Monday, June 1st

On Monday, we went to Karen's school in a little village outside of Chemnitz called Burkhartsdorf. It was the last day for the 10th graders so when we got there early, they were doing some special activities in the gymnasium. Afterwards, the kids ran around and played a little while the students helped clean up. 

Corbin got some bubbles from one of the students. 

Then we met with Karen's students and spoke with them. They asked us lots of questions and we asked them some also. We also invited them to the activities at the church that week. We also went outside and played some games and Heidi also sang for the class. She did that last year too and wanted to do it again. :)

Everyone enjoyed hearing her sing. 

She really got into it. 

Playing games

We got to meet with the gospel choir and listen to them sing a song for us and then we sang several songs with them. It was fun!

Singing together

On the train back to Chemnitz. 

Later that afternoon we got soaked in the way to the church building in a downpour. 

There's always some kind of adventure!

It was Daddy's birthday and the kids gave him his homemade cards at dinner! I think he loved them. 

Heidi wanted to read hers to him. 

Heidi and Corbin played with Ruben & Achim. 

That evening Kim & Jeff Seaman (members of our campaign group and parents of 5 kids) held a parenting seminar. It was really good and had lots of great information and ideas.

Sunday, May 31st

Before worship, Heidi and Kim played hop scotch. :)

Some of the boys waiting for Bible class. 

Clyde Antwine came to preach in Chemnitz. It was so good to have him and Gwen there! 

Clyde's sermon was so touching and meaningful to us that day. To explain a little better, I have to share with you about my friend Amy. Amy Carnagey is a friend I grew up with in Yukon. Over a year ago, she was diagnosed with cancer. Just a few short weeks ago she finished her race and met Jesus. Throughout her illness she had an amazingly positive and faithful attitude. Her constant phrase, no matter how hard things got, was, "God is good!"  She and her husband, Luke have been inspirational and amazing examples to so many people, including around the world. I have been posting about Amy's journey and asking for prayers since the beginning of her illness. Last summer when we were in Chemnitz, my friend Janet asked me how Amy was doing because she had read about her on my posts. We talked about it and I thanked her for asking and I forgot about that conversation later. Just a few weeks ago, Luke told me that he got a note from Janet. This is what Luke later posted:

I have permission to share! Thank you Janet for sharing. This really did and does give Amy and I such joy. I hope April and others who know you will join me and... make sure you feel a part of God's family. This is what God put us on this earth for! 

Hello I want to say thank you. I grew up without any religious background. To believe in God was a kind of ridiculous at GDR time. By "coincidence"(now I know it was God) I started to read with christian student in the bible. But I was full of doubts and discussed a lot. But something in heart believed there must be some truth about this story. When I read about you through April Everhart who I knew about her her in Germany I immediately thought, that is the proof that God isn't existing because to let suffering such a hearty wonderful woman this way can't be right. But then I started to feel Amys incredible strength and I realized it is through God. He everywhere in her and brings so much positive energy love and peace. Her smile is like a hearty hug. To read how she endured all the pain and with so much faith had a great and important impact on my life. I know feel much more closer to God. Because her love through that difficult time is now a proof for me that God is real. THANK YOU for this and I think of you. God bless you. Janet from Germany


In his sermon, Clyde talked about suffering and how we don't always understand why bad things happen, but the important thing is how we react to it and how we can use it for good. Amy has definitely used her illness and suffering to bring glory to God. Not only that, but she has been a light to so many. We have seen God through the life she lived and the positive way she lived it for Him! I know Amy's family has said that Amy would say her cancer was worth it if it even brought one person to Christ. I pray that Janet will continue to grow in her faith and that she will learn to lean on Him for everything. 
Another great thing about Sunday is that Janet got to be there and hear Clyde's sermon. It was such an emotional but wonderful Sunday of worship and fellowship. 

This photo was requested by Luke. We were so happy to send this to him.

Clyde and Janet talking after worship. 

We enjoyed a wonderful potluck with the church that afternoon. It was a wonderful time! 

This is a picture of all the former campaigners with Clyde and Gwen, our Campaign Mom and Dad! We love them so much! They have been an amazing influence on our lives and God has truly blessed us with them!

