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If we follow God's leading, even when the path seems challenging or unclear, His provision will always precede us. In other words, if we live in God's will, His favor will go before us and open doors that can never be opened or broken down by anyone. Especially in the area of finances, God has led us marvelously during our time in Bible College. A brief recap It will soon be a year since we decided to spend another school year in the US. At the time, we didn't have the slightest idea how we would finance this school year. Our savings were slowly coming to an end and we had no chance of generating income through a job due to our visa. Knowing that we were in God's will if we stayed at Bible College for another school year, we trusted in our heavenly Father - who created the heavens and the earth - that His provision was already there, even if we couldn't see it yet. This decision was immediately followed by the first obstacle. In order for our student status to be approved for another year, we had to show a large five-figure sum ($46'730) in advance, which we didn't have. The amount was even a lot higher than in the first school year because we also had to pay school fees for Betty and Johann's fees for the 3rd school year are slightly more expensive than for the 2nd. What sounds like a bigger challenge, and actually was from a mental viewpoint, God used to speak to us through the story of 2 Kings 4:1-7. Once again another example that God speaks and gives guidance in our lives through his word about 95% of the time. The Bible passage is the story of the widow who came to Elisha and asked for help. 1. Make use of what you already have! Instead of relieving her need and giving her money, Elisha was inspired by the Lord to ask her what she had in her house. She replied, “ Nothing but a jar of oil!” We stumbled over her answer. Because, literally, this was exactly the same answer we had given when we were faced with our money problem. “Nothing but...!” Suddenly, needing more money than we had, we no longer appreciated our current account balance. So - we believe we heard from God - God said: “ Treasure what you already have and use it so that I can multiply it. ” In our eyes, it was nothing special. In God's eyes it is valuable and if we have faith in Him, He can multiply it! And we acted accordingly. From then on, we adopted a thankful attitude every day and spoke blessings over our account balance. What may sound a little strange to you was the reality for us. We realized that we could not handle this situation in our strength (which was never supposed to be the plan, by the way) and that God had to be our source. A temporary solution would not get us far. We learned to focus on what we already have and not on what we don't have yet. God uses what we currently have and multiplies it in His own way. The widow must have had faith, otherwise she would not have followed Elisha's instructions. Obviously, the little bit of oil wasn't even enough for the one jar she had, let alone the others she was to borrow. The meaning was clear. God would multiply the oil if she took the step of faith to take the little she had and pour it into other jars. And that is exactly what happened! 2. Act where you can. God has already spoken his blessing! If we have a word from God, we can do it because it has already been placed in us and been blessed. We can rely on God's promises and assurances. “It is the LORD'S blessing that brings wealth, and no hard work can add to it. - Proverbs 10:22 (ERV)” This does not mean that we simply overlook the reality of life. But we do not allow circumstances to dictate how we proceed. We must recognize that God's word is above everything and will certainly come to pass. If you look at an airplane and see how it flies in the air, you will notice that the force of gravity is not suspended. It is more that another law of nature, namely the principle of “ buoyancy”, ensures that an airplane flies. It is the same with blessing and faith. Reality is not invalidated, but the blessing will trump reality. But for this to happen, we also have to let the plane take off. We didn't just sit back and do nothing. Rather, our prayer was that God would give us favor with people and create opportunities that did not violate the laws of the government. There were opportunities here and there for us to help people.   3. Start right where you are! We tend to look at what we don't have instead of what we do have. Jesus' disciples looked at the crowd and not at the boy's lunch. They thought the five loaves and two fish would not be enough. But when they gave Jesus what little they had, he gave thanks and it was blessed. What they had rejected fed the whole crowd afterwards (John 6:1-15). Just like the widow, the Lord has given each of us something that will multiply if we give it to the Lord in faith.    How our story turned out... Just a few days after we decided to do another school year, two people contacted us who were willing to lend us the money we needed to stay safely in the US. We took this offer into our prayers and this is what we believe we heard: “Take it, you will need it for the visa, but you won't have to use a penny of it during your time in school.” Again, an answer for the current situation but no information about what happens after that. And that's exactly what we did. A few months later, we were contacted by the Swiss tax authorities. As we had paid taxes for the previous full year, we were credited with a larger amount after filing our tax return. We had not been aware of this and were of course very happy. With the help of our monthly partners and this amount we would be able to cover 75% of our costs. Many thanks again to all those who support us financially every month! Then, at the end of November, the surprise! Our school contacted us to let us know that an anonymous donor from the US had given us a large sum that will now cover 100% of our costs until the end of our school year. Once again, something we absolutely did not see coming. At first we thought it was a SPAM mail. But the school confirmed the donation the next day. As if that wasn't enough, two days later we received another large donation from Germany. We gratefully accept these blessings from the hand of our Father and pray that this financial blessing will come back to the donors in a great way. God writes his story with each of us in his own way, if we let him. As with the widow or the feeding of the 5,000, “little” is much when combined with faith. In our guestbook you can read from Ronja from Switzerland how God helped her and her family financially. We pray that this testimony will bless you. Ps: Speaking of finances, Betty is fully funded for her mission trip! Wohoo - we thank God for each and every one of you who contributed. God will surely repay you!

