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How God provides for our needs and surpasses our imagination... Summer 2022 we had friends from Switzerland visiting us who, like us, were attending a Bible school in the USA. We chatted a lot about God and the world and, among other things, how they were living in the USA. They described their one-room apartment and that they stored their suitcases in the trunk of their car all year round because there was no room for them in the apartment. While they were sharing this with us, Johann was already picturing that our living situation would be somewhat similar. We did some research on Google about the housing situation in Colorado and quickly realized that there wasn't much more than a one-bedroom apartment in our budget. With a whole movie already playing in Johann's mind, the Spirit stopped him: "Don't limit me with your thinking towards apartment size and budget! I have prepared something different for you than you imagine at this moment." That same evening, Johann shared his experience with Betty. We repented of our thinking and decided not to limit the spirit in our housing situation. So time passed until the spring of 2023 and we let the matter be. In February, a former German student advised us to post on the official Charis Facebook page that we were looking for a place to live. So we did an introduction, added a picture of the three of us and waited for feedback. We looked online for an apartment, but were very open to a shared house. Most apartment listings in Woodland Park were over our budget, and with a baby and being a married couple, a shared house is not that easy to find. Most shared houses are for singles and then of course all-female or all-male. Betty regularly looked at the housing offers in the group and also made inquiries with some. Everywhere came rejections. She connected with a young couple from Canada and we decided to look for an apartment together in Woodland Park. However, for various reasons, this did not work out. Every closed door tried to discourage us. Although we also kept thinking about the Word we had received from the Spirit, it was often not so easy to stand on the Word and trust God. We would have preferred to live in Woodland Park to keep the commute to school as short as possible. Eventually, we did decide to be open to housing in Colorado Springs. So Betty scrolled through the Facebook group again and looked at the housing ads in Colorado Springs. One shared housing ad specifically addressed married couples. Although the ad was older, Betty wrote to Kimberly to ask if she could provide more information about the living situation and whether it would be possible to rent the room with a baby. Kim responded that the house was 300m2 and had a garden with a swing, etc. Moreover, the largest room was still available. This was ideal, we thought, especially for our growing son. We prayed about whether the house and the monthly rent were right for us. A day later she answered a few more questions and after checking with the other couples if they were okay with a baby moving in, she agreed. We were just happy to be able to check off one more point. A few days later, Kim wrote Betty that there was a changing table and dresser in the house for Elijah. This further confirmed to us that we had made the right decision. God provided us through Kim with a high chair, playpen, toys and even a car seat for Elijah. The door for this home was wide open and we could hardly wait to meet Kim and also the other couples in person. But it wasn't until we arrived that the whole picture of how God had led us to this house opened up to us. We can see that it was right and important not to limit the Spirit and that He has a great plan for our housing group, and the goal of all of us is not to miss it. See for yourselves how God has led us all into this house... This is how Kim experienced our admittance: Hallo, my greatest joy is the Lord and trusting in his leading of the Spirit. Sometime in April, I was looking on Charis Facebook page to see who was looking for rooms to rent. We are a little further from the school so I was praying to the Lord on who to except in our home. I knew instantly to go Coed. I asked the Lord to show me more because I didn't want any concerns from anyone. Then he said married couples. So I got right on Facebook and put up an ad. I got my first couple within 2 days. The Lord led them to come to our home. A couple day's later I saw Bettina's ad that they were coming to Charis from Switzerland, and they had a 👶 baby boy Elijah. He put in my Spirit that Elijah was very important to Him and that his name was God-given. I also knew in my Spirit that Johann and Bettina were the ones God wanted in our home. I called the owner of the home to see if we could have a baby in the house. All couples were required to be students, so I also had to ask if it was ok that only Johann would be attending Charis. I called Beth the owner right away, and she said it was not what we agreed on. I had only met Beth once and it was God who brought us together so I didn't push the issue. I felt grieved and heartbroken that I couldn't respond to Bettinas post I said Lord I know they are the ones. Two days later Beth called me and said if you think it's ok that they come who am I to deny a child of God. I was so excited that God had impressed on Beth's heart to let them come. I went back to Charis Facebook page to find the ad from Bettina. I couldn't find it anywhere. I now had rented all the rooms except one and kept looking for one more couple. The Lord was not showing me any other couples to put in the last room. I kept looking for Bettina and still couldn't find the ad. I turned away so many couples. Then one morning I woke up and cried before the Lord because He is so faithful. There was a message from Bettina to me on my phone that said: Hi Kimberly. I saw your post for the room in the rental you are staying. Is it still available? Could you give me some more information about the price and living situation? My husband and I are coming with our baby boy. We just need one room, as our baby sleeps with us and probably will until he is about 2 years old. Would that be a possibility? Thank you so much. 