What more could a father and mother ask for?

I wouldn’t blame you if there was a little part of  you thinking this was set up. The fact is, I walked into Bianca’s bedroom about a week and a half ago and saw this little sign on her shrunk (closet.) Just in case you can’t make all of it out, it says, “My dream is to be a missionary to Mexico and work with orphans.” Wow! You probably could have seen a father’s pride spewing out of my pores at that moment. What a wonderful dream it is!

Bianca has told me in the past about her desire to go with me on one of my assignments with Proclaim. God willing, she will come with me on a campaign this coming summer. When I had the opportunity to go to Ensenada and Mexicali Mexico with my dear friend Peter Neumann (to serve with Asuza Pacific’s Mexico outreach program) she wanted to come along and help. Bianca also has had much exposure to the plight of orphans in the slums of  Sao Paulo Brazil through our home church Oak Hills.  She  almost always comes with me and helps out when we work with developmentally delayed kids through our TRAP ministry. Bianca has a heart for kids… it’s a beautiful thing!

What could be more important to Dawn and I than for Bianca and Sofia knowing Jesus as their Lord and saviour, living outside themselves, and having a heart for people…  being a reflection of the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ? We can’t really think of anything else. God is working in the lives of our children. We are grateful for His sovereignty over the work we are here to do, and over our family… over all things. Bianca will be 11 years old on February 7th. Even though the course of her life is uncertain to us, we praise God that she is a young lady that knows Jesus and has a tender heart. Many of you reading this have been a huge influence in her life, (you know who you are) and for that we are eternally grateful.

So, I thought it would good for this month’s blog, to have a Q & A with Bianca, or better known as “B-Dogg.”

Steve: Why do you feel like you want to be a missionary to Mexico or Brazil?

Bianca: I’ve always wanted to learn Spanish and I love working with children. In Brazil the weather is really great! I feel like it would be a great place to spread The Word.

Steve: Do you think it’s important to help and serve other people?

Bianca: Not all people are like us, who have a mom and a dad. Not all of them have food to eat and a bed to sleep in. Helping is a great way to spread The Word of God.

Steve: Why is it important that people hear The Word and The Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Bianca: Otherwise people won’t have eternal life. They will go to the gates of Heaven and may not be able to go in. God gives people chances… not all take them. 

Steve: Why do you like working with children?

Bianca: Because it’s fun and I like playing with them. It’s easy to love kids and a lot of them need a friend. They need help with different things like what to do when they get in trouble. 

Steve: What do you think about living in Germany and helping people here come to know Jesus?

Bianca: It’s a different life here but I’m making friends and I like the school I go to. There’s a lot of people here who need Jesus too.

Thank you all for being a part of the lives of our children Bianca and Sofia. They have been shaped and formed in part because of your Christ centered influence in their lives.  And, thank you for your continued love, prayers, support and friendship.

Prayer requests:

For our proclaim Co-Director Bob Johnson who continues to courageously battle cancer

For the upcoming Proclaim campaign to Belarus in February (Central Asia) and for several campaigns to follow in the Spring and Summer

For a strong marriage that is glorifying to God

For continued opportunity to be a light in the lives of a certain German family we have been getting to know

For continued unity and strength for Team Proclaim Germany (We have a great team here!)

For strong prayer and financial support

For continued language and cultural adaptation

Praise for God’s work in the lives of Bianca and Sofia

God Continues to Provide Workers and Expand Proclaim’s Role in His Kingdom Building Work!

Friends, Dawn and I are very excited to share the following news! (See the paragraphs below) God is expanding our Proclaim team here in Germany with key individuals who will contribute mightily to God’s work in this and far reaching areas of the world.

The  first bit of news relates to a couple whom I’ve already worked with last year in Belarus and Ukraine. Carey is an energetic, connected and enthusiastic disciple who will bring a tremendous amount of experience to our team. We are especially excited to work with him to continue to expand and meet ministry opportunities in Central Asia and China. Carey will be a key member of the Proclaim! team for the campaign into Belarus in February of 2012.

