. The kids meet downstairs in our basement. Just after the new year we started the Books of Acts on Sunday mornings. We also started the Book of Leviticus a few weeks ago.
We started “2:42 Thursdays” back in October. Acts 2:42 says, in regards to the early church, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” So every Thursday we meet and have dinner together, fellowship, have a short devotional time of teaching and then we go to prayer for God’s heart, vision and direction, for those in the church, for missionaries we support and others we know. Then we pray for friends and families. It’s been such a blessing. I only wish that everyone in the church could make it on Thursdays. Unfortunately, many drive a great distance to come to church and can’t make it during the mid week.
News about Bryan and Austin: Bryan just recently 
took a job on one of the posts working in the bowling alley. It’s a blessing because he does not need a visa to stay in Germany. Even though that is good news, Bryan’s heart is still to return to the states to further his education.
Austin just took off for Jordan. He is going there to serve the Lord and see what the Lord will do for him. He was able to get a job teaching English in a language school. He has a class of Iraqi’s students scheduled to start later this February
An England Update: We announced some six months ago, or so, that it seemed like the Lord was not going to open a door for us to go to England. It was something we really wanted to see the Lord do for us, and when it didn’t seem He was going to open that door for us, we surrendered it to the Lord knowing He had His reasons. It was something though that we didn’t really understand. The invitation was there, our hearts were there, all we need was the Lord to take us there. This week we learned that the British government, for political reasons, has revoked the visas for Calvary Chapel missionaries, Wycliff missionaries and YWAM’ers. Not going truly was the Lord’s protection for us. We would have been right in the middle of this mess, trying to figure out how we were going to leave the country on extremely short notice.
1) In spite of all that is going well for us, we still face attack and hardships. Tina and I could really use your prayers. We need the Lord’s hand on our marriage, protecting it from attack. We need times of refreshing, renewal, revival, and rejoicing.
2) We’re asking the Lord to give us a place to meet in the city. It’s quickly becoming a need and not just a desire. We need a place that is affordable, has parking and would also have a main room and a couple other rooms for Children’s ministry.
3) We need a worship leader and a middle school/teen pastor.
4) Please continue to pray for Ashley and Elijah in Jordan, and now Austin. Even though it is relatively safe there still, there is potential danger. Pray for wisdom and safety for them all.
5) Please pray for Bryan and for open doors for him.
6) Most of all, pray for our walks and for those in the church, that we would continue to focus on and follow hard after Jesus. Pray for surrender, growth, refreshing, humility, faithfulness and boldness. We want to see Jesus exalted in all we do.
We thank you for your love and prayers. As always we’re interested in hearing from you.
One last thing, we would encourage you to share this update with your friends, family and church, repost it and like it. We want to introduce others to the work the Lord has entrusted to us, to get others interested in missions and the work here in Europe.
Thank you all.
God bless,
Gary and Tina
Posted in Update by Gary Barrow with comments disabled.