“The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.”
- C.S. Lewis
“The worst crime of the desert is knowing where the water is and not telling.”
- Unknown
“What are we here for - to have a good time with the Christians or to save sinners?”
- Malla Moe
It's been hard for me to describe my feelings the past few weeks. I often feel that my desire to share the Gospel is more intense than with others, and this is reflected in this blog post, which I wrote last Sunday. Since last Thursday, we conducted an English camp and a children's camp. I will hopefully have time to post about those tomorrow.
After I arrived in Heidelberg on Wednesday afternoon, 17. July, I joined the team to practice our rendition of the Lifehouse Everything skit. The plan was to perform the skit while doing evangelism on Friday afternoon. After a quick dinner, we headed to the neighboring town of Sinsheim to visit a refugee camp. The refugees, who come from the Middle-East and north Africa, have paid to be trafficked into Europe (Germany, in particular). Because the refugees are in the EU illegally, the German government herds them into various camps, where the refugees must live until their asylum cases are granted or they are granted "tolerance". (Given Germany's not-so-distant past, one would think that the German government would be less inclined to consolidate unwanted people groups into camps.) Until receiving asylum status, refugees cannot work legally. They are provided with food of debatable quality and 200 Euros "allowance". Asylum cases are difficult for the refugees, because many were told by the traffickers to tell certain lies to the government upon reaching Germany in order to increase their chances of receiving asylum. However, the German government searches for inconsistencies and asks very specific questions attempting to catch the refugees in a lie. For many of these refugees, deciding to follow Jesus can be a reason to receive asylum, and many will truly ask Him into their lives. However, local judges have the authority to rule whether these decisions are "genuine", and no amount of paperwork from a church or statements from German believers seems to influence the rulings. Rather, judges seem to rule on conversions based on the amount of previous inconsistencies in refugees' stories. An asylum case can be appealed once, and if the appeal is denied, refugees can be granted legal "tolerance", which delays their deportation. Interestingly, many refugees destroy their paperwork before coming to Germany. In this way, the Germany government cannot deport them, because the government does not know to what country they should be sent.
I can certainly see the government's perspective on the situation. People from foreign countries are coming coming to Germany with a foreign culture, language, and way of life. Most of them don't have any sort of identifying papers, and the German bureaucrats, whose entire existence revolves around paper-pushing, must attempt to sort them out. These foreigners take arguably about 500 Euros per month from the German social system, factoring in allowance, food, and space to sleep in the camp, yet they pay nothing in taxes. In spite of this, I must sympathize with the refugees. The journey to Europe often involves much thirst, rape, and death, as much for the men as for the women. Those who survive the journey arrive in Germany only to find that they cannot work legally and must live together in camps. Three people or a family live in a room of about 120 sq. ft. The restrooms are often are very disgusting, with water from toilettes above leaking down to the bathroom below. (Toilette is probably an exaggeration. A better description would be hole in the floor.) There are no soap or paper towers in the restrooms, because the government argues that the children at the camp would break them. However, Autobahn rest-stops always have soap and paper towels. Food provided for the refugees is often stale or otherwise not in edible condition.
A small Christian organization, SAM, works with the refugees in this area to provide extra food, German classes, Bible studies, and also to press German bureaucrats to improve the living conditions in the camps. It was SAM workers who took us to visit the camps. Afterwards, the girls left, and the guys stayed behind to pass out bread to the children. (It is currently Ramadan, and only the children are allowed to eat during daylight.) Unfortunately, the refugees' situation has created a culture of dependence there. The children swarmed around us and each took two or three bread rolls/pretzels/sticks each, despite our protests to only take one. Not one child said "thank you", and one even had the nerve to bring back a piece that was slightly burnt on the bottom and complain. We stayed around another hour or two and visited with a very hospitable refugee from Iran who had recently been very ill. Overall, I was glad I visited the camp, and I wish I could go back. (Fun fact: 21 out of 83 people groups in Germany are considered "unreached" by the Joshua Project. It is estimated that only 1%-2% of the total population has relationships with Christ.)