The second announcement is exciting as well, especially for our Proclaim colleagues based in France. Russ and Marj are heavily involved in video production that is intended for broadcast into North Africa and the rest of the Muslim world. Proclaim works closely with Channel North Africa to broadcast The Gospel into countries where the flow of information can be limited by other means. One way we work with CNA is to produce and broadcast testimonies of Muslim peoples who have come to know and put their full faith and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a powerful witness! We see this ministry as massively strategic and important to help Muslims receive Gospel truth, where other ministry efforts are limited due to existing antagonistic Islamic cultural contexts.

Rejoice with us thank God for His provision of more workers and opportunities in the “harvest field.”

Much Love,

Steve and Dawn

We rejoice with the PROCLAIM! Community in the following announcement … Carey and Holly Holmquist will be transitioning from Greater Europe Mission to PROCLAIM! International by January 1, 2012. We welcome these new PROCLAIMERS! However, they are not new to most of the members of the PROCLAIM! community. In their 31 years of missionary service, Carey and Holly have served beside many of the current Proclaim staff in a variety of ministries. While Holly was raising support to serve in Italy with Christ Mission and Carey to serve in Sweden with GEM, they were introduced to one another at a mission conference in the California. Their relationship moved quickly, but both felt they must first fulfill their short term obligation with Christ Mission and GEM before getting married. Once Holly’s commitment was fulfilled she flew to Sweden where they were married two weeks later. After they fulfilled Carey’s term of service at the Nordiska Bible Institute, they moved to Belgium and joined Proclaim workers the McIntyres, in ministry at the Belgian Center for Biblical Education. Later, Carey helped form EuroTeam, a ministry to recruit teams to assist in the physical building of the churches in Europe. EuroTeam grew into a multi-faceted ministry under Carey’s direction. In 2006 GEM appointed Carey as the regional director for EurAsia with the focus on developing a new regional ministry in Eastern Europe and EurAsia. Carey facilitated the connection between Belarus ministry partner Spasenie and PROCLAIM! for work there and in the Ukraine. Holly and Vicki McIntyre initiated the Brussels class for Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). Holly became the Teaching Leader for the Brussels class. When the Holmquists moved to Kandern, Germany, Holly began serving as the BSF Area Advisor for Europe and the Middle East. They currently live in Kandern, Germany and will be involved with the PROCLAIM! resident team in Germany, but also have specific responsibilities in global ministries. Holly continues her role in BSF and will serve across Europe and the Middle East. Carey will serve in a new role with PROCLAIM! as EurAsia Ministry Coordinator (EMC). His role is to initiate, develop and coordinate Proclaim! International Ministries in Eurasia with a specific (although not exclusive) focus on the countries of the former Soviet Union and China.

Please join us in welcoming the Holmquists to the PROCLAIM! community.

New Satellite TV channel dedicated to North Africa. Starting from December 1st, 2011, Channel North Africa will be broadcast on Atlantic Bird 7  (7 degrees west; frequency 10.81508; polarity H; symbol rate 27,500; FEC: ¾ ) CNA broadcasts Christian programming targeting the population of North Africa as well as the North African communities of Europe and the Middle East. CNA’s uniqueness lies in it’s vision to broadcast content that has a Biblical perspective using the heart languages of North Africa, emphasizing the Berber languages but also remaining inclusive in broadcasting in Arabic and French. In a statement, Ali Arhab, the CNA director, underlined : “The launching of CNA is really an amazing answer to prayer, a promise for all North Africans who are experiencing a decisive moment in their history and in their desire for freedom. Through CNA they can discover the love of Christ and His call to incarnate this love, through His Church, in nations that hunger for justice!” CNA will be broadcasting a vast range of programming including life stories, documentaries, talk shows, educational programs, lifestyle series including womens, mens and childrens’ programming, musical performances, dramas, films, shorts and much more. Channel North Africa relies on a network of like-minded production partners like Proclaim! International for broadcasting content. Channel North Africa is a French cultural association created in 2000 with a goal to produce and broadcast media content that annonces the gospel and teaches the Bible for the region of North Africa and to North Africans living outside the region. The channel may also be viewed as a live streaming channel on cna-sat.tv.

