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New Berlinprojekt Church Video! Thanks to the magic eye of Corey Nickols.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqUNsYs6u8Y
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June 2, 2011 – Update
This information was just recently sent in a newsletter but I decided to also post it here as not everyone who reads our blog receives our newsletters. If you would like to receive our newsletters, please send us an email and we will add you to the list! corrie@berlinprojekt.com.
What We’re Up To
We’re back on this side of the ocean! We’ve been in Columbus, Ohio now for a little over 3 weeks and we’re just getting into the swing of things; re-adapting to American culture, swapping wienerschnitzel for Taco Bell, trading in our bikes for cars, and speaking fluently instead of grammatically incorrectly! It’s been an adjustment, but God has really been taking care of us through this transition.
Upon arriving in Columbus we had a free, fully furnished home waiting for us along with our dog and cat that we had left behind 2 years ago! We’re temporarily living free in Matt’s grandma’s condo while she waits for it to sell. Such a blessing! And, thanks to my grandparents, we have a free car! Those were two of our biggest concerns when planning the move back to the States. I am continuing my work with Berlinprojekt by finishing up the planning of two teams visiting the church in Berlin this summer, as well as continued Church Networking with churches here in the States, while Matt has been working small part time jobs and projects.
The “Plan”
Right now we’re taking some time to decompress and follow a few open doors that God has put in our paths. We’re praying and talking about each and seeing where God is leading… whether we stay here in Columbus, or we move on to another State. Please keep this transition time in your prayers. We know God has an amazing plan for us and we want to continue to faithfully follow Him wherever He leads!
We’re also planning for the arrival of our first baby! Baby Boy Roush! We are so excited for this new step in our lives, and he has already been such a blessing. Please continue to pray for the health of our baby and the remaining 7 weeks of the pregnancy.
Additional Prayer Requests
Your prayers and support for the last two years meant so much to us… and they also meant so much to the church we were working with, Berlinprojekt. Now that we are no longer in Berlin, please do not stop praying for Berlinprojekt. They continue to need prayer, in fact, even more now as they are growing more than ever, and hiring two new staff members. We saw God use the church in so many ways, and know that He will continue to do so. The church recently took a group trip to Jerusalem where one if not two people that regularly attend Sunday services gave their lives to Christ!! There are so many incredible people at Berlinprojekt and we had the opportunity to see God really challenge them and raise them up to take on active leadership roles in the church. It was so exciting to be a part of that process and I know He will only provide more and more as the church grows.
Keeping In Touch
As always, please be sure to visit our blog often as we try to update it several times each month. Also, if you are a supporter, and did not receive our “Letter to our Supporters” back in March, that means we have a wrong mailing address for you! We try to send a piece of snail mail every 3-4 months, so if you haven’t received anything in a while, please update us with your current mailing address: corrie@berlinprojekt.com.
DON’T FORGET!!
Visit our Blog:
http://www.MattandCorrie.wordpress.com
Also send us and email! We really love hearing from you:
Thank you!!
For your continued prayer and financial support during this transition time. This is a very important time in our lives, and your friendship, encouragement and support is needed just as much now as it was over the last two years. We see God doing some amazing things in our lives, and it’s such a blessing to be able to share this with you!
— Corrie and Matt
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May 11, 2011 – Bloggers Block
During the two weeks before we left Berlin I sat down at least 4 times to try to write a blog… and for whatever reason, the words just wouldn’t come out. The thoughts and ideas were there, all floating around in my head with a million other things, but I just couldn’t put them into words. Bloggers block! Not only did it seem impossible for me to put into words what I was feeling and thinking about the last two years as well as upcoming several weeks, but every time I tried to express what I was feeling it just seemed way too emotional! So, I’m sitting here, now in Columbus, Ohio – the city we were both born in and haven’t lived in for almost 7 years – and once again I am trying to express my feelings in writing…
Our last two weeks in Berlin where a whirlwind of events and emotions. Wrapping work up at the church, packing, going away parties, last time dinners, lunches and coffees with friends… each hour was just a little too short and each day seemed to end too fast! Our last evening service was the week before Easter, and the church threw us a surprise pizza party after the service. Konstantin, one of the pastors, called us up front after the service and spoke a bit about our work there and what we did for the church; and then we had an amazing party together. It was emotional, but I held it together. Good Friday and Easter Sundays were great, super busy, and very blessed. We held the Good Friday service in an old church that hasn’t been touched since the war. The inside was completely bombed out and they only “renovations” that were done since then was to add a glass roof – making this seemingly hollow church full of mysterious beauty. The sound in there is amazing, and as Berlinprojekt has SOO many talented musicians, I felt that we were taking a part of a once in a life time concert… an experience I will never forget! Emotional, but, I held it together. After the Easter Sunday service we had a picnic at a nearby park with some friends. Word spread, and there ended up being over 30 of us there; all sharing blankets, food, and music. I looked around at one point and realized how blessed we’ve been to be a part of such an amazing community. Again, it was emotional, but I held it together. That week we had our last “Sofa Group” (small home group), our last Friday staff meeting at the church offices, and a going away party. We invited around 25 of our friends to come have a drink (juice for me!) and say goodbye, and around 45 people came. So many nice things were said to us, and we had a great time, talking and laughing until around 3 in the morning… Yes, very emotional, but I still held it together. Then on Sunday, our last morning service, I knew that Christian, the other pastor, was going to call Matt and I up to make an announcement about leaving and say a few words. I had prepared a bit the night before what I wanted to say; I wanted to make sure my German grammar wasn’t totally wrong, and after Christian talked briefly about our ministry with the church, and thanked us for our work, I gave my little speech and told the congregation how amazing they had been in our lives the last two years, and thanked them for their friendships. So, although it was probably the most emotional part yet, saying our goodbye on stage to 300+ people, I held it together. And then, Christian said they had a little surprise for us, and all of the musicians that Matt had worked with over the last 2 years, some of them who had become amazing friends, came up on stage and sang a “goodbye” song they had prepared for us… that’s when I lost it! I cried like a baby in front of 300+ Germans!! As I’m writing this now I’m tearing up. The final few months I had been asking myself: had Matt and I fulfilled our “goals”? Had we accomplished what we had set out to do when we first stepped foot in Berlin, Germany two years ago? Had we made a difference, an impact… would people miss us! Listening to the musicians, or friends, sing this song to us I realized what an amazing blessing the church and the community had been in our lives!!! I wanted to see “results” and know that all the hard work we had put into the last two years actually made a difference in someone’s life, and I realized more than ever at that moment what a difference they; Berlin, Berlinprojekt, the community, our friends, had made in ours! Sure God had used us in Berlin, He used us in ways that we hadn’t expected; and we had been a big help to the church, to Christian, Konstantin, and Doo-Kyoung; but, what we didn’t expect, is just how much God had used this experience in our lives! It was the end of the last two years of our lives, but it felt like the beginning of something really great. These experiences, what we learned in Berlin, what God showed us and taught us, the way we grew as individuals and as a married couple; these things have permanently become a part of our lives and have changed us for the good. This will stay with us, and continue to shape us into the people after God that we are called to be. God revealed some pretty amazing things, things that we will apply to our life out of Berlin, back in America. And the people we were so blessed to be friends with, to share experiences, will continue to influence our life… and thanks to Facebook, more often then we think! About a month ago an American friend of ours sent this to me in an email, and it touched my heart. If I was ever doubting that Matt and I had helped Berlinprojekt, his email said otherwise:
“Corrie,
Thank you so much for your letter and for letting me know what God is doing in yours and Matt’s life. Exciting times for the both of you…..three of you!! It was almost a year ago now that I met you and Matt in person. My team and I were so blessed by your genuine passion for the ministry, enthusiasm, sense of humor and fun and graciousness to all of us. You have called me BP’s “number one fan” but that title belongs to you and Matt. May God richly bless you wherever you go. Please do not “defriend me” on your Facebook and do please let me and our team know what you are up to because we do love you and Matt and are sincerely interested in praying for whatever and wherever God is leading you.
Blessings to you and Matt,
Your fan, friend and brother in Christ,
Carl”
Thank you to all of our amazing friends in Berlin, Germany. We know the word “thank you” is just not enough, and will probably never be enough… but, we hope that the way we lived our lives and will live our lives is evident enough of the impact you made in them. We love you and miss you!
– Corrie and Matt
more pictures of the last two weeks coming soon!!!
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April 15, 2011 – Musicians Retreat
Last weekend we had a retreat for the commuinty of musicians at berlinprojekt. There were around 20 people there which was a really great turnout. A couple guys from the ministry stepped forward to help organize the whole thing. It was a huge help for me as I didn’t really have too much responsibility going into it. They organized the format, the food..even the place we stayed. We had such an incredible time.. it really gave the ministry a lot of momentum that we feel will really keep things moving forward through this transition of Corrie and I leaving. Its a little bittersweet for me winding down in the last few days of our ministry, as I take a step back and realize just what we’ve had here and what God has done in our lives in such a short time. Pray for Corrie and I as we are filled with all kinds of different emotions, almost all at the same time. Pray we continue to trust that God has a plan for us.. its a little scary for us with a baby on the way. And thank you all so much for your prayers, emails, letters, and support. We cannot express how much ist helped us get through a lot of this! Thank you soo much!
Also! Check out this link one of our musicians made from the retreat… take a look at how many people are there. At the point when Corrie and I came, there were only a handful.. That’s one thing I’m really happy about.. how many people are involved now..
And, you can listen to a few samples of some stuff we were experimenting with over the weekend.. hope you like it!
http://www.mrnoedesign.com/bpmusiker/
– Matt
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March 22, 2011 – Letter to our Supporters, Family, and Friends
Dear Supporters, Family and Friends,
What a wonderful journey the last 2 ½ years have been for us. We started out with a calling, having no idea where it would lead, only to be revealed later as an incredible gift of a mission in Berlin, Germany to help with a young developing church. As we reflect on the last few years of our life together, we realize that it will be almost impossible in a letter to relate our experiences. We feel words are not enough to express everything God has done to and through us in this journey. It’s been the hardest but also most rewarding experience we’ve ever been through in our lives. This experience has stretched us, broken us and grown us in ways we could have never imagined! And, you’ve been there through the entire journey, from start to almost finish!! When we realize it’s already almost April, we can’t believe how fast the time has flown by!! Was it only just November of 2008 that we made our first exploratory visit to Berlin, Germany?! But then we sat down and went through all the tiny details of what God has done in just the time we’ve been here, and it seems like it’s been 10 years!! The work we’ve been a part of includes developing some very much needed structure, solid leadership within our ministries, and especially as mentors for the challenges that come along with marriage and commitment, especially as it relates to the secular city context. We’ve seen God put us in exactly the right places to make a huge impact on people, even when we weren’t really expecting it!
Just to summarize for you some of the more amazing things we’ve been blessed to be a part of here in Berlin:
– Leading the church’s Music Ministry
– Creating a community for Musicians within the Church
– Putting on conferences for different groups of people, particularly Artists
– Leading an English speaking home small group – geared towards internationals
– Helping Berlinprojekt with finances and networking with Churches in the USA
– Teaming up with some incredible Churches from the States – planning trips for these Churches to visit our city
– Helping lead the evening service which grew from 40 to just over 100 people!
– Friendships and Community
– Learning a whole new language!
– Our own personal relationships with God being stretched and growing deeper
– Our marriage also being stretched and growing deeper
It’s truly amazing to us how God has already begun to transition others into our positions with the Church. There have been a lot of prayer requests on our minds, as we knew the end of our two years was quickly approaching, and God has totally provided! He’s provided in ways we never even expected! Throughout our time here, one constant has been that almost everything we’ve experienced or needed was given by God at just the right time. We are again and again reminded that timing is everything. In particular, he brought a very much needed German worship leader, Mitch, to take over the majority of Matt’s responsibilities. Matt and Mitch have had almost 10 months to work together and set even more structure and leadership into place! Mitch will move with his family to Berlin full time early this summer, just as we leave. We’ve also prayed for more lay-leaders to step up and commit to various ministries, and they have. Just two weeks ago we had over 80 people attend what the Church calls it’s membership meetings, both new and existing people excited to become more involved. As we are responsible for the evening service every Sunday we’ve also been praying for two leaders to take over when we leave. Early this year Berlinprojekt was able to hire a German training-assistant Pastor, Alexander, who will be with the church for more than a year. He will be the new “face” for the evening service, along with two volunteers that will coordinate the setup and teardown of the service every week along with all the other ministries and events that take place there!
Basic office work was another of our concerns. Since we arrived in Berlin last summer, there has been five of us working in the office. That’s just five of us for a congregation of more than 400 people! At times it was extremely overwhelming and stressful, and we wondered how they had ever done it with just the three of them!! This has been a huge concern and prayer for the church. Last fall two women volunteered a few hours per week to help out with the day to day administrations of the office. Just this month Berlinprojekt has been able to hire two full time positions as God provided the finances the church needed!
Its been so exciting to see Berlinprojekt grow right in front of our eyes! As we look towards the future with some uncertainty, we’re confident through what we’ve experienced here that God will provide for our family in the future. We’re not really sure what the next year will bring, but are asking for your help as we transition back to the States. While we don’t in any way wish to reduce the impact your support had on us, we would like to express that it has always been very challenging meeting our monthly needs. We came here without a sending agency or a large network of affiliated churches to rely on. We felt a calling and trusted God to provide. And he truly did! Even though we were short of our target goal by about a third, month after month, we saw God provide in very big ways! Whether it was a modeling job that paid the balance of our expenses, or by one of you giving above and beyond, we always managed to get by on any given month. That being said, as we transition back to the states, we have need for continued support for at least the next 6 months, and would like to ask for your continued support until the end of October this year. We have a few opportunities that have presented themselves recently – working with Churches in a couple different cities or getting back into our professions – and we’re prayerfully exploring those doors and asking God to reveal to us at the right time which way He’s leading. Corrie also has the opportunity to continue her work with Berlinprojekt and act as the liaison for the church in the States by working within church networking and relations. It would be a true answer to prayer to be able to offer continued help and support to Berlinprojekt by working with them in the States as well as continuing our work within the Church context!
