It is tough to speak through an interpreter.
After the service on Sunday, our team went down to a local sport club and played some soccer.
Afterwards we were able to pass out tracts and invite the players to the church. Some even exchanged email addresses.
This is the view from the top of the Youth Hostel in Nurnberg that the men stayed at during our training in Erlangen.
Jet lag affected some of us more than others.
Jeff Brown and Heinze Volkel during one of our training sessions at Erlangen.
Short breaks during training were filled with spirited games of soccer in the back yard.
Eating has occupied a great deal of our time. The food has been great. Germans eat a lot of bread and meat like sausage, bologna, bratwurst - Don't worry, Sarah, I eat salad whenever it is available.
This is a soccer club called TSV Reidenburg. While we (the men's team) were there, we were able to pass out several tracts and set up a match with their team (U19s plus a few) for next Wednesday. Pastor Ruttgers has made contacts everywhere we have gone.
Pastor Ruttgers during Sunday services at Freie Baptistengemeinde in Ingolstadt.
The team is having trouble with the internet over there, so they are not able to post any new updates right now. Coach says everything is going well, and he will try to post soon. Please continue to pray--for opportunities to share the Gospel, for opportunities to edify the German believers, and for opportunities for the team members to grow in Christ~!
The last couple of days have been very full and I am starting to get more comfortable with the German keyboard. The Y and Z are switched and the shift and return keys are in a little bit different places.
Yesterday and today we learned a great deal about the German people and how they think. It was interesting to learn the philosophy and events that shape their attitudes toward the gospel. The presentations were mostly from Germans who are a part of the church in Erlangen.
Yesterday we also attended the midweek service and Jeremy Hargis, the men's coach from Pillsbury was able to preach. When he was first asked to speak, I was a little jealous, but when I saw how difficult it is to get used to using an interpreter, I quickly repented of my envy. He did a great job and I was glad to let him do it.
Today was our last daz of training at Erlangen. Tomorrow, I will travel to Ingolstad with the Maranatha men's team, the women's team will stay in Erlangen, the Pillsbury team will head to Bad Heilbrunn in southern Germany. It snowed there this week - but they are from Minnesota. Another group, that does not include soccer players will head north to Berlin.
Other parts of today were spent in talking about presenting the gospel. We are using the "Bridge" tract as it has been translated into German and Arabic just for this effort. We also spent good deal of time in corporate prayer for our upcoming ministry.
After supper we played our first matches of the trip. The men played Pillsbury to a 1-1 draw. Jeremy Hargis scored for Pills - a familiar sight for me since Jeremy and I played against each other when he was a student at NBBC. The men then defeated a team from the church in Erlangen 1-0 and then Pillsbury defeated the church team 3-1. I appreciate all the cheering for me from the women's team - even though it was embarrassing and I think the cheering was more sympathy for being slow. I also need to thank Jennifer Adam, Melissa Nichols and Abby Kalschuer for filling in as officials at the last minute.
Please pray as we travel tomorrow and as we enter the actual ministry phase of our mission. Also pray for several young men who heard the gospel from some members of the women's team this week.
We hope to post some pictures over the next couple of days.-C
Today was a long day. Most of us did not get back to the hostel until ten thirty. This will not be a long post since about half of the keys do not work on this keyboard. I#ll have to get a better one tomorrow. I think I saw an internet cafe on the way back - I might be able to get a better price than eight cents a minute. We scrimmaged the team from Pillsbury in the rain today. The field conditions were pretty poor. The final score was MBBC two Pills one. The number keys don#t work and onlz one of the shift keys work.
We also attended the Wednesdaz night service for the church in Erlangen. More tomorrow. -C
