Another “Independence” day
Summer is here! Our cherry trees and heavy laden with cherries. The flowers are in full bloom. It’s not dark outside until 10:30. We can’t seem to mow the grass fast enough. As soon as we finish mowing the yard, the grass seems to have grown enough to warrant another go round. The fields behind our house are full of waist high wheat and shoulder high corn. The temperatures here is in the high 80’s – low 90’s while the humidity is just enough to make you sticky and wish for air conditioning.
Every fourth of July is like a taste of home. We usually have someone over
but this fourth we were invited to a friend’s house. We ate, we laughed and we talked about the Lord. It doesn’t get much better than that. Then as night fall comes, fireworks at the Army post. It’s an All American Fourth of July. As an added bonus every July eighth we celebrate Tina’s birthday. God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and three great kids.
Yet for the believer, everyday should be a celebration of independence. We have been set free from the power of sin. “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,” Romans 6:5-8. Jesus said, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36
It’s amazing to realize that sin has lost it’s grip on me, on you, on us, and by the power of the Holy Spirit we can say no to sin and live our lives for God. “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14
If that’s not good news, I don’t know what is. That’s the message we are bringing to the German people and the American military here in the Ansbach area.
Church News
Calvary Chapel Ansbach is growing. It’s so good to see the Lord bring people out to worship with us and study through His word. We’re still a small fellowship but we’re growing numbers and in depth with the Lord.
We continue to study through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in
chronological order. We’re 2 1/2 years into it and we’re loving every minute of it. It’s been such a blessing because the study is taking us through each Gospel to discover everything our Lord said and everything He did.
We’re going to be starting our “Radical” study soon. We will be reading and discussing the book RADICAL by David Platt. It has been one of the most challenging books I have read, and I think every Christian would benefit from reading it.
I invite you to pray for us. Please pray for us as a church. Pray that God would bless the teaching of His word and that He would establish the church. Pray that He would add to the church and that we would grow in our relationships with Him.
We are also looking for a place to meet in the city of Ansbach. We would like to move the study from our house into a building that would allow us to grow and meet our needs, both for Sunday mornings and the mId weed study, along would meeting the needs of our growing children’s ministry. Currently we have such a small space for the kids to meet and all the ages are together, from toddlers to 12 years old. It’s very challenging. We need your prayers.
We also need your prayers for our financial support. Since we have moved
from under the umbrella of Calvary Chapel Corvallis and came under Saving Grace World Missions, we have experienced a sharp drop in our financial support. I am trying to find the balance of sharing our financial needs so that those that have the gift or giving can exercise their gift. I’m told that if I don’t share our need, then people will not know and therefore can not give. Yet, at the same time I want to take our need to the Lord and trust Him for His provision. It’s one of the most challenging things I have to do. So I ask you to please pray that God would meet our financial need, and bring people who will partner with us in the work of planting a church here in Ansbach.
As always, we are thankful for you, for your prayers and friendship. Our prayer is that you to would be drawing closer to Jesus everyday, walking closer then you ever thought possible and growing in His word. That’s where true satisfaction is found.
God bless,
Gary and Tina
Posted in Update by Mike Thiemann with comments disabled.
May, a month full of blessings and challenges
This last month, the month of May, has been full of blessings and challenges.
May started out wonderfully as a team of scientist from NASA came and did a week long training session for certain employees who work with the Army youth. I got to meet my counterparts from all around Europe. We were briefed on many of NASA’s current missions, the findings of past mission, and the purpose of future missions. We looked at photos from many different satellites, from those orbiting Mercury to those traveling to the outskirts of our solar system. I was even certified to handle NASA’s moon rocks and meteorites that are considered national treasures. The purpose of the training was to help the youth I work with get excited about science and to get them thinking about future careers. The greatest part was to see the wonder of God’s creation like never before. How interesting it is to see the creation of the universe spoken of in Genesis in just a few verses while the creation of man has chapters devoted to it. As beautiful as His creation is, it’s an indication of what is really important to our God. That’s you and me.
Church has been going very well. The 12th CAB, the Combat Aviation Brigade here in Ansbach, has deployed to Afghanistan. There has been a slight increase in attendance since the deployment. That’s always welcome. But we have also been experiencing slight troubles with recording our Sunday mornings teachings. But I trust we’ll get to the bottom of it soon and get those messages posted so you can listen in if you like.
The last few weeks of the month I have been very sick. It started out 
as scarlet fever. After 4-5 days of antibiotic therapy my throat felt much better but I continued to have a fever. It started out at 102.6 and with the antibiotics it dropped to 100-101. The doctor was left wondering what was going on. So after a few blood tests, EKG, sonograms and x-rays he decided that I wasn’t recovering due to severe physical exhaustion. So I have been holding the couch down for the last 18 days now.
The day before I got sick, Ashley gave me a gift. I have always wanted a wired hair Dachshund. But I had resigned myself to never getting one as they are quite expensive. Ashley and one of the guys from our church found one unbelievably cheap. They got him for me as a loving gift. So I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Gunther (pronounced goon-ter). What a blessing he is. So small and cute but he’s like an infant with teeth. I forgot how tiring potty training can be. Yet everyone is totally in love with him. Now we have two wonderful dogs and a great cat. Thank you Lord!
