Missio Colonia | Kevin and Kathi in Cologne, Germany

Another weekend, another church. We traveled about a half hour south of us to speak and sing at the New Rumley United Methodist Church. (Thanks to Cherri for setting that up for us!) We had such a great time. One of the things that struck both of us about this church was how committed and excited they were about reaching out to their community in Christ's name. It was a very egalitarian service - people speaking up in agreement during the sermon, volunteers shouting out whenever a need was presented. It was wonderful to see.

They also received us so graciously. We were really blown away by how enthusiastic they were about the vision we have for Germany. They didn't just give us encouraging words, but they were eager to know how they could help. We were so thankful for their love, prayers and support.

On a side note, New Rumley, Ohio is the birthplace of the famed (or infamous) General George Armstrong Custer. They had a little memorial with an interesting mini-museum about his life.

We received some amazing news today. The Church of Christ-Christian Disciples in Carrollton decided to support us for a substantial portion of our monthly need! Their generosity has put us above the halfway mark up to 55% of our monthly support goal! Praise God! Can you believe it?!? We are now more than half way there! Kathi and I are so thankful right now that we're beside ourselves.

We are also so thankful for this wonderful church. From the very beginning, the congregation and the pastor has been so enthusiastic about the vision God has given us for Germany. They have continually blessed not only through their generosity but also through their continued love, encouragement and prayers. Please take a moment to thank God along with us for this news!

God continues to move in our relationships with churches. Last night Kathi and I went to a small group meeting of Valley View Community Church. We met with the missions committee chair and pastor of this church a few months ago. Anyway, we are really encouraged about partnering with this church, and they have been so open and supportive of us so far. The small group was a lot of fun and they were so encouraging and interested in what we are doing.

The relationship we've been building with this church really typifies our heart in partnering with churches. From the beginning we've been hoping that God would use us not only in the mission field but also that He would use us as a blessing and vision casters for the church here in the States. So often missionary relationships with churches simply involve a yearly prayer letter and a line item in the church's budget. We hope and pray that there would be a real connection between us and our supporting churches even once we are in the field. This kind of relationship is difficult because it takes a lot of time and patience to develop. But, we know that having that kind of support once we're in Germany will be huge.

We had a huge answer to prayer today. Kathi went in to the dentist this morning to have her crown checked out. After a short visit, the crown was reattached with no complications! The dentist even gave us a discount, so we didn't end up paying that much either. Needless to say, we left the place praising God. Thanks to everyone who prayed for this. It's one burden that's been lifted from our hearts!

We had a visit yesterday with Church of Christ's Evangelism Committee. We were able to briefly talk to them about our vision and give them some background on Greater Europe Mission. This is the same church we've been in contact with for the last four months or so. Now it's looking really promising that they'll want to be a part of our support team. Please be praying for them. They're going to be presenting our ministry to the elder board a week from this Sunday. We're really excited to be connected with this church. We have had nothing but love and encouragement from them.