Our blog is kind of like a diary for us - and wow, another 4 months of the school year have already passed. At the end of November, we had a break for a week around the Thanksgiving holiday. We enjoyed the relaxing days, sleeping in and simply having some rest. After the final three weeks of school for 2024, we are now in the middle of the Christmas break.   We are grateful! How God made this school year possible and simply provides generously for us. A big thank you to everyone who thinks of us and builds us up in prayer. It is an intense time and we would not have come this far on our own. Incredibly grateful for Sunniva, who looks after Elijah every morning. We can tell that Elijah is doing well and is thriving. The other three children are like big siblings and he talks about them a lot. We are very grateful for our home situation, where we can welcome friends and serve others. Thank you so much for all of you who let yourselves be led and support our studies here financially. These are your treasures in eternity and seeds in this time from which you can expect a great harvest. Thank you so much! for all who are involved in sending Betty and her team and basically all second year students to the mission field. We are convinced that in heaven you will be thanked by the people we are able to meet and serve. We are so grateful for all the people here who are on the same journey with us. With whom we can share and build each other up. Two weeks ago we were able to celebrate Johann's 29th and Elijah's 2nd birthday with some friends. I (Betty) am very grateful for the lives of these two!😉   Right now we are very grateful for a week in a vacation home in the mountains in the forest. For us, it is a week of focus, recharging and lots of time as a small family in a small space. That's how we love it. While we hang around a bit between the years and wait for the new year, the question of what happens after we graduate in May is also lingering in the air for us. We know that God is calling us back to Germany for the long term with a mission and we are looking forward to telling you more about it in due time. We are currently listening to what God has planned for us until He places us in this calling. Thank you for praying with us for clarity for this time.   We hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your families. Jesus Christ, our King, came into our world as a baby. We celebrate this gift from God! A new, blessed year lies ahead of us all. We are committed to walking in God's blessing and sharing it generously with those around us. Above all, we want to help people to enter into this blessing themselves by bringing God closer to them and sharing His love. We invite you to join in too. Share God's love with the people around you by doing good and speaking kind words. Invest your finances to expand God's kingdom by supporting people or organizations that are committed to doing so. Let's be faithful in the little things in the coming year, whatever that means for you personally. Every effort for God's kingdom counts and will expect a great reward.   God is with you in the year 2025. As your Father (Isa. 63:16), your God who saves you (Psalm 68:21), who sees you (Gen. 16:13). HE is your healer (Ex. 15:26), HE is your strength (Psalm 28:7), HE is your righteousness (Jer. 23:6) and HE is your helper (John 14:16). We would also like to take this opportunity to reiterate that we are here for you if you need prayer or have any questions. We are not very geographically close to most people, but you can find our e-mail addresses on the contact page and you can also reach us via all the other usual channels. And if you would also like to contribute to Betty's mission trip, you can do so via the following link. Alternatively, you can also send us the amount via Paypal or to one of the accounts under the Donate tab. https://grouprev.com/charismissiontrip-bettina-nachtigall

Most of you know that Johann also made his mission trip to Wyoming in December 2023. That's one of the reasons why this trip is so exciting for me. I have a certain idea of the trip - but who knows that image and reality are often very different?! 😉 In the first weeks of school we had a course called “Mission Trip Vision”. Several teachers introduced us to the vision and heart behind missions trips. In the first lesson, Carrie Pickett shared with us God's words from Jeremiah 1:4-5+7-9. God doesn't waste time and resources. Not even mine. Where He sends me, He prepares encounters, prepares hearts so that the people I will be speaking to are ready to receive His Word. In the last blog, I wrote that mission is not optional. Jesus calls us to do so in Mt. 28:19-20. It is about the hearts of the people we reach with the message of Him. It's about lives that are radically changed because they experience how much God loves them. After his missions trip, Johann and I had talked a lot about the mission field in Wyoming and the people there. As a result, I already have an insight into the living conditions of the Native Americans on the reservation where we will be serving. Nevertheless, our missions and activities will be different, particularly because Johann left in December and I will be leaving in April. Before we knew which outreach each student would be going on, the missions coordinator shared with us that she and her team are praying over each student and asking God what the right outreach location is for them. So when we met in our groups for the first time, each of us had the task of sharing our salvation testimony in 4 minutes. And it was just so exciting to hear how every one of those testimonies fit so perfectly into the environment we were going to be in. Native Americans are a very nature-oriented, spiritual people. However, because they have been practically locked up on reservations, have their own legal system and are paid monthly by the state, they also have major problems. Depression, hopelessness, apathy, domestic violence and abuse of women, children and drugs are prevalent. We will spend a lot of time with children and young people, but we will also go to elderly and rehabilitation centers and possibly more. The majority of our group grew up Christian and accepted and strongly experienced Jesus as children. Some have strong stories of how they sought fulfillment in alcohol and drugs until they realized that Jesus is the only answer to the question of purpose in life. Others came into contact with the supernatural world at an early age, sometimes in a negative way, through parents who