HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I don’t know about you, but this past year has seemed to fly by for us. This has been our busiest year since moving to Germany. It seems like there just isn’t enough time to get to all the things placing demands on us. It has also been our most challenging year. It has been a very fruitful year, but it has been mixed with difficulties.
First of all, thank you for your prayers for Tina. She had her surgery and her wrist is healing well. She has no noticeable limitations as a result of breaking her wrist/arm. She was told that she would have to have the plate in her wrist removed sometime in February, but we’ll see. The doctors gave that recommendation because the plate was too big for her and they thought it would give her problems, but she is doing just fine. Again, thank you for your prayers.
We had our first baby dedication this year. 
As a fellowship, we lifted up Levi Elias and prayed for him and his parents. What a special blessing it was for me. This last summer, I had the privileged of baptizing his father. Thomas and Kerstin started coming to the fellowship about 6 months ago. They have plugged in and made Calvary Chapel Ansbach their home. We’re so thankful to have them.
Back at the beginning of the year the Lord put on our hearts a desire to reach out to refugees that have been fleeing war torn areas of the middle east. We prayed 
and planned a trip to Jordan to see if we could team up with Ashley and Elijah and see if, as a church, we could make a difference in lives there. We had no idea God wanted to bring refugees to us here in Germany. I had been asking around trying to connect with a ministry that was reaching out to the refugees in our area. Then I got a call from some Gideon’s. They had been in contact with a group of refugees who wanted to get together with a pastor to talk about the Bible, Jesus and the difference between Islam and Christianity. We met the first night for 4 hours with about 15 Kurds, Iraqis, Syrians, and Yazidis. We’re now working on getting regular meetings with them.
The Lord blessed us this year with some time 
to get away. One of the great blessings of living in Germany is you can travel very cheap. We took a long weekend and 
visited good friends of ours in Ireland. It’s always a blessing for us as a family to go to Ireland because John and his wife treat us like kings. We’ve known John for 25 years and we see them as part of our family. If you saw the Star Wars movie that just came out, at the end Luke was on an Island. Those islands are the Skelligs. They are just off the coast of John’s house. It was so nice to wake up every morning, grab a cup of coffee, open the Bible and just look out and enjoy the view. It’s one of those views you never get tired of.
Tina and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary 
this last September. We were blessed with a trip to Rome. We went there last year and really enjoyed it, so we thought why not go again. We just hung out and relaxed. I can’t tell you how good it was to just stop and spend time with Tina. We met with the pastor of Calvary Chapel Rome and he invited us to spend a day with a team from Calvary Chapel Bible College Montebelluna and go to the largest catacombs in Rome. We walked along the Appian way and stopped and had a Bible study. It was so encouraging to us to see all these kids learning about Jesus and drinking it in.
We have been working, off and on, for the past few years on getting Tina and the kids Italian citizenship. It would allow us to go and stay anyplace in the EU without a visa and we would be eligible for certain benefits, like healthcare. The Lord just brought into our lives a women from Calabria, that’s where Tina’s family is from, and she is helping us get the required birth certificates, from the Italian city hall where Tina’s grandmother was born, to take to the Italian Embassy. After that they will work on it and we expect to get citizenship for them, barring any unforeseen complications. It could take a few months or a few years. Please keep it in prayer.
We also took the trip to Jordan that we had planned. The vision was to scout out how we could help and reach out to refugees there, and then in 2016 we would take a group from our church. Afterwards we would take a quick tour of Jerusalem before returning to Germany since it is just 3 hours away. We had such a good time seeing Amman through the eyes of Ashley and Elijah, and to see them at work. Serving in an Arab country is not like serving in Europe. Driving there was beyond crazy. Five cars abreast on a 3 lane road, and then the car all the way on the right will make a left turn without warning. We went to outdoor markets, ate Yemeni, Iraqi and Jordanian food. We went to the Dead Sea and the largest Roman ruins in the world, Jerash. But the highlight was sitting down and having a Bible study with Khatar, a Sudanese refugee that we have been supporting. We also met with some of the other “workers” and refugees there. We were able to give Ashley and Elijah some money, from Calvary Chapel Ansbach, which they then could use to buy food and clothing to refugees they’re working with.
After we left Amman, we crossed over the boarder and 
spent 3 days in Jerusalem before we returned to Germany. Crossing the boarder was an experience and a story in itself. It was our first time in Israel, and it did not disappoint. The added bonus was we met Tina’s mom, sister and her Brother and his wife in Jerusalem. We didn’t know they were going to be there when we planned the trip. So it was such a surprise when we got to hang out with them for a day and have dinner with them before saying good-bye. Tina hasn’t seen her mom in about 4-5 years. It was a blessing beyond description. We also visited the empty tomb, the Western Wall Tunnels, the Temple mount, the Holocaust Museum and the Yehuda Market. We can’t wait to go back.
Now for the difficulties. The Army has been rearranging their assets in Europe to better address potential conflicts quickly, while struggling with decreasing budgets. They have shut down the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade here in Ansbach. Consequently, the majority of the soldiers have been sent to new duty stations. This has started a chain reaction. Many civilian contractors and DoD employees have left the area also. We have had to say good-bye to key people on our ministry team and beloved brothers and sisters who have been coming to the church for some time. It’s so hard to say those good-byes, yet on the other hand, you are so thankful God has brought them into your lives. I had no idea when God led us to Germany, that we would see people come and go so quickly. It’s a challenge to pour as much as you can into them before they get orders to move on. The upside though, is God has been bringing more Germans to the fellowship. For the first time in 8 years, we have more Europeans, mostly Germans, than Americans. I think that’s pretty cool!
Austin is going back to England to help 
out with conferences at Calvary Chapel Bible College York for a little more than a month. Bryan is headed to Jordan with one of our German friends to spend time with Ashley and Elijah for just about a month. God has really blessed us with great boys. They are kind, gentle and love the Lord. Please pray for them. They both would like to see the Lord open a door for them to return to the states to attend college and see what the Lord would have for them. Until then, they continue to seek and serve the Lord.
We have friends that have gone through tragic trials this year. We have walked with friends and members of the church through struggle this year like never before, but in all things, God has and will be faithful. His grace has been sufficient.
We pray that 2016 will be a break out year for you and your walk with the Lord. We pray God will pour out His Spirit upon you this new year and overwhelm you with His presence. Please continue to pray for us, for our walks, for vision, direction and wisdom.
God bless,
Gary and Tina
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