The Sudbrock Scoop

The sound of his voice

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:38:49 +0200

It was such a blessing to be able to be at my Dad's bedside during his last couple of days here on earth. I am so humbled by and grateful for the many gifts that I received in order to make that trip possible. Thank you all so very much!

374 signed the guest book at Dad’s funeral, more than filling the little 150 person church where my dad invested his life of ministry. The funeral services were lead by three of his preacher friends: James Holmes, Charles Stevens, and Bill Eakins. They all reflected the steadfastness of Daddy’s friendship and ministry. The sermon was delivered by Bill Eakins and captured the essence of A.B. Sudbrock. We laughed, cried, and laughed some more as he compared the life of Paul to that of Dad’s and then drew the Gospel plan so clear that all could understand. It was ever apparent that Dad’s death was a culmination of the Gospel he so loved to preach. You could almost hear Dad booming in with "AMEN!"

Preceding the service I spoke with Bill mentioning how Father would have enjoyed preaching to such a crowd. He said, he would do anything to get people under the sound of the Gospel. We both laughed at the idea that he had died in order to fill the church.

The night before, we as a family had a private viewing and took the last pictures of Dad. It felt strange, but when the coffin lid was closed for the last time, I was comforted knowing that I had taken those pictures.

At the graveside God ordered up a rain. It was perfect as if Heaven was crying with us. His four sons and a grandson were pallbearers. Brother Eakins spoke and the lead us in prayer. The first volley of the 21-gun salute jolted me but the rest were like a salve. They spoke to his service to our country, our Lord and our relationship. I always loved hunting with Dad. Oddly the smell of the gun smoke brought up so many good memories.

Daddy was buried in an unfinished pine casket with rope handles of his own design and construction. He could do about anything, a real Superman. I have spoken to several pastors and the funeral director. No one had ever heard of such a thing, one building his own casket. The funeral director commented that he had heard of people starting, but never of one who actually got the job done. Even his casket spoke of his ingenuity, uncomplicated nature and inability to quit until the job was completed.

Right after Dad’s passing I struggled with the frustration that I could imagine what dad would have said in a given situation, but I couldn't remember his voice. It was a special blessing when we found some old videos and tapes of Dad. I was so comforted to hear him again. His teachings and words will be with me always.

Thank you once again for all of your prayers and support during this very difficult time for our family.

Paul

Home in Glory

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:37:05 +0200

We planned to move Daddy home with Hospice care today (Monday), but . . .

Daddy lost consciousness around 10:10 and we couldn't move him. Before he lost awareness, he called all of us to his bedside. We all held his hands praying, crying and expressing our love. Pastor Harris led us in singing dad's favorite song (There is a fountain filled with blood). It turned into a singspiration and a mutual sharing of laughs and memories. God is good.

‎At 10:20 pm Our pastor, daddy and friend went home to be with Jesus. We are thankful that God took him with such grace and mercy. He didn't suffer. As we sang, his heart would strengthen, but as time drew on it continued to weaken until Jesus carried him home.

Psalms 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

We are especially grateful to all of the area pastors who have come by to visit with Daddy and our family during the past 2 weeks. Just think, he is experiencing now what he has preached about for the past 40+ years. Truly an awesome reward.

Thank you for your support of prayer at this time.

Singing His praises, Paul Sudbrock‎

The universal Delusion

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:53:27 +0200

It is ironic how much of our life we spend in the delusion that we are in control. Only in the face of mortality are we awakened to God’s incredible grace wherewith HE has so patently dealt with our conceit.

Paul Sudbrock

Home in Gloryland

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:22:31 +0200

I've got a home in Gloryland that outshines the sun!

A big thank you to all who have been praying with us through this trial. Your notes have meant so very much to us. Two weeks ago, Paul's dad was admitted to the hospital for bleeding ulcers. Unfortunately though, his body has declined rapidly since then and he has grown very weak. Paul's brother, Joel, called this morning to let us know that Oma is ready for Paul to fly home. From all appearances, Opa will be moving on to his home in Gloryland very soon. Paul will be flying out for Newton, Iowa, on the first available flight. As I type this, he is on the phone with American Airlines trying to make the arrangements necessary for purchase of a breavement ticket. Paul will be flying alone this time.

