1. Praise for a warm welcome and encouraging visit to Leipzig. We enjoyed many good spiritual conversations with friends and ministry partners. Our meeting to discuss the training center was open, honest and interested. The relationship will require time to develop but an invitation was extended to explore this idea further when we return to Germany next summer. We are encouraged and continue to pray for clear guidance in this matter.
2. Pray for the week of prayer, January 8-15, in Leipzig. Pray that the churches in Leipzig will become more zealous in their witness for Christ. As one pastor recently lamented, Leipzig is an extremely atheistic city with little interest in the church. Pray that the witness of individual Christians will point people to Christ, even if they are unwilling to enter a church.
3. Praise for our safe return to the USA (with no delays!). We arrived a day before our children’s visit to Ohio for the Christmas holidays. It was a very special time together as a family. The first time we have all been together in several years.
4. Pray for Katherine and me as we travel to Colorado (mid January) to visit the headquarters of Greater Europe Mission. As furloughing missionaries we are required to visit mission headquarters. This will be a time of field reporting and debriefing, spiritual refreshment and attending to other mission-related business.
5. Pray for Ben as he continues to prepare for his deployment to Afghanistan. We are “on hold” but will make a trip to see him a few days before his deployment. The date has not yet been released.
