Thursday, December 30, 2010

More than conquerors

  "We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" Romans 8:37

Last night I had the opportunity to lead a Bible study at our place, looking at a few stories from 2 Kings, Exodus, and Matthew.   Specifically we we're looking at different times in the Bible when God was about to raise up a leader and begin a new Spiritual work.  It was interesting to me to see in Moses, Joash, and Jesus how during their infancy there was a massive undertaking to murder all the male children.  To me it's obvious that the Devil was stirring up these people to murder these children to try and stop the work God was going to do through them.

We're a new church, still in its infancy really, and the enemy would like to destroy us from the very beginning.  But thank God we have a intercessor, "greater is He who is within you, then He who is within the world." 1 John 4:4
In Moses' time, Joash and Jesus there was an attempt to kill them in their infancy, but God prevailed and rescued these children and they grew up to be leaders for the people of God.  We have victory and confidence that what ever the enemy throws at us we will stand in the Lord and the power of His might.
We stand in the victory Christ accomplished at the cross.

"(Jesus) having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it."  Colossians 2:14-15

We have been soaring on the prayers of the saints, for us and this church.  Any opposition we have faced so far has been really easily overcome, and I know that is because of your prayers.  Please continue to pray for us that God would continue to protect us and guide us and give us favor in this city.


~Paul

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas...

This was our first Christmas away from home...and it was a good one. We both skyped our families and ate an awesome breakfast, read Cosmic Christmas and watched The Nativity Story and It's a Wonderful Life. 

Here is what my sweet husband gave me for Christmas...it was the best surprise ever!

         

He built it out of sticks and stuff from the forest. So COOL! 

Here is our lil flea market Christmas tree...


   My gift to Paul was a new bike (since he's been riding ghetto ones this whole time) and I painted this dry erase board and of course gave him chocolate!


Here is our Christmas breakfast... last week Nada and I found frozen blueberries at the store and since they are not so common here I bought some. So we had blueberry pancakes, Cajun eggs and some Slovakian treats from the other night. Not as good as my mom's Christmas breakfast...but it wasn't bad either! :)


Later on we went for a little walk and built a snowman on our balcony! He looks pretty funny because he is totally not proportioned...lol






All in all we had an awesome Christmas! We did miss our families but praise the Lord for skype...we got to see them open their presents and everything...almost felt like we were there!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Pull out the Oplatky...



So there is a sweet Christmas tradition that my family keeps. Its called Velija or otherwise know as Stedry Vecer. Its a Slovakian meal that has been passed down the generations of Kaledas as well as other Slovak families. Now as an adult it really means so much more to me thinking of all the Christmas' that were spent with my grandparents at 537 Laurel street. Each bite was celestial and you could taste all the love that my grandmother had put into each dish. I love this meal for many reasons but the most important reason is that it is such a vivid reminder of what Christmas is really about...Jesus! His birth and His death, from the cradle to the cross. Each course in the meal is to be a reminder to us of this great truth. So needless to say, Paul and I had our very first Velija! And the Waldrops were our honored guests.


I will now explain the ins and out of theVelija dinner. First the table is set with straw and a white tablecloth, which has two meanings, 1) the straw represents the manger in which Jesus was born and 2) the white tablecloth represents His swaddling and tomb clothes. Traditionally the meal cannot start before the first star appears...once it does, the guests wash their hands in a basin with some silver coins, to signify a prosperous new year. The youngest in attendance receives all the coins. hehe









Once everyone has taken their seats the mother and father (Paul and I...lol) bring in two candles and the oplatky (which is basically a special communion wafer with the Christmas story imprinted on it...of course ours were already in pieces from the trip over!) Prayers are then offered and we take communion together. Then the mother (aka me) takes a bowl of honey and puts the sign of the cross on each persons forehead and gives them a blessing. This is also to remind us to keep Christ in the forefront of our thoughts. 


This is were the food comes in...there are traditional foods which are all hand made and have symbolic meanings. Here how it goes,


Machanka: A bitter mushroom/ sauerkraut soup. This is to remind us of the bitterness of sin. How our life was like without Christ.
Bolbiky:  Sweet bread balls rolled in poppy seeds and honey….represents the sweetness of life and salvation when Jesus, born in a manger, came to redeem man.
Fish:  A symbol of Christian faith in Jesus and His birth, death and resurrection. And also that Jesus said we are to be "fishers of men".
Pierogi:  Noodles stuffed with potatoes, onions and sauerkraut. A symbol of the work of our hands and God’s provision.
Peas:  Symbol for fertility.
Rice:  Symbol for the harvest of the land.
Bread:  Symbol of the sustenance of life provided both physically and spiritually as Jesus is the Bread of Life.
Halusky:  Noodles in sauteed cabbage. A symbol of the staples in life that God provides.
Nutroll or Kolaci: A strudel like thing filled with walnuts and poppy seeds on top. A very special treat reserved for Velija and Easter family gatherings.


In all the courses, recognition is given to God our Heavenly and Faithful Father , Jesus Our Redeemer and the Holy Ghost (Spirit) who gives us strength and guidance for a fulfilled life of faith.




 So thats Velija...took all day to make and only an hour to enjoy. I'm carrying on the traditions like a good lil' Slovak girl. Not gonna lie though...I was digging deep down to my Slovak roots to get all those pierogis made. lol










After the meal, we all exchanged gifts. The Waldrops are the best...they gave the coolest clock for our kitchen (which by the way we were in need of) and they also bought us the piece to our little laptop that we needed so that we can actually use it again! Thanks guys! 



We truly have so much to be thankful for this Christmas, God has been so good to us. None of this would ever be if it hadn't been for Jesus, His birth, death and resurrection. And the new abundant lives He has given us through the sweet salvation we have in Him. Thank You Jesus for Your love, for Your blood that was shed for us. Thank You that You are our King, our Priest and our Saviour! We want to make much of You...may we be Your witnesses in the nations! You are worthy of all praise, honor and glory! 