As the 7th month of our pregnancy is quickly approaching we will be leaving Berlin, Germany in May and landing in Columbus, Ohio, our hometown. There, we’ll have time to consider the next steps, and have the baby, which is due in July! We will continue to update you as God reveals more to us and we have a clearer picture of what the next year will look like! Please pray for us during this transitional period. Work at the church is as busy as ever, especially as we’re trying to train others to take our positions when we leave. We’ve also got a lot going on personally, with the baby coming and the move back to the States… a lot of last minute things to finish up.
As you lift these requests up to God, please also continue to pray for the church! As we mentioned earlier, God has blessed the church in ways we could never have imagined! The church now has over 400 regular Sunday attendees between it’s two services. With this growth there has been a lot of additional need. The church is in the beginning to middle phases of planning two new church plants, one in Berlin – focusing on the Muslim community – and another in Frankfurt, Germany. The teams have been found for these two church plants, which is the first big step! However, Berlinprojekt itself is still in need of leaders; new leaders to start small home groups (Sofa Groups), new leaders to help teach courses, and simply new leaders to take on church responsibilities and help out where needed. The growth of the church also means that we have been looking for a new space for the evening service. This search started the end of last year, and we’ve seen a couple great possibilities. The church congregation has really stepped up and given more and more the last couple years, but as Berlinprojekt continues to grow, there is always a need for more financial support, both within the church as well as outside of the church (USA). And finally, please keep the health of Berlinprojekt’s leaders in your prayers, both physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your continued financial and spiritual support! We hope you realize how much your friendship and commitment to our mission in Berlin the last several years has meant to us, and how much it continues to touch us.
Yours truly,
Matt and Corrie Roush
Letter from Christian Nowatzky, Pastor of Berlinprojekt:
To the Supporters of Matt and Corrie Roush
I would like to thank you for your support of Matt and Corrie over the last several years. By supporting them, you also supported Berlinprojekt, and this was a huge thing.
Matt and Corrie were a huge answer to our prayers for specific help with our young church. Within a few weeks after arriving in Germany, Matt took over the entire music ministry at a time when we had a severe shortage of leaders and musicians. With his pastoral heart he won the trust of our people in no time and gave structure to the entire music ministry. Corrie helped tremendously with our partnerships with churches in the US, leading teams and becoming the face of Berlinprojekt for many in the US. And together Matt and Corrie became the backbone of our second service in the evening.
Without them I do not know how we could have made it through the past two years. God gave us much growth here at Berlinprojekt – but without Corrie and Matt I do not know how we could have successfully sustained it. There heart for the church and for the people of the church was so obvious. They became magnets for people inside and outside the church. Particularly Corrie was able to use her part time work as a model to share about the gospel in settings were Christians usually cant be found. And some of her new friends even came to the services and have been learning more about Christ.
They will be strongly missed here in Berlin by the church – and particularly by our team.
Christian Nowatzky and the Berlinprojekt Leadership Team
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March 9, 2011 – Boy oh Boy!
We had our 19th week checkup just yesterday and found out that we’re having a boy!! Everything looks great, and we’re both so excited!! We’ll keep updating you with the progress of our Baby Boy!
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March 5, 2011 – New Baby!!!
Just two days after I wrote the “Expecting” blog, Konstantin and Tamara’s new baby boy was born!! Theodor Anton von Abendroth! Tamara was in labor for only 3 hours and there were no complications! Both baby and mother are at home doing fine. Thanks so much for all of the prayers!! Everyone at the church is super excited!
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March 1, 2011 – Expecting
Last October 2010, my mom and I were skyping and she told me she had a dream that it was October 2011 and we were sitting in a living room that she had never seen before, and I was holding a small baby. She said she knew in the dream that the baby was mine. In order to understand the weight of this dream, you have to first know that God truly speaks to my mom through her dreams! It’s always been this way, since I can remember. So naturally, I had a lot of questions. Where was the living room? Was it in America or in Germany, she didn’t know… well, were there any books in the background, were the titles in English or German?! She didn’t know that either, all she knew was that it was a living room she had never seen before. Ok, well then, was it a boy or a girl, and just how old? She didn’t know that either, just that it was a very small baby, and she knew it was ours! Well, as soon as our skype call ended, I looked at my calendar. That meant that between then, October, and February it was completely possibly that we would get pregnant. During the conversation my mom had said that she woke up from the dream thinking that I would be pregnant within the next month! Ok Mom, let’s slow down here!
On the 20th of November, just over a month later, Matt and I took a very difficult but very efficient German home pregnancy test and discovered that we were in fact pregnant!! One week to be exact!! As crazy as this story may sound, God used my mother’s dream to assure me that this pregnancy was going to stick! I’m now in my 19th week of pregnancy, expecting at the end of July, and everything is going well!! In fact, we hopefully find out next week if we’re having a boy or a girl!! We’re both so so excited and thank God every day for such an amazing gift!
Please pray for us and the health of the baby. We’ve got a lot going on right now, with work, and I realize that I don’t handle stress the way I used to! In fact, just walking to the bank and back, or the market, exhausts me! Thankfully Matt has really been amazing and he’s been helping out a lot with things that I would normally take care of. He’s such a great husband! And at 4 ½ months I’m finally starting to show and that just makes it even more exciting!
We’ll be sure to keep everyone posted, and show updated pictures. Also, if you think of it, pray for Konstantin’s, (one of Berlinprojekt’s pastors), wife Tamara; she is due in less then 3 weeks!! They’ve been married for 1 ½ years now and this is their first! It’s been really exciting for the church. Also, the Pastor of Hamburgprojekt, Berlinprojekt’s first daughter church in Hamburg, Germany, Daniel and Kathrine are also expecting in a few months!! It’s baby fever here in Deutschland!! Look out!
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February 21, 2011 – Have You Ever Seen Berlin in Stopped Motion?
I mentioned in an earlier blog, (October 15, 2010), that my family visited Berlin from the States last fall. Well, lucky for us… and sometimes unlucky :), my new brother-in-law is an AMAZING photographer! He did this awesome stopped motion video during the entire trip and I thought it would be neat to share with you as this is the city we live in! Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfLCoiAxpsU
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February 14, 2011 – Sleepwalking. Sometimes It’s Scary!
After almost a year since the initial idea, our TFS Conference last weekend was a huge success! Last summer Matt and I sat down with Pacific Crossroads Church in LA and started the plans for a collaborative “Arts” conference. As the planning continued last fall on my end, with the help of a small team from Berlinprojekt, we finally settled on the idea to have a two day workshop that focused primarily on Christians working in the TV, Film and Stage industries. For their part, PCC sent over an amazing team; consisting of two directors, a screenwriter, a tv hostess, an actor, a makeup artist, and a costume designer, who had planned several speeches and workshops for the conference.
The two day conference kicked off Friday evening with a time of dinner and entertainment together at a great local Restaurant, Klaus Abendbrot, owned by a couple that attends Berlinprojekt. We then had an early start Saturday morning where we all met at 9:30am at Galerie Kollaborativ, (Berlinprojekt’s Art Gallery), for breakfast together, and then started the morning with a presentation and video clips of behind the scenes filming of “In My Sleep” by director Allen Wolf, who was our keynote speaker for the conference.
We continued the day with four different workshops, two led by team members from LA, and two led by leaders from Berlinprojekt. The workshops were great and included themes like, “The Joys and Burdens of Being a Freelancer”, “The Art of Telling a Story”, “The Responsibilities of Christians in This Industry”, and “Everlasting Moments – Spirituality in the History of Cinema”. The workshops were very open and we had several times of really great discussion. It was really special for me to see the difference in the two cultures, German and American, and even though we disagreed on some areas, we always came back to the same source, God, and how He changes the way we act and view our active roles in these industries.
We ended the day with a “creative prayer” time, and then divided up into smaller groups of 4 or 5 and encouraged people to pray for each other and exchange email address and keep in contact in the future. Several of us even went out to dinner together after and continued the great conversations.
Sunday we saw everyone at the morning or evening services, which was great, and then Monday a bunch of us attended the German Premier of Allen Wolf’s film at our very own Kino Babylon!! (where we meet Sunday morning for services). We had a great Q&A time after the screening with Allen.
Overall the conference was such a blessing, we had a lot of really good feedback from the 32 people from Berlinprojekt that attend, all of whom are in one of these three industries, several who asked if this could be a monthly thing! I think this will be the start of something for individuals in these industries. There are so many people that attend the church that work in the Arts, and part of mine and Matt’s ministry was to help create communities for these people! Once the first step has been made and people see the benefit to sharing with other like-minded artists, they’ll naturally continue things on their own, and that’s what we’re hoping for! Matt and I both know what it’s like to be freelance artists, and how difficult it can be sometimes, especially as Christians. We also know that it can feel very lonely at times, and sitting in a room with over 30 other people in the same boat as you, with the same struggles and challenges, same emotional rollercoaster that this industry brings, it can be very comforting, and you see how God is working in each of your lives, and just how much you need community!
Continue to pray for these individuals that attended our TFS Conference. There will be a follow-up next month, and I hope several have started to connect more with each other! Also, if you haven’t seen it, you should! “In My Sleep” is a great film!! And, now you “know” the director! (oh, Allen was a part of the initial start-up of Pacific Crossroads Church years ago in LA… now that’s what I call a double threat!).
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January 31, 2011 – Happily Ever After!
To our family, friends, and supporters that helped us make it to my sister’s wedding in LA last month… this is a long overdue THANK YOU!
I was able to head out to LA 2 1/2 weeks before the wedding to help my sister and Corey with last minute plans. Although we were so busy the entire time, I got to spend some great time with Katie and Corey, I really got to know Corey better, and that time with them is something that I will cherish and remember forever! Matt and my family joined just before Christmas and we had a great Christmas, filled with Chinese food, together in warm sunny California! We got to meet, and actually spend some time with Corey’s family, his amazing parents Greg and Linda that were a huge help, and his two great older brothers and their wives. And we had so much fun with my sister and Corey as well as our immediate family and several members of our extended family that we hadn’t seen in a while that stayed a few days in LA after the wedding.
The wedding itself was amazing and we had such an incredible time! The wedding was a on New Years Eve 2010 and was a beautiful scene; full of people who love them both so much! The ceremony itself was really great, and after, there were toasts, karaoke, and dancing until 2 in the morning! During their first dance as Bride and Groom Corey interrupted the dance as he was joined by his Grooms Men, (one being his dad!), and finished it with an actual coreographed dance routine! Both my 70+ grandmothers stayed up dancing with us, and at one point there was a dance off between Corey, Matt, my brother Eph and my dad!! And, without crying, my mother beautifully sang “Great is Thy Faithfulness”!
Really, thank you everyone for your over generous giving during this time!! The extra support we received was overwhelming and this is something that Matt and I will have for the rest of our lives!! We were able to be there, enjoy the time with our family, enjoy the wedding, and not have to worry about where the money was coming from! Thank you for that! Thank you for such an amazing gift!!
As I was the Maid of Honor, and the “go to” for everything, I didn’t have a chance to take many pictures, but I have a few from friends of Katie, and I am waiting on Katie to give me a few from their wedding photographer. So, please enjoy the pictures! – Corrie
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December 23, 2010 – Merry Christmas from Los Angeles/Berlin! (posted Jan. 15, 2011)
(Matt wrote this a month ago and I completely forgot to post it!!!! Sorry Matt!)
Hope your all having a wonderful holiday season! Here’s what’s new with us!
5 year anniversary
Berlinprojekt just celebrated its 5 year anniversary in the city center of Mitte, in Berlin Germany. A party was given to commemorate this huge milestone for the church! We expected around 200 people but were completely caught off guard by the outcome. There were so many people that a lot of us actually ended up standing the entire time! There was a dinner, followed by a very candid interview of Christian and Konstantine, the founding pastors, and then people stayed as late as 2 a.m. to dance and celebrate together! What a great time! So many times in the ministry, you wonder what real impact you’re having on people. Sometimes in the day to day, it’s easy to forget how far Berlinprojekt has come. As I sat there watching people pour in, dressed up and in such high spirits, I couldn’t help but see how much God has really blessed this church in the most unlikely of places. He is here, and He is moving! What a pleasure it is to be part of something so much bigger than any of us! Happy Anniversary Berlinprojekt!