Ali Arhab
CNA Director
ali@cna-sat.org

Arbeit Und Wille Formen Die Welt… ?

Translated, this means “Work and Will Form The World.” This is a lie of course and it is a prime example of a strong German cultural attitude of self-reliance. I found this World War 2 era propaganda on a local building not too far from where we live. It reflects an attitude that says, if I work hard and keep my nose to the proverbial “grind stone”, then the world will be a better place because of “my” efforts. It says, hey folks… it’s up to you! YOU are in control here and nothing good happens unless you make it happen. My question… Where is God in this worldview? Apparently absent.

As I’ve said before, German culture considers issues of faith a very private matter… at least this is true of the older generations. Young people are pretty open to discussions about faith, life’s challenges, questions about purpose and meaning; the stuff even die-hard atheists think about from time to time. So part of our job here is to really get into the culture and discover why it is that German people generally don’t talk about religion, faith and worldviews. Now, we work with a team who has a lot of experience in these areas (including German Nationals) but we wanted to dig deeply on this issue for ourselves. It is in the discovery of this information that  holds the keys to how most effectively reach German peoples.

I recently had a conversation with a friend here, Maria Walker, who has been a huge blessing to our family in so many ways. She is a native German and has a ton of perspective on these matters. After asking her why Germans were generally closed to discussing issues of faith, she said one big reason was fallout from The 30 Years War way back in the early 1600′s. Huh? What was the Thirty Years war you ask?

The short version is this… This was a conflict that occurred mostly in what is now Germany between Catholics and Protestants in the Roman Empire. The war gradually turned from a struggle for religious freedoms, into a political battle between most of the European powers of the day. This war was hugely destructive due to the fact that most armies of the day were expected to be self funded. This means that they had the free rein to pillage and loot wherever they were in order to continue to operate.

When the war ended in 1648, there were rulers that were given large and small areas of modern-day Germany to rule. These local rulers had the freedom to choose what religious worldview they wanted to adopt. If the local ruler said his territory was going to be Catholic for example, then you were Catholic as well. Here’s the thing… if you opened your mouth and objected to this imposed religious worldview, you were run out-of-town, or worse. So if you wanted to keep your house and keep your farm, then you kept your mouth shut and played nicely with the other kids. So as a result, people learned to keep issues of faith very private, especially if you didn’t believe as the local authority said you were to believe.

My friend Maria says that this cultural tendency has been passed down from generation to generation and is a significant reason why German people are still so private about their faith. Unfortunately even Evangelicals here buy into this ideal, and this in part why most churches don’t get out of their pews, into the world and spread the Gospel in their local communities. This is why we are here… to help them find creative ways to engage a private, self-reliant (Work and Will Form The World) and secular cultural environment. And of course music and the arts are a great, unique and very effective way to engage people, giving the local church opportunities to build bridges with people and “make disciples”.

Lastly, Germans even today put Christian missionaries or active churches who GO and engage people, in the same boat as Al Qaida. We disciples who have been given our marching orders by our Lord Jesus Christ, are in their view, trouble makers. We stir things up… we challenge people to think about what they believe and hold to be true… The prevailing attitude is “let a sleeping dog lie.” Stay to our selves, mind our own business, circle the wagons, take care of our own, and everything will work out fine. This is not how Jesus led His life. Going into the “harvest field” means you have to turn soil, plant seed, nurture your crop and reap the harvest for God’s glory! You have to “stir the pot” so to speak. This is often messy, challenging and definitely disturbs the status quo.  This  is what we intend to do.

Thank you for your prayers, love, encouragement and support!

Much love in Christ!

Steve, Dawn, Bianca and Sofia

Thanks so much for your prayers for our event 2-weeks ago in Freiburg. The pastor was very excited, many people came and we will be continuing to work with them in the coming months to help them with outreach and training to reach their community.

