The date has been set! We are flying to Germany on the 10th of August, and are in the process of applying for visas. We have also moved out of our Eastwood apartment and have moved into Beth's parents place in Castle Hill. Preparation has been heating up as we do lots of paperwork relating to moving and tying up accounts in Australia.

It's not long now till we say our goodbyes and head for Berlin. We are getting very excited about living overseas and serving God in this amazing opportunity. It will be a huge challenge but also a massive time of growth as we learn what it's like to serve God cross-culturally and work with a team of people from various cultures in the church plant.

We've been in contact with Pastor Dan recently via Skype and will Skype him again soon. He's been really helpful and has offered to have us stay with him until we find an apartment. He is even going to help us find an apartment and has shared with us a job opportunity for Beth. The potential job on offer is at an international school right next door to the church. Getting this job would be very convenient and a huge blessing for Beth as she hopes to teach English over there.

Beth has finished her studies and is enjoying being able to catch up with people before she leaves. James continues to work and his last day at work is the 30th July. We then head to Canberra for a week or so to catch up with various family members. We have finished the Perspectives course and both really enjoyed it and got lots out of it. We were especially encouraged about how to go about discipling others. We look forward to putting our knowledge from the course into action.

Our next event, "Pretzel und Strudel Nacht" is on Wednesday 6th July at 7:30-9:30. It will be in the St. Paul's Castle Hill Foyer. We will be sharing the latest news, answering any questions and praying for the church plant. It will also be a time to share in the excitement and have some tasty German food. We look forward to having you there.

Prayer Points

Please Pray:

• that we'd continue to raise prayer support in the final 5 weeks before we depart.
• for the people of berlin and that God would be softening their hearts and preparing them to hear God's word.
• for the team of church planters that we'd work cooperatively and effectively.
• for Pastor Dan and his wife and child Nancy and Ferdinand; for blessings on their lives and for energy and passion to serve God through the church plant.

Thanks for your continued support and prayers. We have been so encouraged by you all.

Our departure date is fast approaching and we are getting excited as the reality of our short term mission kicks in. This past month God has challenged us and our world view, and we're looking forward to what he has in store for us.

Missions Interlink Short-Term Training

In April we did the the MIST training course. We both found this course very helpful. The training was very practical, covering a large variety of topics including aspects of culture shock, reverse culture shock and reentry, sharing the gospel across cultures and working in international teams.

We found it particularly helpful to network with other short term missionaries. It was very encouraging to hear other like minded peoples passion for seeing God's kingdom all over the world. One of the things we were challenged in is ensuring that what we do doesn't just become a working holiday. This is something we have to take particular care in because many people at our age go to Europe to work for a year so they can see Europe. However, we want to, wherever we are, live our lives for the soul purpose of glorifying God. We have an awesome opportunity to do this being a part of Mavuno Berlin, but only if we keep our eyes focused on Christ.

Departure Date

We are very close to booking our flights. James has notified his company of his intentions, and they have requested that he stay till the end of July, as half of his team at work is taking annual leave during July. So, we're going to book flights for early August.

German Gebetsnacht

On the 13th of April we had a prayer and information night. In our rush to get there on time, we forgot to bring the church key! Nevertheless, in spite of the cold, we met outside the church and had a great evening sharing about our mission, and praying. The prayer time we found particularly encouraging, we've found meeting up with people that share a passion for mission to be very uplifting. God is much bigger than us, and can work far more amazing things than we can imagine. Through your prayers he will work in Germany, in spite of our small cultural and language understanding.

Prayer Points

Please pray that:

• our trip to Germany would not be a working holiday, but that we would remember why we are there and serve God with all our heart and soul
• God would help Beth with the large study workload that she has in the final month of her masters
• God would give James the words to say as he answers questions from his work colleagues of why he is going to Germany
• God would give the people in Berlin that we will be ministering to a thirst for something more in life than what the world has to offer.

Just a quick reminder of our prayer and information night this Wednesday night, the 13th of April, from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. If you haven't heard us talk about why we're going to Germany and what we're doing there, this will be a perfect opportunity to do so. It will also be a good opportunity to hear about our latest developments in news.

We'll also be spending a good amount of time in prayer. A light supper will be provided.

Address: St Paul's Foyer, 421 Old Northern Rd, Castle Hill

Our first prayer breakfast is this Sunday, 20th March. 

The details are as follows:

When: 8:30-9:30am 20th March
Where: Our place, 14/18-20 Doomben Ave Eastwood
RSVP: by email so we can cater!

This will be a great opportunity to meet together in fellowship and pray for the people of Berlin and our ministry to them. We have been really blessed so far with the amount of prayer support we've received from St. Paul's, so thankyou for your support.

Bis bald!
(See you then!)

February has been a month of building support, and preparing to build a community of prayers around us that will support us as we leave our comfortable community at St Paul's and step out into a culture that will present many challenges to us. To that end, we are announcing a series of events in which you can show your support.

Prayer Breakfast

Sunday 20th March 8:30-9:30am

Join us at our place for a light breakfast as we pray for Germany, Berlin, the church plant, and the part we will take in it all.

Address: 14/18-20 Doomben Ave, Eastwood

German Gebetsnacht

Wednesday 13th April 7:30-9:30pm

This will be a night where we'll give information about what we are doing, why we are going, and what we hope to achieve in Berlin. We'll spend a good amount of time in prayer, and there will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.

Address: St Paul's Foyer, 421 Old Northern Rd, Castle Hill

Prayer Breakfast

Sunday 29th May 8:30-9:30am

Join us at our place for a light breakfast as we pray for Germany, Berlin, the church plant, and the part we will take in it all.

Address: 14/18-20 Doomben Ave, Eastwood

Pretzel und Strudel Nacht

Wednesday 15th June 7:30-9:30pm

Salted pretzels and sticky apple desserts tickle your fancy? This is the night for you! No? Come support us anyway, this will be our last prayer meeting before we head to Germany.

Address: St Paul's Foyer, 421 Old Northern Rd, Castle Hill

Pray

• That we study diligently for the perspectives course that we have started
• That we would have no problems sorting out visas
• That God would prepare us to do the MIST course