Thanksgiving
We’re also so spoiled to have friends here that indulge us in some of the American holidays. Thanksgiving is no exception! Doo Kyoung, the church spiritual growth leader, invited around 10 people to her apartment for an evening of complete gorging! What’s also been really great about living in Germany is that it’s taught us what it means to have a true, thriving, Christian community. Normally, as many of you know, for the host of the day it’s a cooking filled, stress filled day. And while Americans are no strangers to the pot-luck, what’s been so dear to us here is their sense of community. Anything that’s worth doing is worth doing together! It’s something that has touched us about Germans. They’re very helpful toward each other; helping cook, clean up etc.. There’s no need to impress anyone or make anything more than it is. It’s hard to explain, but those of you who’ve been here know what I mean! What a blessing to us! Everyone was responsible for bringing their own dish to help lighten the load for the host! Doo Kyoung made the Turkey, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce. Others brought the pies, the stuffing etc.. To be honest I was a little concerned that the outcome would be a little sub-par by my American holiday standards. I mean, I remember my mother outdoing herself literally every year for Thanksgiving. This is THE American holiday. But actually (and with a little help from Martha Stewart) all the food was amazing! We truly stuffed ourselves. We had dinner, shared what we were thankful for (I insisted..I know, a little cheesy, but fun), and even sang some songs around a piano with the help of Hans, one of the musicians at Berlinprojekt. I can’t believe we actually sang around a piano. That’s such a stereotype you see from films about Europe. Everyone sings songs around a piano in movies, they all eat cheese and drink wine in parks.. but actually, they do! Even though we’re so far from our friends and families, it helps to have people here who understand that, and try to make us feel loved around the holidays! Thank you so much Doo Kyoung, what a great night!
mitch
This year God brought Berlinprojekt the new worship leader we were looking for! Almost as soon as we arrived in Germany, the last worship leader left to pursue his own musical career. This left a gaping hole in the ministry. After months of interviewing and searching for the right candidate (and many sleepless nights, ..really), we finally decided on Mitch Schlüter, a German musician from Gefon Germany, who’s had years of experience writing and recording music both in the Christian and secular scene in Germany. He is a perfect fit! Since his arrival, his presence has made a huge impact on the community! His main roles are the spiritual development of the musicians, as well as mentoring and nurturing people to become worship leaders. This is really the first time we’ve been able to implement the model we developed almost 2 years ago for how the worship music should be implemented at Berlinprojekt! There’s still a few kinks to work out, but we see how our roles are developing and how they complement each other. Mitch is leading the community spiritually and musically, and I’m there assisting and performing all the administrative functions… It’s really starting to take shape and we’re finally seeing some results from the months of planning and hard work. Its really rewarding for me to see ideas play out that Christian and I talked about a very long time ago. Pray for us as Mitch and I try to lead this community even though we feel so inadequate at times. Pray for God’s presence as we make crucial decisions that effect the entire body at Berlinprojekt, not only the musicians. Sometimes the responsibility seems overwhelming. Pray we learn new ways to include people, to develop new leaders, encourage current leaders, and that the community will really experience a revival of the spirit in the new year! We’re really excited to see what God brings our way. He’s been so good to us this last year, and with the addition of Mitch, it feels like 2011 is going to be a great year not only for the musicians at Berlinprojekt, but for the entire church body!
getting enough support to come home
As most of you know, Corrie’s sister Katie is getting married on New Years Eve this year. Originally we weren’t quite sure how we would make it to the wedding as our funds are a little low at the moment, so we put the problem to our supporters, and were completely overwhelmed by the response! In a little over a month, we raised all the money we needed to pay for the entire trip! Thank you all so much! Not only will we be able to go and pay for everything, but we’ll also be able to just relax and enjoy our time with Katie, not worrying about how we’re paying for it all. It really makes the time so much more enjoyable when you don’t have to worry about the money involved. Thank you all so much! It’s so incredibly humbling at times to have to ask for things. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts, we truly couldn’t have gone if the money didn’t come in for us to go! Look for pictures soon from the wedding, can’t wait to share it with all of you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! There are no words!!
anyways…
We’d love to hear from you! Even a quick note to just say hi would be great! Love you all.. matt
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November 19, 2010 – I hear wedding bells!
I’m pretty sure that one of the requirements for a Maid of Honor is actually being at the wedding. And, thanks to you, our amazing supporters and friends, I will be at my sister’s wedding!!! Matt too!!! “Operation – Sister Cities” has been a success, and we’re now only a few hundred short of what we need to cover the costs of the trip to Katie’s wedding the end of December this year!
So thank you. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!!
(see October 25th Operation – Sister Cities blog post below for more info).
jjjjj
November 12, 2010 – Just how practical can a practical language be?
A thimble is just a tiny hat for your finger, right? … so why don’t we call it a finger hat? The Germans do! “Fingerhut” is the German word for thimble and literally translated means “finger hat”! I have to say, one of my favorite things about the German language is how practical it is! I’m to the point where if I hear a word that I don’t understand or have never heard before, there is always a logical, practical way to figure out what it means!
Other practical German words that I love:
Handschuhe: Hand= hand, schuhe= shoes. Shoes for your hands! (Gloves)
Stinktier: Stink(en)= stink, tier= animal. An animal that stinks! (Skunk)
Zahnfleisch: Zahn= tooth, fleisch= flesh. The flesh of your tooth! (Gums)
Erdgeschoss: Erd= earth, geschoss= floor. The earth floor! (ground level)
… and many many more!
I have to say that one of the most interesting things about learning another language is the doors that it opens into understanding another culture and it’s people. Understanding now why German’s sometimes come across as blunt or very direct, even a bit cold sometimes, is completely from their language! The language itself is very direct and to the point. There is no room for “beating around the bush” or “saying something without actually saying it” in the German language! (we Americans on the other hand have this down to a science!) And, I must admit, I’m really starting to like it! 😉
jjjj
November 5, 2010 – Happy Birthday Berlinprojekt!!
Last week, (Oct. 29th), Berlinprojekt celebrated it’s fifth Birthday! So, we decided to throw a party!! Out of the 400 people that regularly attend one of the two Sunday services, there were over 300 people there! The party was a hit! We showed a video of the Church, did an interview sessions with both of the Pastor’s Christian and Konstantin, as well as interviewing three people who were part of the initial eleven friends that helped start the church back in 2005. There was also a really amazing time of praise and worship. After that we ate together and ended the night with some dancing! Such an amazing experience to be a part of!
Below, i’ve copied what we put in our Berlinprojekt Birthday Newsletter as well as some really great pictures:
“In the last five years Berlinprojekt has grown from 11 friends to over 400 people that attend our services. The majority of those have either discovered the faith for the very first time or re-connected to the church after a difficult break. It is very moving to see so many people searching for God in a setting where Christianity is often looked down upon. If Berlinprojekt’s growth will continue, God willingly, it will become a church large enough to have a key impact on the entire city! This is the dream for the next five years.
We know it takes more than one church to make a real impact. We started thinking about further churches even as we were just planning our own. Two daughter churches have already been planted and the third is in preparation for next year! And, if we can find the resources, starting in 2011 we will be able to start a new church every year. This is only the beginning of a high-impact movement with great potential for Germany and beyond!”
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October 25, 2010 – Operation – Sister Cities
Introduction.
I only found this neat fact out a few months ago. My mom was visiting my sister in Los Angeles, where she has lived for the last 6 years, and they stumbled upon a sign that read: “Welcome to Berlin Forest, dedicated to the friendship between Berlin, Germany and Los Angeles. Sister Cities since 1967”! Of course, my mom loved that, as her two daughters are living in LA and Berlin! Pretty cool indeed.
This is where you come in:
Serious Support!!
We need some help. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, my little sister is getting married!! Yayaya!! Being the amazing, motivated, ambitious woman that she is, she is not one to draw things out, and has decided to get married on December 31st, 2010!
Originally, Matt and I had planned to stay in Germany this year during the holidays. For several reasons; Germany is really beautiful and festive during the holidays, we’ve received a few invitations to spend Christmas with some close friends of ours here, the tickets back to the States are just SOO expensive, to name a few. But, with my sister now getting married in December we have no choice, nor would we want to miss the wedding! So, being completely honest and open with you, our supporters, friends, and blog readers, we need your help. Right now, we have about $1,000 in our bank account. I have another €1,000 coming from a couple small modeling jobs I did over the summer, but then that’s it until we get our next support transfer from Redeemer, which will be the end of November, and honestly, that isn’t much either as we’re still around $1,500 short each month of support. I’ve been looking at plane tickets to Los Angeles – the wedding is in LA as that is where they both live – and they’re around $800+ each! Not to mention I have to buy a brides maid dress and Matt has to buy a suit!! Yikes! Last year, we had a few moments where we thought, ok, we’re almost completely out of money, and we have to pay rent next week, or we have to pay a ridiculous amount in taxes next month, and so forth, and God really came through and provided in some awesome ways!
We’ve been praying about the situation we now find ourselves in, and we’ve really felt like God has been pushing us to ask our supporters for help. So, please help us get to my sisters wedding in LA!! We’ve opened up a PayPal account, so that it’s easy and simple. You can give any amount that you want, and you can pay with a credit card, bank card, or bank to bank transfer.
So, if you would like to help out, please help us get to my sister’s wedding by following the link below.
**Giving through PayPal:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8CW6XL53SV3RL
My sister’s wedding website:
www.CoreyandKatiegettingmarried.com
Commence, Operation – Sister Cities!
jjjj
October 15, 2010 – I’ve been a bad bad blogger
OK, i haven’t blogged in over a month! For the 3 of you that follow our blog, please accept my deepest apologies! 😉 just kidding, i know there are more than 3 people that follow our blog! thank you so much to those of you that do, and to those of you that stay on me to keep blogging! i do appreciate those nudges from time to time. so, what’s been going on since i last blogged…
first… we had an amazing family vacation, thanks to my mom and dad paying for practically everything!, in Spain with my family the beginning of September! it was so much fun and so nice to see everyone and really spend some quality time with them. more than any other trip in the past, this one was really spiritually focused and we spent time together, the 7 of us, in the morning and evenings praying and talking together, having good devotional times, and just finding out more about how God has been working in our lives. it’s really been a blessing to see how much each of us have grown in our relationships with each other as well as our relationships with God over the years… and even though we’ve had plenty of differences, (trust me, PLENTY!), we’re still a family that can talk openly with one another and really enjoy spending time with each other. After Spain my family spent a few days in Berlin, checking out the city and experiencing what our ministry is like here. they went to both services on Sunday, helping setup for the evening, and then went out to eat with a big group of our friends after the evening service. there was a moment in the morning service where i was sitting next to my dad and we were singing a familiar hymn, originally in English, but of course the church was singing it in German. there was a moment where i heard my dad’s words in English over top of my words in German and i actually cried a little bit! it reminded me how incredibly great God is! how many different ways and different languages we praise Him in, and He hears and understands them all! it was so special to me to be sharing this moment with my parents, my brother, my sister, my sister’s fiance… that even though we are so far away, Matt and i in Berlin, my parents and brother in Ohio, my sister and Corey in LA, God has blessed us with this amazing time together that we will always remember! ok, enough of the sappiness!
first.B… yes, i did say my sister’s fiance! my sister, Katie, and her fiance, Corey, were engaged on September 1, 2010!!!! and yes, he has the same name as me… not confusing at all. Corrie and Corey! Congratulations Katie and Corey!!!!! Love you both so much!!
second… i started classes again! i was really excited to go back to my German classes; same teacher since January, but almost all new students. and, i feel like my German had improved over the summer, even though i hadn’t been in class for two months!
third… i made my first announcement in church a couple weeks ago… in complete GERMAN!!! i felt like i was auditioning for a huge role i was so nervous!! but, i made a couple jokes, about myself and my horrible Denglish, (a mix between Deutsch and English), to break the ice and it was smooth sailing from there. everyone clapped at the end, which made me feel great, and i really felt like i had accomplished something huge! thanks so much for the prayers regarding us learning the language. we still have a long way to go, but we’re making steps!
fourth… Berlinprojekt had a German-style Thanksgiving dinner on the 3rd of October. it was so awesome! we had it after the evening service, at the same location. SOO many people brought amazing food, and we had such a great time hanging out with friends and new people from the church. it was a really great experience to see how many people participated in it and how many people were blessed from it, i know i was.
jjjj
August 29, 2010 – Waiting Before Working
I had one of those days the other day… one of those “anything that could go wrong went wrong” days! And at the end of the day, as I was looking back and wondering why the day had been such a train wreck, I realized that there were a few situations that I didn’t handle the way I shouldve, not just because I’m a Christian and I would like God to be portrayed through my life positively, (although that should always make us think twice about how we react), but also because I am a person, who cares about other people, and hope that those people see that in me! Anyways, I did realize that I did not start out my day by bringing it to God, I had waaay to much to do, and of course, woke up a bit late! The next day, I read this in my devotional and thought I would share:
“Demonstrate Your Trust In Me by sitting quietly in My Presence. Put aside all that is waiting to be done, and refuse to worry about anything. This sacred time together strengthens you and prepares you to face whatever the day will bring. By waiting with Me before you begin the day’s activities, you proclaim the reality of My living Presence. This act of faith – waiting before working – is noted in the spirit world, where your demonstration of trust weakens ‘principalities and powers of darkness’. The most effective way to resist evil is to draw near Me. When you need to take action, I will guide you clearly through My Spirit and My Word. The world is so complex and overstimulating that you can easily lose your sense of direction. Doing countless unnecessary activities will dissipate your energy. When you spend time with Me, I restore your sense of direction. As you look to Me for guidance, I enable you to do less but accomplish more.” – Luke 12:22-26, Eph. 6:12, and Proverbs 16:3 Jesus Calling – by Sarah Young
I hope this is as encouraging to someone out there as it was to me this morning!
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August 25, 2010 -A Cool Kühl Summer
This morning, while riding my bicycle to the office wearing a long trench coat and a scarf, I sadly thought, “well, summer in Berlin is over! Get ready for a long winter!” Ok, this thought is a little sad, but, it allowed me to think about the summer and how great it has been! So, I wanted to share with you, a few inspirational things for me this summer.
