Progress and disappointment

There has been a lot of progress in the remodeling of the church building over the past week. The first floor still looks very much like a construction zone, but things are starting to slowly come together. Because we obviously cannot yet use this area and this is where the worship assemblies are supposed to be, we are instead meeting in the largest adult classroom for right now.


Mark was able to cram 37 chairs in there, but that's still not enough room for all of us to meet together. The plan has been for us to have two services on Sunday mornings with Bible classes in between with half of the congregation coming for the first service and the other half for the second one.

The past two Sundays, though, those without children have met at Jim and Elsa's house for services while those families with kids have met at the building. Apparently there was concern over whether the first floor ceiling was stable enough to support the weight of 50 people who would be there for Bible classes, even though the walls that had been removed were not load-bearing. As of this past Wednesday, 3 of the 4 ceiling supports were in place, so next Sunday we're going back to the original plan of 2 services at the building.

As I walked through the building on Wednesday, I was very excited to see this:


This is where the baptistry will be. In an effort to save space, they're recessing it in the floor and will place a cover over it that can easily be removed when needed. The cinder blocks on the far side of the hole are actually in the basement in a storage room that is being forfeited to house the supports for the baptistry.

There've been disappointments, though, in my work recently. The last time I met with Cornelia, she had said that she is helping a friend with some projects right now and didn't know how much free time she would have over the next few weeks. She called me on Friday to say that she does not have time meet with me anymore. I hope that "anymore" really means "right now" and that we'll be able to continue meeting later this summer. I enjoy meeting with her and have come to consider her a friend, so it's hard to think that we might not be able to meet again.

Also, this morning Sylvia told me that her work schedule has changed and she will no longer be able to meet with me. I asked if she wanted to switch to another day, but she said no. While my meetings with Sylvia usually required a lot of patience (perhaps she feels the same!), I know they were important for her. She seems to do better one-on-one with people than in large Bible classes or worship services. Elsa said that just getting her to meet with me and getting her to come consistently for a while was a big accomplishment. Please pray that Sylvia will understand that God truly loves her, is not trying to manipulate her, and wants her to be His child.

As I get more involved in evangelism efforts here, I know there will be disappointments along the way. Not everyone will respond to the methods I use. Not everyone will have free time. Not everyone will like what we read together in the Bible. But as Elsa said, we're looking for the few people who will listen and become interested, and we have to pray that God will send those people to us.

I also pray that I can plant seeds in people's lives. I've said several times that planting seeds is my goal, and we never know how long those seeds will lie dormant before God grows them into something more. Perhaps I will never see some of the results of the work I do here, and maybe it will look like some people have turned away, but that doesn't mean God is finished with these people.

In the meantime, while I wait for seeds to grow and for other "gardens" to come my way, tomorrow Elsa, Karen, Gabi, Rotraud, and I are heading to Neckarzimmern for the annual ladies' retreat there. From what I understand it's in a beautiful location south of Heidelberg, and women from all over Germany and even from Switzerland are expected to come. Karen and I were really hesitant at first when Elsa asked us to go because we weren't sure if we could handle 5 days of German. Elsa has assured us, though, that it's okay for us to skip a class or lecture if we feel like we've had enough, and she says we should encourage each other to skip at least one event each day. So, Karen and I agreed to go. It should be intersting. I look forward to seeing some of the women from the retreat in Bergkirchen in February and from the First of May meeting earlier this month. I also hope I will be able to gain something from the retreat that will serve to uplift and encourage me in my life and work here. From what I hear from others who have been before, I won't be disappointed.