Please pray for our family, the church in Newton, Iowa, and the church here in Wittenberg, Germany. Newton Baptist Temple is in need of a new pastor to walk with them through this transition. Paul's dad started the church there 42 years ago. The church here in Germany will be left for an unknown period of time without a preacher for Sunday Services.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Chelli

God's hand of protection

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:44:25 +0200

Praising the Lord for His hand of protection this morning! An abandoned factory, just two doors down from us burnt to the ground this morning, but the Lord kept us safe. The garden is covered in ash and my clothes on the line aren't looking so fresh any more, but we are safe. And, the great thing about it is - that building is gone, which makes the neighborhood so much safer. Homeless drunks tend to hang out there and always made me leery of letting the kids go to the bus stop or the store alone. I imagine they are the ones who started the fire. They lit it up once last year, but it got put out before any real damage was done. This time the fire department wasn't so quick. Praising the Lord for his all around hand of protection.

Blessings,

Chelli

To each their own

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:32:25 +0200

Ooops! I guess, I should let Paul do the picture uploads. As you can tell, I didn't quite do that right. To each their own - and my own is definately not digital photography. I will get him to repair it for us soon though. Right now, he is busy with the clean up and maintainance neccessary after such a big day like yesterday. Thanks for loving us despite our human quirks.

Blessings!

Chelli

4th of July

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 22:41:51 +0200

Since the beginning of June, we have been advertising and inviting for today. This week, we passed out over 500 invitation for our summer activities starting with our 4th of July picinic today.

We had 30 people in attendance today, 7 of which were 1st time visitors. We started off the day with a song and worship including the Skyler and Samantha playing The Star Spangled Banner on their violins. Paul's sermon title today was of course "Independance". The kids enjoyed crafts and games -especially the water balloon battles, considering the temp. was well over 90° which is not very common for Germany. The hot weather kept a few people from being able to come for our picnic, but those who did make it, had a great time and were granted an extra reward from the Lord when He sent a cool breeze in the afternoon. We enjoyed introducing our German friends to American foods like cole slaw, ranch dip, french dressing, and root beer as well as a game or two of bolo.

Among our visitors were some with great musical talent, which lead to a great round of singspiration as the evening set in. We had a great time and are praising the Lord for His awesome provision.

Traveling Classroom

Thu, 27 May 2010 14:46:47 +0200

Yesterday was a great day. Did you notice? Here in Wittenberg, the sun actually came out. And that was only the beginning!

The high school that Skyler attends had community project day yesterday and the 6th graders had the assignment: Get to know our area churches. And yes, we were on the list! That alone was a tremendous honor. According to German tradition, if you aren't Catholic or Lutheran, you aren't Christian, but yesterday we were given the stamp of approval from the local high school. You, see, the story started back at Christmastime. The high school held their yearly concert at the local Lutheran church because it was the only place in the area large enough for such a large group. Since the school auditorium is so small, they usually perform the concert 4 times back-to-back so that all of the parents can attend. The plan backfired though. Many of the parents refused to come because it was held in a church building. You see, our area is staunch atheist at the heart. So, the school leadership decided to try to overcome the "fear of church" by introducing all of its students to the different church buildings in the area. We were asked if we would participate and be on hand to answer any questions that the students might have.

About one hundred 6th graders split up and toured the churches in the area- 2 Lutheran, 1 Catholic and 1 Baptist. We hosted 26 of them along with one of their teachers. Starting with some songs, we welcomed them into our auditorium and began answering questions. As I stood back and listened to Paul answering questions ranging from "How much does it cost to be baptized?" to "Did God force you to come here?", I saw a man with an agenda. Every answer to every question lead to Christ. The questions continued for about 45 minutes, followed by a tour of the church, drinks, and soccer on the church lawn. Before leaving, we encouraged the students to help themselves to the tract rack and the book table. Each of the students received a German New Testament and a DVD of the Jesus Film. Those students learned that our doors are always open to them. Before visiting us, they had visited an old cold stone church down the street and the teacher just kept saying how much nicer and more welcoming our church was than the other one. Upon returning to the school, a couple of girls told our son that they really enjoyed their visit to the Baptist church and that it was their favorite.