Living In The Light…

“So Steve, what’s that on your wrist?”

I’m in language school right now, and it’s not easy. I spoke with many people about their experience learning German… Some said it would be cake and some said it would be tough. For me, the latter is true. That said, after four weeks, I’m actually able to have some conversations with German people… short ones.  The Deutsch Sprachschule I’ve been going to, is in nearby Lorrach, about 10 minutes from where we are living in Sitzenkirch. I go 5 days a week, 4-hours a day with 2-hours of homework a day. The class size (on most days) is about 15 people. If you like to be around diverse and unique groups of people, then you would like this classroom. We have people from a lot of countries and cultures; Lithuania, Macedonia, Russia, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Bulgaria, America, Japan, Brazil and a few other countries I can’t think of right now. The teacher (“Lehrerin” in Deutsch) is from Ukraine, is very good at her job, fun, but very intense.

This style of language learning is complete and TOTAL immersion. Since day one, the Lehrerin, spoke nothing but German. Even her instructions for what we were going to do for the day, or the next hour, were/are in German. Let’s just say I float somewhere between “hey, I get this” and “I must be a complete and total moron.” The English/German Dictionary (Worterbuch) is a very good friend to me right now. That said, the class requires a high level of concentration and when we get a break, I jump on it.

During one our daily breaks recently, a young lady from Japan ask me about a wristband I had on that says “Live in The Light.”. I received it during an evening of outreach in our home town of Folsom, while handing them out last summer with my brother and friend Jeff Kreiser and Lakeside Church on Sutter Street during a street fair.

So, I told my Japanese friend that the wristband was from a Bible verse; 1 John 1:5 – Walking In The Light. It reads: “This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you. God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.” She asked me what it meant. (What a golden moment) I told her that it meant a lot of things, but for me it means to walk in the footsteps of Jesus everyday; to be a student of His teachings and His life. I shared with her that I want to live a life that reflects the character of Jesus Christ, that I don’t get it right all the time, but that is my calling. I shared with her that I had lived a life pursuing my agenda and that all the roads I went down, led to dead ends. I started to ask myself questions about the meaning of my life… Why am I here… What is the purpose of my life? I shared with her that I had found peace, purpose, joy and meaning to my life… it isn’t always wonderful and rosy but I know Jesus, and I have a personal relationship with Him… and because I accepted Him as my personal Lord and Saviour and turned away from my old sinful life, I can prepare for eternity with God right now, each and every day!!

The good news is, she didn’t run off and shun me… she asked a few more questions and we have started a friendship. The other cool thing is that there were four or five other people in the room while this was going on, listening very carefully. Some might think it was too much too soon… I don’t think so. I can tell you that I felt the awesome power of The Holy Spirit in the room… He gave me the strength, courage and the words to say. We’ve talked more, she has asked more questions and I pray The Holy Spirit is working on her heart in a big way.

I am so excited to have had this opportunity!! God is good and He brought us to Germany for this very reason. Dawn and I look forward to a time when God arranges more opportunities to share “The Light” of Christ Jesus with those who haven’t heard The Gospel or have rejected Him in the past, either through personal encounters or Proclaim campaigns here, and in other countries. I pray we all find ways to share The Gospel…the most important thing anyone we encounter will ever hear.

So, bring on the Deutsch!

Sprechen Sie Bald! (talk to you soon)

Much Love and gratitude,

Steve, Dawn, Bianca and Sofia

Prayer Requests…

For our home church Oak Hills… We have had a devastating string of illnesses and deaths of many dear friends in the church. Pray for peace and comfort for The Body and for Leadership.

For an important event next month in a nearby city where we will working with a local church and helping them think strategically  about outreach and missions.

For a Proclaim campaign planned for November in North Africa.

For our house Bible Study group (German speaking) Dawn and I are in on Thursday evenings.

For Dawn as she starts language school next week.