On Friday morning, 19. July, I worked on the website. On Friday
afternoon, our team was supposed to evangelize and perform our rendition of the
Lifehouse Everything skit on the Neckarwiese. We were scheduled to work from
one to four, but as is typical for the team, wespent one to two-thirty
eating and they spent two-thirty to four chatting with each other on the Neckarwiese.
(Unfortunately, Alan made me accompany him on a fruitless errand during this
time, so I had no say in the matter.) At four, Alan and I returned with Mary,
and we performed our skit twice over the next hour. I would estimate that about twenty people saw our skit, and most of them were interested. Statistically, nineteen and
a half out of these twenty people are going to Hell; in spite of
this stark reality, I could not convince any of our team, including Alan, to talk with these people afterwards. I wound up talking with two
groups of people, four young adults (who had clapped after our performance) and a class of around twelve fifth graders. The class was particularly interested in my tracts, because they found the puzzle intriguing, and they had also just completed their first year of English. Each child took a tract, and one girl even took two extras for friends. Johnny came over and joined me talking to the class, and I asked him to share his testimony. He felt put on the spot but recounted in German how he decided to give his life to Christ when he was the age of these students. After talking to the children, Johnny and I joined the rest of the team, who had gone to buy ice cream. I shared with them about the awesome opportunity we had to share the Gospel with these children, but the group was more interested in telling us how one teammate had just frozen her lips to her ice cream bar. We had Friday evening off, but I decided to hang out with Ten Sing and spend more time getting to know the youth.
Saturday, 20. July, proved to be another stressful construction day. It started well, with Mary keeping us all busy, and we accomplished a good deal. She left after lunch, and everything went down hill from there. Alan kept us mainly standing around while he worked and rarely provided us with any jobs. I attempted to cut boards for the floor, but a teammate took that task from me. (This team member is very possessive of the flooring job, and has more than once referred to the area as "his" loft.) I gave up trying to do any work and just waited for Alan to tell me what to do. We eventually finished our flooring job and posed for pictures. I found this very upsetting; even though we did a small job for the CVJM, we wasted much time and money in doing that job. I feel rather ashamed to say I was a part of it, because it took a summer of work to finish something so simple.
I found out a few days later that the group went to our favorite local restaurant after work without inviting me. I wouldn't have wanted to go and spend more time with the group, but we have established a relationship with the restaurant's owner, and I (only I, unfortunately) have used that relationship to talk with the owner about Jesus. However, I was mainly upset because I wasn't invited. I know that sounds very childish, but our team has made such a big deal about being there for each other, loving one another, and spending time in "fellowship".
Sunday, 21. July, was a little better. Because the local protestant church service started before the CVJM service, I went to it to see what it was like. The music was very pretty, and I especially liked the organ. The church is pastored by a husband and wife who alternate Sundays. The wife preached on this particular Sunday about the Jesus healing the blind man in John 9. She made some good points in her sermon, but the sermon seemed rather fluffy. Perhaps that sermon is not typical of the church, because the members of the CVJM who live in Meckesheim seem to hold her in high regard. I was rather upset how very few people were in the service; by my count, there were no more than fifty. (However, I could not see who was sitting in the balcony.) Those in attendance were mostly senior adults. Petra told me this could be because there were about twenty parents and children who attended the church's monthly children's worship service. Still, this doesn't account for many more.
At the CVJM service, Nicole, Beth, Danjela, and I performed a skit to advertise for our then-upcoming English camp. During an open mic part of worship, Alan came up and said he had felt the Holy Spirit lay it on his heart that the church members were like sheep who all want to go in their own direction. He said that we must work together to accomplish something. I felt like Alan spent far too much time looking at me when he said all this. Still, the lack of a pastor and strong leadership combined with the tendency of some to be less-than-organized is a big problem at the CVJM. (Several people have mentioned to me that this problem caused a schism in the CVJM a few years back.) It was a good thing for Alan to say, and as passive as he is, it's good that he had the courage to say it.