1. Baptism in June. The church baptised 15 people this past June. Some were new believers, and others were believers that had been called back by God and were “re-dedicating” their lives to Him. The Baptism wasn’t during a normal Sunday service and was at an entirely different location, so I was surprised when we had to search in the basement for additional chairs, and when we still had people all over the church standing! People were there to support not only their friends and family, but also their church family! There was an amazing time of testimony sharing from some of those being baptized and one of our close friends’ story was particularly inspirational to me. She basically shared that after growing up in a complete atheistic home she has now been a Christian for 5 years. “I would consider myself a very unsettled person: I am quick to form an opinion and then just as quick to change that opinion entirely. My baptism was the sign that this is the one thing in my life that I am not willing to question fundamentally anymore. My belief is the one thing where I am entirely at peace and steady. And I know that this is the one relationship I have that will endure for the rest of my life and guide through better and worse. My family and my friends are mostly atheist but still came to the baptism. After, most of them told me that they were so touched by the ceremony because, though they don´t believe, they know my personality and my history and they can tell there must be something incredibly powerful and loving that finally changed my unsteadiness.” Wow! Hearing that, and seeing the overwhelming love and support from the people at the Baptism; that day, was a great day!
2. About a month ago we received an email from friends of ours, an American couple, who started a church plant in London two years ago. Although the four of us have emailed back and forth several times we’ve actually only met in person once. They’re such a great couple, and we can all relate on so many levels in regards to work in ministry, the ups and downs, the culture shock, the growth it brings, the amazing changes it brings to your relationship with God as well as your relationship with each other. Well, this couple has also had to raise financial support, so they know how challenging it can be. In this email they told us that they would like to financially support us! How great is that! Missionaries helping out missionaries.
3. Just the love! While in LA and NY in June, doing some fundraising and Church “networking” we met some really great people! The majority of the people were complete strangers, being brothers and sisters in Christ was the only connection, but oh how strong that connection is! So many people went out of their way to meet us, pray for us, blog about us… it was really touching and quite incredible! Just the love that these strangers had for Matt and I and the church in Berlin, and the ministry God has us involved in – a lot of them not really knowing many details – incredible! So many have followed up the last two months with emails and blog posts, spreading the word about Berlinprojekt and the awesome things God is using the church for here in Germany. So many asking what they can pray for for us and how they can help… we can’t express how much this has meant to us, and how encouraged we are to charge into this next year with Berlinprojekt!
4. Stepping back a bit. Every summer Berlinprojekt takes a three week break. This “Sommerpause” is a chance for the Pastor’s and staff to take a break, refresh and re-energize. Matt and I spent two of the three weeks at another pastor’s house in Hamburg, Germany. It was really a great time spent together, talking, watching movies, reading, and praying. God used this time together, away from “work” and away from our home, to see things from different perspectives, to really be open about things and pray and seek his council. This was a really great time for us. It was also great to return to Berlin, back to our church, and community and friends.
And now, as we’ve had our first service after the Sommerpause, we’re back to planning some exciting things for the second half of the year!
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August 14, 2010 – Music – An Answer to Prayer!
An update for those of you who’ve been praying in regards to our search for a Worship Leader:
Berlinprojekt finally found a new worship leader! It’s been a really stressful few months trying to balance everything without a permanent worship leader to rely on, (we haven’t had one since March ’10). We have a lot of worship leaders who do an amazing job, but have full time jobs and only play every so often. We were really looking for someone to fill this crucial role on a more steady basis, to give the worship more consistency and stability. And after months of interviewing and praying, we found him!! His name is Mitch, he’s a singer songwriter from a town a little outside of Berlin. He’s married and has 3 children and is at a point in his life where he’s ready for something like this. He’s been praying for something new and exciting like this, at the same time we were praying for someone like him. We really feel we’ve found the right person, and that gives us so much hope about the growth of the worship music over the next couple years. Really exciting! We’re really thrilled to have him as we feel he’s going to be an excellent leader and role model for us all in the community. He also has a lot of professional experience that really makes him the right one for the job.
Thank you all for keeping this really important piece of the puzzle in your prayers. It was really stressful at times but now with this step behind us, I can really focus on some other things that are just as needed for the Musicians community. Keep praying that the community grows, that new people come forward to help, and that we’re able to continue building teams that work well together. That’s still one of our biggest challenges… getting people to take initiative and build solid teams together. Pray that I find ways to really reach them, where they are, in a way that’s sensitive to their experiences and view on life, God and music. This really is more challenging than it may seem. Thanks again for all the support, love and prayers, we love each of you and look forward to hearing from any of you, please do write if something is on your heart. Hope to talk each of you soon. Matt
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August 10, 2010 – How Great Thou Art
How Great Thou Art
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou art!”
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
jjjkkjkdjk
July 29, 2010 – Our US trip!
I apologize for the lack in blog writing recently! Since we’ve been back in Berlin it’s been a whirlwind of craziness!! We’ve had so much to do before the church takes it’s “Sommerpause” (summer break).
Our fundraising trip to the US last month was crazy, busy, and such a blessing! I booked a modeling job in NY for the first week of June, so we decided to use it as a cheap opportunity to do some very needed personal fundraising as well as some networking with new churches.
Our first week was spent in New York. We stayed with Matt’s brother, Tim, in Brooklyn. Although there were not a lot of new contacts in New York, great friends of ours threw us a fundraising party at their home and we invited all of our supporters in New York to come hear in person what we’ve been a part of this last year in Berlin, Germany. It was such a great time of sharing and praying! Not all of our supporters could make it out to the party, but the ones that did were really a blessing to us and we really appreciated the support and prayers! Matt’s parents also surprised us with a visit from Ohio and brought our dog, Jacksie, for the weekend! It was so great to see them and be able to spend some time with them.
Our trip to LA was great! We stayed with my sister who lives in North Hollywood. We visited two churches that already support us and had a great time meeting new people and sharing with them how much their support has helped our ministry. We also had the opportunity to meet with two new churches in the Hollywood area. I think these meetings were a blessing on both ends and we are starting to see how God will continue to form a relationship with these two new, great churches! God really opened the doors to meeting them, and really at a time when I thought we wouldn’t have any “success” on our fundraising trip! God works in His own timing!
My parents also flew into LA for a visit and helped my sister and her awesome boyfriend plan a fundraising/prayer party for us in LA. There were about 35 people that came to this party, we only actually knew about 10 of them! It was so humbling to see more than 25 strangers spend their Sunday evening listening to our story, getting to know us, and then praying for us. The time of prayer we had there was truly amazing!! There were a few non-believers there and I was praying the whole time that in some way, even if they didn’t understand exactly what Matt and I are doing in Berlin, that God would use our words to touch their hearts! The prayer time lasted over 30 minutes and you could feel the Holy Spirit with us in that room!
The trip was exhausting, but it was so wonderful. Our families, friends, and supporters were there for us and took the time to pray and encourage us. Upon coming back to Berlin I was a little “bummed” as we didn’t reach our goal of making up the $1,500 per month gifting that we still need, but I realized that God is still working and still forming these relationships. We’ve survived this last year with not enough income, and there is no reason why we won’t survive this year! When you have a figure in your head, and you know all you need to do is reach that goal, it does something to you when you don’t actually reach it… it forces you to rely on God all the more and pray to Him all the more, and ask Him to reach your needs! Going into this trip I thought, “ok, we’re gonna meet new churches and new people, and we’re gonna get that $1,500 in gifting and this next year won’t be so stressful, because financially we’ll be ok”… and God showed us both so much more than just the importance of finances in ministry. In fact, I really think that finances is one of the least important things!! God has proven that to me time and time again this last year, that He will always provide! We had one woman pray for us that we would see His hand in our provisions by providing for us in “unique” ways! For a second i caught myself thinking, “I’m a fan of uniqueness just like anyone else, but we really just need $1,500!” And then I had to laugh, because, as I look back at some of the blogs we’ve written, and some of the stories we’ve shared with others, it really is those “unique” times when God has come through, at the last minute, and provided for us! It’s those times that we really see Him and how He provides and that He never fails to provide and it is also those unique times that draw us closer to Him! hmmm… does God do that on purpose? 🙂
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” -Hebrews 11:1
sfsd
June 19, 2010 – Trip to the States
Just a quick Herzlichen Dank to everyone for the prayers in regards to our fundraising trip to the US. The trip was really great and we made a few new great connections! I will write more detail later, but I just wanted to say thank you thank you THANK YOU!fsd
sfsd
June 3, 2009 – NY and LA
Please continue to pray for us as we spend time in New York and Los Angeles over the next couple weeks. We will be in NY together from the 4th – 8th of June and then LA the 9th – 15th doing some personal fundraising as well as meeting other churches that could join Berlinprojekt’s church planting network. Personally, we need to raise an amount that to me sometimes feels daunting. (Thankfully we have a God that doesn’t know the definition of “daunting”!) Pray for open doors and new friendships and an anxious free time in the States!
Thank you so so much for your prayers, encouragement and support, we are blessed beyond what we could have imagined having all of you with us!
sfsd
May 30, 2009 – That place where they drive on the wrong side of the road
Last week Matt and I spent four days in London. We attended a conference put on by Acts 29 and Upstream Collective called “Dwell-London”. http://www.acts29network.org/event/2010-05-22-dwell-london-2010–london-england/
The idea behind the Dwell conference was to focus on urban church planting and how we live out our lives in these urban/city contexts. We heard some really great speakers and met some super excited, very motivated people! One of the speakers, Terry Virgo – a Brit – spoke about prayer and how major prayer is to our lives and our ministries. He kept saying, imagine this with a very thick British accent that we Americans love – “God’s got it all buttoned up!”, and I really loved the visual that gave me! God knows what our prayers and needs are, He is just simply waiting for us to ask Him for what He’s promised us! He spoke about not becoming passive in our prayer life, and that we need to pray fervently and specifically. He used the example of Jacob wrestling with God and not letting go until He blessed him! We should be asking God specifically for what He has promised us and what He has planned for our lives. Terry said that he thinks prayer is the greatest power God has given the church and that it is a prerequisite for the release and experience of God’s power in our own personal lives, and I think I have to agree! God knows what we need, He just wants us to seek Him. “It’s as though the promises are waiting for prayer”. – Andrew Murry
Besides the conference, we had a couple days to do some touristy things, see the sights, eat some fish and chips, and hang out with each other. We stayed with an amazing British family, the Jones. Andrew, Sara, Evan, Caris, and Dillon were so great and made Matt and I feel like we were a part of the family! We had so much fun Sunday night teaching each other typical American and British sayings over dinner. It was such a blessing for Matt and I to spend some time with them, it felt like a family away from home. Thank you Jones for your hospitality and your amazing sense of humour! 😉
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May 12, 2010 – Volcano or no Volcano!
Matt and I will be in both New York and LA the first couple weeks of June. Please keep this trip in your prayers! This is a very important trip and we are hoping it will be our last fundraising trip! Right now we are $1,500 short of our monthly financial support. That’s 1/3 short of what we need each month to live and work in Berlin.
We came here last August knowing that we were short of our financial goal, but we felt that the timing was right and that God was calling us here and that He would provide what we needed when we needed it. And, He has! We have been very blessed to have people join our team of financial supporters while we’ve been here, some people we’ve never even met before! We’ve also had several supporters give more than what they committed to! And by God’s grace, and a lot of people’s help, we’ve survived the last 10 months here in Berlin!
It has been tight though, and there have been times where we weren’t able to do some things that we would’ve liked to do because of our financial situation. So, this trip is very important. Our hope is to have one or two churches become monthly financial supporters, and then find some individuals as well as church small groups that will also commit to giving financially each month.
Our request to you is this, if you know of anyone/church/small group that has a heart for ministry in Berlin, ministry in Europe, missionaries in general, please give us their information so that we can contact them and meet with them when we’re in NY or LA. Or, if you have been following our ministry in Berlin and have felt for a while that you could be a financial supporter, please do so now! Now is better than later! And, please pray for this trip! Pray that these doors are opened and that we find people to join our team of financial supporters, pray for safe travels both there and back – volcanic ash won’t keep us away, and I would like to say to Eyjafjallajökull – “Volcano-Schmalcano USA here we come!!”
(you can see more financial details by clicking on our “Support” tab above)
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May 4, 2010 – Ministry is fun!
Especially when you combine Volleyball and ministry! I love Volleyball! I played in High school, I played intramural in College, and I played with a non-profit in New York. And now I get to play in Berlin! Three weeks ago an American that goes to Berlinprojekt and works for Campus Crusade here in Berlin asked me if I wanted to be his teammate on a coed 2-on-2 league in Kreuzberg. At first I wasn’t too sure about it as it’s every Tuesday evening, 6:30-10:00pm, until July, and with the little free time that I have now I wasn’t sure if it was smart to shove something else into the mix. But, my love for Volleyball pushed me over the edge and we’ve been playing for the last three weeks! It’s been really great and we’ve gotten to know a lot of the other teams we’re playing against. There are 13 teams total, and we are the only Americans and, as far as I can tell, the only Christians. Conversations naturally go to why we’re here and what we both do for jobs and it’s pretty neat to see people’s reactions and their interest when we talk about working for a church and a Christian organization and that those are the reasons why we’re in Berlin! It’s been a lot of fun getting to know these guys and girls and developing friendships based on our common love for Volleyball. Please keep this in your prayers. We’ve had so many opportunities to talk about our church and our work, and as we get to know them better hopefully we’ll have even more!
(ps. it’s my sister’s 26th birthday today! love you Katie!!!)
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April 28, 2010 – Time keeps on ticking…
Ahh time management. You take a class in High School, or at least I did, on how to manage your time wisely, how to prioritize, and how to execute correctly. And then, you get into the real world.
Berlinprojekt is a church of 400+ regular Sunday attendees and three full-time paid “staff”; two Pastors and one Head of Spiritual Growth/Counselor; and then two, American-not fluent in German-staff, (that would be us). There of course is a leadership team of three others that help out when they have extra time away from their normal full-time jobs, but, needless to say, there is a lot of work on a normal week, and most normal weeks are not normal! The church has been so blessed and has grown so fast! A church of more than 400 attendees in Germany is amazing. God has really blessed Berlinprojekt and the people involved in it.
