November 2006

What is the meaning of the name Eli?

Last night, at our teen meeting, We watched Max Lucado's cartoon "You are Special." It was exciting to see how wonderfully God can use such a medium. The simple story telling was also very deep and broad. The cartoon touches on topics such as creation, sin, man's judgment God's forgiveness, repentance, salvation, justification, and sanctification to name a few. I, personally, was reminded that we are called to bring the gospel to the poor in spirit. Because they are prepared to receive the gospel. It was also clear that each individual must come to the Lord on his own volition. One may think, duh, but in a culture where the "Church" teaches that they are the owners of salvation, that truth is completely hidden, new, strange, and scary Just as Punchinello got scared in Eli's workshop, many run for the door at the moment of decision.

Please pray for our little group of new believers. They are so excited about their faith. They are truly interested in passing it on. I can't tell you how that encourages me. Please pray for M and also for L. They are both struggling at the door of salvation. Until now, they always have run off when they come to the end of the diving board of decision.

At the end of our discussion, the question was ask, " Is there significance to the name Eli?" Sometimes, no matter how clear it is, the truth can be overlooked.

A Toe Hold

Credibility is an important factor is you wish to minister in Germany. If being a Baptist (not a part of the traditionally accepted churches) is not a big enough obstacle, then there is the undeniable fact that I was not born or trained in Germany. There is also my weak pronunciation of the German "R" among many other factors to contend with. These comprise a steep grade to credibility. Overcoming the cultural divide to reach trust is a daunting task that is impossible without perseverance in following God's leadership and depending on His grace to open the doors and make a way.

We are constantly looking for a door that God has opened. I have been teaching conversation English downtown on Wed. evenings for about a year now. Note: Thursday is our midweek service. For the last two sessions Dr. med. H.... S. has been attending. She is a retired head of her department at Hospital here in Wittenberg. Please pray that God will do a work in her life. Seeing her saved would no doubt open doors in the community and give us another toe hold.

Paul

Oct-Nov Letter

Thank you for all of your prayers for Vivian, the 19 year old young lady in our church who has surrendered to the ministry. A year ago, her family forbid her to be baptised saying it would ruin their family. After much prayer, she decided that she must follow Christ despite the objections of her family.

It went wonderfully. We had a full building with over 60 people in attendance. Many of the students from Vivian’s senior class attended. Usually the family of the person getting baptised plans the day and makes it special, but in this case since Vivian’s family was not willing to support her in her decision, Paul and I took on the task of making her day extra special. Here is what we ended up doing.

Choosing the theme Footprints in the Sand, Vivian helped us prepare invitations, decorations, confetti and bookmarkers.

One of our ladies read the Footprints poem and our son, Skyler played special music during the song service. Paul prepared a power point presentation to accompany a book that I read entitled I Wish You all the Best in Life. Vivian has written and composed several songs, so we used them in the song service as well. At the end of the service, Vivan did an excellent job giving her testimony.

Afterwards, we had a BBQ on the grounds. While everyone was eating, we prepared helium balloons for a balloon lift-off. Vivian printed a short testimony along with a coupon for a free book and our church address to attach to the balloons. Gathering in the backyard we all let our balloons fly. It was a beautiful finale to a wonderful day. Almost as good as fireworks.

We have already gotten lots of good feedback from the day and are eager to see how God works in the lives of those who were present. Two of the people who attended for the first time came to our teen meeting the following night prepared to accept Christ. Please pray for these two new believers – Anna and Alex.

In Him,

Paul Sudbrock

P.S. Here is a video of Vivian's Baptism on youtube

A Celebration of Thanks

Wednesday morning we rose early and headed our separate ways. Serenity and I were off to see the eye doctor for the third time this year. Six months ago, the health department visited our preschool and told me that Serenity needed glasses. Sure enough when we took her to the doctor, the tests showed that she was only seeing 40% with one eye and 50% with the other. The doctor sent us home with some eye drops and asked us to come back in 2 months. Two months later we returned to find that her eyesight had improved and she was now seeing 60% in both eyes. Rather than prescribe glasses, the doctor decided to wait and see how her eyes progressed. This brings our story up to present. Our results this time? Serenity is seeing 75% with one eye and 80% with the other. The verdict – we will wait another 6 months and see what God does. The outcome – one very thankful set of parents and 1 disappointed preschooler who really wanted glasses.

The next stop on my list was a parent-teacher conference at the school. While there, the English teacher asked me to step in and tell the kids a little about Thanksgiving. What a blessing. I shared with them some of the basic facts and history and told them how it is a great time for us to gather together with our families and give thanks to God for all that He has done for us. Before leaving the teacher went around the room and asked everyone to name one thing they are thankful for. My son’s response – “I’m thankful that I get to go to school.” What a wonderful surprise to my day.

For weeks we have been planning to spend Thanksgiving Dinner with my Thursday night adult English conversation class. Directly following Bible study, we packed up the family and the food and headed for the community college. There, we were able to share Thanksgiving and our faith in God with my 11 students and some of their family members.

• I am thankful for Traci Baltic and the ABEKA Thanksgiving Day flashcards that she donated to our ministry years ago. They have come in handy more than once.
• I am thankful for Mrs. Brown, Betty Deem and Adolf Petzoldt – a few of my English teachers who drilled the basics into me and encouraged me to continue learning.
• I am thankful for Sonya Ryhal and Shirley McGuiness – two of my Home-Ec. teachers who helped me learn my way around in the kitchen.
• I am thankful for my Dad who taught me how to wing it – even if you do end up two plates short at the Thanksgiving table.
• I am thankful for church missionary closets like the one at Quint City Baptist Temple that shared the blessing of Tupperware with us so that we might be able to transport Thanksgiving dinner for 20 people. And I'm thankful that those Tupperware lids make such great plates in a pinch!
• I am thankful for Tabi, who sent the cranberries for the sauce.
• I am thankful for Grandma and for her pie crust recipe that never fails to get compliments and for the beautiful silverware she gave me for graduation.

• I am thankful for my sister, Kim, who gave me some great advice for getting the food from here to there without getting cold.

• I am thankful for mom who gave me a love for entertaining.

• I am thankful for the ladies of First Baptist Church of Ashland, Ohio, who helped to fill my kitchen with essentials such as a rolling pin and mixing bowls.
• I'm thankful for my mother-in-law and the beautiful red candle holders that made the table glow.
• I'm thankful for my husband who so willingly supports my crazy ideas - like fixing and transporting Thanksgiving Dinner for 20 people to a classroom across town with no kitchen facilities - in the rain no less!
• I'm thankful for my kids who so willingly participated and were so well behaved. I'm thankful that they considered it a blessing to be there tonight.
• I'm thankful that we were all healthy enough to enjoy the evening.

• I'm thankful for Mindy and Ashley Smith and for the Stove Top Stuffing that they sent.
• I'm thankful for Mittie Mitchell and the way she helped me develop teaching skills
• I'm thankful for Baptist Bible College and the "English As A Second Language" teaching classes.
• I'm thankful for all of our supporting churches who make it financially possible to be in Germany.
• I'm thankful for the opportunity to be in Wittenberg, Germany serving the Lord.

I hope you had a wonderful celebration of thanks today as well!

School in Germany

In a German school, at least at my school, we have two recesses. School starts at 7:15 and my last class goes till 1:15. The German word for school is "Schule." Our subjects are English, German, Math, Music, Gym, Science, and Social Studies. When I am through with this school year we will be coming back to the states for a few months. When we return I will be going on to Gymnasium (High school). At least that is my goal. Please pray that God will bless me.

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