thankful

by: candi fender

we are so very thankful to be connecting with andre and olga pritzkau, and their children joshua, mark, and claudia. today we had our first meeting with them to discuss plans for our time in berlin. we navigated public transportation back to their flat, and were only a little late. we had an awesome time of worship, and read and discussed 1 timothy 2:1-7 :

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. this is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. for there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time. and for this purpose i was appointed a herald and an apostle--i am telling the truth, i am not lying--and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.

after which, we prayed for the new US president, for leaders of churches, for the pritzkau's, for the other trek teams, etc. we then went over weekly schedules, and we talked about moving-in with church families until the new windows are installed and heat can be turned on...

i'll be the first to admit that i wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea. and i'm glad raf spoke for the group because i would have ended up being very emotional about the whole thing. instead, i choked back tears and silently prayed for God to change my heart and attitude about the whole thing. i was reflecting on my past experiences with host families in different countries, and while they were overall very good, they were also very tiring times. it's hard to balance spending time with the family and doing whatever else one is supposed to be doing. it's hard to communicate when you're leaving, when you're coming back, if you will need to eat a meal, etc, especially when you're used to being an independent person.

but God definitely spoke to me, reminding me that i didn't come here seeking an easy life. and that perhaps this is part of the ministry for which i came to do: to get to know and encourage families in the church here in berlin.

i was also reminded that there are positive things about living with native families, such as learning the language and culture better, learning to cook authentic food, living in an actual home setting where there will be heat, and developing new relationships.

after the meeting, we ate some delicious food for lunch, watched videos/looked at pictures and learned a little of the history of this church plant. one thing that andre said that really stuck out to me was the excitement within the congregation for this new church building, and the distinction they make between the church building and the people. families are literally moving across the city to be closer to the new church. they are giving up their saturday's to come and do construction work. yet, they are more thrilled about what God is doing in their lives and through their lives. i can't wait to meet these people!

then all of us went to a nearby park to play soccer. the kids were so fun to get to know, even though i have no idea what they were saying (though they probably understood some--if not most--of what i was saying in english...). sometimes, there are things that just go beyond language barriers and cultural barriers. this time it was a smile, an excited cheer, and a hi-five.

so yes, we are thankful for the pritzkau's. we are thankful for people wanting to host us. we are thankful for the healthy ministries to join and support. and we are PUMPED to be a part of the changes taking place to this church building (the actual structure, and the building of the congregation).