were searching for truth themselves. All these stories and what God has done with them - how he has transformed our lives - will help us to bring hope where there is hopelessness. We are preparing together to bring the Light to the people of Wyoming. Jesus. He brings light into the darkness and gives meaning to your life. He did it for me - he will do it for you. This is not about me, it's about Christ in me. It is God's Spirit that brings life, that brings transformation. Through our missions trip, God will be magnified. We can't go in our own strength and God doesn't ask us to. He has equipped us with everything we need. We just need to recognize that and then act on it. Walk boldly and listen to the Spirit within us, according to John 14:26. Out there is a world that has been robbed, beaten and left half dead. Do we look away, do we change sides of the road? Or do we have compassion, clean and bind up the wounds and bring them to a place where they can heal? (Luke 10:25-37) The Samaritan and the innkeeper worked together to do this. I am convinced that God is also calling us to work together. Your financial contribution for the missions trip to Wyoming is worth as much as going yourself and serving with God's love. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your contribution - no matter how much it is. https://grouprev.com/charismissiontrip-bettina-nachtigall Blessed, to be a blessing. 🤍 Betty

In last Sunday's service we had a guest speaker. Dr. Jerry Williamson is the president of Go To Nations. An organization that equips both sent-ones and senders to spread the good news to the ends of the earth. Mission isn't optional! God loved the world so much that he - gave... He gave everything. To reconcile us with Himself and to turn hopelessness into hope. We have this message and the privilege, as well as the command, to tell everybody about it. In April, I am able to be part of a mission team and will be going to Wyoming, USA. We are being sent as a team so that the Holy Spirit can reach the people. And I am so excited to see what God will do through us. Every missions outreach includes those who are sent out and those who send. Our team of sent out ones is already complete 😉 But we do need senders. Partners who sow finances and thus also become a part of this outreach. If you would like to send me out financially, you can do so using this link. If you have any questions or difficulties, please do not hesitate to contact me. https://grouprev.com/charismissiontrip-bettina-nachtigall You can be sure that your financial seed will also produce a harvest. (2 Cor. 9:6) Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing a bit more about our outreach. It's still quite a while until April and I will keep you updated with any news. Until then, my focus continues to be on experiencing more of God's love and being changed by His Spirit. God bless you! Betty P.s.: If you would like to support other members of my team, please contact me and I will send you the right links!

That's kind of what it felt like to start this school year. :-D We came back from Canada on Thursday evening and started school straight away on Friday. Johann spent the day at home with Elijah to give him some time before Elijah's everyday life would change so much. After the summer, we are living here in Colorado in the same house as last school year. Apart from the address, however, a lot has changed. In August and September, we had a young German family in our house who also came to the USA for Charis Bible College. They have since found a nice apartment for themselves in Woodland Park and moved there. With three less people in the household, things are a lot quieter in our house now. We are using the time to put invitations into action that were already extended during the last school year. Every now and then, we can also get rid of excess energy in the yard. We prune bushes and trees and tidy up leaves. In the process, we have discovered new residents. The little snakes feel right at home here and Betty has already rescued one from the basement shaft. The fact that we are both going to school this year has also changed a lot for Elijah. We take him to the babysitter every morning and pick him up again at lunchtime after school. Elijah spends six hours there from Mon-Fri. That's why we took this matter to God already a year ago. It mattered a lot to us that Elijah didn't get panicky when he was left with the babysitter. If that had been the case, one of us would have stopped studying. Our family is very important to us and comes before our studies and work. Saying goodbye was hard every time for the first two weeks and it also happened that we had to leave with tears in our eyes. However, our babysitter always texted us within 10 minutes that everything was fine and that Elijah was playing happily. We are incredibly grateful for Sunniva, she is such a blessing for us and we have great confidence in her! The way she organizes the day with the children has positively surprised us. We are always amazed at how many different play opportunities she creates every day to offer the children lots of variety. Meanwhile, Elijah is already asking about the other children (Sunniva has two daughters of her own and the son of another student family is also with her) and has the best time in the morning. We are so grateful that he has settled in so well and are convinced that God is with him during this time. In the last 6 weeks at school we have already learned so much and it is very important to us to use this year to allow ourselves to be changed even more by God's Word and Spirit. We are here because of Him. For Betty, the second school year has become a whole level more practical. This year includes a mission trip, about which we will share more. She will also be practicing sharing her testimony in interactive groups in a few minutes and also talking about Bible verses or topics in 3-7 minutes. These interactive groups are made up of the Mission Teams. This will help them get to know each other really well for the trip. What is more practical for Betty is all hands on deck for Johann. A lot is required in ministry class and Johann also has to invest a lot outside of school. In addition to exegesis of Bible texts and preparing sermons, he also has to invest 2 hours a week in a church or ministry and collaborate on projects. We are challenged, but we also know that we are living in God's will and therefore have grace for this time. It is an exciting time and there is nothing better than being on God's way!