Vesele Vianoce a Stastlivy Novy Rok
 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. (in Slovakian)




Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Chris' Birthday

Today was Chris' 26th birthday! So we had a little birthday party/hangout day with him...it was great, Nada made a bunch of Chris' favorite foods and drink...it was yummy!

Happy Birthday Chris...may the Lord continue to pour out His Spirit and blessings upon you and your family in this new year of your life! We feel so blessed to have you has a friend and pastor...thank you for all your love, support, patience and service. Love you brother!


Chris and the boys blowing out the candle!


Simi in my rain/snow boots...lol






Friday, December 17, 2010

Winter Wonderland

So its been snowing here....like loads! And everything looks beautiful...see for yourselves! :)









Here is the view off our balcony:











Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Danke schön




We would like to thank all our supporters from this past month...you all completely paid for our rent! Such a blessing, thank you all so much! May the Lord bless you and keep you all!

Visas











Hey Everyone,

Thanks for your prayers...here is the update on our passport issues. We were unable to get the missionary visas as of right now due to the fact that we need to move all of next years money into our German bank account. Until we do that, they will not issue us a missionary visa...but the good news is that they did give us a three month extension. Yeah! So hopefully the currency exchange will improve and we will be able to move all the money that is required over. Thats all for now, thank you all for your prayers!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Passports...




Hey everyone,
Please be praying for us this week, our tourist visa is up on the 16th. So we are having to go into the customs office to get our missionary/ religious workers visa. The missionary visas are good for one year! Pray that we would have all the paperwork we need and favor with the custom officers. Thanks!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Here in Germany they have these amazing Christmas markets! The markets have these stalls full of beautiful toys, unique ornaments, yummy treats and of course the gluhwein stands. Gluhwein is a special holiday wine that is served hot and the Germans love it! I don't care for it much so I always order a Kinderpunch...which is a sweet spiced holiday tea...and its yummy!!!! We've been to the Münster Christmas market twice this week with friends and then we took a day trip to the big market in Dortmund. The market there has one of the largest Christmas trees in the world! So cool! Here are some photos....








Here we are with some of our friends....

 Also we got our little Christmas tree and just decorated it yesterday....but we are still waiting on a tree skirt, so right now it just sitting on a dish towel! lol


Before deco
After deco
Night shot
Hope you all are having fun getting ready for Christmas! :) Shalom


Btw did I mention that is snowing here again?! Goodness gracious!







Wednesday, December 1, 2010

The Advent Event



Thanks to those of you who were praying for us yesterday...it went awesome! It was such a cool event and we would like to thank our friend Judith for giving us the opportunity to be a part of it!


It was definitely a day of firsts for all of us! For starters, we all were confused and thought we were only going to be singing and sharing in front of about 20 or so people. The night before, we found out that it was gonna be 1,000+ people. Wow!!! And for those of you who know me....public speaking of any kind is really not my cup of tea. But I know the Lord puts me in situations like this to challenge me to trust Him.  And all I can say is that the Lord is faithful! He took away all our nerves and gave us peace. I was able to share, Nada was able to translate and Paul was able to sing! Praise the Lord!

God always amazes me...He thinks big! I prayed a few weeks ago that the Lord would open up some opportunities for us to reach the youth here in this city. I was thinking more like running into some kids, sharing with them, building some kind of friendship. Hahah not speaking in front     of 1,000+ of them at one time! Its really sweet actually because the Lord opened up two big doors within a week of each other... "Ask and you shall receive"

It so amazing for us to see all the doors the Lord is opening! Paul and I were talking the other night about how much God is moving in this city and how many opportunities He has given our team. The time of harvest is coming here in Münster...its ripe and its so cool being a part of it and seeing God answer so many prayers. And not just our prayers but your prayers for this city too! So keep praying cause He is doing some awesome stuff in Münster!




Thanks and God bless you all!




Monday, November 29, 2010

An Opportunity...





Please be praying...this week is the first Advent of Christmas and we have been invited to lead worship for a service at an all girl High school in Münster on Tuesday (Nov. 30).  They have asked if Becca would share a brief message with the girls at the school about her faith in Christ.  Please pray that the Lord guides us and blesses this event. 


Shalom 

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Clips of the worship night and thanksgiving...




Thank you all for the prayers....the youth worship night went amazing! This was the first organized youth group for this church (who btw has 80 kids) and it was an honor to play worship for them. Everyone seemed really blessed and above all the Lord was praised! 






Our Thanksgiving was a hit...the turkeys turned out great and we had all the authentic food! Stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, creamed corn, pumpkin pie, pecan pie (which Paul had to cracked open!) and of course some American football! It was great and our German friends truly enjoyed the cultural experience...
















 






And on top of that....we had the first snow of the season! And its suppose to snow all next week!




Shalom.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Thanksgiving Week!!!

Things are good here in Münster! We had our second successful service today...it truly is amazing what the Lord is doing here! This week there are two big events that you all can be praying for...one is for Paul, Chris and our friend Thiemo. They are going to be leading worship for a youth meeting at Thiemo's church. Their hope is to introduce contemporary style worship, to bless the youth and inspire them through worship. So please be praying for that.

Also, this Thursday we are hosting our first ever Thanksgiving Day fellowship. The whole church is invited and we are excited to share this day of thanks with our new friends here in Münster...and not to mention eating some American staples! :)

We truly have so much to be thankful this season...the Lord has seriously been blowing our minds and blessing our socks off!

To Him be all the glory and honor and praise...for He is WORTHY!

Thank you all for all you prayers, love and support!

Shalom