With all that growth though, comes more work. Matt and I joined last fall to help out as much as we could. While we both had specific “roles”, Matt as the Music Ministry Director, and I as Church Networking and Fundraising Coordinator, we also offered to help in other areas where the church saw need. There is a lot of need, and a lot of work, and Matt and I are learning how to manage our time between working with the church, German classes, and our own personal financial support raising, and of course spending time with God and each other. At times this can be like working three full time jobs, but we’re also growing and being stretched in ways we never have before, and learning new ways to take things to God and rely on Him to work them out. I’ve talked before about doing things on our own strength… it’s not possible for very long, and it certainly is not possible when you’re working in ministry. In fact, it’s such a blessing that it isn’t possible. Where would we see God’s hand in our lives if we relied solely on our own strength?
I would like this to be an encouragement to all of us control freaks out there! We know who we are! I say “we” because I tend to be a little bit of a control freak myself ;)… thanks Dad! Coming to Berlin was huge for Matt and I and giving up total control to God and trusting that He would take care of us and use us here in Berlin. But, I still need to remember sometimes on a daily basis, that He is in control and that I need Him desperately to help me do His work here.
So, what did we learn that wasn’t taught in that High School class? Prayer, Prioritize, Prayer over our Prioritization… Praying while we work, Praying while we execute… ok, this could go on and on. Bottom line, give up the control and ask God for help!
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**April 20, 2010 – The Power of Prayer! – UPDATED PRAYER REQUESTS
“Prayer strikes the winning blow; service is simply picking up the pieces.” -S.D. Gordon.
Last week I took part in a conference here in Berlin for churches in the US interested in, or that have the calling to, church plant in Germany; and more specifically church planting in Berlin. The common theme throughout the week was just how powerful prayer is and how to use prayer as a tool to carry out what God has started here. Several times we focused on how none of this and that would be possible without prayer. We spent time praying as a large group as well as breaking up into smaller groups and focusing on more personal callings. At one point I had one of those “light-bulb-above-the-head” moments where I thought, that’s right, prayer IS important! Not that I didn’t know this before, but it’s amazing to me how the busier we get, the more our, (or at least my), prayer life suffers! Sure, I pray to God off and on all day… I’ve done that since I was a little kid and my mom taught me to talk to God just like I would a father, or even a best friend… but this intense kind of 30, 45, 60 minute, quite, uninterrupted, one on one prayer time with God often gets pushed out of my daily – and as much as I hate to admit it – sometimes weekly life!! I tend to push that time aside when I see other “pressing” things that I must do in this exact moment, and when you have 12 pressing things that you must do in these exact moments it’s surprising how that can fill up your day! And of course it’s easier when I tell myself that God won’t mind if I miss a little prayer time with Him, I converse with Him the whole day and this pressing work is ministry after all! But I realized that it’s not that God minds or doesn’t mind, it’s that I am learning less about Him and about the gifts He offers, and that my relationship with Him grows stronger through reading his word, talking with Him, and PRAYER!! God uses prayer to strengthen our faith, understanding and relationship with Him, and He also uses prayer to strengthen our relationships with each other.
That said, this is a perfect place to share some of our most pressing prayers requests as well as some amazing answers to prayers! 🙂
Our prayer requests:
– German language classes. As we learn more and more German, we are also learning more and more about the people we are serving and the community we’re reaching. It’s amazing to me just how much the language reveals about the country and it’s people. It’s so exciting the more we understand and speak, how many doors are opened into seeing Germans in a different way then we did before! Not good or bad, just different… and sometimes less confusing! We’re still struggling a bit with speaking it, especially when the conversation gets intense, but our understanding level has come a long way! (which helps out when we’re listening to 2 sermons each Sunday completely in German!) Thank you so much for your continued prayer in regards to this!
– US teams visiting. Right now I just finished planning a visit for a group from a church in DC and am in the middle of finishing up a trip from a group in Tenn. that will be here in May. After that I will start working on a trip for a team from CA in the fall. There is so much work and so many little details that go into each visit… and of course when you’re working with companies, websites, talking on the phone, with people that only speak German this can make it pretty tough! Pray that the planning for these trips would be stress free and no details would be missed. Also, pray for the groups that are visiting, that God would really use this time to show them how He is moving both here in Berlin, Germany as well as in each of their own lives!
– Music Minister. While Matt is the Director of the Music Ministry here at Berlin, (it’s a bit weird when a foreigner leads the German Hymns), we still need someone to be the actual “front man”. Someone that leads the hymns each Sunday at both of the services. The church has interviewed a few people, and we still cannot find the right person for the job. Berlinprojekt cannot afford to pay very much so that has limited our options. Pray that God will bring the right person along just when we need him/her the most! Also, please continue to pray for Matt and the other musicians in the church. Not having a music minister has caused everyone else to step up, which is great, but at the same time a lot of work!
– Matt and I have a couple trips ourselves coming up over the next couple months that need a lot of preparation and planning. I will write more about these later, but please keep the planning for these two trips in your prayers.
Our answers to prayers:
– Apartment search. We just found out that the girl we’ve been subletting from since last August may stay in London longer than she had originally thought. We think that she may be there for at least another year, and perhaps even longer! This is great, as we love our place and it is perfectly located smack dab in the middle of the neighborhood/community we serve! Not to mention it saves us the cost of moving expenses and buying furniture. Yeah! Thanks so much for the prayers!
– Although, I hadn’t written a blog about this prayer request, I had talked to several people in regards to it. We found out last month that we owed quite a bit more tax money for 2009 than I had originally thought. We really had no idea how we were going to pay this money, as we are even still $1,500 under our monthly support needs. Just a couple weeks later I received a residual check in the mail from my acting agency in New York that covered the complete amount, (and then some), that we owed in taxes!! It was for a commercial that I shot two years ago that, unbeknownst to me, they decided to re-air! How awesome is that!!! God provides sometimes in the craziest ways!
– Another answer to pray was that since this commercial was renewed, it also means that our American health insurance will be renewed for another year! (our health insurance is through the Screen Actors Guild). Awesome!
Ministry of course is important, but it only takes one a couple days to realize that we absolutely cannot do anything in ministry on our own strength! I would like to end this posting with a quote taken from Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest: “We are here… as men and women to do the work of this world. And we are to do it with an infinitely great power to withstand the struggle because we have been born from above.” We walk by faith, not by sight! – 2 Cor. 5:7
M
April 17, 2009 – Is there room for light in something so dark!?
The other night Corrie and I were asked if we wanted to join a team that ministers to the prostitutes of Berlin. There’s a Christian couple that runs a non-profit in Berlin called Neustart, (New Start). They run a small cafe where the girls can come and warm up, get free coffee and food, and also talk if they’re up to it.
Prostitution in Germany was legalized in 2002 in order to help control the exploitation of women from Eastern Europe as well as improve prostitute’s legal rights and cut down on diseases and drug/sex trafficking; but the women must follow certain “rules”, pay taxes, and get regular health checkups. In 2009 there was an estimate of 400,000 women and girls working in Germany as prostitutes; so, with Berlin being the capital of Germany, you can imagine how many of them work in Berlin. And that number only includes the “legal prostitutes”, of course there is quite a large number working illegally, most of whom are involved in drug or sex trafficking . And then there sits Neustart, a cafe setup to look like a living room, situated in the middle of one of the busiest streets, and most “worked” area in all of Berlin. The cafe is simple, comfortable and quite and other than the men that work or volunteer there, only women are allowed. It’s a place where these girls can come, if only for 30 minutes, eat some good, usually fattening, food, drink something warm, and feel safe and for a moment even cared for.
The idea was that Corrie would help with the food and drinks, and I along with another girl from the music ministry would play some songs. I was really nervous about speaking with the girls but kept praying that God would bring someone who spoke really good English so we didn’t make anyone feel really uncomfortable by speaking sub-par German. In fact He did just that! Around an hour into it, a lady came in that had lived in the States for 13 years. She told Corrie that normally she comes in to get a cup of coffee and then takes off but, Friday evening she stayed for 3 hours! Corrie was amazing! Sharing hot apple cider, talking about the states, the south, and of course Jesus! Please pray for her! She goes by Sarah but her real name is Michelle. Pray she comes back!
Please also pray for the cafe and the incredible work they’re doing there. I’ve been praying for a ministry Corrie and I could do apart from our responsibilities at Berlinprojekt, and I think this could be it. I can sit in the corner and play guitar and it really adds a nice atmosphere to the whole night. Corrie can also help with the food and drinks. She also speaks a little better German so she can talk with the girls. The girls are so tired and so beaten down, that any little thing we do for them seems to make a huge difference. And by girls I mean girls. Some of them were 16 or 17. I kept thinking that this was someone’s daughter, who had no idea where she was. Absolutely heartbreaking! We saw every human emotion in one night. Pain, shame, anger, you name it. Satan is extremely powerful in that world. Its a world where you can come face to face with him every night. They come in off the street completely broken and we don’t fix them in one hour, but they leave knowing someone loves them and is thinking and praying for them. And they come back! Please pray for the cafe and the people running it. They’re looking to do more for these girls than give them coffee and food. The cafe is a tiny beacon of hope in this really dark world. They’re always looking for more practical ways to help the girls off the streets. A lot of them are drug addicts or victims of human trafficking and this makes it extremely difficult to leave this world. In talking to the leaders of the cafe, you really get a sense of how impossible it is to leave. The guy that runs the cafe is Gerhard. I forget his wife’s name. Please pray for the cafe! I know God can work miracles in this world!
Neustart’s website: http://www.neustart-ev.de/cgi-bin/neustart_pub_webseite.pl?Webseite=26&en=&Titel=Caf_
M
April 6, 2009 – Easter
Our first Easter Abroad! We had a team from a church in DC visiting Berlinprojekt over the weekend. I was responsible for planning their trip and activities for the weekend which meant that I got to spend a lot of time with them while they were here. We really had a great time with them and it was such a blessing to meet a group of people that are so passionate about what God is doing over here in Berlin Germany. Plus, it’s always great when the Americans out number the Germans in the room! 🙂
Happy Easter to everyone we love and miss!!
recreation of “The Lord’s Supper” for Good Friday. Each reading a quote from a famous theologian.
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March 29, 2010 – 2nd Daughter Church!
Berlinprojekt helped plant a second daughter church in an area just South of where it holds it’s Sunday services in a neighborhood called Kreuzberg. The neighborhood of Kreuzberg is one of Berlin’s larger districts. Today, about 150,000 people, mostly in their 20’s and 30’s, call this edgy, diverse and vibrant neighborhood home. It is THE magnet for artists, students and people with more alternative attitudes and lifestyles. What we’ve seen recently is that these people are generally spiritually open and in fact have a lot of questions, but at the moment have no relevant church in their surrounding area with which they can become a part of. In fact, less than 400 Christians attend Sunday services in Kreuzberg – that is less than 0.5% active Christians! (Christians that claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ).
Kreuzbergprojekt has poured quite a bit of time and energy in reaching this neighborhood and just last night they had their first service! Fridtjoff Leemhuis and Benjamin Kaden, the pastors of the church, had over 60 people attend their first service! For Germany, this is a huge start, and a huge blessing!!
Please pray for this new daughter church in Kreuzberg – Berlin; for the two Pastors and the 11 members of the start up team!
http://www.kreuzbergprojekt.de//index.php?lang=english
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March 23, 2010 – Ich bin ein Berliner!
I think we’re more Berliners than JFK was… because we are now the proud owners of two shiny new visas!!!!!! Thank you so much for the prayers! The appointment went so well! Better than we thought it would. We were hoping to get a one year work visa for me as a model and then a one year residence visa for Matt and we ended up getting a two year model work visa for me and a two year residence – with the option to find work – visa for Matt!
Another exciting thing is that there is a new rule that the government passed for 2010 and Matt and I have to take a mandatory 600 hours each of German language classes and then 30 hours of German integration classes! Six hundred hours seems like an impossibility when you’re schedule only allows time for six hours each week, but we’ll figure it out! The German govt. will also reimburse us 1€ for every hour of class we take. Thanks Germany!
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March 18, 2009 – “Being a foreigner is not a disease.” -Alden Nowlan
I’m not really sure what had just happened to Mr. Nowlan when he said these words, but I can appreciate how he must have felt! We found out last week that Matt was denied his German work visa! ouch! So what now? Well, our next option is to apply for a family visa, which would mean that I would have to prove that I make enough on my Modeling visa to support both of us… um ok. Thankfully, my visa is under a freelancers visa, and although I can only earn money here in Germany by Modeling, (which isn’t much), I can also earn as much money as I want from the US; this includes our financial support which all comes from the US. So, although we still have not raised the exact amount we need to survive each month, hopefully the Ausländerbehörde office will decide it’s enough to give Matt a year visa!