Everything going wrong? Looks a lot like it, at least... There we were! Kind of speechless and looking at each other baffled. We had just finished the phone call with the lawyer and heard that our internship had apparently been illegal and that, from his point of view, we had no chance of getting out of here clean, except to leave the country as soon as possible. Had we made a mistake? No, we went into the internship with the peace of God. Even though we experienced many challenges beforehand, this peace never left us. And looking back, we can already see the blessings from this time, especially for us. Even before we left in August 2023, we knew that we would be spending the summer of 2024 in the USA. So we left and took one step after the next, often with the question, God, what next? Still right? Once we got to the point where we were already looking at return flight tickets to Germany. The next day, we got the confirmation for the internship. We wrote that we had contacted a lawyer and, with his advice, submitted our applications for the summer. What we didn't expect was the long processing time for the applications. The internship was almost over and still no progress. And here we are - three weeks before school starts and the lawyer we had just spoken to (the first one was on vacation, so here's another lawyer) informs us of our “unlawful presence”. Ha - how could that happen?   We refuse to get stressed, talk to God and to our roommates and Pastor John. Betty's parents are almost on the plane to spend two weeks with us. We can't do anything right now anyway and two or three more weeks won't matter. So we continue to wait, remain in the peace of God and listen to what He tells us. Again and again we ask whether our journey ends here and continues somewhere else. But we hear nothing. So we stick to what God has told us before: Two years of school in the USA including summer. We have made an appointment with the lawyer from spring to get a second opinion and are waiting for him to return from vacation. Until then, we are enjoying our time with Betty's parents. However, Betty's parents' vacation also gets off to a bumpy start. The landlord of the vacation apartment that Betty's parents had booked leaves us stranded. Twenty unanswered calls later - our parents are spending the night in a hotel. The next morning, we get in touch with the contacts on the booking site and after they are also unable to reach the landlord, they promise to refund us the full amount and also cover the hotel costs. Via the Charis Facebook page, we get in touch with a woman who rents out student apartments as Airbnb over the summer. She still has a vacant apartment and lets us use it for two weeks at a very generous price. We are incredibly grateful for that. We have a great time in Woodland Park and Betty's parents spend a lot of time with Elijah.   On Monday morning we have a video session with the lawyer from Spring. He doesn't see us in conflict with our status and assesses our situation positively. However, his recommendation to quickly return to student status would cost us around USD 5,000. Quite a lot of money... We are not sure that his recommendation will actually be effective and continue to look for a solution ourselves. We contact one office almost 10 times via the chat function and every agent gives us a different answer. It's not easy to stay calm in all this chaos. But very possible with God. And a strong testimony to praying in tongues. It builds us up again and again. Our contact person at the school is told by her advisor that we should simply cross the border into Canada or Mexico. However, we had read in advance that this would not be a good idea. Nevertheless, we set off in search of someone who could judge the safety of this route for us. Again, different answers from the same office. Betty waits on hold for over two hours to speak to the US border authorities. Here we get a generally positive answer - but for Betty a document is missing that we would not receive in time for the start of school. During the call, we come across a page on the Internet that it is possible to apply for a visa at the U.S. consulate in Canada. There may be greater obstacles for non-Canadian residents, but it is possible. We go with that. Betty fills out all the paperwork and gets to the point where she has to book an interview appointment in the system. 'System is busy.' She doesn't get in all day. Early the next morning, she calls the hotline and is told that because she doesn't live in Canada, she doesn't have priority and therefore has to wait until an appointment opens up. Doesn't sound promising. She gets a second number. She calls again and this time the gentleman on the other end of the line seems to really want to help. He searches until he is able to find an appointment and then explains the process for requesting an emergency appointment. The appointment he found is in August 2026 - lol. But we agree. It's the only way to have a chance of an emergency appointment. Betty fills out the next form and the emergency appointment is approved the next day. Hallelujah - the appointment is on August 27 at 7.45 a.m. in Calgary, Canada. We book plane tickets and an Airbnb. Unfortunately, we have to leave a day earlier than Betty's parents, but they enjoy their last day with a hike before heading back to Germany. Our trip goes well and we set off early on Tuesday morning. It's a 10-minute walk to the consulate.   "Everything that could possibly go wrong goes wrong here. Before I get to the interview, I have to go through 5 different checks. Either security checks like at the airport or documents that are pre-checked. I get into difficulties at 4 of these 5 stops. Everyone notices something that is wrong or not allowed... Especially me, who usually reads everything through to the end and also reads the small print, didn't see various important pieces of information. After the third check, I'm on the verge of tears. But no - I remember that my focus is on Jesus, that I am here because he has called me and opened the doors. He can make up for any mistake. As I sit in the waiting room, I build myself up on my most holy faith and pray in the Spirit. And I can then calmly take the next step. Again, this reveals a huge mistake that I absolutely cannot explain. But the officer is friendly and corrects the wrong number for me. The interview is short and after a few questions the official confirms that my visa will be approved. I ask how soon I will get my passport back, as classes start on Friday. She sticks an express note on my passport, but can't guarantee that it will be ready by Thursday. So we wait again. Nothing to do but trust God and use the time to explore Calgary. Our return flight is scheduled for around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The weather is nice again and we spend the morning in the city and in parks. I keep checking my emails for