Thanks so much for your prayers for Bianca and Sofia!! We think we are turning a corner… they are making friends, liking school & teachers and starting to show signs of adapting to language and culture.

Thursdays with Helga

We believe we  met our landlords Peter and his wife Helga through divine orchestration. We had been in Germany for less than 24 hours when we went in search of permanent housing. We went to a bulletin board at BFA (Black Forest Academy) where people often advertise housing and stuff for sale. We saw a card on the board  that the current tenants had put there for Peter and Helga’s house on their behalf. We called the number and went to check the place out the same day. We knew right away that we wanted the house. We had been prepared to live in an apartment or a small flat. This was a house with a yard for the same cost as other places much smaller. We met with Peter and Helga the next day and signed a lease. BAM! The Lord provided for us in a big way. Even our fellow Proclaim team members were amazed at God’s timing in this. Peter happens to be the mayor of our small little village (280 people) called Sitzenkirch and Helga is a massage therapist. They are a wonderful, generous older couple with grown children who have welcomed us with open arms. They live just down the street.

The previous tenants, Randy and Nancy, also missionaries, were extremely nice and helpful people as well. Nancy had a regular routine of taking a walk with Helga on Thursday afternoons. Nancy asked Dawn if she would like to continue these walks with Helga. Of course she said yes and they have been walking for several weeks now. Nancy told Dawn that she had been witnessing to Helga, and had been praying for someone to rent the house that would continue to share Christ with Helga. Dawn and I believe The Lord brought us here for this reason among others.

Dawn says that when they walk, they speak german half the time and english the other half. They talk about life, the community, hopes, dreams, dissapointments… all of it. Their relationship is developing and our prayer is that over the course of time, through the power of The Holy Spirit and Dawn’s witness, that Helga will come to know our Lord Jesus. Wouldn’t that be glorious?

We are here as a base for ministry to train, equip, and mobilize local churches here in Germany, Eastern and Western Europe, North Africa, Central Asia and beyond. That is a big vision and we are excited about this work God has called us to. However, we each have a Helga right next door or down the street that is asking questions about why they are here and the meaning & purpose of their lives. So in addition to our far reaching ministry that takes us to Muslim stongholds like Turkey,  Albania, and North Africa, as well as secular Europe, we must live with our “eyes wide open” and see what God has for us in front of our noses.

God has arranged an opportunity for Dawn right here and right now. I pray that I’ll have an opportunity to get to know and engage Peter as well. Please pray for Peter and Helga. They don’t know our Lord Jesus and this is heartbreaking and tragic. We are His ambassadors sent here to impact our community for God’s glory. That sounds really good and what you would expect to hear from a missionary…. However, we believe it with all our hearts. 

Thank you for your prayers and for sending us!

With much love and gratitude,

Steve, Dawn, Bianca & Sofia

Please pray for:

God’s glorification and Christ’s magnification in all we say, think and do

Bianca and Sofia’s continued transition to go well

Language learning

Our Proclaim Germany team

For our dear friends and family experiencing loss of loved ones

Strong relationship for Dawn and Steve

God Has Done a Lot in One Month

When we boarded the A-330 Airbus in San Francisco back on June 17th heading for Germany, there were still a lot of un-answered questions… housing, transportation, schools, German drivers licenses, visa, language… all of it. We have seen God provide abundantly for us in the last month and answer many of the questions rolling around in our minds while eating the in-fight peanuts. However, there are still a lot of details that need to be resolved… a lot!

To “keep it real”, the first two weeks or so were really tough. Bianca and Sofia were really unhappy and asking (over and over) why we had to come here and why couldn’t we just be missionaries in Folsom. We are still having rough days, but they seem to be settling in… slowly. Dawn and I are stressed out at times and we really need to give each other extra grace, love and compassion. I love her so much!

All that said, we know why we are here. Things will settle down. The girls will make other friends, new routines will be established, we’ll get better connected. God is in this and He will bring us through this time of transition. This is a time of growth, reflection, adjustment and enduring adversity. I know this…it’s all worth it!