I spent the rest of Sunday hanging around the house. Somehow, I wound up playing school with Timm, Jan, and their two Grandmothers. In the evening, I went back to visit Saint Martin's Chapel again before we live. I took my Bible to read, but I wound up having to go into town to read due to the abundance of bees that have recently taken to the German countryside in mass. As I was on my way home, I passed a van of my teammates and young people from the CVJM. It turns out they had gone back to the lake and not invited me. I wouldn't have wanted to go, but it still hurt that so many people, including some from the CVJM, would go again and not even tell me. I decided to make them feel really embarrassed, so I waved and flashed a very friendly smile. They looked surprised and embarrassed when they saw me. They drove away, but I passed by them at the train station, and they invited me to come chat with them. We talked for a while, and them I went home and skyped with my parents for two hours.
The next Monday and Tuesday consisted mainly of website work, especially Tuesday, when I put in several extra hours to make the site presentable so Mary could preview it later in the week. Monday evening, we met at Saskia's parents' house for a barbecue and social time. It was fun to see everyone for a little while, but I enjoyed working alone on Tuesday. On that Wednesday, we hung insulation in the loft and prepared for the English camp on Thursday.
I have not really been sure how to describe the time since I have come back from Bremen. I have had a muddle of feelings regarding the team, ministry, and purpose in Heidelberg. I often feel as though we pat ourselves on the back simply for playing missions. I feel like there's no real passion here to reach the lost; rather, we seem to spend a lot of time going through the motions. More and more, I lay down at night feeling a mixture of disappointment with my team, anger that we don't take our task seriously, and loneliness in that no one seems to realize just how serious our task is. In addition, there is not really anyone I can talk to about the problems.
A typical example of the problems is this story, which I had previously omitted from my blog:
In conclusion, Satan has searched out every way possible to interfere with the Lord’s work here in Germany. I know that God willed for me to be working here with the CVJM this summer. I really covet the prayers of my Lakeside family. Pray also that the team and the CVJM and my team remain focused on our work in the three days we have left.
I can certainly see the government's perspective on the situation. People from foreign countries are coming coming to Germany with a foreign culture, language, and way of life. Most of them don't have any sort of identifying papers, and the German bureaucrats, whose entire existence revolves around paper-pushing, must attempt to sort them out. These foreigners take arguably about 500 Euros per month from the German social system, factoring in allowance, food, and space to sleep in the camp, yet they pay nothing in taxes. In spite of this, I must sympathize with the refugees. The journey to Europe often involves much thirst, rape, and death, as much for the men as for the women. Those who survive the journey arrive in Germany only to find that they cannot work legally and must live together in camps. Three people or a family live in a room of about 120 sq. ft. The restrooms are often are very disgusting, with water from toilettes above leaking down to the bathroom below. (Toilette is probably an exaggeration. A better description would be hole in the floor.) There are no soap or paper towers in the restrooms, because the government argues that the children at the camp would break them. However, Autobahn rest-stops always have soap and paper towels. Food provided for the refugees is often stale or otherwise not in edible condition.
A small Christian organization, SAM, works with the refugees in this area to provide extra food, German classes, Bible studies, and also to press German bureaucrats to improve the living conditions in the camps. It was SAM workers who took us to visit the camps. Afterwards, the girls left, and the guys stayed behind to pass out bread to the children. (It is currently Ramadan, and only the children are allowed to eat during daylight.) Unfortunately, the refugees' situation has created a culture of dependence there. The children swarmed around us and each took two or three bread rolls/pretzels/sticks each, despite our protests to only take one. Not one child said "thank you", and one even had the nerve to bring back a piece that was slightly burnt on the bottom and complain. We stayed around another hour or two and visited with a very hospitable refugee from Iran who had recently been very ill. Overall, I was glad I visited the camp, and I wish I could go back. (Fun fact: 21 out of 83 people groups in Germany are considered "unreached" by the Joshua Project. It is estimated that only 1%-2% of the total population has relationships with Christ.)
On Thursday, 18. July, I went with Jonny and Nicole to spend a few
hours visiting with a woman from the CVJM named Silka. She fixed us a wonderful
lunch, and I also played chess with her nine-year-old son. He was very
enthusiastic about telling me how to play. I kept trying to set him up to win,
but he insisted that he would not take advantage of my mistakes! At the coffee
house social, we discussed morality. I don’t remember a thing that was said,
but there were even few people there than the week before. After the meeting, we hung around chatting about how Nutella and peanut butter taste different in other parts of the world.