a message from the consulate that my passport is ready for collection. If it doesn't arrive on time, Johann and Elijah will take the flight we booked and I will come after them. We are back at the Airbnb shortly before 12 noon so that Elijah can have his afternoon nap. While I give him something to eat, I call the consulate's call center to see if anyone has any status information. I'm still on hold when the expected email finally arrives: I can pick up my passport at the consulate at 3 pm. That's still fine! So Johann will take the bus to the airport with Elijah and our things and I will follow in a cab. It worked! There are hardly any people at the airport and I get through check-in and all the controls without having to wait. When I get to border control, Johann and Elijah are standing at a counter and we can go through together. Wow - we've never had it this easy before.” The 2-hour flight “ flew by” 😉 Elijah is a ray of sunshine and entertains our fellow passengers. After landing in Denver, we get off the plane and make our way to the exit. We still have to go through passport control somewhere to get our passports stamped. But as we go through the last door, we are already at the exit from the airport building. What now? Betty checks the status of our I-94 (documentation of entry and exit from the USA) online. Our status there has changed and our permitted length of stay has been extended for another year. So that probably will be fine. But Betty's admission class is again M2 (“ traveling companion of M1”) instead of M1 (student). Oh great - gone through the whole journey only to come back to the same problem! We are sure that the lady simply looked at the wrong visa when entering the country and that this problem will be resolved. 2 weeks, several phone calls and emails later, everything is indeed now corrected and the way we need it to complete this year of study. Thank you, God! Without Him we would not be here.   *P.s.: Many international students would like to spend the summer break between two school years in the USA. As we now know, this is indeed possible. However, the above is in no way legal advice. Please don't do this unless you have a clear call from God and good counselors at your side!

Even though the time seemed almost too short and we went through some challenges, it was not wasted. A short summary blog is not enough to describe the lessons I was able to learn and the practical truths that were imparted to me. While studying electrical engineering in Switzerland, I learned that you can't learn many practical things from everyday life at school. This also applies to ministry. This internship gave me the opportunity to combine the theological with the practical. I hope this post shows how beneficial it is to do an internship in your called ministry and to be personally mentored and taught by experienced, wise and God-fearing people. First of all, I would like to acknowledge that I have learned a lot from the RVFM pastors who have mentored me over the past few months. These men were always willing to help me in any way they could. I look forward to continuing to grow in my relationship with them, even though my internship is already over. Meetings Almost weekly I attended the prayer meetings of RVCC (the church during my internship) and all the prayer meetings of the pastors of RVFM as well as the weekly staff meetings and events. Each week I accompanied Pastor Jon to the pastors' personal meetings where successes and problems were reported. On Monday evenings, Betty or I took turns going to the young adult meetings (>18 years). And then from time to time I also visited a small group of self-employed business owners from our church who were studying a book and sharing knowledge. The MTC (Ministry Training Center) on Wednesday evenings was also part of my internship. MTC is a school for training leaders who support their local church and new church plants within the framework of RVFM. At the MTC, the individual areas of a church were highlighted. Each responsible person gave a presentation of 1x50min or 2x50min about the approach of the respective area. (This was one of my favorite parts of the internship besides my personal time with Pastor Jon). Ministry- and Leadership tasks Over the course of the internship, I was entrusted with more ministry and leadership tasks. At the beginning, all interns were divided into groups and worked together on the launch of the respective VBS. Once the planning and organization had been completed according to the framework conditions and the VBS had started, we continued to work weekly on fine-tuning the processes and ideas. Evangelizing was also a part of this. I was able to lead almost all of the giving appeals in the Sunday services, each with a short input beforehand. And at the weekly meetings, I was often given the opportunity to share testimonies. During the youth camp, I was also assigned daily as a mentor and prayer minister. Here, too, I was given the opportunity to share my testimony. I was trusted to minister with sermons at two Sunday services. What I have learned When I am asked what the best thing about my internship was, I like to say: "Sitting, watching and asking questions". Although the internship involved a lot of "work", the opportunity to see how work is done in the local church had the biggest impact on me. This summer I learned more about the love and care that a pastor should have for his church. Pastor Jon is a great example of this and lives out what he preaches. It was good to see theology being discussed, taught and practiced in the local church. I was able to experience how Pastor Jon faithfully ministered under stressful situations while balancing his family and making time for them daily. This gave me clarity on what a healthy church is and how a pastor serves the local church. The internship gave me opportunities to apply biblical things I had been meditating on for some time, practice teaching skills, and demonstrate faithfulness in ministry. It also gave me the opportunity to gain more maturity in life. Every opportunity I was given, I used to observe how they prayed, laughed, and handled upcoming and difficult matters. Closing words Looking back on my experience now, I realize that this internship accomplished what it was supposed to - and much more. Even before the internship, it was my prayer that God could use me wherever he wanted. I was able to grow in many areas and also bring many spiritual things together through the practical part. Thank you, Pastor Jon, for the opportunity to be a part of your vision. When I think about what it takes to make this internship program happen, to build relationships and create opportunities for learning, accountability and leadership, it makes me look back with much gratitude. All of this takes time and organization away from the daily needs of the congregation. Thank you for the time invested in our lives.