We attended a gathering in the town square here in Kandern recently. There was a 25 piece accordian orchestra, grilled bratwurst, lots of German beer (none for me), and a large gathering of mostly older folks (accordian orchestras don’t draw the young folks in). As we sat there eating our sausages, drinking our Cokes and listening to the rockin accordians, I looked at the people around me. As I looked into each persons face, I wondered if they know Jesus. I was curious about them, their story, what their lives are like. What are the things that keep them up at night, make them happy…? Do they know my Jesus? I commented to Dawn that we should stand up and start handing out tracts, proclaiming the Good News with boldness…. I wanted to share The Gospel with them. It was honestly a moment of frustration. You see, I don’t speak (enough) German yet and that wouldn’t have been the best way to approach these people anyway. So we enjoyed the band (I’ve never heard Abba’s Dancing Queen covered on accordians before), ate our wurst and went home. The time will come to engage in eternally important conversations with our German neighbors.

For now, we are in transition. Soon we will be in language school, involved in local ministries, get more connected at our local church, be involved in evangelistic campaigns in other countries, etc. We are grateful to be here in spite of the tough stuff. Thank you to our supporters and prayer partners for sending us! And most of all, thank you God for your calling!!

More soon…

In Service to King Jesus,

Steve, Dawn, Bianca and Sofia

 

Prayer requests:

For Bianca and Sofia-that they will continue to transition well, make new friends, get more comfortable here

For Dawn and myself-that we will continue to bathe each other in grace love and compassion

For our other team members here and on their way

For our German brothers and sisters who need to know Jesus

For Hugh Reed and others  struggling with health issues

We’ve Arrived!

Thanks everyone so much for all you travel prayers! We arrived a couple of days ago and are in our temporary housing. It’s a multi floor apartment that suits us just fine. Our team field leader Todd Smalley is helping us with the search for a permanent place, transportation, visa application, school details for Bianca and Sofia…. so much to do!! We are overwhelmed at times but we know God is in this and He will see us through. Without Him, we would crash and burn… We attended a local church on Sunday, registered with the local authorities yesterday and today we will look at a place in an area nearby that will be available in early August.

We are very excited to learn that that we live literally down the street from our friend Carey who is a field leader for Greater Europe Mission. I’m praying to get connected to and partner with GEM and their outreach program to Muslim people here in Germany and France as a part of our ongoing ministry.  The co-directors of Proclaim will be here in Kandern by the end of the week to help us with transition and to have strategic planning meetings .

Dawn and the girls are well but we are seeing that there will be big challenges with the girls and their transition. It was really tough on them to leave their friends and the routine they knew in the states. Your prayers in this area are so needed. Thanks!!

More soon… Hold the rope!!

In Christ,

Steve and Dawn

God has spoken very loudly and very clearly!

 We leave for our field assignment in Germany on June 17th!

Over the course of the last three months, we have seen God move in amazing ways and provide a large chunk of our monthly support needs. We are currently at 96%! We still have some work to do to get to 100%, but we are confident that God will provide. We were recently cleared to purchase our ONE WAY tickets to our ministry base in Germany. Praise The Lord! He is faithful!

We can’t wait to get to our field assignment and start the process of adjusting to language and culture and serving the needs of the German Church. We will be serving our ministry partners through evangelism, outside the walls of the church, leadership development, training conferences and more. We will also be leading advance teams into other countries to prepare and equip God’s people to reach out beyond the walls of the church with The Gospel. We will many other opportunities to serve in God’s Kingdom Building work and we are ecstatic to have this opportunity to represent our prayer partners and financial supporters in this work. 

First and foremost, we want to thank God for His calling and His provision. We also want to thank our faithful prayer partners and financial supporters for their remarkable support and encouragement over the course of the last three years as we have been on this journey. Your faithfulness will allow us to stay in our field assignment for the long haul.

This is not goodbye, but more like… see ya later. Look for updates from us via e-mail and the web site.

Thank you all for your prayers, encouragement and support!