We have an appointment on Monday, March 22nd, and I will bring in our last two years of taxes, and a letter from our church in NY showing that we have financial support coming in, and hopefully I can prove that I make enough for us to live here and for Matt to get a residence visa. Please pray that we get this visa! Somehow, I just don’t think it would be the same living and working here without Matt! 😉
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March 9, 2010 – New Digs
The last 2 months we’ve spent some of our spare time looking for a new apartment. Right now we’re subletting a furnished flat just a few blocks from the church offices, where we both work everyday, and even closer to the Sunday morning service in the theater called Babylon. It also just so happens to be in the same neighborhood of about 10 of our friends! Needless to say, we love our neighborhood! We can stay at our current sublet until December 2010, which is great! The reason we’ve started looking for a new place this early is that finding an apartment in Berlin, especially in our neighborhood Mitte/Prenzlauerberg, is next to impossible!!! So, Matt and I figured we’d get an early jump on it, and if we found one sooner than later, we’d move out early. The problem is, there are about 500 other people in the same situation, just as smart as Matt and I! We’ve viewed about 100 apartments online, and everytime we call on one we are the 30th caller, or it’s already been rented – even though it was only listed 5 minutes ago, or there is a very high broker’s fee, etc… We have even made appointments to see a few places, only to show up 15 minutes early and be the 10th in line waiting to see the apartment! We’ve realized that this is no easy task and it is going to take something far beyond our control to find our “perfect-dream-berlin-apartment”!
I would like to ask you to keep this in your prayers. Of course we want to stay in the area that we are, not only for it’s convenience, but because this is specifically the neighborhood we and Berlinprojekt are targeting. (plus we save a lot of money not having to buy 2 daily Ubahn – subway- passes). Right now we are paying €700 warm, (warm= all utilities included), and this is right about the maximum we can afford. It is very unlikely to find anything for much less than what we’re paying in our particular neighborhood, but you never know! We are also looking for a few very specific things, which makes it a bit harder to find a place. These are:
*an apartment in Prenzlauerberg (our current neighborhood)
*an apartment without a Broker’s fee (not many of these out there)
*an apartment with a complete kitchen (believe it or not the majority of apartments in Berlin require one to install their own kitchen!)
*a building that allows dogs (Pony sized dogs!)
*a previous owner that so kindly leaves some of his furniture behind 🙂
*rent no higher than €700 warm per month
of course we would love to have a place with a big kitchen/living room so that we can have large groups over, and a second bedroom for guests to say in. A place with a yard or balcony, high ceilings, and big windows would be great as well, but these things are second on the list to the actual amenities we need… that doesn’t mean you can’t pray for them though:)
Thankfully, we have several months to find this dream apartment, and don’t feel any stress or pressure at the moment. God really opened the door to us finding our current apartment, where one of our closest friends is our neighbor, so we know He’ll provide at the right time our new place! Thanks so much for the prayers!
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February 24, 2010 – Matt turns 30 today!!
I just thought I would share that :). Happy Birthday Matt!! Love you.
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February 19, 2010 – Getting into the Musician’s mind
We had our second meeting for everyone involved in the music ministry at Berlinprojekt. We’re trying to have a meeting every few months so we can talk as a community and share ideas and express concerns etc.. This meeting was a little intense for me because I’d be sharing with the group that the main worship leader would be moving on. He’s served at Berlinprojekt for almost 5 years, and is ready to move on to pursue his own music career. We’ve become really great friends and while its really hard to see him go, I’m really excited for him to see where his life will lead. I was really worried that everyone would sort of panic because he leads about 75% of the worship. I had come up with a model that we can use that I thought was really great, but I wasn’t sure how they’d receive it. And let me just say something here; if you’ve never presented something to a room full of Germans, when you don’t particularly speak fluent German and your trying to get them to believe in it, than you have no idea what I’m talking about. A little stressful to say the least! However, it was received really positively and you could sense the whole room coming together to make this work. It was amazing how encouraging and positive they were. God really went before me on this one.
Something else I’ve learned since we’ve been here is how important it really is to just be available for people; and that our ministry in fact is “simply” people. Structure is really important, but it’s the people that make it work. You have to invest time in building relationships and community. It amazes me sometimes how the little things go such a long way. I’m a very organized person, and like to have really strong foundations and things planned out and really enjoy executing them. I think I’m a little O.C.D. –thanks dad 😉 But sometimes, the best thing you can do is just have coffee with someone, or just bring the whole group together to eat together and talk. Structure is important, but it comes after building friendships and getting to know each other. And I have to say, that once you know who you’re working with, and you’re becoming friends with them, it relieves all the pressure, and you can start to work on things together, finding the road together, and really enjoying the whole process. It also makes the work easier because you’re not doing all this for strangers, but for your friends and your community.
And that’s sort of where I am now; I see the work I have to do laid out in front of me. We have more structure in place, and it’s only a matter of following the path that God lays out for us. The challenge for me as a leader is to continually be humbling myself and asking God, “where are you taking us, we’ll follow”. I don’t by any means feel adequate for the role I’ve been thrust into. I looked around the room the other night and there were about 20 people looking to me for answers and direction. It was an incredibly humbling thing. But as I sat there, I became so aware that this isn’t my ministry or the musicians ministry, but God’s. He’s using us to facilitate the worship at His church. We’re only so priveledged to be a part of it. I know I’ll make mistakes, there’s no question about that. But I feel so excited for what God is doing in our lives and for the music at Berlinprojekt. I have no doubt I’m exactly where God wants me to be. Knowing this, amidst so much chaos sometimes, gives me an unbelievable peace and allows me to enjoy what we’re going through and what we’re doing here in Berlin… so far from family, friends and everything familiar that we love so much. We miss you all dearly. Thank you for your support and prayers. This has been a completely life changing thing for us, and we couldn’t possibly do it without you. Your support is making many new things possible at this church in Berlin Germany, and I know at least 20 people who are extremely grateful! Thank you! What an unbelievable night we had together. You can really sense momentum building here that is so exciting to witness. I feel more and more like really we have a place here. We feel like we’re exactly where we should be. Thank you so much for being a part of that,
Yours, Matt
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January 30, 2010 – Lean on, trust, and be confident in Me
Proverbs 3:5-6 talks about trusting in God with all of our being and He will direct our ways. It’s about accepting things exactly as they are, and searching for God’s way in the midst of hardships and circumstances that we may not understand.
Recently Matt and I found out that we had a miscarriage. At first we were both very confused. It was so obvious that it was God’s plan and timing for us to get pregnant in the first place, as we hadn’t been “trying”, so why then would he take it away from us? Well, if we truly believe that it was his plan for us to get pregnant, then we also have to believe that this is also part of his plan. We spent the few days after the news, together, praying, talking and crying. And we’ve both learned that there are always blessings hidden in difficulties… that God is always eager to show us, and use us in these situations – even if at the moment it is just for our own growth and our own relationship with Jesus. It’s been a very tough and trying time, but our friends and families have been there for us and we are both learning more about ourselves and more about God. It’s been such a blessing to have so many people to talk to about this and so many women that themselves have been through a similar situation. There’s a bond there that reminds us of how we are all the children of God and how much we are meant to be a community and to spend this life together.
We had also found out just a few days before that Matt’s Grandpa, Larry Roush, died of terminal cancer. Although it was very difficult and sad, Grandpa was a believer and we have no doubt he is pain free and in Heaven right now with our Lord!!
The last week has been a difficult time both for Matt and I and also for our families. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks so much.
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January 20, 2010 – Hallo Alle!
We’re really starting to feel settled here. Berlin is feeling more and more like home, which is great! The people have really been amazing. I’m finally starting to see the results of some of my work here, meeting with people, building friendships, working on the music ministry, and it’s starting to feel like we’re really making a difference with our presence here. Keep us in your prayers-that we would learn to take this ministry one day at a time. It can all feel very immense and burdensome at times. And also pray for some sunshine! Berlin is on a whole other level of cold. “Winter”, doesn’t really describe it. More like dark side of the moon!!
Thank you all for your prayers and continued support. We know we wouldn’t be doing what we are if it weren’t for all your sacrifice and support. We never take it for granted, we talk about it often! Thank you so much!
We’d love to hear from you so if there’s anything you’d like to share or like us to pray about, please, don’t hesitate to call or send an email. You have no idea how far the little things go!
Talk to you soon, Matt
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January 20, 2010 – Back to school
We’ve started language classes again, and we just finished our first week! This time it’s through Berlin’s Volkshochschule, which is just like our Community Colleges. So, it’s much cheaper, and we could pick a class schedule that worked for us. We’re meeting twice a week, Monday’s and Wednesdays for 3 hours each day until the 29th of March, (there are 4 random Fridays in there too). This schedule is perfect for us as we meet from 1:30pm – 4:30pm. Monday’s are our day off, as we “work” on Sundays, so we’re really only missing one day of work on Wednesday, and we have every evening free to do things with friends, the church and our community.
Continue to pray that we learn this language quickly. I felt good about being in class this week, as we’ve now been in Berlin for 5 months and some of our fellow students have lived here for 10 – 20 years!! We’ll keep you posted as we progress.
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January 15, 2010 – My Resolution
I was scolded recently by a couple different people for not keeping up with the blog like I should, and for that I truly apologize! They’re right! I haven’t been writing as much as I should be. In the beginning my goal was to write 3-4 times every month; and, as the days only became busier and crazier, I started to neglect the blog.
A promise we made to not only our family and friends, but also to our financial supporters was that we would keep them updated as much as possible! So, a resolution for 2010 is to write more blog entries!!
Holiday Recap:
We spent 3 weeks in the States. Two and a half of those weeks were in Ohio with our families; and 4 days were in New York fund raising. We had a great time in Ohio with the families! Christmas was really amazing and it was nice to have some extra time with everyone. We even had the opportunity to give an update to a church in Ohio that is currently supporting us.
We also received a really great Christmas gift, and a complete surprise… just two days before Christmas Matt and I discovered that we’re pregnant!! It was such a blessing to discover this while we were home in Ohio and were able to share it with our families in person; as opposed to over skype! God is so good!!! Of course, this wasn’t “in the plan” but I’ve learned over the years that our plans do not always agree with God’s plans, and when we simply trust and have faith in Him, His plans are ALWAYS better! Again, Jer. 29:11 comes to mind. What a great verse!
The four days we spent in New York were a blessing as well. We had several fund raising appointments that we fit into just the four days, so by the end of the trip we were both pretty exhausted. We met a few new people that joined our team of supporters, thank you!! And, we also had the opportunity to share with one of our current supporter’s/and friend small group. It was truly a great time of fellowship and prayer and we were both really blessed to be a part of it.
Thanks to everyone that made this Holiday season such a great time! Thank you to our new supporters as well as existing supporters for the prayers and financial support that is making our ministry in Berlin a reality! Thank you too, to those of you that sent your Christmas cards all the way to Germany, your beautiful families make our apartment feel more like home 🙂
Please keep in touch; it was great to have the opportunity to catch up with several of you over the Holiday but for those of you that we didn’t see, send an email or a facebook message, we would love to hear from you!
Much love!! Corrie
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January 1, 2010 – Einen guten Rutsch!
I wanted to share something from a little devotional my parents got me for Christmas, I thought it was a really great way to start out the new year!
“Come to me with a teachable spirit, eager to be changed. A close walk with Me is a life of continual newness. Do not cling to old ways as you step into a new year. Instead, seek My Face with an open mind, knowing that y0ur journey with Me involves being ‘transformed by the renewing of your mind’. As you focus your thoughts on Me, be aware that I am fully attnetive to you. I see you with a steady eye, because My attention span is INFINITE! I know and understand you completely; My thoughts embrace you in everlasting Love. ‘I also know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ Give yourself fully to this adventure of increasing attentiveness to My Presence. (Romans 12:2; Jeremiah 29:11)” – Jesus Calling by Sarah Young
I pray that 2010 will be a year of knowing God more than we have before; a year full of excitement and adventure in what He has planned for us! Happy New Year!!
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October 18, 2009 – Free at last!
After two months of intensity and severe headaches, we’ve finally finished our language classes! We still have a long way to go with the language but we’re really excited to be starting our work full time for Berlinprojekt. Keep us in your prayers regarding the language. Doo Kyoung, one of the directors of Berliprojekt, has offered to help us once a week as we can see this is something that will need constant reinforcement. Please keep praying that we learn the language. It really makes a huge difference in our involvement with the church and the community around us.
Also, please pray for us as we try to really focus the energy of our work. Already we’ve seen there are so many possibilities and its hard sometimes to really narrow down and focus on only a few. We would rather do a few things really efficiently than try to take on too much and feel like everything was suffering. This is much better for the community as well. Just pray that God will give us a clear vision of what roles He has specifically for us here. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming but its so amazing that we get to be a part of this. Its really exciting when we stop and think of what we’re doing; a little over a year ago this possibility came up on the radar and here we are, in Germany, learning the language, working for an amazing church, and in community with all these crazy Germans! Thank you all so much for being so incredibly supportive. You really have no idea how much the smallest gesture effects us. Just continue to pray that God would reveal things to us daily.
Please also continue to pray for us as we build relationships with the people in the church. There really is a language and cultural barrier that exists so you sometimes wonder if you really are having an impact. We’ve only been here for a few months now and this takes some time to build trust and get to know people, we just want to be sure we’re being open to what God has for us so we don’t miss something we were supposed to see.
Again thank you all for being so incredibly supportive through this whole thing. Your prayers, emails, support, letters and phone calls (skype calls!) do go a long way. -Matt
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October 5, 2009 – I can finally wear shoes!!
To those of you that have been praying for the healing of my foot, thank you so much!! After a visit to the hospital, a surgeon, an orthopedic surgeon, and a wound specialist, (9 visits to doctor’s offices in total), I wore 2 pair of shoes today for the first time in almost 5 weeks! The doctors here were all really great and have had me on this “wet to dry therapy” for abnormal wounds. I have one more appointment in 2 weeks and it should be completely healed by then. Just in time for winter!