In the third and fourth week of our internship in MN, things slowly but surely got practical. In this blog you can find out why we enjoyed the Youth Camp so much and what the abbreviation VBS stands for. During the internship, we have the opportunity to look into every area of a church. The general leadership team meeting takes place every Monday. These meetings usually last between 1.5 - 3 hours. On Wednesdays, the ministry offers MTC (Ministry Training Center - training for serving in churches) in the evening. The main focus of the MTC is to shed light on the individual areas of a church. The respective leaders give a 50-minute presentation on how they operate and what is important. Afterwards, we have the opportunity to ask questions. This gives us a good insight into each area. A week before the youth camp, we were asked if we wanted to go for the full four days. Since we had been involved in youth ministry in the past and love working with young people, we said yes. Youth-Group here includes ages 12-17. Youth-Camp We drove three hours to the north of Minnesota to stay from June 20 to June 23. The camp is located by a lake that offers many cool opportunities for free time. The youth camp is structured like most camps we have attended. Every day there is a set schedule. In addition to plenty of free time, daily games were organized and an input was given in the morning and evening. After lunch, there was an obligatory 1 to 1.5 hours of quiet time, and the young people were encouraged to use this to spend time with God. Our task as volunteers was to help out wherever help was needed. From tidying up to helping in the kitchen and playing in tournaments to ministry, everything was covered. The almost 30 young people who took part in the camp were hungry for the word of God. During the free time, they often sought to talk to the leadership team and the interns. Especially after the inputs, Johann and the two other interns were available for questions and prayer. During the four days, Johann was able to experience how some of the young people were set free and empowered. The first evening was about the topic - water baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit and Johann shared his testimony in 5min. That evening 6 young people received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. On the last day, just before departure, the opportunity for water baptism was given and three young people signed up for it. After they were baptized, two more young women spontaneously accepted water baptism. The option was always emphasized and so they simply took off their shoes and valuables and got into the water dressed as they were. The baptism is an underwater baptism, where what you believe is briefly confirmed beforehand. The joy among the young people afterwards was great. We were particularly struck by the unity among the young people during the camp. It was impressive to see and experience how much the young people prayed for and served each other. VBS – Vacation Bible School Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a fun program that many churches offer during the summer months to connect with the children and families in their congregations. Vacation Bible School is designed to appeal to children who do not normally attend church and to introduce them to the Gospel. A VBS week usually includes games, snacks, crafts, sketches and short inputs or stories from the Bible. There is always a connection between God and the theme, which enables the children to experience God in a creative way. The last VBS was held over 20 years ago. Now that the ministry has 13 interns for the summer, they have given us the task of putting together a VBS for all participating churches. Our project is to plan the activities, promote and evangelize. So we got to work as a group to gather creative ideas. As the churches hadn't held a VBS for a while and no one else had any real ideas, we were given free hand here. In weeks three and four, we mainly put together and rehearsed the program for the VBS. We also created flyers for public and digital advertising. Concepts for advertising in the cities were also developed and checked. During these two weeks, we ran from one meeting to the next and shared our results and suggestions with the pastors. The first VBSs were to be held from July. Every week the location and the advertising for the respective churches changes. The VBS goes weekly from Monday to Wednesday from 1-2:30pm and is for kids ages 5-11. Most VBS are held in public parks. You can find out how we experienced the first VBS and what else has been happening in the meantime in the next blog post, where we will report on weeks 5 and 6. See you in the next blog.😉

Since the beginning of July, we have held weekly VBS for the various churches of the RVFM. During this time, we were able to benefit from a special guest who was there for 2.5 days to answer questions. And we were also preparing to say goodbye. We talk about all this in this blog post. VBS During the third and fourth week of july, we tried to fine tune a few more things regarding advertising for Vacation Bible Schools. The pictures below give a little insight into our time of brainstorming and decision-making. In weeks three and four, the VBS did not go as planned. The two host churches are relatively small and have only recently been established. These churches are also located in relatively small towns or villages. In both cases, we had children who were not interested or did not feel comfortable after a short time. There were more adult helpers present than children, which made the environment less comfortable for the kids. We took this with us for the next advertising campaigns. Linus LeFever as guest for the interns Linus' life story is super exciting. Linus and his wife Kay were assistant pastors for a time. Until he met Andrew Wommack one day and was told that his call was to the mission field. Linus didn't agree at first, but God began to prepare the way for the next step. Sure enough, in January 1991, they traveled with a team to Latvia in the USSR. Less than a week after their arrival, Bible schools were founded and immediately went through the roof. Many students enrolled. They went on to found several churches in what are now Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. Years later, they were led back to the USA, where they helped Andrew Wommack start Charis Bible College in August 1994. Many other things were