Since The Last Time
I just wanted to write a brief update to bring you up to speed with what has been going on here. It has been 5 months since my last update. The good news is that God is still good. He is still at work in our lives and the lives of those He has given us to serve. He continues to supply for our needs, pour out His mercy and grace upon us and He continues to bless.
As you may know, there was a bomb that was exploded by a Syrian refugee in Ansbach on July 24. It was during a music festival, and praise God, no one was killed, except the bomber. There were 15 people who were injured and four of them were injured fairly seriously. I am suprised how fast life has returned to normal. It has almost been forgotten.
Just days ago a six year old boy drowned in a lake near our house. He was out with his grandfather and wandered away. They looked for him frantically and found his body the next day.
These events stir us to tell people that there is a good and loving God who is willing to extend forgiveness and grace through faith in Jesus Christ to anyone who wants it. Pray that God opens doors for us to share his love with more and more people.
Tina and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary on September 1st. We took a few days off work and drove down to spend a couple of days in Italy. The boys have never been to Venice so we found a cheap hotel in Vicenza and then spent a day in Venice.
We have been working on gaining Italian citizenship. Tina’s father was Italian, and her grandparents came to America in the 30’s. We thought it might be a good thing for Tina and the kids to have EU citizenship in case God wants to utilize it in the future. It would allow us to stay in the EU, if I were ever to separate from working for the Army, which is what allows us to currently stay in Europe without a visa. It’s a long slow process, but it seems like we’re close.
We also took another day off work and drove in to Austria to explore a castle. We had such a good time there. Next to that castle is the longest suspension walking bridge in the world, It is 500 feet above the valley floor. Afterwards we had a picnic near a river where we waded in the water and skipped stones. It was a great day! God really blessed us that day with simple little pleasures and family time together.
Calvary Chapel Ansbach continues to study through the word. We recently finished the Book of Acts and Sunday, September 25th will be our first study in the Book of Romans. I’m really excited to get into the book with our fellowship.
Our fellowship has been decreasing in size over the past 12 months so we dropped our mid week study. The reason for the decreasing numbers is the United States Army has been rearranging their assets in Europe to better meet future threats. It has resulted in a temporary downsizing of forces in our area. Therefore, soldiers and Department of Defense civilians have been moving from the area.
That being said, there is a plan to increase the size of the US Army in this area again in 2017. It’s just a another part of the cycle of ups and downs when you minister to soldiers and expats that are always on the move.
God seems to be opening a new door of ministry for us. I was recently asked to share the teaching, through the Gospel of John, in another village about 45 minutes away from us. I was asked to share the teaching because the leader doesn’t feel he has the time to continue as frequently as he would like to. The study is small group, primarily Germans, and will have to be translated. So, praise the Lord for another chance to share His word with hungry believers!
Finally, we need your prayers. We are facing a very challenging time. It is probably the greatest test of our faith we have ever faced in the last 38 years of Christian life. We just don’t know what to do or what’s going to happen. We are trusting the Lord to do whatever He thinks is best for us, but were on our knees pressing in in prayer none the less. Now isn’t the right time to share the details, I’ll let you know the details soon, but until then, would you please be praying for us? Pray for strength, for wisdom and patience to wait upon the Lord. Thank you.
Well, that’s about it, at least that’s the nutshell version. If you have any questions or prayers we can lift up on your behalf, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be blessed to stand with you in prayer.
God bless,
Gary and Tina
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It’s April Already!
The picture to the left says “TIME FLYS.” What can I say? It’s true, but it’s not an excuse. I’m just bad at writing updates, staying up on them and making sure they get out in a timely manner. It seems like a never ending battle with the calendar. Lord help me!
I think part of the problem is that our lives as missionaries are not really much different than your life. We wake, we spend time with the Lord in our devotions. Afterwards I go to work, talk with people, try to let my light shine, look for opportunities to share Jesus. After a day working for the Army, I go home, spend time with the family and relax. Before I turn in, I try to spend some more time with the Lord, read my Bible, thank the Lord for His faithfulness, for carrying us through another day, and I ask Him for His grace and goodness for tomorrow. I’m certain that’s about the same as your daily routine. It’s just the life of a Christian.