Our current campaigners with Clyde and Gwen! Thank you for leading the campaign for so many years and teaching us so much!

Achim and Corbin playing. 

Giulia and Velony are growing up so much!

That afternoon, the Seaman boys went with Karen to watch Paul's soccer game. We got to get some rest at the hostel. 

That evening we got invited to Guido, Silke, Luca, Giulia and Timon's for dinner. We had a great time eating pizza and spending time with them. Somehow I didn't remember to take a single picture. Afterwards, Clint really wanted to show the group the joy of throwing your glass away in the bins. 

I guess if you need to get a little frustration out, breaking glass might help. :) this is the recycling bin where you throw away all your glass jars and bottles. Clint loves the feeling of throwing it in there and breaking it. 

Back at the hostel, Heidi sat here and fell asleep. 

I guess we wore them out!

Saturday, May 30th

By Friday afternoon I was about 90% sure that I had some kind of infection and I needed to go to the doctor. On Saturday morning we were going to the park/ lake in Chemnitz. There was a picnic and fellowship there with the church that day. Instead of that, my good friend Karen took me to the doctor. I heard that everyone had a good time and some even got to ride paddle boats in the lake. At the doctor I was able to get antibiotics. Afterwards I went back to the hostel and rested.

Campaigners riding a paddle boat at the lake. 

Kids having fun at the park. 

Church members enjoying the day at the park. 

Logan loves to play the piano at the hostel and the kids wanted to play with him that morning. 

I don't know what day this was taken but it's a good one!

That afternoon, Sven wanted to take us to the new building that the church purchased! This year Sven has taken the week off work to do all the activities with us, help us get to where we need to go and just help out when needed. It has also been great to spend time with him! The new building is a lot bigger and will be so nice for the church once they get to do all the renovations that need to be done. They were outgrowing their current building and it is old and needs a lot of work. The building they have purchased was once a market. It has been empty for a while and you can see it needs work but I can really picture a wonderful space for the church there! They are very excited! 

Heidi jumps on this thing that spins around every time we are on our way to the tram stop or on our way back to the hostel. :)

On the way to the new church building I had to stop for a picture by these beautiful flowers!

On the way to the new building. 

One of the entrances to the building. It is handicap accessible which will be so nice. 

Sven standing at the main entrance. 

Entryway

I think this will be a kitchen

Lots of space

It's very open and there are lots of windows. 

We are so happy for them and can't wait to see the finished product!

In the evening, some friends, Paul, Daniel & Karen, wanted to meet the group for dinner. We ordered pizza and enjoyed hanging out at the hostel. 

And here we are hanging out at the hostel at some point that day. :)

Friday, May 29th

After we got up and ate breakfast we headed to the office where we could buy our tickets for public transportation. After waiting there for some time, figuring out if we could get student discounts for some and deciding it wasn't worth it to go through all that they wanted us to to get the discounts, we settled for paying full price.

We headed to the church building and started organizing music and rehearsed a bit. At this point, I was still not feeling well and had no voice to sing so I just directed. The rehearsing went well. We still need to rehearse more before Tuesday, but especially Wednesday. We have a concert at the hostel that night! 

We took a break for running to the store for sandwich stuff and had our lunch. Otherwise we worked on music and had a coffee break as well. Many of us were still jet lagging pretty badly. 

That evening was a youth evening. We played games and then ate Bratwurst. 

As you can see, Corbin didn't make it through dinner, so I took him back to the hostel and put him to bed. He never woke up and he slept 13 hours that night! By the way, I have to mention that Corbin has been doing so much better than he did last year. I think the jet lag and changes were very hard on him last year. So far he has been doing great!

Afterwards there was a devo and singing. I think everyone enjoyed that evening.  

