Moving to Germany!!!

Our story of how God called us to Germany starts in 2007 while I was studying and serving in Siegen Germany at Calvary Chapel Bible College. This was an amazing time in my life where I began to really hear God’s voice and to be filled with His love for the lost. It was here that I realized my calling to be a missionary and also met my wife Becca.

Since that wonderful time we had in Germany, God has lead us through quite a few different seasons. Immediately after we left Germany, Becca began a six month mission trip with S.E.N.D. Ministries serving in Morocco. During this same time I was interning at CCBC Ensenada Mexico. I was responsible for leading worship and setting up their computer systems and was blessed to be part of the very first semester of classes on that campus. The time Becca and I spent apart during our engagement was difficult but fruitful. Communication during that season of separation was very limited, but God was working great things in both of us. The difficulty of being separated actually helped to knit our hearts together. We were married on May 30, 2009 and we both felt certain that the Lord was calling us into full time missions as husband and wife.

This past year has also been very eventful for us. We spent three months last fall serving with Steven and Pat Apple in Tel Aviv, Israel where I was leading worship every week with the congregation in Hebrew and English. Every week we helped out at the soup kitchen, and helped with a food distribution with the Sudanese refugees. Because of Israel’s strict visa laws we could only stay three months before we had to leave. While we were serving in Israel, the Lord reconnected me with an old friend from Germany named Chris Waldrop. He told me about how God had given him a vision to plant a church in Northern Germany in a city called Münster.

Before I talked to Chris, and while we were serving in Israel, something interesting was happening. We were constantly meeting Germans, and we really started to have a strong desire to connect with them. Initially we thought that God was perhaps leading us back to Siegen to serve at the Bible College. But when Chris invited us to be a part of a new church, we knew why God had been stirring our hearts for the German people. After praying into this invitation we felt convinced that Münster, Germany was exactly where God wanted us to go next.

Chris, his wife Nada and their two children, Simeon and Levi, have been living in Münster for several months now. They have connected with many local believers in the area and have been holding a weekly Bible study and prayer meetings. It is their desire to begin holding Sunday morning services as soon as possible. Their need is for a worship leader, help for teaching and caring for the children attending. In Siegen I used to lead worship in German so I feel confident I can pick it up again. Becca has a lot of experience and loves working with children. We both have a heart for youth, for sharing the gospel and music, so this seems to be a perfect place where God can use our gifts.

Our flights have been booked for the 15^th of September. We will return to the states towards the middle of January when we hope we can reconnect with everyone and share more about what the Lord is doing in Germany. Until then we will be sending updates out through our blog and through email. In February we’re planning on returning to Germany.

Please keep us in prayer. We know that whenever God is moving powerfully there is strong opposition and we need believers to be praying for us and for the work in Münster.

Danke,

Paul and Becca Ainslie

Camp Sandy Cove West Virginia

I've been living at Camp Sandy Cove in the hills of West Virginia for the past few months, working as the unit director for the 12-16 year old kids of camp. This has been a joyful, wonderful, challenging and fulfilling ministry. We have camp from Sunday to Sunday every week of summer, and every week has a program full of spiritual enriching time at chapel (where I get to preach three times a week), at cabin Bible studies and at devotions every day.
Every single week of camp we have seen kids who were initially resistant to the Gospel, give their hearts to Christ by the end of the week.

This has been such a fruitful time for the kingdom of God. I've seen God working in the staff in deep and profound ways, as well as in all the kids that have been here so far. For myself I've had to really press into God's word because I'm preparing two bible studies and three chapel messages a week. It's been really challenging for Becca and I because we don't see each other much during the week, I only have one day off a week so even when I do see her it's brief. She works full time as a care taker for her aunt with brain cancer back in Woodbridge Virginia, about 2 hours away.

As challenging as it might be being here, I wouldn't trade it for the world. God is working powerfully and I know I'm exactly where he wants me. This has been an invaluable experience of growth and maturity in my life.

Thank you all for your prayers and support, God is answering.

Shalom ~Paul

Pictures from our Israeli road trip....

1. Bethlehem

2. Ibex in En Gedi

3. Hidden Waterfall in En Gedi

4. Paul swimming in En Gedi

5. Mud

6. Dead Sea

7. Jordan river

8. Mount of Beatitudes

9. Banias falls

10. Nimrods Fortress

More photos are on the flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/la-merla/

Our last week in Israel...

We have less than a week left here in the land of Israel! We are very sad to be leaving this place and all our wonderful friends here! The past few weeks have been so full...here is a small recap.

Last week we traveled, spent a few nights in Jerusalem with our friends from SEND. Went on a day trip to Bethlehem. Spent a night in En Gedi, went to Masada and took a dip in the Dead Sea. We then drove up north to a city called Katzrin (in the Golan) where a sweet Pastor named Steve put us up in their ministry apartment. The next day was a busy one as we tried to see as much as we could....we did good though, hit up ten biblical sites in one day! We returned to Tel Aviv late Friday night and moved in with an Egyptian family from the church that we are close with. They have been so kind to us and we have so enjoyed living with them! We will be spending the next week serving and trying to meet up with all our friends before we leave on Tuesday!

As we have been reflecting on all the Lord has done these past months we have been so overwhelmed by Him. We did not know what these months were going to look like before we came, we just came in faith knowing that this is where the Lord wanted us to be. Yet now seeing all that the Lord done in these short months...we believe the fruit of this season we will be eating from for a long time to come. The Lord has so enlarged our hearts; He has established wonderful friendships and has taught us many truths about Himself. In this season we have gleaned many things, been refined and inspired to go even deeper.

The Lord has opened many doors before us regarding the next step in this journey of life. We are very excited about all these opportunities and to see where the Lord will lead us next! Life with Jesus is an adventure, fresh and exciting, its unpredictable in many ways but the one thing that is always predictable is the fact that we serve an awesome God who is radical, always faithful and worthy! His works are marvelous in our eyes!

Thank you all so much for all you love, support and prayers! We are blessed to know that there are people back home in the states praying for us....how much more is the Lord blessed to hear the prayers His saints! Love you all and we will see you soon!