Now the students have the assignment to prepare a presentation about the churches they visited. May the Lord continue to provide favor in their eyes. They now know we are here and have our web address. Pray with us that they will contact us. Please pray with us that the Lord will speak to their hearts through His Word.

Thanking the Lord for the traveling classroom!

Traveling Classroom

Thu, 27 May 2010 09:14:32 +0200

Yesterday was a great day. Did you notice? Here in Wittenberg, the sun actually came out. And that was only the beginning!

Thanking the Lord for the traveling classroom!

Christians hiding the light

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:34:51 +0100

Every time a Christian avoids shining faith in the light (Jesus), the world is that much darker. Darkness is intolerant of the light. It needs an exponentially growing darkness to hide it's intention of total dominance. You cannot hide darkness, even the smallest amount, without extinguishing the light.

Paul

Wrapping up 2009

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:39:37 +0100

It is incredible that a year has gone by. As we celebrated the coming New Year, it was amazing how much change has occurred. We have seen two people receive Christ. We have prayed for Michael for the last 5 years. Finally, he repented and asked Jesus to save him. It is so refreshing to see the changes the Lord is making in his life. Please pray as he faces many trials ahead. His daughter was our other convert. She received Christ this past summer. We were also blessed to see our two middle daughters follow the Lord on Baptism.

We have recently made friends with a couple through a “random” meeting at McDonalds. M. heard our conversation as we talked with our children. She was amazed to hear us switching between English and German. She decided to approach us if our car was from Wittenberg. Following us to the car, she approached us as we were getting the kids buckled. She was interested in our family as her family is also international. Her husband is Jewish from Tel Aviv. Since our initial meeting, she has visited our services several times with her daughter including our New Year’s Eve service which her husband, L. attended as well.

Spending time with L. has been incredibly educational. His knowledge of Hebrew has unlocked many truths. It has been simply fascinating. The simple truth that the name “Peleg” means cascading water adds a dimension to the understanding of the post flood world and the division of the continents that is quit exhilarating. Reading portions of the Old Testament with a child of Jacob is amazing.

In November L & M invited me to the synagogue in Berlin to take part in the Celebration of the Torah. It was like watching David dance before the Lord. As the five torah scrolls where being carried around the hall of the Synagogue, people demonstrated their love of G_d’s word by kissing their fingers and touching the silk coverings of the scrolls. The whole procession was accompanied by lively Jewish songs and joyous dancing. I was even invited to carry the Scroll!

Afterwards, there was FOOD. I must say, Baptists have nothing over the Jewish people when it comes to a good spread of food, ;°)

Please pray that our testimony before this precious family will be effectively fruitful. Pray also for God’s wisdom in our presentation of our faith.

Christmas Eve afternoon right before the stores closed, my precious wife realized we were missing a few necessities. I rushed to the store in the hope it would still be open. Thankfully it was. As I gathered the groceries in my arms, I spotted some Belgian chocolates. A nice assortment I must say. I thought, but we don’t need them. But then again, who knows. I picked them up and made my way to the register. There were a few fellow last-minute-shoppers ahead of me in line. The lady at the head of the line graciously allowed a young man with only one item to move up to the front. The cashier was a very busy stocky built serious type. She was a bit frazzled and moved at a hustled pace. You could sense the frustration under her smile. Then it was my turn. She rang up my items, and then it happened. As clear as crystal, that familiar calm, loving and tender voice spoke, “Give her the chocolates.” She had just finished and quoted me the sum, in response, I gave her the money. She handed me the receipt and wished me a merry Christmas. In return, I handed her the chocolates and wished her the same. She was at first shocked speechless, visibly shaken, not knowing how to respond. Finally she thanked me, as I thanked God for counting me worthy in this small thing. As I joyously returned home, I mused over God’s amazing ways. He is great and worthy of praise!

Thank you for all the ways that you have allowed Him to use you to make it possible for us to serve Him here in Wittenberg!