experienced and actively supported by this man of God. We interns followed his stories with great interest. We were always able to ask questions and benefited greatly from Linus' input. His thoughts on the life of discipleship and church planting in particular really spoke to Johann. Linus not only planted churches and Bible schools in the former USSR, but also in countries in Africa and the USA, which still exist today. We thank Linus for his valuable time and wish him every success in the things God wants to use him and Kay for. God's blessing is with you! The last week before our departure We used the last week before we headed back to Colorado to spend as much time as possible with the people we had met here and who had quickly become friends. Deepening connections, sharing visions and building each other up dominated our conversations. We also invited our neighbors to dinner, where we had some good and amusing conversations. We really appreciated the contacts and hope to be back in the region again soon. These friendships and the church have grown into a family for us. And after 2.5 months in Minnesota and Wisconsin, it was really hard to say goodbye. On one hand we miss the time and on the other we are looking forward to being back in Colorado and sitting under God's word for another year. Johann's second sermon The last Sunday at RVCC, Johann was allowed to preach once again. The focus of this sermon was on how to hear God's voice. "There can be no intimate relationship with our heavenly Father without hearing his voice. But as easy as it is for us to talk to him, as difficult it is for the average Christian to hear his voice. This is not the way the Lord intended it to be." How do I know what my next step in life is? Which of the many different paths is the right one for me? Is it possible for us to try to find our way in this dark world without using the light that God has given us? Psalm 119:105 NIV - "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." You can listen to the sermon here... We will write another blog post summarizing our experiences and what we have taken with us. See you in the next post. Talk to you soon!We will write another blog post summarizing our experiences and what we have taken with us. See you in the next post. Bye!

In the last blog post we told you about the planned VBS (Vocation Bible School). Now the first VBS at RVCC (River Valley Christian Church) will start at the beginning of July. This is the permanent church of Johann during his internship, where he will also preach his first sermon on the 14th of July. Information about the VBS process Advertising is an important part of the VBS. After several meetings and discussions, we decided to advertise both digitally and physically. We advertised on Facebook and distributed flyers in local stores. Another big part was "cleaning door handles". We separated our team into four groups and went in pairs to residential areas that we had searched online. The goal was not to evangelize, but to distribute as many flyers as possible. Nevertheless, personal conversation was an important part of our work. That's why we rang every doorbell. If no one was home, we put the flyer between the front door and the door frame. Generally speaking, people were always friendly. But there were also times when the door was closed right in front of us without a word being said. Our planned VBS included music, games, crafts, sketches and short stories from the Bible. There is always a connection between God and the theme that allows the children to discover God in a creative way. The overarching theme was God's creation. VBS-RVCC For RVCC we distributed about 600 flyers plus the local businesses in Stillwater (MN). The first day we had five kids show up for VBS. The second day, which was super hot, no one showed up. And on the third day there were four kids. During the VBS, some of us went to the city to evangelize. Here we simply approached the various people in the city center and sought out conversation. We didn't have a practiced strategy. Here, too, we experienced a wide variety of reactions. We often got into conversation with people who were already believers. Short recap meetings were held every day after the VBS and testimonies were shared. VBS-ROLW In the second week of July, we went to the ROLW (Rivers of living waters) church. This church was founded 8 months ago and is one of the younger ones. We distributed over 400 flyers in the region around the park where the VBS took place. Especially during the door to door campaign, some good conversations had developed. We had at least four families who agreed to come by. But then unfortunately they didn't show up for the actual start of the VBS. The evangelism team that Johann was on went to the nearest mall to evangelize during the VBS. This area is totally different from evangelizing in a city. In the mall, people tend to be hectic and don't have or want to take the time for a conversation. After this VBS was over, we all sat together to look at the whole project again. We prayed and thought about how to proceed. In the end, we decided to make a few small changes, particularly in the area of advertising. But these were not to be the last changes. More on this in the next blog.   On our days off (Friday and Saturday), we tried to spend a lot of time as a family. We explored beautiful hiking trails in the region and then often ended up on the beach at one of the many lakes. When the temperatures were warm, we were sometimes surprised by the rain or spent the whole rainy day indoors. Twice the storm sirens were even sounded at night and the threat of tornadoes was announced. Thank goodness it didn't come to that in our region. Johann is actively involved on Sundays. Especially through the weekly calls for donations, he always gets the opportunity to share short inputs with the church. But also in the meetings where he accompanied Pastor Jon, Johann always had the opportunity to share his testimonies. This led to Pastor Jon trusting Johann to give the sermon for the Sunday service on July 14. John's Sermon: A Life Of Intimacy With God Why do so many Christians fail to experience an intimate relationship with God? What hinders a true and healthy relationship with God? These are questions that Johann has also faced in the past. During the 40-minute sermon, he shared a fraction of his insight and experiences that had brought him into a truly deep and intimate relationship with God.

