Returning home

This Christmas was really busy for us.  There was a special Christmas eve service that we hosted that went very well.  I also was invited to play some Christmas songs for a Christmas party with a friend here which was a really cool opportunity to share Jesus with a large group outside of the Church.

On Sunday Chris had asked me to share a message with the Church about our testimony of coming to Germany and all the things the Lord has been teaching us since we came here.  I shared from Genesis 22 which was concerning Abraham sacrificing Isaac to the Lord.  The message was really focused on sacrifice and obedience to the Lord, trusting God for things in our lives that will only make sense when looking at them in reverse.  Quite a few people gave me positive feedback that the Lord had really spoken to them through this message.  I'm praising God for all He's been doing here in our lives and in our Church, I know He who began this good work will be faithful to complete it.

This month has been busy as we are preparing to move home to the states.  Selling and finding new homes for all our things is proving to be a little bit more difficult that I had anticipated. We have to deal with some paper work and utility companies, cancel all our services and such (all in German).  Germans are very pedantic about paper work it seems.  This move is going to be pretty stressful for us and we really ask that you all would be praying that God gives us favor and helps us to finish well.
Our flight is scheduled for February 4th in the morning from Frankfurt to New York and we will be driving from New York to Washington D.C.  The last few times we flew home we got hit with snowstorms so hopefully Lord willing we break that trend this time!

Here's a picture of us all skating in Hamburg on one of the biggest outdoor skating rinks in Europe!

Jesus Freaks!

This weekend we were unable to meet at the Y.M.C.A. but fortunately the "Jesus Freaks" have a building downtown and they let us use it on Sunday morning.  It was a sweet experience to be able to meet downtown and worship the Lord together.  There were quite a few new people that came and visited us.  It's really beautiful to see how God has given us favor and provided all our needs here.  Our fellowship here has been very well received by the other Churches in Muenster and there really is a sense of unity here that is really strengthening all the Churches.

There will be a few more special services this month, and some outreach opportunities.  Please pray that these events go well and the Lord guides us in all that needs to be accomplished in the next weeks.

One year anniversary!

"I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens, And Your truth to the clouds. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth." Psalm 57:9-11

This last Sunday we celebrated our one year anniversary since our church officially started!  We had a wonderful time together praising God for what He has done this past year.  Our official documents for government recognition of our Church and our non-profit status were signed and authorized this week as well. For us this marks a very important milestone! God has accomplished what we have been praying for. This church has become an established fellowship here in Muenster.

It's been a difficult journey to get here and we've had to press through some serious opposition, but God has been faithful to provide for all our needs every step of the way.  This job that I have been working for the past eight months with Microsoft has been an amazing unexpected blessing and provision for us to afford living here. Right now I'm still working at Microsoft but I will be finishing my contract at the end of November. Our visa's will expire in March so I wanted to have the next few months to focus on helping there be a smooth transition of the worship ministry as well as getting everything sorted out with our apartment before we have to move out the end of January.

Thank you so much for those who have prayed and supported us this year.  These next few months will be challenging with all these transitions happening.  We will be coveting your prayers more than ever as we want to finish our race strong. Thank you for your love and support!

Shalom~ Paul

A lil' update...

Hey everyone,
Thought I'd give an update on all that has happened over the past few weeks.

First, as many of you already know my grandmother "Granny" went home to be with the Lord on October 6th, 2011. Just shy of her 88th birthday. She entered eternity with amazing strength and courage as her last days were tough since she was in so much pain. But now she is united with her Savior, children, husband and many other loved ones who were there to welcome her. On October 8th Paul and I flew home in order to be with my family and attend her funeral. It was a sweet time, as all of my family from all over the East Coast came to Virginia. Granny's funeral was beautiful, held in an old country church she would have loved. Mr. Noel shared a lovely message. My sister and her friend sang an a capella piece and Paul played an old hymn that was one of Granny's favorites. Following the funeral service was a reception with amazing homemade foods prepared by our many friends. Thank you all for your labors of love and for all your thoughts, prayers and encouragements over these past weeks. I know I can speak on behalf of my whole family...we were truly blessed.

We stayed in Virginia for a week, just enough to get over our jet lag before we had to return to Germany.lol But we did get to do a family outing the day before we left. We went to Catoctin Mountain Orchard/Market and bought up a bunch of goodies like pumpkin butter, fresh apples and spiced tea. Than we drove to Lancaster, Pa to take Paul to see the play Joseph at the Sight and Sound Theater. It was amazing of course. Cannot wait to see their new production next year!

Anyways, Paul and I returned home to a busy week. Paul went back to work right away, I started a new job as being a nanny/helper for a German family here in Münster. And the students from the Bible College in Siegen were here on outreach week. We loved hanging with them, we had great conversations and fellowship with these lovely guys and gals. Here some clips for you to enjoy from our musical evening:

(Please note that Simi is playing the harmonica to an ole hobo song...so legit!)

Anyways, that is all for the Ainslie's at the moment. Hope you all are having a great week!



Shalom

South Carolina and such...

Can't believe it is already October! Crazy!

Our trip to the States was awesome! We spent a week at Myrtle Beach with our family. We ate amazing food, soaked up some sun rays, played epic sessions of mini golf, went to a crazy Pirate show and shared many laughs. It was also Josh's 16th Birthday and my parent's 27 wedding anniversary...lots of reasons to celebrate! We then journeyed to Virginia beach for the Oceana Naval Air Show...which sadly was mostly rained out. But we did get to see some fighter jets fly! And we spent our last night home celebrating our cousin Luke's birthday complete with the traditional Kaleda Birthday candle, ice cream cake and fireworks!

Paulie...he is pretty excited about his donut!

Eating at Painter's World Famous Ice Cream

Me and Dad at Hot Stacks for breakfast! Yum.

Lil'MamaG and Joshie

Sisters

Our mermaid man!

Sarah and Levi on the ride up to the first mini golf hole of the night!

Tina and Kevin...

Beautiful Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Pirates...

Partners in crime...

Mom and Dad cutting the cake...27 years of Marriage.

Alex and Mr. Hotdog

Sarah with the Mouse King at the Christmas store

The winners of Hawaiian Rumble golf final 2011

Luke's Birthday Candle :)

We had a wonderful trip fellowshipping with our family and getting some rest and sunshine! Sorry we were unable to visit many of our friends this trip, hopefully we will see you all in the spring! 

Shalom