Paul Sudbrock and Family

Scholastic religious freedom?

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:58:35 +0100

In today’s brave scholastic world of Atheism, you have religious freedom to say you believe in God, but not the freedom to really believe that He created the world. Now, what was the point of religious freedom?

If God was not powerful and truthful enough to create the Universe as He stated in the very first lines of His book, what is the point of believing? Oh yeah, so you can be a modern double standard “Christian.” Is not that the definition of Laodicea? Rev. 3:14-22

When will the “Christians” begin to act on what the say they believe? Will it be now, when a shell of religious freedom still exist, or will they wait until the decision is to testify of their “faith” and be martyred.

Paul

Thanksgiving Day Rehearsals

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:23:34 +0100

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:22:05 +0100

Experiencing success when none is apparent is not insanity, but faith in a promise from One that can not lie. Ga 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Paul

Samantha playing Amazing Grace

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:55:39 +0100

Back to School!

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:36:41 +0100

November may seem a little late for going back to school, but that is in fact just what we are doing.

Samantha's school has asked us to teach baseball during the last hour on Mondays, so each Monday we pick up the other girls from their school and head up to Samantha's school at the top of the hill with our bats and balls in tow. Over the years, we have gathered a duffel full of supplies for teaching baseball, but the turnout this time was a little more than we had expected. We have 22 boys and girls from the 4th grade who are eager to learn how to use a baseball mitt and which way to run when they hit the ball. Being a few mitts short, we are having to be a bit creative during our practice time. The best part about practice doesn't take place on the field or in the gym though. The best part is when we are in the store or walking downtown and one of our players stops to say hi and introduce us to their parents.

The same elementary school has also invited us to do an American Christmas Cottage during their annual Christmas Craft night at the end of this month. Now is time for brainstorming. I am looking for craft ideas that kids can do in about 10-15 minutes and cost less than $2 each to make. We will have Christmas carols and spiced cider and I would like to have candy canes too. Could someone send me some of the small candy canes? We will decorate with stockings and manger scenes. If anyone has any other good ideas, I would love to hear from you.

I am teaching English at the community college this fall as well. I have two classes, one for senior citizens on Monday mornings and an open conversation class on Thursday nights. Many of the students have been attending my classes for years and it is blessing to see our relationship develop and expand with each semester. Yesterday we received a phone call from one of the other teachers and she has invited our family to come sing Christmas Carols and teach about Christmas in America for two of her classes during the month of December. We will do a lot of the same things that we have planned for the elementary school, but we will also read the Christmas story from Luke and answer questions.

And this year, all three of our children's schools as well as the community college have been active in our church's Christmas Charity project. What a blessing to see their eagerness to help.

Christmas is such an awesome time to open up and share our hearts with people. I am praying that we will have more and more opportunities like these each year.

A big thank you goes out to all of you who pray for us so regularly.

Chelli

Its Reformation Time!

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:50:37 +0100

October 31st is Reformation Day. The City of Wittenberg rolls out the red carpet, well, okay, the burlap bags, and becomes the reformation capital of the middle ages once again to welcome thousands of guests. This year, we were privileged to be invited to have a booth downtown for the festivities. Our church runs a nonprofit called "Culture and Counseling". This organization received an invitation to demonstrate a middle ages handcraft and advertise for our group. We gladly accepted the challenge. We set up a booth with books, tracts and Bibles. Our handcraft - homemade paper. This time, we cooked iris and hosta leaves into paper pulp. People loved the papers made from pineapple greens, asparagus and leeks. While the adults were browsing our paper and books, the children were invited to spin our prize wheel where they had a chance to win Christian CDs, books and prizes. Paul was able to talk to several people about salvation and invite them to visit our church while I worked with the children. The kids were great. I love it when a bashful little kid inches up to the spinning wheel, timidly places their hand on it and then WOW spins the thing almost off is its stand. Who would have ever thought so much power was hiding in such a little bundle. And so much more hiding in those little packages of love. I had so much fun opening Christmas packages and letting the winner pick out a prize. Oh how I pray those seeds will take root and grow into spiritual fruit.

