News, Gracious Reminders and Upcoming Events
My mom wrote me recently and reminded me that April was the last time I wrote an update. Where does the time go? There is so much going on here, I feel at times I’m just able to hang on at best.
Calvary Chapel Ansbach continues to goes forward and as a fellowship we’re drawing closer to the Lord. We are about to finish the book of Genesis on Wednesday nights. It’s been a wonderful time of seeing Jesus in the first book of the Bible.
Sunday Mornings we continue to study through the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ in chronological order. It has been such a rich study. We find ourselves in every gospel and looking at every thing Jesus said and did. It’s been terrific to see how the four gospels fit together to reveal our Lord in full. I can’t tell you how precious a time it has been to be in the word with those the Lord has brought to us. To see them stirred and challenged by the word to go deeper with the Lord has been sweet. What a privilege it has been to be part of the lives of these saints.
Recently we had a soldier find our web page and he has started to attend our Sunday Morning study. He’s a recent graduate of West Point, he is new to the Army and new to Germany. He wrote me and told me he attended a Calvary in the states and was eager to plug into a church here. He is stationed about two hours away from us and since we are the closest Calvary, he’s making the drive every week. The Lord reminded me of the vision He gave me before coming to Germany. We’re to be a home, a familiar place, and a family to those young believers who are are serving our country and are away from their home church, while at the same time He uses us to reach out to Europe.
For the last few months the Lord has been speaking to my heart regarding two very important aspects of the Christian life.
First, He has reiterated to me “That the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” 
There are so many people here in Europe who do not know the Lord. It’s truly heartbreaking how many people don’t even know they are lost, and there are those who have no desire to know and openly reject Jesus. I believe Europe has overtaken Africa as the “Dark Continent,” but the Lord loves the people of Europe and wants them to hear about His love and willingness to receive them into His family if they would just humble themselves, repent of their sins and turn and follow after Him. The harvest is plentiful. We desire to be affective laborers in the harvest. It’s our heart to be bold witnesses, pointing the way to our Savior who has poured out HIs love and came “to seek and save the lost.”
The second thing the Lord has been speaking to my heart is that “We walk by faith, not by sight.” He keeps showing me that in spite of our inability to adequately address the need, He has a plan to use us for His glory. We are to walk by faith and to walk through the doors He opens up for us. He has spoken unmistakably to me that I don’t need to know the outcome before I start moving forward, I don’t need to know what’s around the bend, He knows, I’m just to take the steps that He leads me to take and He’ll do the rest, resulting in something we could not imagine or predict. How easy it is for us as Christians to ease into a life that requires no faith at all, even while we are serving Him?
As you know, Ashley and Elijah are getting married next month in Ireland. 
Their wedding date is August 25th. We’re looking forward to traveling to Ireland to see God’s blessing on their marriage ceremony along with seeing friends and family for the wedding. A day of two after we return to Germany we’ll be sending Austin and Matt, a young man from our fellowship, to Bible College in York England. We’re excited to see what the Lord will do in their hearts and lives. Bryan is exploring the possibility and thinking through going to college in Canada. Tina and I are equally excited to see the Lord open doors of opportunity for Bryan to pursue his dream.
Shortly after returning from the wedding, I will be headed to the states to meet with our supporters, reconnect with old friends, speak in churches and share in home fellowships what the Lord has been doing and the doors He is opening to us in greater detail. I’ll be in Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington October 13 through September 16.
PRAYER REQUESTS
1. Please continue to pray for Calvary Chapel Ansbach. Pray for my study times and the grace and annointing to teach God’s word simply and powerfully. Pray for wisdom, vision, direction and the Lord’s heart for us as we serve the American military and the German people.
2. Pray for the Lord’s provision for our family as we labor in the harvest. Pray for effectiveness and fruit from our labors.
3. Pray for faith as we attempt to walk through the doors the Lord opens.
4. Pray for Ashley and Elijah’s wedding. Pray for safety for them as Ashley joins Elijah in the work ahead of them in Jordan. Pray for Austin and Matt in Bible college, that the Lord would reveal Himself to them in a way that would spoil them for ordinary life. Pray for Bryan as he seeks the Lord’s heart and direction for him.
5. Pray for my trip to the states. Pray for safe travel and Devine appointments. Please pray that the Lord would anoint me to share the vision the Lord has given us going forward. Pray that people would hear from the Lord as He calls them to join us in the work through prayer and financial support.
As always, Tina and I are thankful for your prayers. Honestly, the work the Lord has entrusted to us would not be possible without your continued faithful prayers.
If there is anything you need prayer for, we’d be happy to stand with you. Please just drop us a note and we’ll take it to the throne of grace with you.
God bless,
Gary and Tina
Posted in Update by Mike Thiemann with comments disabled.
Are You Ready For News?
For some time now Tina & I have been asking the Lord for some changes. I guess the old axiom may be true, “Be careful for what you pray for.” The Lord is answering our prayers.
The really big news is that Ashley is now engaged and getting married August 25th of this year. She first met Elijah at Bible College in Siegen Germany. She didn’t think much about him at the time.