On May 30th we celebrated Austin’s 21st Birthday. God has blessed us with three of the greatest kids. 
These last 21 years with Austin has been full of humor, if you don’t know him he’s rediculously funny, and astonishment, just watching him grow from a boy into a man who loves Jesus has been incredible to watch and his heart is to tell others about Jesus.
Each of the kids have a strong walk with the Lord and desire to serve him. This week they are in Croatia visiting a missionary family we know there who are preparing to return to the states after 8 years in Europe.
You may have heard about two helicopters that went down in Afghanistan over Memorial day. They were from the 12th CAB stationed in Ansbach, one Apache and one Blackhawk, The two who piloted the Apache died in the crash. The pilot of the 
Blackhawk attends our church. He is credited with saving the lives of his 12 passengers and crew. The helicopter crashed hard but every one walked away from the crash with only minor injuries, at least that what I’m hearing at this time. Please be praying for the surviving family of the Apache pilots. One was married with a daughter and the other was married with no kids I’m told. Pray for the full recovery of the soldiers in the Blackhawk. Pray also and Angel, the pilot of the Blackhawk who attends the church, Diane, his wife and their three kids. Pray for their comfort and strength in the Lord as they wait to get further details on Angel. Also please pray for the in suing investigation. An investigation is common after crashes but will also be very stressful and taxing for Angel.
Finally on a personal note, we would like to ask you to pray about getting involved in the ministry with us. We have need to partner with people who are prayer warriors and others who desire to be part of the building of the Kingdom of God here on earth through financial giving. Please pray and seek the Lord on what part He’d have you play. I see us as the tip of the spear and you are
the shaft, in fulfilling the great commission. He has called us all to go into the world and make disciples, but all can’t go. In 1 Samuel 30 God sets out the principle that those that go to the battle share equally with those that provide support even though they can’t go to the battle.
Saving Grace World Missions has made it easy for people to get involved. You can go to www.sgwm.com and click on “Europe” on the world map, then click on “Gary and Tina Barrow” and sign up for weekly prayer request updates. You can also click on “Become a Financial Partner” and give a one time gift or set up regular monthly donations. If you prefer, you can send a check to Saving Grace through the mail. Just write “Gary and Tina Barrow” in the memo line and it will get to us.
We’d ask you to personally get involved in the great commission with us
. Don’t put it off, seek the Lord’s face and ask Him what He’d have you do. I promise you won’t regret it. You’ll be storing up treasures in heaven.
Thank you.
God bless,
Gary and Tina Barrow
Posted in Update by Mike Thiemann with comments disabled.
April showers bring May flowers
It’s a beautiful time of year here in Bavaria. The days are longer and warmer, the flowers are blooming, and the Lord’s blessings are evident.
During the month of April we had a number of different families visit the church. Our prayer is that they would be blessed and feel that Calvary Chapel Ansbach is the place for them to plug in, to be fed, to be challenged to walk closer to the Lord, and to grow in the knowledge of His grace.
One of the German teenagers who had been coming this last month asked me if I would visit his school and share with his class. So, last Friday I drove the 30 minutes to Grafensteinberg. I was met by Chris and his teacher, and they escorted me to their classroom. On the way the teacher told me that the topic they were discussing that day was death. He asked me if I could speak about death and my belief of an afterlife. With a rather large smile I said, “Okay, I think I could say something about that.”
After a short time of class business, I was introduced and given the floor. For the next 45 minutes I shared about God’s love, sin, the cross,
forgiveness and the certainty of heaven if a person would receive Christ verses rejecting Christ and the certainty of hell. The classroom, full of 14 and 15 year old students, was silent, every eye fixed and every ear waiting to hear more about Jesus and His heart for each of them. The Lord blessed and it was a great privilege for me.
Afterwards the instructor thanked me and told me it touched his heart. He asked me if I had time in the future, would I consider coming back and sharing with the class again. He said it was a message that the students needed to hear. I gave him a card and told him I would return anytime and as often as he wanted me to. Praise the Lord for open doors.
On a family note, Bryan has been working on post as a projectionist in the post theater. He has been saving his money for sometime now in hopes to get an old German motorcycle. If you know Bryan and Austin, you’re aware that they have quite a collection of WWI and WWII artifacts. A German motorcycle would be a great addition to Bryan’s collection. Well the Lord blessed Bryan with a really great price on a fairly rare motorcycle. He purchased a 1941 DKW NZ 350. God is so good! He enjoys blessing His kids with things that are special to them. Thank you Lord for your grace.
Finally, I would encourage you to please be praying for us and the church plant. Pray for our family, our devotion time and our walks. Please pray also that God would bless and establish Calvary Chapel Ansbach. And please pray that God would give us vision and wisdom for the work He has entrusted to us.
Thank you for your prayers and support.
God bless,
Gary and Tina
Posted in Update by Mike Thiemann with comments disabled.