Missio Colonia | Kevin and Kathi in Cologne, Germany

Kevin: The other day I was reading 2 Corinthians 6 where Paul is writing about the ministry of reconciliation. I was struck by how applicable this is to evangelism in a European context. I've told many of you the story of C.S. Lewis who remarked about Europe being post-Christian. He said that "the post-Christian has about as much to do with a pagan as a divorcee has to do with a virgin." With this vivid metaphor or Europe in my mind, a ministry of reconciliation took on much greater meaning and depth.

In our American Evangelical context, evangelism is frequently viewed in terms of right and wrong. We're right and the liberals are wrong, right? We pour great effort into rational apologetics and defending the faith from the culture, and rightly so. Indeed if Kathi and I didn't have a firm conviction in the truth of the Gospel, our ministry in Europe would be hollow. But, many times our rational apologetic looses the deep compassion inherent in the Gospel.

Paul speaks unabashedly about how God is reconciling those who had turned away. What better description can you find of the people of Europe? Our call then is to be ministers of the reconciliation, pleading with the divorcee to be reconciled to her husband. This type of ministry is not based on convincing everyone they are wrong, but on a humble plea to a wayward wife. Ministry modeled after the Prodigal Son is what we hope comes out of our time in Germany.

Kevin: I just wanted to update everyone on the move that happened this weekend. On Friday we moved most of our belongings to Kathi's parent's in Ohio. We were able to get all of it moved in and stored away in one afternoon, so praise God for that! But, it was a hectic weekend none the less. It seemed that we were on the verge of disaster the entire time, but God brought us through.

Now we've moved into our temporary place in Libertyville, Illinois. It's the house of the mother-in-law of our team leader in Germany. She's letting us stay there for free for a few months while we raise support in the Chicago area. She's an awesome, godly woman and it's going to be really encouraging living with her.

Please continue to pray for Kathi's work situation. They still have her working a lot of overtime, and that's hindering us from really taking a bite out of the support raising. It's also very stressful on her. She needs prayers for strength and patience through all of this.

Kevin: My previous confidence and peace regarding support raising has begun to erode somewhat. This past week we've had to bring support raising to a halt as we pack and prepare to move. I found myself becoming anxious because we weren't doing anything in this area. I was afraid that we would fall behind and not reach our target completion date. Well, God decided to lovingly correct me in my anxiety.

Last week, I had lunch with Kent, who encouraged Kathi and I not to put a time limit on our support raising. He reasoned that God has a time in mind and He desires to accomplish certain things during this time. If it takes 3 years for God to accomplish in us what He desires through support raising, then we wait patiently on Him. The key, he said, is our obedience and faithfulness. Are Kathi and I being faithful and obedient in our support raising? We need to seek God and do what He has called us to do, and then trust Him for the results.

With that in mind, I felt that God was calling me to taking a step back this week and not do anything related to support raising. Well, I can't tell you how hard that is for me. But, He made it clear that I could take 1 week or 1 month off, and He would still be able to raise up the people we need. Sometimes waiting and inactivity are the hardest things we will be called to do. Please pray that God would be continually conforming our hearts and our minds to His will.

Kevin: Today is my last day at Trinity. Surprisingly, I'm a little sad. I thought I'd be really excited at ending this chapter of my life and diving head-long into the next. But, this place has been a home the last five years. It's hard to think that I won't be a daily part of this community any longer.

There's also some unexpected trepidation. This is a huge faith move to be taking for Kathi and I. We're surrendering financial and situational stability trusting that God is calling us to missions. I can't help thinking what if we're wrong? What if we're not supposed to be going to Germany? Obviously, God provides no matter what our situation, but this new step is certainly testing how much we truly believe that.

Please continue to pray for us as you have faithful been doing thus far. In particular, pray that our support raising would begin to speed up and that we would trust that all our needs will be provided by Him.

Kevin: I'm coming up on my last hurrah here at Trinity. Thursday will be my last day of work and will end my five-year association with Trinity International University. I'm look forward to being done with work because it was difficult being in a position that I never really felt called to. But, I am so thankful for the people here and how God used this job to provide for Kathi and I this past year.

With the end of my full-time employment, I'll be devoting most of my time to support raising. Kathi will still work at Lamb's Farm for the time being. Hopefully, this newly found free time will result in a quicker support raising pace. Please be praying that we'll be able to gear things up even though Kathi is still working some long hours.

Kevin: Isn't God amazing? I'm so thankful for how he uses His people to encourage and strength one another. Everytime that Kathi and I get close to discouragement in support raising, He brings someone across our path who is overjoyed to pray and support us. Just this past weekend, Kathi was feeling daunted by everything. Then, at church on Sunday, she ran into a friend with whom she works at Lamb's Farm. They both went to our church without realizing it. After talking a bit with her, she enthusiastically told us that she wanted to help us in our ministry! So amazing!

We have been so humbled by the generosity of people. Everytime someone says they want to support us, I get this horrible feeling like I don't deserve any of it. And, in actuality I don't deserve it. I soon realize that these people are giving their money to God and His ministry in Germany, not to me. Any money given to me would truly be wasted. But, anything given to God will be multiplied tenfold. That's what makes it so humbling. If you ever need to deflate any pride, just spend some time support raising!

Kevin: Another missionary couple on our team, Dave and Rachel Byers, wrote recently in one of their blogs about the language training their currently going through. They described how foreign language competency can be measured with five different levels. The highest level of language acquisition, 5, is never reached by most foreign speakers. In fact the majority of foreign language learners do not advance beyond level 2.

The reason for this, they write, is that in order to advance beyond level 2 something inside you has to die. You have to give up a part of your native, English-speaking self and be transformed in your conceptual thinking into the new language. You have to begin thinking and conceiving in that language.

I just thought that this was such a stark metaphor for what missionaries are called to do. We truly are called to die to ourselves and take on the life and stuggles of those to whom we're ministering. If that doesn't happen, we'll always be nothing but outsiders. But to do this, we must let go of ourselves and in a sense die.