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| The Gospel tracts that I am currently passing out. On the back is an explanation of the Gospel in English. |
Saturday, 20. July, proved to be another stressful construction day. It started well, with Mary keeping us all busy, and we accomplished a good deal. She left after lunch, and everything went down hill from there. Alan kept us mainly standing around while he worked and rarely provided us with any jobs. I attempted to cut boards for the floor, but a teammate took that task from me. (This team member is very possessive of the flooring job, and has more than once referred to the area as "his" loft.) I gave up trying to do any work and just waited for Alan to tell me what to do. We eventually finished our flooring job and posed for pictures. I found this very upsetting; even though we did a small job for the CVJM, we wasted much time and money in doing that job. I feel rather ashamed to say I was a part of it, because it took a summer of work to finish something so simple.
I found out a few days later that the group went to our favorite local restaurant after work without inviting me. I wouldn't have wanted to go and spend more time with the group, but we have established a relationship with the restaurant's owner, and I (only I, unfortunately) have used that relationship to talk with the owner about Jesus. However, I was mainly upset because I wasn't invited. I know that sounds very childish, but our team has made such a big deal about being there for each other, loving one another, and spending time in "fellowship".
 |
| Meckesheim's state-supported protestant church |
At the CVJM service, Nicole, Beth, Danjela, and I performed a skit to advertise for our then-upcoming English camp. During an open mic part of worship, Alan came up and said he had felt the Holy Spirit lay it on his heart that the church members were like sheep who all want to go in their own direction. He said that we must work together to accomplish something. I felt like Alan spent far too much time looking at me when he said all this. Still, the lack of a pastor and strong leadership combined with the tendency of some to be less-than-organized is a big problem at the CVJM. (Several people have mentioned to me that this problem caused a schism in the CVJM a few years back.) It was a good thing for Alan to say, and as passive as he is, it's good that he had the courage to say it.
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| The remains of Saint Martin's Chapel Watchtower/alter |
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| The loft, with (almost) finished sub-flooring and insulation |
I have not really been sure how to describe the time since I have come back from Bremen. I have had a muddle of feelings regarding the team, ministry, and purpose in Heidelberg. I often feel as though we pat ourselves on the back simply for playing missions. I feel like there's no real passion here to reach the lost; rather, we seem to spend a lot of time going through the motions. More and more, I lay down at night feeling a mixture of disappointment with my team, anger that we don't take our task seriously, and loneliness in that no one seems to realize just how serious our task is. In addition, there is not really anyone I can talk to about the problems.
A typical example of the problems is this story, which I had previously omitted from my blog:
A Pioneers staff member from the US visited us for a few days at the beginning of the month. The only time she and I ever had a serious discussion was her last night in Heidelberg. I was excitedly telling her about the surveys and the tram evangelism. I made a joke along the lines of "The Germans don't really know what to think when we do this sort of stuff. Culturally, you rarely approach someone you don't know in public and speak with them. Certainly the last thing they would want you to talk about it Jesus." The staff member replied, "Well, maybe you should talk with Mary and Alan about finding a culturally appropriate way of ministry."I sat stunned at how this staffer seemed not to understand the very Message around which her job revolved. The "culturally appropriate" method of evangelism in Germany is not to evangelize. Period. But that's the way it was in the first century. The first Christians died because of their offensive message. Many Christians around still die because of their message. We as believers claim to follow the Bible. However, there is not one red letter in that book that was culturally acceptable or polite. While tens of thousands around the world plummet into Hell every day, we as Christians remain silent because we don't want to be "pushy" or "rude" or because we are afraid of what people will think of us. We can forget about the genocides of Communist China and the Third Reich. The greatest atrocity in history is the Church's own apathy.
In conclusion, Satan has searched out every way possible to interfere with the Lord’s work here in Germany. I know that God willed for me to be working here with the CVJM this summer. I really covet the prayers of my Lakeside family. Pray also that the team and the CVJM and my team remain focused on our work in the three days we have left.
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