For those of you that do not know what happened, a brief explanation: Right around the end of August I was in a pretty minor accident with my bicycle. As I was riding, my front tire slipped into the S-Bahn tracks, (above ground subway), on the street and stuck, throwing me off my bike. ( it sounds worse than it actually was). I slid quite a ways on my rear and my right foot was stuck under my body. I ended up with a pretty deep wound on the top of my foot, (as I was wearing sandals… sorry Mom), which at the time didn’t look so bad. It was about 2 weeks later that I decided to wear covered shoes and realized just how immense the pain was! I went to the hospital thinking I had possibly fractured one of the bones on the top of my foot. After what I can say was the best hospital experience ever, thankfully, there was no fracture only a minor infection. I was referred to an orthopedic surgeon who advised me to not wear a shoe on my right foot until the wound healed as the pressure would not only cause pain, but would also keep the wound from healing properly! So, the last several weeks I’ve been sporting a pretty fancy “cow” sock with an insert shoved into the bottom! It hasn’t been the most ideal, especially in the rain, but today was a little mini celebration with myself as I put a pair of boots on for the first time in 5 weeks!! Yeah!! I have 2 more weeks to continue with the “dry therapy” treatment, so please continue to keep this in your prayers. Thank you again to those of you that were praying for this to heal quickly!
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September 23, 2009 – Financial update and a BIG thank you!
First, let me just say THANK YOU!!! from the bottoms of our hearts for all of the wonderful prayers and support! Matt and I have been so encouraged to hear from family and friends that we’re on your hearts and that you’re continually praying for us! It means more than you know.
Secondly, we only just now received our 2nd financial support update from our church in New York. So, to those of you that gave in July, August, and September, we’re sorry that you’ve had to wait so long to hear from us! The entire process takes quite a bit of time coming from New York, to Germany and then to us, so we want you to know that nothing goes unnoticed and that the money is going through successfully, and we apologize for anyone that has had to wait to hear from us! We appreciate your generosity more than you can imagine! It is very humbling and we are honored to have family and friends like you on our team! Thank you.
Thirdly, according to the updated report, we’re still just over half of our needed monthly support. Right now we really need our monthly financial support to increase dramatically . So, we are sending this message to those of you who have had it on your heart to support us in our ministry with Berlinprojekt. If that’s you, the best way to help right now in addition to prayer is financial giving. Please pray and see if God would have you become a financial supporter; not out of compulsion or pressure, but through the love and faith that God supplies. Please understand that this message is not to put pressure on anyone, but only to communicate the need to those who feel led by God to help.
Thank you for your faith in God and your belief in us!
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August 29, 2009 – “Ich bin Duetsch lernen”… I mean, “Ich habe Deutsch gelernt”!
Just wanted to write a quick note to let you know how the first real week went. Exhausting! That’s a word you’re going to hear over and over in this email so just be prepared! We started the language classes last Monday and I really had no idea how stupid I had become. I honestly feel like my brain is getting a workout every day. They speak no English in the class at all! They speak on a really basic level but still,-no English. It’s not really fun when the teacher is rambling on for 2 minutes in German and then all of a sudden stops and looks at you. I guess she was asking a question. Could you repeat that so I can at least act like I understood part of it? We’re right now just starting to understand the rules of German grammar, and after those are learned it will be a matter of vocabulary. It really is difficult though. For example, in English, if we want to make something plural, we simply add an “s”. Pie becomes pies, chair becomes chairs, boy becomes boys etc.. Not so in German. There are maybe 7 different ways to make a word plural, 4 different ways of assigning gender-yes every single word in the language has a gender. Even a chair is male or female, and then multiple ways to spell the word, dependent upon whether you were referring to the chair you sit on, sat on or will sit on, the spelling will change. Can you believe that!? Please keep praying. Right now we’re a little discouraged by it but we’re trying to remain positive. Everyone at the church has been really understanding though. German takes a very long time to master. In fact, we’re slowly realizing it may take a lot longer than we thought to become conversational. And that can make you feel a little isolated and alone. So please pray for radical comprehension of the language. We really believe it can happen!
We attended our first service last Sunday. All went really well. I was asked to play in the worship band and did so a little reluctantly I’ll admit. I told Christian (the pastor) I wanted to ease into it gradually as the most important thing we can do right now is learn the language. He was very understanding and said he completely agreed so we decided to just work on getting to know people right now and not worrying so much about the big picture. I need to get to know the people in the music ministry so this is exactly what I’m doing. I showed up early on Sunday to help set up. I already knew the worship leader and all went really smoothly. I managed to get through all the songs even though all the music and words were in German-ya really scary. I could sense God was with us on this really important day. Thank you for your prayers.
That however, was one of the most exhausting days we’ve ever had in our lives.
We got there around 9:30 to help set up. Cables and drums and microphones etc., Sat through a whole service only understanding about every 10th word. We would laugh when they laughed, stand when they stood, take communion how they did etc.. Really funny actually. I wonder what they thought. After the service, about 1:30, we went with a few people to lunch. One of the girls that works for the church took us to this really big flea market that’s there every Sunday, to try to find bikes. We ended up getting two for really cheap. By this time it was time to go help set up for the second service in a different neighborhood. We got there around 4:30, helped set up, sat through another service in which we didn’t understand anything, met a lot of new people, tore down, and then were headed home. Only not really because its someone’s birthday! So we went to the party, met a lot more people, had some really good German sausage, and got home at around 11 o’clock. Really, incredibly exhausting, but really satisfying. We really had a euphoric feeling about the whole day. It was awesome meeting everyone. There is a fire over here amongst Christians. It’s really cool to be a part of it. If you’re a Christian, it’s because you believe really deeply, not because you’re family does. It’s very anti-German to be a Christian. So there’s a real comraderie that exists here that’s really amazing to be a part of.
Thank you so much for your prayers. We honestly really can feel them from time to time. I’ll be down about something, or feeling a little anxious about something, and then unexplainably, I’ll feel fine, like God is telling me not to worry and to put it all on Him. I know its because you are praying, thank you! Or maybe I’m bi-polar. Probably bi-polar. Keep us in your prayers! Nothing apart from God is more important in our lives than each other and there’s a real danger in this to sacrifice everything because it’s all in God’s name. But I know this isn’t at all what He wants so just pray that we make adequate time for each other. Keep praying for the language class as well. We really need to learn quickly. Not speaking the language really isolates you and makes you feel really alone. We miss you all more than you could possibly know. Any little thing makes our whole day so please do try to keep in touch. Love you all very much. Matt
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August 21, 2009 – Can you conjugate conjugation??
Back to school! We finished our first week of language classes. We’re doing great, maybe a little overwhelmed at the moment as it’s an intensive course, 9am to 3pm Monday through Friday! One week down, seven to go! This week has been all business. Classes and then a couple meetings at the church. They’re going to introduce us to the congregation this Sunday. We’ll speak just briefly and then someone will translate for us. Nervous, but really excited too! It will be great to finally meet people in the congregation and really start to form relationships.
Pray that we learn this language very very quickly, miracle-like quickly! Right now learning the language is probably the most important thing in our ministry. Matt read something in his devotional the other day that really encouraged us; a little story about George Mueller and the captain of a ship… ” A number of years ago I went to America with a steamship captain who was a very devoted Christian. When we were off the coast of Newfoundland, he said to me, “The last time I sailed here, which was five weeks ago, something happened that revolutionized my entire Christian life. I had been on the bridge for 24 straight hours when George Mueller of Bristol, England, who was a passenger on board, came to me and said, Captain, I need to tell you that I must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon. ‘That is impossible’, I replied. ‘Very well’, Mueller responded, ‘if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way, for I have never missed an engagement in 57 years. Let’s go down to the chartroom to pray’. “I looked at this man of God and thought to myself, ‘What lunatic asylum did he escape from?’ I had never encountered someone like this. ‘Mr. Mueller’, I said, ‘do you realize how dense the fog is?’ ‘No’, he replied. ‘My eye is not on the dense fog but on the living God, who controls every circumstance of my life’. “He then knelt down and prayed one of the most simple prayers I’ve ever heard. When he had finished, I started to pray, but he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to pray. He said, ‘First, you do not believe God will answer, and second, I believe He HAS. Consequently, there is no need whatsoever for you to pray about it.’ “As I looked at him, he said, ‘captain, I have known my Lord for 57 years, and there has never been even a single day that I have failed to get an audience with the King. Get up Captain, and open the door, and you will see that the fog is gone.’ I got up, and indeed the fog was gone. And on Saturday afternoon, George Mueller was in Quebeck for his meeting.”
Of course this story reminded us that God is with us and will provide, but it also encouraged us, as Matt and I had just both finished reading Goerge Mueller’s autobiography! Just a little something from God right when He knew we needed it. It’s all about FAITH! Our faith grew so much in the months leading up to coming here, and has grown even more, and we know God is with us!
Thank you so much for all of your prayers, we have already seen how God is using this in our lives and cant wait to see how He will use us in others!
I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me. – Acts 25: 27
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August 19, 2009 – Two weeks.
Our emotions have been up and down the last couple weeks; first with jetlag, and then with the realization that we actually up and moved to GERMANY!!!!! However, it really helped that we immediately had a community that we became a part of. Everyone has been amazing, so encouraging, excited to see us, and really really helpful!
Christian, the pastor, has been awesome. We had a little “Germany History” trip over the weekend and he took us to his parents house, in a little town called Erfurt, about 3.5 hours away from Berlin (well, less than 3 hours when you drive 125mph as there are no set speed limits outside of the city!! Seriously, 1.2.5 MPH!). We saw Goethe’s home and town, Wiemar; a concentration camp, Buchenwald; and the Monistary where Martin Luther lived in Erfurt… Also Wartburg, the castle where Luther translated the New Testament! The castle’s museum had the actual first edition of the New Testament by Martin Luther! Pretty neat. Needless to say, we’ve had German on the mind.
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August 6, 2009 – Exhale.
Our feelings; Excitement, Exhaustion, and because I can’t think of a third word that begins with an E, Waiting. We arrived in Berlin yesterday morning, 10am. The flights were great! We somehow managed to get everything checked in with only paying $25 for an overweight fee!! (which is crazy because i know all 3 were overweight!) We also had no problems carrying on the 3 guitars, for both flights! God is awesome! A friend of ours picked us up from the airport and dropped us off at our new place. The apartment is a furnished sublet and is with-in walking distance from the church, church offices, and the school where we’ll be taking our language classes. Awesome!
We’re both so Excited to finally be here and to start this new journey; we’re Exhausted from the jetlag; and we’re Waiting to see what God will do with us! The church takes a summer break in August so the next service will be August 23rd. The next 2 weeks will be a great time for us to get adjusted to everything new, explore our neighborhood, and really get to know the community that we will be serving!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers, especially the last couple days! Miss you all already!
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August 4, 2009 – Leaving on a jet plane.
We leave for Berlin today! Keep us in your prayers; for safety most importantly. But also, pray that we actually get everything there! We have 3 big suitcases 3 guitars, and a carry on! Thanks!
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July 20, 2009 – Home is where the heart is… especially when you’re homeless!!
We’ve been in Ohio almost three weeks now; living out of our suitcases and bouncing back and forth between parents; what’s been exciting is that we’re seeing how freeing it has been to be totally reliant on God! For the first time in our seven years of marriage we’re both unemployed and homeless! Scary and at the same time very exciting! We’ve been able to focus all of our energy on preparing for Berlin; fund raising, making contacts, meeting churches, etc… and it’s awesome how God has been opening doors and bringing the right people into our lives at just the right time. We’ve met with a couple churches here in Columbus and can already see the amazing relationships taking shape and how God will use all of us. It’s been great to reconnect with friends we haven’t seen for a while and we’ve also had several opportunities to meet new people that are just as excited as we are about what God has been doing in Berlin and have offered prayer as well as financial support. This time has been such a blessing to both of us.
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July 12, 2009 – A not just yet Goodbye Party.
We had such a great time yesterday! Our parents threw us a going away party last night that was more than we could have expected! There was so much German food, and Matt’s mom labeled everything in German and English! The party house was stocked, from wienerschnitzels to braunschweiger! yum! (some great German beer too!) Over 50 of our close friends and family came to say their goodbyes. A love offering was taken and we ended up getting enough to cover both of our tickets! Thank you to those of you that gave financially; thank you for the encouragement and prayers of everyone; thank you Terri, Carl, Mom and Dad, and the Grandparents for all of the planning, cooking and excitement that went into Saturday; we had such an awesome time!! and now we’ve got three weeks to enjoy the leftovers! … jealous?
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June 28, 2009 – Goodbye New York.
With only two days left in New York we realize just how much we’re going to miss this city! The art, the diversity, the people – even the crazy ones… actually, especially the crazy ones!! The sheer never ending excitement of the city itself… and of course, we’re going to miss our friends and family, our church, the community we’ve become so close to and comfortable with, our neighborhood, Vinny’s pizza what will we do without you!
But what we’ve also realized is the important role New York has played in our lives and just how well this city has prepared us for our journey to Berlin. It’s amazing to us how we’ve started to see bits and pieces of a great plan that God had started years ago when we first moved to New York. I guess you could say that He’s been writing this story for our lives since the very beginning! What an incredible and humbling feeling to see something taking shape before our eyes and know that all along God was using experiences, situations, and people in our lives for His plan! If we only had the time to share with you all the little and big experiences in the last severl years that we now see were shaping us for this journey! How great our God is!!
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June 6, 2009 – Great time in LA!
Thank you all for your prayers last week! We had such a great time in LA. We ended up meeting with three different churches; all very encouraging. My sister’s church, Reality LA, announced us during both of their services and allowed us to set up a display table. The church was so generous and helpful, and they were all very excited about our journey to Berlin and the amazing steps Berlinprojekt has already made in reaching their community! We had perfect strangers praying with us at the end of the services and all of them were full of support and encouragement. Reality LA is such an awesome church, and the congregation really loves the Lord. The pastor’s service was so encouraging and exciting; I recommend anyone visiting or spending time in Los Angeles to visit this church!