😊 Blessings, Bettina. I flew out of bed and said Yes, Yes. I only needed to let the other students know before responding. So I quickly called them. The first response was Yes absolutely 💯 👏. The next couples wife wanted to ask her husband and he said yes I'm only seeking the Lord nothing else matters. She said because she works from home and sleeps next to Johann and Bettina's room there might be a few concerns but who am I to deny a child of God! Yes and Amen. It's wonderful that you can Love someone before you ever meet them. God is so faithful ❤ my son giggled at me when he called and said how are you doing mama? I said great Johann, Bettina and Elijah got here today and he asked how was it? I stated I love them. ❤ they have been such a blessing and Elijah brings much Joy. Now after a few days there is so much more to see of God's Goodness and after sharing of our testimony of our call here and so much similar words from the Lord we can only sit with our eyes wide open in waiting of His Marvelous Plan. And Rest in his leading. Amen! Lorrie and Andrews Story In March 2023 we decided to follow God’s call and go to Bible College in Colorado, so we started looking for a place to stay. We were thinking to a small flat or renting a RV as we were aware of high rent cost in Colorado. It never crossed our mind to rent a room in a shared house but God’s ways are most of the time different than ours and He would always show us the best way for us. My husband started praying for a place up to $ 1,000 a month that has everything included so we don’t have to buy furniture or kitchen items and it is up to 45 min away from the college campus. We were researching about RV when a friend from England called me to tell me that she had a dream and I was living in a big house on a hill. Initially I thought that the dream was about us buying a new house in the future but later during that day something happened: while I was checking my facebook, I saw an add of a lady that was looking for Bible College students to share a house. I told to my husband that I suddenly feel drawn to live in a house with other Christians students. He told me to message the lady and see if they accept us. The house was all what my husband prayed for and suddenly I realized that it was also the house from the dream: big house on the hill. Lady accepted us and on August 14th we moved and God confirmed one more time that this was the place where He was directing us to stay for the time in Colorado. Lorrie shared more details of her friend's dream with us in person. We see how some things have already become reality and are excited to see the whole picture fulfilled. Victoria and Joshuas Story In Dec 2022 we had a wonderful family come into our lives that eventually became our spiritual parents and spiritual brothers and sisters. They are the ones that turned us back to hearing from the Lord for ourselves and revisiting the Charis call that we heard the few years before. it was there that really realized that it was the call of God on our lives to go to Charis and to move to Colorado. So we both quit our jobs and staged everything so that we could start leaving. We ended up getting blessed with the finances to go to the 2023 campus days and it was an amazing experience. It was there that everything started to fall into place. There was a tuition discount going on 10 and we reached out to Julianne Harris about it seeing if we could secure it it turned out you needed a deposit. Which we didn’t have. So she took a minute and prayed with us, and believed with us, for the finances in the Lord‘s will to be done in our situation, the day after was the Charis fair. We took our time talking to people from local churches, reaching out to jobs, and everything else that Charis had opened up for us. Nothing seemed to click though. Victoria was in line to meet Mike packet, and I was confused as what to do next. I started walking around by the fireplace just praying in the spirit trying to hear from the Lord on what to do next and what was his plan for us. Out of nowhere, Julianne Harris comes running towards me, exclaiming, that I needed to come with her immediately, and that her family had had paid both mine and Victoria’s tuition for the whole year. We were so excited! I am mediately ran to grab Victoria and tell her the good news. It turned out the family had been hearing from the Lord back in December 2022 and he had told them that he had wanted them to pay for two peoples tuition. The Lord had already been setting up for our provision Before we even knew what we were supposed to be doing. A few days later, we got back to Michigan super excited and energized for