Travel day #2

After we got a little bit of sleep at the hotel in Chicago we had breakfast and headed back to the airport. We were worried we would somehow not get on the flight that day if there were too many people. So we got there early and the counter was not going to be open for another hour. So Clint got in line and the rest of us found a place to camp out for an hour. I have to say that the kids did really well with passing the time and didn't get too whiny or bored. I'm glad the things we brought for them have kept them entertained. Long story short, we did get on that flight for 2:40 that afternoon and quickly got through security and went to our gate. We had time to eat lunch and just hang out for awhile. Not too long after the flight took off, Heidi had to go to the bathroom. She told me her tummy hurt. I always hate to hear that, but especially when you are in the first hour or two of a 9 hour flight! Well we sat back down and she said she was ok. Well, a little while later or worst dreams came true... She threw up...all over herself and the floor. Such a mess and of course I didn't have any extra clothes in our carry on. (I will not make that mistake again). They actually had some clothes they gave us, although they were meant for adults. The pants had a drawstring so I tightened them as tight as possible and rolled the pants up and rolled the sleeves up. It got us by for the rest of the day. She did throw up a couple more times but thankfully not as much. We were ready with airsickness bags those times. By the time we reached Frankfurt she was almost back to her normal self. We are even wondering if she got a little airsickness. She never has before, but I don't know. Our flight from Frankfurt to Leipzig went well and our whole family got some much needed sleep on that one. Of course this was the shortest flight. :)

Karen Abercrombie, a missionary in Leipzig, met us at the airport and got us to the train station and onto the right train. It was so good to see her and visit with her for a bit. We are also looking forward to our time in Leipzig soon. 

You can see Heidi's huge clothes in this picture. 

This is on our train ride from Leipzig to Chemnitz. We were all pretty tired, but we were almost there!

We got there and were met by the rest of our group and more friends from Chemnitz. It was so good to finally get here, after 39 hours of traveling. That's going to go down in the record books as the longest, most challenging journey to Germany.

After getting settled in at the hostel, we went and got some lunch, Currywurst und Pommes. Then we went back and our family took turns taking showers and getting naps in. 

That evening there was a "get to know you" dinner and game evening at the church. It was good to see them all and we had a fun evening. 

Departure day!

It's hard to believe the day has come! It feels like we have had some obstacles along the way, but we know God helps us through each one! Some of the obstacles we have seen in the past days are termites, leaky roof, feeling a bit under the weather and a cancelled flight. One might even think that Satan has placed these obstacles in our way. Thank God for his promises! Also, thank God for our brothers and sisters in Christ who have helped us quickly deal with these obstacles. That is what being a part of God's family is all about!

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32 ESV)

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (Ephesians 6:12-13 ESV)

This verse has been made even more special because of my friend Amy, who recently went to meet Jesus. 

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 ESV)

One of our campaigners, Lindsay, met is in OKC to make the full trip with us. 

I think she and Heidi will get along just fine. :)

Saying goodbye to Mimi

Saying goodbye to Papa

We met up with another campaigner in Chicago! 

We got in line to board our flight and the pilot came out to announce the flight was being cancelled because the copilot got really sick. Not exactly the way we were hoping the trip would go, but we try to stay positive. My genius daughter said, "We have to stay positive and flexible even when bad things happen." She is such a smart girl. And that is how we have tried to handle this situation. 

 Ginna joined us for this crazy adventure!

Thankfully, we got vouchers for a hotel and food and we were able to get some rest last night. Now to hope thing s go smoothly today. We are supposed to leave at 2:40 pm. Please continue to pray!

Another prayer request is that I started to feel bad a couple of days ago. It's either allergies or a cold but it has caused me to lose my voice. Since we are supposed to be practicing and singing in front of people as soon as we get there, I'm praying I will have some healing quickly. Thanks for your prayers!

Finished Fundraising

I just wanted to clear up something that I may not have made clear before. We are officially ending our fundraising. We will hopefully be picking up the check today or tomorrow from the Center for Global Missions to get the funds ready for our trip on Tuesday! Although we did not reach 100% of our budget, we are very pleased with reaching 85%! It helps take a huge load off of our shoulders and makes it feel doable to make this commitment each year. Thank you again for your loving commitments to helping us! 

Thankful

We are continuously blessed and amazed by how God provides! Just when I thought we got all the funds we were going to get, over $800 more shows up in our account. Thank you for praying and allowing God to lead you to give to this mission. You are all truly a part of this whether you are with us physically or in spirit. We have reached 85% of what we have budgeted for this trip. It helps us tremendously and allows us to continue to do this work God has placed on our hearts.

I will be doing my best to post updates here and on our Facebook page so check back to hear more! 

https://www.facebook.com/germanycampaign