We also had two great meetings with two other churches around the LA area interested in teaming up with Berlinprojekt’s church planting network; both of these meetings and the people we met were such a blessing! It’s always so exciting to meet others that share in our excitement of the movement that’s taking place in Europe!
We had so much fun with my sister as well… she’s been an amazing supporter through everything. Thanks Katie, we love you!!
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May 22,2009 – Door to Door
Last weekend we had a great time with a couple that’s friends of ours from Redeemer, (our church in NYC), that raised financial support for 13 years in both New York and Chicago for Campus Crusade working with inner city kids. You could say they’re “experts” on financial fund raising. They gave us some great advice and a lot of encouragement to start our “door to door” fund raising efforts.
Once we’re back from LA, May 27th, we’ll be visiting homes here in New York in an effort to put together our team of supporters. We’ll hopefully spend the entire month of June in NY and then will focus on our hometown, Ohio, for the month of July. This is a really important step, as we need to raise a total of $4,500 in committed monthly donations to cover our living and ministry expenses for the next two years! Please keep this in your prayers. It’s been really difficult for us to wrap our heads around the idea of asking people for money. However we’ve seen God do some amazing things through this process and see how individuals that have teamed up with us and Berlinprojekt really benefit from giving to someone and something that they are then able to follow and see with their own eyes what is being accomplished because of their help and financial support! There is a kind of “unity” that’s established and it creates almost a family! It’s really been great to experience this excitement! Continue to pray that God will open the right doors for us in the next couple months.
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May 16, 2009 – Prayer request; LA trip
We will be in LA over the Memorial weekend to spend time with my sister. We will also be visiting two, possibly three, churches in search of financial support for us as well as Berlinprojekt. Although we won’t be presenting to the congregation, the churches have allowed us to set up a table there with our information for anyone that is interested. Please keep this in your prayers. At this point we need to have our moving costs, approx $13,000, covered so that we can make the move by August 1st. We are hoping this money will come from the few churches we will be visiting both in California and Ohio over the next couple months.
Thanks for your prayers!!
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May 12, 2009 – The BIG question.
As our moving date is only a couple months away, yikes!, we’ve been asked the same question several times in that last month; “If we don’t have the money raised by August 1st, will we still move?”
This was definitely a big question that we’ve both been asking ourselves since the beginning; especially with the economy being the way it is, $121,000 is a lot to raise in only 6 months! Several months ago we decided that this was one of those things that we needed to have complete faith in and trust that God would reveal the answer to us when the time was right. After a lot of prayer, continually talking to eachother, and Christians visit last week, we have no doubt that we will continue to move forward. There are several encouraging things that have come to light recently:
First, as you know, I have been modeling in New York for the last 6 years now. A few years ago I had spent 3 months in Hamburg, Germany modeling and was very successful. When the opportunity to move to Berlin came up I had hoped that I would be able to once again model in Germany. After talking to several people in the industry, although not as frequent as New York I will indeed be able to model for extra income in Berlin.
Secondly, while Christian was here we also talked about a part time position the church has been looking to fill for some time now, working with The Church Planting Network Team. Christian had suggested I think about taking this position as it seems like it would be a great fit. The majority of the churches Berlinprojekt works with for church planting are in the U.S. and having someone that speaks fluent English is really important. This will be a paid part-time position through the church and it is possible that there will be several trips each year back to the U.S. for meetings and to raise financial support for the church.
Thirdly, from the beginning we had discussed that it was possible that both of us would initially need to get part time jobs in Berlin to cover our expenses. As we will both have working visas, through the church and through modeling, there are several opportunities for this and it will more than likely be something we will do.
While we have several people already on our team that have committed to financially supporting us through monthly donations, (thank you thank you!), we will continue to fundraise while in Germany to supplement our part-time jobs. Raising financial support will be an ongoing process, and Lord willing, we will raise enough financial support so that we can focus solely on our roles in the church and the community.
Again, we have complete faith that God is working through us and will use us in Berlin; He has provided and proven to us time after time that we are following his will and we will continue to have faith that He will provide everything we need through the end! (If you look at our “You Can Help!” page you will see our financial details and the amount that is needed for the move).
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May 8, 2009 – Christian’s visit to NY.
We’ve had a busy couple weeks. Last week Christian, Pastor of Berlinprojekt, came to New York for his bi-annually fundraising trip. He spent some time in Baltimore and Raleigh speaking to churches, but while he was in NY he stayed with us. It was a great visit, and we had a lot of time to discuss Berlinprojekt and our roles there. It was really encouraging to hear that the leadership team of the church has been continually praying for us and are really excited to have us there. We narrowed down the specifics of what our roles and “positions” will look like at the church. While Matt will be the Music Ministry Leader, I will be able to work with the Church Planting Network Team part time when I’m not modeling. It’s really exciting to see the roles starting to take shape!
I also had a chance to have brunch with a member of the new evening service team at Berlinprojekt while she was on vacation in NY. She shared with me that while growing up a Christian in Berlin she searched for 10 years for a church to call home until she finally found Berlinprojekt! That’s such a shock to me, coming from the Midwest where you can find great churches at every corner, that it would be so hard to find a church that she felt comfortable in and that was preaching the gospel in an relevant and understandable way. It’s so evident in even just the few stories that I’ve heard like this that God is really using Berlinprojekt and it’s team to reach the communities of Berlin and Germany! It’s very exciting and humbling at the same time to think that Matt and I will soon be a part of this!!
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April 28, 2009 – A general thanks!
To those of you that have given financially to us and Berlinprojekt we want to say Thank You!! As our church here in NY, Redeemer, is taking care of all of our finances, it will take some time before we can get the breakdown of our first report of donations from them. The money has to be processed and then wired over to Germany and this takes time. We will be sending each one of you individual thank yous as well as a little more information on Berlinprojekt as soon as we get the details. Know that the money is going through successfully, and we apologize for anyone that has had to wait! We appreciate your generosity more than you can imagine! It is very humbling and we are honored to have family, friends, and perfect strangers like you on our team! Thank you. Matt and Corrie
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April 10, 2009 – Was ist das?!
We had our first German language class last night. Matt and I are taking an 11 week course offered through NYU’s Goethe Institute Duetsches Haus. We’re meeting once a week for 2 1/2 hours. Although introductory, it’s a fairly intensive course. Our teacher is German, and although she speaks fluent English she prefers to speak mostly German the entire 2 1/2 hours; our books as well are completely in German! oy vey! (is that not German!?!?) 😉
Needless to say, we were a little overwhelmed after class last night. Keep us in your prayers regarding this. We have no doubt God’s plan for us is to take this position in Berlin, and we know that a barrier like speaking the language won’t keep God from using us. I’m reminded of the verse “… for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.” Philippians 2:13. Amen to that!
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April 1, 2009 – An encouraging email.
I wanted to share part of an email I got from our teacher at the class we’re taking through our church, Redeemer. I was telling her that I have my moments of anxiety and fear about learning a new language, (what most people have said is the hardest language to learn!), as well as moving so far away from our families and friends and all the changes that will come with that. Part of her reply was;
I can understand your fear about moving to Berlin. It is the unknown and the struggle to learn the language and a new culture, new friends, etc. It is much easier to stay in one’s comfort zone. I was just reading Mark 10:28-31, where it says: Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
God took care of me, and He will do the same for you. Sometimes there will be suffering and persecution, but God’s grace will sustain you—He and His kingdom make it all worthwhile. Someone in class mentioned to me how they were blessed when they heard that you and Matt were heading out as missionaries. God is already using you both to encourage and hopefully to call new people to do likewise. I have thought for a long time that Redeemer has too many great resources in one spot; we need to spread them around the world where there is so much darkness. I will be praying for you.
It was so encouraging to hear that by just Matt and I sharing in class what we are doing and why we feel called to do it, that someone was blessed! God uses us in so many ways, some times we aren’t even aware of when He is working in someone else by using us as a “tool”. Just an encouragement to people that may feel like they don’t have any extraordinary gifts that can be used, I know I’ve definitely felt this way before, that God uses any and all of us in so many different situations and circumstances if we are willing to be used!
Thanks for your encouraging words Lois, you are such a blessing!!
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March 18, 2009 – Thanks for the prayers!
I just wanted to take a second to thank you all for your prayer and support. Several of you have been asking us for specific prayer requests, so, to answer your questions;
we’ve just begun the fund raising phase and it can all be a bit daunting. But we’re confident God will work this all out! This week we sent out several emails to churches both in NY as well as a few other states in search for financial support. We will need to raise monthly commitments as well as several one time donations of financial support for the first 2 years of our service at Berlinprojekt. Because we are not a part of a “missionary organization” we have to raise our own support through family, friends, and other churches. Continue to pray for us in this matter as well as Berlinprojekt.
Something else to pray for would be to determine the right time for me to leave my job. I’m having a really difficult time balancing all my responsibilities at work as well as getting things for Berlin squared away. By the time I get home I’m exhausted and it’s really been difficult to do both. Corrie has been amazing! Pray for us that we’ll know exactly when to make this transition.
Thank you all so much for the words of encouragement from time to time. You have no idea how much it really helps! Keep them coming. We love you all very much and hope to see you each as soon as time allows! Check back periodically and we’ll keep you posted with answers to prayers and what’s going on. Talk to you soon! Matt
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March 14, 2009 – Letter of Recommendation.
A letter of “recommendation” from the pastors of Berlinprojekt. (this is the retyped version for easy reading, the actual letter is on our “Berlin?” page.)
Letter from the Pastors of Berlinprojekt:“As pastors of Berlinprojekt, we have invited Matt and Corrie Roush to work for Berlinprojekt Church. While being committed to local leadership, there is an urgent need for individuals with solid faith and a distinct life-style to help strengthen our church and our growing church-planting network. The spiritual situation in Berlin is as such that Christians who are living an exemplary Christian life-style are extremely rare to find. Many at Berlinprojekt are either new believers or for other reasons uncertain about what it means to live as a Christian in a challenging setting like Berlin – spiritually, morally, culturally. Matt and Corrie have lived for years in a comparable diverse urban context in New York City. They have built a stable Christian marriage and they come with solid faith, a passion to serve Christ and healthy church experience. As we are constantly struggling at Berlinprojekt to teach and model even the most basic values of Christian living to our congregation, their example will be priceless. In addition, with Matt being a musician and Corrie a fashion model, both come from professional backgrounds that are common in our setting as well. Yet with the big difference that here, in Berlin, it is unheard of to find Christians in those areas. Finally, their specific gifts will perfectly fit the ministry needs of Berlinprojekt and our wider church-planting efforts in Germany. They will be involved in the fields of music ministry, community building, discipleship and evangelism, with the focus on equipping and mentoring Germans. In terms of their preparation and sending agency, Matt and Corrie are closely connected to Redeemer and Redeemer Church Planting Center. They are taking a course at Redeemer on dynamics of spiritual change and counseling foundations, and are being coached by my colleague and I, as well as staff members of Redeemer. Redeemer has also agreed to administer their finances. Furthermore, living in Brooklyn for a couple of years has prepared them supremely for urban live in a creative city like Berlin. And in the past, Corrie spent a few months in Hamburg, Germany, working in her job. To our minds, Matt and Corrie coming to Berlin to work with Berlinprojekt is an incredible fit and an answer to many prayers for reliable help and support. Hoping you would consider to support the church in Berlin and Germany through supporting Matt and Corrie, Christian Nowatzky and Konstantin von Abendroth”
- **Berlinprojekt is a new church in the city-center of Berlin, Germany. It was started four years ago, in 2005, and has grown quickly to over 300 people. It was started by two German pastors – Christian Nowatzky and Konstantin von Abendroth – in partnership with Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and the Evangelical Free Churches in Germany (Bund Freier evangelischer Gemeinden). Berlinprojekt Church has also become a catalyst for a network for urban church planting in Germany. A daughter church in Hamburg has been started and a number of new church-planting projects are in preparation.
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March 8, 2009 – Daily ministry.
Today we had our first class in an 11 week course we’re taking through our church, Redeemer, titled “How People Change”. It’s a course that focuses on the promise of the gospel that “Christ will completely change our lives by transforming our hearts by His grace”. We’re both really excited to take this course and I think it’s a great base to the kind of work we will be doing over in Berlin. By changing the hearts of people, the families and communities change also!
Anyways, I wanted to share a verse that I think applies perfectly to the vision of personal as well as communal ministry. Something we talked about today, that may not be new news to everyone, is that we’re involved in ministry every single day… whether talking on the phone to a friend, talking over coffee or dinner, we’re always giving our counsel and advice, and we want to make sure that the opinions we give are Christ centered…that they’re based on God’s counsel. The verse is Ephesians 4:11-16 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, bu craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
Also, thank you everyone for all the encouraging words and prayers on our “About Us” page! They mean so much to us, and I look forward to checking the website every day :). Please keep it up!
Have a great and blessed week! Corrie
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March 4, 2009 – Great video.
Follow the link below to watch a great 4 minute video on Berlinprojekt! It’s really great and gives a lot of information about the church and their vision!
http://www.berlinprojekt.com/videos/BP_Clip_2007.mov
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February 28, 2009 – Pictures of the church.
Images of Berlinprojekt
First, checkout a Berlinprojekt Video:
The church is huge! I’m very excited for you guys-love you both and we are praying for you!
This is great! I’m so proud to call you friends. Praying everything works out the way God wants it to and you enjoy the journey.
Is it too early for German jokes? I’m wondering if Matt will have to start listening to Kraftwerk and wearing leather…
Love you guys.
love you guys!
mom
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