what God was doing in our lives but we still had housing to figure out and jobs. We end up seeing a post on Facebook in the Charis community bulletin about a basement apartment that’s available and it was very affordable. We gave a call to the lady who advertised it, And after talking with us a little bit, she tells us that she heard from the Lord and that she believes were supposed to be staying in the apartment. She told us that we need to hear from the Lord ourselves, but she was very confident that we were the ones for the apartment in the basement. We take our time, and we immediately feel in our hearts that this was the place for us. We start to pack up everything we can leaving most of our stuff behind, we filled up our car with everything we needed And we sat out for Colorado. We get to town and settled in, but it takes two months for us to secure jobs in Colorado. The Lord took care of us anyway, and paid our rent for the full two months and provided us with money for food and anything else we needed. When we finally get jobs secured, they are absolute miracles. I get a job at Sam’s Club where they didn’t have issues processing my background check, and Victoria gets a job as a shift lead at a cookie store. We are so grateful for the amazing blessings that God has given us, and the amazing provision he’s provided for us. We believe we will always be in the right place at the right time doing the right things with the right people. God is great He has thoughts of peace over us. He wants to give us a future and a hope. He also has thoughts of peace over you. He also wants to give you a future and a hope. Give it a chance and let yourself be led by him.

The last months before leaving for the States... The last few months in Germany have flown by. Filled with work, travel preparations, time with friends, family and a growing baby. The doors had been opened wide, so we got our visa without any problems and also quickly found a place to stay in the US. At the end of June, we left for Switzerland once again. Johann was able to bring back his working equipment and we took care of the deregistration from Switzerland. At our small farewell party on July 1, we were able to say goodbye to good friends, old neighbors and many from the youth group and the church. We spent July packing and storing boxes once again, packing suitcases and meeting with family and friends. On August 5, we said goodbye to family and friends in Germany with a garden party. We were relieved when we finally sat in the car and on our way to the airport. The last days before leaving had been stressful. On the drive to the airport we began to really realize for the first time that a new phase of our lives had begun and the excitement began to build. As Betty prayed and sang worship songs in the car, she had a picture in her spirit. "Jesus is walking ahead of us all along the journey, preparing the way, and we are following." That's what we experienced. Doors were opened, things fell into place, and our journey went smoothly. Days before the flight, we wanted to reserve a Baby Bassinet for Elijah, which are offered on long haul flights depending on the airline. We were told on the phone that all Baby Bassinets were already booked for the flight. Disappointment wanted to take hold of Johann, as he had previously reserved extra seats to fit the baby bassinet. Together we put our request to our heavenly Father. Shortly before departure, we asked again at the service center and at the gate. Here we were told that we would possibly get a baby crib, but without guarantee. On the plane itself, the stewardesses told us that the baby crib will be installed as soon as we reach the flight altitude. Elijah could not sleep so much because of his excitement and also had light problems with the pressure regulation, but also here we could count on God's provision. The stewardesses and passengers around us were all captivated by him, delighted by his laughter and tried to support us throughout the flight wherever possible. Once we arrived in Denver, we spent the night in the hotel and the next day we got a ride to Colorado Springs, our new temporary home. From rainy Germany we were greeted by bright sunshine and worship music coming from the window of our accommodation. In front of the house we met with the first roommate couple, who were heading to work. Inside the house, Kimberly (Kim), our House Manager, was waiting for us. The second roommate couple would not arrive until 4 days later. Since Elijah was asleep, Kim left with Betty to go grocery shopping. So we jumped right into it. We felt immediately at home and spent the first days already in deep conversations with everyone who lived with us. We are very excited to see what is yet to come... In the next blog post, we will tell you about how God brought all the couples together in this house prepared with a vision, among other things. We thank you with all our heart for all the generous contributions we received during our time in Germany, Switzerland and at the farewell parties. Thank you for the seeds you have planted in our lives. >To know God and to make him known< A statement that befriended missionaries have written on their banner and in their newsletter. A statement that has inspired and challenged us. Currently we are focusing more on the first part "to know God". We expect to experience great things this year. And we are excited about where the Spirit is calling us to make Him known. "Be still, and know that I am God..." Psalms 46:10