Not just physically, but also mentally. Pastor Jon and his wife Debbie have made it very easy for us to settle in and we already feel at home. For Elijah, they are now part of our family too. It is always a blessing for us to see how quickly our son adapts to new surroundings and new people. As long as mom and dad are around 😉 We live at the end of a cul-de-sac and we've already got to know a few neighbors on our walks. We hope to be able to invest a little more in them. Our immediate neighbors in particular - a couple around 60 years old - have adopted Elijah as their grandson, bringing toys and books and are always very excited when we drop by. This lake is right in front of the house and is ideal for fishing, boating and canoeing. What is RVFM? « RVFM is a church planting organization in the MN and WI River Valley. It is our desire to see the kingdom of God advance. We provide Fellowship, Training, and oversight for churches and ministries in the MN and WI River Valley area. As well as, plant churches as The Lord directs us. » The vision is to build a network of 24 churches (RVFM) throughout the St. Croix River Valley 15-20 miles apart in all directions by 2027. To date, 10 churches have already been established or have joined the ministry. Another five churches are expected to be established by the end of this year. « RVFM is an organization that seeks to expand the Kingdom of God worldwide by providing doctrinal and procedural oversight, pastoral care, mutual accountability, ministry resource and fellowship for our credential holders, affiliated churches, and ministries. We also purpose to fellowship with all five-fold ministers, missionaries, leaders, churches and ministries who manifest the Spirit of Christ and who encourage and edify the body of Christ. » From the River Fellowship of Ministries website. The first week Pastor Jon is the founder of this ministry and Johann serves as his "shadow" for the duration of the internship. The first week was all about getting to know everything and everyone. This means that Johann accompanied him to all meetings, including all regular meetings with the pastors of the churches and staff meetings. According to the culture of the people here, these meetings take place either for breakfast in a café or for lunch. Lots of coffee, lots of food. As you know, nothing that would do Johann any damage... 😉 The second week The second week started with the Kids Camp of the RVFM churches. The camp lasts three days. In addition to lots of fun, there was also a specific topic. Some of the interns took part for the full three days. All the others, including Johann, only went for one day. The trip takes a whole three hours. Plenty of time to talk and share with the other interns and pastors. It was fascinating to see how the kids are taught to pray for each other from a young age. They also practiced writing down short testimonies and then presenting them to the group. In the evening, we were also able to answer a few questions. Johann is also used for work in Pastor Jon's local church. Such as occasional housekeeping work. On Thursday, for example, he sat on the lawnmower for 4 hours. Plenty of time to listen to sermons or music. Every Wednesday, all pastors of the RVFM meet to pray together. In addition to experiences, problems are also shared and prayed for. Although all the churches operate independently, it is impressive to see and experience how the pastors support and pray for each other. As interns, we are right in the middle of this and take part in it. On July 16, Johann made his second call for offerings for the church. The call for offerings is preceded by approx. 5 minutes of a short message on the topic. In our last post, we were still full of enthusiasm when we mentioned that we would probably be in touch more often. It turned out that we are quite busy, so we have to cut back a bit to be wise with our time. We're a little behind with the posts, but we'll definitely take you with us through the weeks and experiences.

How Raven embarked on a search for truth and found it in Christ Raven Jewell was not raised in a Christian home. At only 21 years old, her father died. This awakened in her a search for truth. She explored Buddhism, yoga and Hinduism. None of these could give her a good explanation of what is real. So, she got into drugs, went to music festivals and took hallucinogens. Slowly, Raven realized that this life was leading her down a dark road. She left a toxic relationship where the man was essentially using her to sell drugs. She heard of a farm where she could work for food and housing. There she met a man who shared the gospel with her. And although she was resistant to it and kept telling him so, he would not stop talking about it. God was using this man even though he was struggling with many difficulties himself - mental health issues, struggling with drugs and being homeless. Raven eventually began to read the Bible with him. She decided to go to a local recovery group called ‘Celebrate Recovery’. There she faced deep questions that showed her that she needed a savior. Someone outside of herself who could save her from her sinfulness. Even though she didn't realize it at the time, the Holy Spirit was working in her. Five months after starting the program, she began attending a church and experienced the presence of God and His love there. This encounter led to a deep desire to be with God. About 1.5 years after this experience, Raven began to really seek God, reading the Bible and experiencing his love. You can hear more of her testimony in the videos below. Every person has this desire within them to discover what the purpose of their life is and what God has prepared for them. And God pursues everyone and wants to show every person that we can find fulfillment in Him. That our hunger is satisfied by Him. That we will find peace in Him. The harvest is plentiful - but there are few workers. God is not concerned that you first have your life together before you can serve others with the good news. Europe is in great need of the gospel. Raven is ready to go and share it. She will be participating in a mission trip across Europe this summer. In 40 days, a group will travel to 6-7 countries in Europe and spread the good news in the cities. (You can read more about this here - https://www.europeaninitiative.com/go40/.) Participants will be responsible for their own expenses. These amount to approximately $2750 or €2500, not including the return airfare. By the grace of God, Raven has already received $2500. If you also see the need in Europe and would like to contribute to this mission trip, here is the link to Raven's PayPal account (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/eternalfarms). We believe that God is up to great things. He is looking for people to join in and help spread His love - whether personally or through finances. Thank you for considering supporting Raven. Facebook-Video: https://www.facebook.com/5252743/videos/1684028212336109/