A few years ago Ashley went to Israel with a group of German believers and came home feeling that the Lord was calling her to the middle east. Last year I felt the Lord was impressing upon my heart that it was time to send her out. We tried to get her attached to some of the ministries we knew in Israel, but to no avail. Just by chance, Ashley was talking to friends of ours in the states and they said they knew someone in the middle east and suggested that Ashley get in touch with them. She called them and they were excited to have her, but the doors just never seemed to open up. One of her Bible college friends told her that Elijah was in the middle east and that she should give him a call. One thing lead to another and here we are. It may sound corny but it’s true, we’re not loosing a daughter, we’re gaining a son. We’re very happy to welcome Elijah into our family.
Elijah’s father pastors Calvary Chapel Carrigaline in Cork Ireland. I first met Duke, Elijah’s father, about 6 years ago at one of the European pastors conference. We hit it off and kept in touch. Little did we know what the Lord had planed for our kids.
Ashley and Elijah’s wedding will be in Ireland. They plan to honeymoon in Spain and then they will return to the middle east to continue the work that the Lord has called them both to. Please keep them in your prayers.
Austin has recently left his job on post as a theater supervisor. He is going to the middle east to ferry over things that Ashley will need when she moves. He will also spend time with Elijah, his team and take part in the work. He’ll be gone a month and return back to Germany. He has been asking the Lord to direct him into God’s plan for his life and he feels like the Lord has been calling him to go to Bible College. He is planning to apply to the Calvary Chapel Bible College in York England in the spring semester
Because of recent events and an increase in tensions, I can’t tell you where in the middle east they are going to. But please be praying for Elijah and Ashley, their team and Austin while he is there. If you would like to know more information, you can e-mail me and I can write back.
Bryan continues to work on post as a projectionist. He loves his job but will be loosing it due to the theater closing oat the end of May. His heart is to go to school and get a degree in Digital Illustration.
Tina has been 
going to the doctors for evaluation of possible breast cancer. She has had a number of mammograms and ultra sounds to image her breast. She was suppose to have a biopsy this last Friday but the clinic has pushed it back to the 17th of May. We’re trusting in the Lord for His healing touch and for news that there is no cancer. We are also trusting in the Lord for the medical bills since we don’t have insurance. The Lord has always been faithful to provide for our medical expenses and we trust that he will provide the money to cover her procedures.
I want to thank you for your prayers while I was sick. I am fully recovered and back to work with no restrictions.
Tina and I are going to take a fast 3 day trip to England in the month of May. We have been invited to go to Exeter and met the pastor of Calvary Chapel Exeter and go with him while he speaks at the Evangelical Christian Union (ECU). It’s a gathering of Christian students on the University of Exeter campus.
We’re looking forward to getting away. As I said we have been praying and asking the Lord to work some changes in our lives and ministry, Tina and I feel like we are on the brink of the Lord doing a great work in and through us. We are going to take this time in England to draw close to Him and seek His heart for our family and ministry. After 11 years on the mission field and 6 hard years here in Germany, we’re feeling a little tired and burned out. We need this time to refresh and refocus.
The Lord has been blessing Calvary Chapel Ansbach’s Wednesday nights and the 
Sunday Morning Studies.
Wednesday nights we are in the Book of Genesis. Even though we are small in number, the Lord has taken us deep in His word. It has been literally life changing for many that have attended.
Sunday mornings we continue to study through “The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ in Chronological Order.”
We have had a number of people that have visited Calvary Chapel Ansbach in the last few months. Due to the transient nature
of the military, people come through from time to time for a short stay and move on, but we have a small core group of believers who are seeking to go deeper with the Lord and learn all they can from the study of His word.
Recently we have had three girls from the states attending. Courtney (left) is from Illinois. Two others, Christy and Morgan, are from Iowa. They have been such a joy to have. Unfortunately they will be heading back to the states this May. We will truly miss them and our hearts and prayers go with them.
Now for some less than good news. I took one of our cars into the mechanic to get some work on it done. The ABS light was on, it was making noise when turning a corner, and at the same time it was hemorrhaging power steering fluid like it was shot at close range. If that wasn’t enough, it also needed tires. The mechanic broke it to me as kindly as he could, “It’s kaput!” We’re back to one car, and that one is living on borrowed time.
As always, we ask you to join us in prayer. We believe that your prayers play a big part in what 
we are doing. 1) Please pray for God’s blessing on Ashley and Elijah. 2) Pray for God to provide for every detail of their marriage. 3) Pray for Austin as he travels to the middle east. 4) Pray for Tina’s health and her medical bills. 5) Pray for the Lord’s blessing on our trip to England, that Tina and I would hear from the Lord and be obedient to whatever He would show us. 6) Pray for the health of Calvary Chapel Ansbach, that we would continue to grow as a fellowship in the knowledge of God’s grace and love. 7) Please pray for our cars and transportation situation. 8) I would like to return to the states this year to reconnect with our church and our supporters. I ask you to please pray for this also.