How we ended up here... How is it that you decided to go to Bible school? And why this one in particular? Questions that we were asked several times last year. You know how it is: the Bible says one thing, experience says another. While the Bible calls us to rejoice always, to love our enemies, and as a creature made new, we are too often stuck in deep valleys, unable to overcome sin and barely able to love our brothers and sisters in the church. Like many others, we noticed this difference in our Christian lives and sought a better way. Already in 2019, Johann wanted to attend a Bible school for this reason. We thought that we would get to know God better through this and that we would get a solid foundation laid by the school so that the change would show in the desired areas of our lives. And since Johann's strength is discipline and he is motivated for a valid degree, a Bible school where essays are written, Bible verses are memorized, and weekly tests of study are done, would be the right place for him. However, he did not get peace to join a school. In his search for this peace, the Spirit of God taught us a few months later that the relationship with God is not "head knowledge" but "intimacy". Building on this revelation, we realized that we are not changed because of effort or copying someone else's biography. Quite the opposite, we are changed without effort! The Word of God is spirit and life, and like a seed and our heart is the soil. A seed does not strain to become a tree and bring forth fruit. It just happens to do what it was designed to do by God - and it does so without effort. We cannot claim to have fully understood this statement. But at that point, a journey began for us where the Word of God came alive for us. Different people have been walking with us and have also spoken spiritually into our lives with wisdom and personal prophecy. Oeschinensee, Switzerland, 2018 The desire to attend Bible school was not the problem, but the motivation behind it. We also know that God never closed the doors for this step and we always had the choice for a bible school. How did we end up attending a Bible college after all? Johann's wish remained. It stepped into the background while we were busy with our tasks in the church and at work. During our sabbatical in Costa Rica in 2022, we both made the decision to give our lives completely to God. We wanted to use the time off to get a vision for our youth ministry. Believing that we would receive from God. God's plan was to use the time off to teach us the gospel of His Son. So we spent our time almost exclusively letting the gospel work on us. During this time, the first impressions came that our ministry as youth leaders might be coming to an end. We came back to Switzerland with a great desire for Him and His Word, but no specific plan as to what our devotion and the time experienced should mean. We retreated to this house, in San Isidro, Costa Rica twice for a week and took the quiet time to let God speak and listen. The jet lag after our return continued to bother us for two weeks. During a sleepless night, Johann meditated on the Word of God. In the silence, the Spirit of God spoke to him in the form of an inner voice that he should enter "Andrew Wommack Bible College" into Google. This is how he landed on the website of "Charis Bible College". Immediately, the desire to go to a Bible college was back in his mind. This time, however, the thought was accompanied by deep peace. Johann knew immediately that our way would lead to the USA in 2023 to sit under the Word of God. For Betty, the idea was not so easy at first. Prejudice and fear of the unknown got in her way. But with her devotion in Costa Rica came an openness to the work of God. So she allowed the Spirit to work on her heart and a short time later she had a clear and easy yes to this step. At first, it wasn't clear to us why we shouldn't start studying in the U.S. in the fall of 2022. But just a few weeks later, one of the reasons for the delay became apparent. Betty found out that she was pregnant and we would have a baby in December 2022. 😊 Pregnant with our first son and visions for our future, 2022 passed without any disclosure about the real reason for our move. With the decision to give up our apartment, jobs, network and all other things in Switzerland and later in Germany and move further towards the US, also came challenges and struggles. (We may go into that in another blog post sometime.) During that time, our step of faith and faith in general was attacked and challenged many times in many different ways. But God remains faithful to his word. This is what we experienced and what we take with us from this time. Why go to the USA, you could also attend the school in Germany? Because of obedience to the received word of the Spirit! This is the only and true reason for our move. From a human point of view, there would be a lot of things that would speak against moving to the States. Thank God, this we may cast upon Christ! We know that Bible college is not the main reason for our move, but to testify and receive the calling for our lives. We cannot yet imagine the full extent that will be involved in the move. We go in faith and the promise that God's Word is alive and He stands by His Word. Therefore, we look forward to the time ahead as a family and to benefit from the fellowship of like-minded people.