Gary & Tina BarrowLife and Ministry

Feb 10th 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.

Oct 13th Praise and Prayers

It’s amazing how fast time can slip away from you. There has been so much go on since I last wrote an update, I don’t really know what to share with you. I guess I’ll just stick to the basics and not let so much time pass till I write again.

First, Tina and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. September 1st marked the milestone for us. God was so gracious to allow us to get away and spend time together in Rome. We took five days to just get away and refresh. It went by all too fast. We walked all around the city and saw as much as we could. We got to go into the Vatican museum and the Colosseum. We walk around the Roman Forum and Circus Maximus. We went into the Pantheon, saw the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain (under restoration) as well as visiting as many churches as possible. It’s really amazing to go into churches that are not well known and see the art that is in them. Best of all, we got to share Christ with a few people. It was an amazing time that we will never forget.

Calvary Chapel Ansbach is experiencing God’s blessing. We have had a mini explosion in newcomers lately, who have decided to make CCA their home. It’s neat to see people from different walks of life come together to learn about Jesus and His heart for them, and the world

After five years, we are about to finish our Sunday morning series “The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ in Chronological order.” It has been a tremendous blessing for everyone to see how all the gospel accounts fit together to portray Jesus Christ as the Savior of the World.

We continue to meet on Wednesday nights for prayer and Bible study through the Old Testament. We’re currently midway through the Book of Exodus.

Even though we have been experiencing many blessings, we still encountering many trials. Just because you’re not right here with us, it doesn’t mean you can’t play a big part in the work. We need your prayers, for so many things, as a couple, as a family and as a fellowship.

1. Tina and I could use your prayers. Marriages are always a target for attack. Pray that God would keep us in love and sensitive to each others needs. Please pray that I could love Tina with the same sacrificial love that Christ has for the church.

2. Pray for Bryan and Austin. Both of them would like to get back to the states and pursue their education. They also have a desire to hear the Lord’s heart for the next step in their lives, and to see Him open doors so they could take those steps. They both have sacrificed so much for the cause of Christ over the last 13 years.

3. Pray for Calvary Chapel Ansbach. 

-We have been looking for a place to meet in the city of Ansbach that would accommodate our growth and be more convenient for people to get to, both Germans and Americans.

– Pray for a worship leader for us.

– Pray that God would show us how He wants us to reach out to the community around us

– Pray that God would continue to add to our numbers.

– Pray that God would bless my study times and let me deliver His mail to His people.

– Pray for God’s anointing, to hear His heart, to serve and love His people.

– Pray that He would pour out His Spirit, that He would fill us and overwhelm us.

 

And as usual, if there is a prayer need you have and want to share, we’re happy to pray for you.

Thank you for your love and support.

God bless,

Gary and Tina

 

Posted in Update by Mike Thiemann with comments disabled.

Jul 27th Well?

It’s been some time since our last update and many have asked us where we are in the process of moving to England. It was January 2013 when it all started. That is when the subject came up that we should pray about being part of the work there. Tina and I spent a lot of time in prayer about it, and we visited with the pastor in Exeter in May 2013. He extended an invitation to us to come and we felt that the Lord was really knitting our hearts together in a sweet way. Tina and I felt very strongly that the Lord was in it and would be moving us to England. We were very excited. Last November we took a step of faith and went to the states to share the direction we felt the Lord was leading us in. There is a saying that you hear often around Calvary Chapel. It’s “Where God guides, God provides.” We believe it’s true.  Since we shared what we thought God was doing, we asked people to pray and ask the Lord to provide the support necessary to live in England. Even though we had friends and family join us in supporting us in the work of the ministry, we did not see our monthly support increase.

I don’t presume to know the mind of God, but I like to think that He has been guiding through the circumstances. Our heart is still to be part of the work in England, however since the Lord has not provided, we have decided, at the very least, it’s not the right timing. We trust the Lord will open that door when His timing is right, but if He does not see fit to do it, our hearts are to serve Him and share the gospel wherever we may find ourselves.

William Carey, the great missionary to India, said, “Attempt great things for God, expect great things from God.” Charles Spurgeon said believers should attempt such great endeavors that if God isn’t in it, it’s doomed to failure. We believe that is what we have done. We’re very encouraged, we took a step of faith, it didn’t work out the way we thought it would, but God’s hand is in it.

It’s like what Paul experienced in Acts 16. Paul and Silas began Paul’s second missionary journey. It says they went through the region of Galatia and they were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit” to go into Asia. So they tried to go into Bithynia but “the Spirit did not permit them.” Then Paul had a vision of the Macedonian Man who asked him to “Come over and help us.” That’s when Paul set off towards Philippi.

Paul had an idea what he thought the Lord was doing, where He was leading when they set out, but he allowed the Lord to direct through the circumstances, not insisting on going where he wanted to go. As a result Lidia was saved along with the Philippian jailer and the church at Philippi was planted. He attempted to go one way and was stopped. He attempted another direction and was blocked. So he went the only way that was left for him to go, and great things came out of it in time.

It’s amazing how the Lord moves and guides us as His followers, as we seek His heart. I often think of Acts 16, as I seek to discern the Lord’s leading for us. All that to say this, we are putting England on the back burner. When and if the Lord open’s that door, we’re going to jump through it, but we will not force our will in the issue. I hope you rejoice with us in knowing the Lord is guiding, even if it’s through closed doors instead of open ones.

We have other good news to report to you. Calvary Chapel Ansbach is experiencing a sweet move of God.

Sundays are growing with new people and couples making CC Ansbach their home church. I’ve been really excited about the believers that God has been bringing our way. God has been bringing people who have a hunger and a heart to go deeper in their relationship with Jesus, and many of them have a heart to join in the work.

The Wednesday Night Discipleship study has been deep and rich. It has really become the meat and potatoes of CC Ansbach. God is blessing both studies and anointing the simple teaching of his Word.

We are looking into and praying that God will supply a place for us to meet in the Ansbach city center. We have contacted the YMCA in Ansbach and have formally requested they consider allowing us to use a couple rooms on Sunday mornings. They said they would make a decision around the end of the month.

On the personal front, Ashley and Elijah have been here for a month and plan on staying another month with us. They had to leave Jordan to get another visa. They also brought their puppy, Hugo. He’s a bundle of non-stop energy. This week Elijah is in Ireland speaking at Calvary Chapels in Cork, Waterford and Dublin hoping to raise support for their work.

Austin is returning from England July 30th. He has finished two semesters and a summer of service at Calvary Chapel Bible College York and is praying about going to the new Calvary Chapel Bible College in Nepal. It will be a great joy to have the entire family in one place again.

Bryan is doing well and praying the Lord will open doors for him to return to the states to start his college education.

My new job is a blessing and I really enjoy going to work, however I am busier now than ever before. There is another mile stone in our lives coming up too. Tina and I will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this September. I’m looking forward to seeing the Lord allow us a few days to get away. Tina and I need a time of rest and to just spend quality time together. I’ll let you know what the Lord does for us to get us some time away.

Please continue to pray for us, our family and Calvary Chapel Ansbach. Pray that our marriage and family would bring glory to our Savior; that our lives would be consumed by the Lord; that God would overwhelm us with His presence; that our walks would be worthy of His calling; that we would be a light and a witness for Christ and that Jesus would be able to freely express His life through ours. Please pray that the Lord would give Calvary Chapel Ansbach a place to meet in the city center; that He would give us gifted worship leader; that He would raise up a children’s ministry team, and that He would give us His heart for outreach to Ansbach and the American Military community in the area.

 

 

Posted in Update by Mike Thiemann with comments disabled.