We rely on the faithful and sacrificial gifts of churches, family and friends. If God moves you to partner with us and what He is doing here in the Germany, please click on the button that says, “Become a Financial Partner.”
If you have a prayer requests that you would like to share with us, we would be happy to stand with you in prayer. Just drop us an e-mail and we’ll put you on our prayer list.
As always, we’re thankful for your prayers, love, friendship and support.
God bless,
Gary and Tina Barrow
Posted in Update by Mike Thiemann with comments disabled.
What are you actually doing?
I was very happy with the feed back we received from our last update. Many people wrote e-mails of support and encouragement to continue to press on in the Lord even though we were facing so many hardships in the form of spiritual, financial and physical trials.
One of the e-mails we received was from a friend of mine who pastors a church in Oregon. He is one of the pastors in my life that I have the utmost respect for. He wrote, “I wonder if giving us a clear picture of your goals and what it is you actually do might not help raise your level of support.” He said, ” I probably should know this, so forgive me, but I am not exactly sure what it is you do. Are you pastoring? Teaching at a bible school? Assisting other ministries?”
I must confess that I have a serious fault. I think that everyone knows what I know. Because of this, I probably fail to communicate well and I may not have ever explained what it is that we are doing here in Germany. I was reminded of this picture:
By way of clarification, I know that I’m not a Moses and that I am not parting the Red Sea. However, God has opened the door for us to serve Him here in the rocky ground of Germany.
After a year at the Bible College in Hungary, the Lord moved us to Esztergom to help with a church there. The pastor told me that he was tired and overwhelmed, and needed help. From there the Lord opened many doors for us to help other pastors and churches, being part of a few church plants, and teaching English is schools in Slovakia and Hungary. The Lord also opened doors for us to share Christ in Bible/English camps across the UK for many fruitful years.
About two years before we left Hungary, it became clear that what the Lord had brought us there to accomplish was coming to an end. We began to seek the Lord for our next step. We were very open to the Lord leading us back to the states, but didn’t feel like that was what He had for us. So we continued to pray.
The Lord gave us a vision of an American soldier in Germany, 20 years old, Christian, first time away from home and his church, in need of solid Bible teaching and fellowship. We shared this vision with the Calvary Chapel leadership in Hungary and Germany and they gave us their overwhelming support. They encouraged us to go forward. They were confident that the Lord was in it. We didn’t know what we were to do specifically, so we stepped out in faith knowing we were to reach out to a war weary military with the love of Christ and the word of God.
Shortly after we moved, literally days after moving in, we met a German girl who said she just became a Christian and had lots of questions. I felt it was the Lord telling me that even though He used the image of a soldier to get us to Germany, we were not to neglect the German people. Just over six years ago we began our first Bible study with her.
From those early days, I felt that the Lord would have us plant a Calvary Chapel here, reaching out to the American military and their families along with the German people. So Calvary Chapel Ansbach was started.
In short, our goal and purpose in being here is to bring glory to our Savior, Jesus Christ, to share the gospel with the lost, to point people to Jesus, to win souls, to stir believers for a closer walk with Jesus and to wet their appetites for a greater hunger for Him, to help believers develop and discover the joys of a devotional and prayer life, to encourage them to become men and women of the Word, to equip them for the work of the ministry, to raise them up and send them out into their communities to share their faith with others, and to step out in faith in service to Him.
We do this through friendship evangelism, opening our home to everyone we meet, inviting them to share meals with us; through working a high profile job on the army post, looking, waiting and praying for opportunites to share Christ with those I meet and those I work with; through mid week and Sunday morning Bible studies; through one on one personal discipleship; through meeting people for coffee and through visiting others in their home, praying with them and standing with them in the trials and tribulations that they are encountering; through counseling and encouragement; through example and through transparency in the difficulties we face while clinging to Jesus. All this and more in the hopes to win others to Christ and strengthen the body of believers the Lord brings our way.
Our heart felt desire and great need is the support of the church and individual believers back home. We need your prayers. I believe the Lord moves when His people pray. We need your prayers. I can’t tell you how important it is to us, to our family, our health and our personal walks with the Lord. We need the strength and wisdom, the vision and direction, the boldness and anointing of the Lord that comes through the prayers of His saints.
Years ago our pastor shared a vision he had. It was of a battleship lobbing shells from a distance onto the shore, softening up the defenses of the enemy prior to and in support of the ground attack. He shared with me that the prayers of the saints were like the battleship, shelling the enemy shores from a distance.
We are in need of that offensive support. We need people who share our vision for winning others to Christ, bringing glory to the Lord, who’s hearts resonate with what we are doing; those who would like to go but can not. We need them to come alongside us, to be in the trenches with us, to partner with us through prayer and support. We need you to have our backs.
As always, we are so thankful for those that are currently teamed with us. We thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, your love and friendship. We continue to pray for you. For those who recently have decided to come on board and be part of planting a church here, we thank you for your support. Please pray that the Lord would stir others to support the work here. May God raise up a healthy, thriving body of believers here, bringing glory to His name and fruit to your account.
God bless,
Gary and Tina
Posted in Update by Mike Thiemann with comments disabled.