But God is moving, God is working! At times He moves slowly, imperceivable, almost unnoticed. Then there are other times He moves so fast it’s all you can do to just hold on.
So here’s whats going on. Here’s what the Lord has been doing with us.
FAMILY
Ashley and Elijah have moved back to the states.
It’s a little hard for us knowing they are not just hours away by plane, not just a few hundred dollars away if we want to see them. Now they are now an ocean and a continent away.
They are visiting this month with Elijah’s folks and next month they are flying to California to interview with a church for a youth pastor position. I can’t think of a couple that is better suited to disciple middle school or high school aged kids in the ways of the Lord than them. I know I don’t tell them enough, but Tina and I are so proud of them. We’re excited to see what the Lord has for them.
Bryan and Austin continue to seek the Lord for His heart for them. It’s come to the point that they are just wondering what the Lord has for them, what direction they are to take for their lives, and when He’s going to open a door for them. As I have reported before, their heart is to return to the states and start college. Many people have offered to help them out with a place to stay, but so far, the Lord hasn’t seemed to give us a peace in our hearts or a go ahead for what we are supposed to do.
Those of you that know and have 
come to love Gunter, you’ll be sad to hear that he is going through his own personal struggle. He recently went to “The bad place” and was neutered. Now he struggles with a cone that catches on everything and is constantly impeding his progress. He went from the photo on the left, happy, alert and playful, to the photo on the right, sore, a little humiliated and a little less in the area of his manhood.
MINISTRY
This last Sunday we watched a Bible study taught by Jon Courson on Isaiah 6. It seemed to confirm much of what the Lord had spoken to my heart. 
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His rob filled the temple.” Is 6:1
When Uzziah died, things in the nation seemed to be out of control, but God was on the throne; and It wasn’t until Uzziah died that Isaiah was able to see God upon the throne, high and lifted up.
The Lord has spoken to my heart and has showed me that there are areas of ministry that are not pleasing to Him. Whether little or much, there are areas that I have allowed the flesh to creep into. Areas that I have served Him in the power of my own strength, not relying on His Spirit. He has led us to take a step back from what we have been doing and seek Him for a course correction. In doing so, we are asking Him to let the things die that aren’t of Him, so that we can see Him clearly upon the throne. We are asking Him to show us the way He would have us go forward.
It is our heart to serve the Lord in the power of His Spirit. We don’t desire to do anything, go anyplace, be anywhere, apart from Him. Because of this, we have placed everything on the table. We are asking the Lord to show us what needs to die and what needs to be renewed. Whether it to let go of our Wednesday night study or our Sunday morning study? Whether we are to seek to go deeper into a refugee ministry and make that our main focus or to let that go? Whether I am to continue to work for the Army or seek something else? Whether we are even to stay here in Germany or return to the states? It’s all on the table, and whatever He shows us, we are committed to being obedient to it.
I know we are to lift it all up to the Lord, while holding on to the ministry we have with a loose grip, and let Him show us what brings glory to His name, and to abandon everything else.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Will you please be praying for us? This is a difficult time for us. It’s hard to hear that there are things in your ministry that aren’t 
pleasing to the Lord. It’s discouraging to know that I have allowed the flesh to creep into things where it has no business being, but I want to hear it. It’s good to hear it! I want to surrender and see the Lord bring correction. That way He can reign in our lives and ministry. I want to let die what needs to die so we can see Him seated upon the throne of our lives, our family and our ministry.
So, please pray for understanding, for an ability to hear Him, for an open heart to receive from Him and that God would open our eyes to see what He would have us see.
Pray for strength to wait on the Lord, not to get out ahead of Him, and to respond properly to whatever He reveals to us.
Pray that God would refresh us and show us His heart.
Pray for us as a family, for clear direction and open doors.
The things I am asking you to pray about aren’t quick fixes. They are things that the Lord will do in His timing. I don’t expect an answer tomorrow. Yet I trust He will answer, I trust He will continue to work, and those answers and that work in us will be wonderful, marvelous and worthy of praise.
I just wanted to let you know where the Lord has us and what He has spoken to us. Thank you for your prayers. We appreciate you standing with us, covering us in prayer because of your love for our Lord and for us.
God bless,
Gary and Tina
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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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