We were able to distribute about 500 books, CDs, DVDs and tracts. We also handed out 50 balloons with Christian quotes on them. Next time I think we should order 200. I just loved watching these atheist parents pushing strollers and their children holding balloons that said things like "God is Love". That sight fueled my smile all day long.

As the sun set and we lit our lanterns, even more people stopped by to check out our Christian themed pumpkins. The kids had such fun carving them. They invited the neighbor kids over and we had a pumpkin carving party. If you have any good Christian carving ideas for next year, please send them our way.

As we roll into November, the month of thanks, please know that we are so very thankful for all of our friends and supporters who make it possible for us to be able to distribute the Gospel in Wittenberg, Germany. Have a great Thanksgiving Month!

Chelli

Great healing God!

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:49:08 +0200

Dad just sent this to me and I am on cloud nine. This is a remarkable turn around. God is great!

No reappearance of the spot on the lung, lymph nodes are shrinking and he is regaining strengthens and movement in his spine. Thanks so much for your prayers, help and encouragement!

Paul and family

CHEST CT WITH IV CONTRAST 10-12-09

The lung fields are fully expanded and clear. The small nodular density described within the upper lobe on CT of 6-23-09 is not reproduced. Heart and great vessel detail unremarkable other than atherosclerosis. There is no remarkable mediastinal adenopathy present. Chest wall soft tissue symmetry seems preserved.

ABDOMINAL PELVIC CT WITH IV AND ORAL CONTRAST

The liver and spleen remain average in size and uniform in attenuation. The gallbladder without wall thickening or calcified stones, the intra and extrahepatic bile ducts are normal as is the pancreas. There is similar retrocrural adenopathy as reported on 6-23-09. The adrenal glands are normal in appearance as are the kidneys. There is para aortic retroperitoneal adenopathy diffusely through the abdomen, but the previous bulky lymph nodes through this region have significantly decreased in size since radiation therapy. The bowel pattern remains non obstructive without intra peritoneal adenopathy. There is pelvic adenopathy along the course of

the iliac arteries which appears virtually unchanged. The thick walled fluid collection right lateral to the bladder measuring 5.7 cm is again noted, again indeterminent whether this is a necrotic lymph node, lymphocele or bladder diverticulum. The bladder is effaced though by this deformity and the bladder exhibits some bladder wall thickening but is otherwise unremarkable. The prostate gland has been surgically removed. The periprostatic fat planes reveal diffusely increased density, as on the previous examination with knowledge of radiation therapy, this is the most likely explanation for this finding. The groin regions unremarkable.

Serenity's Baptism

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:32:56 +0200

On the 13 of September Serenity followed Jesus in Baptism!

Samantha's Baptism

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:29:40 +0200

On the 13 of September Samantha followed Jesus in Baptism!

Beautiful Music

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:43:17 +0200

I had a exciting exchange with our children's Russian Violin teacher. He is a very intelligent and complex man. Please pray for another opening for the gospel.

Paul

A jewish connection.

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:11:55 +0200

I just had a wonderful evening with a Jewish man and his German wife and daughter. It was fascinating and I was able two give a clear gospel presentation using mainly the Old Testament. I also learned that Peleg means running water, which supports a continent separation through sinking land masses instead of plate tectonics.

Paul

http://www.christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-c001.html

Reaching the lost?

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:04:39 +0200

I just spent some time reading some athiest blogs. Two things are clear; Christ return is upon us and our message is lost in the noise. We must return to the simple teaching that all mankind is born under the law, guilty before God, and in need of a Savior. Continuing in this "God will make your lives better evangelism" is playing right into the hand of Satan. Atheist are laughing at the foolishness of christians. The reason for getting saved is to escape the wrath to come, not to feel good about our sinful state.

Paul

Praise God for open Doors!

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:32:25 +0200

Let us share some wonderful news: our Samantha and Serenity followed the Lord in Baptism this Sunday. We had a great service with many first time unsaved visitors. The kids played their instruments and sang “Amazing Grace.”

The title of the message was “Where were you when…” It was a spin off of the question we are always asked during the anniversary of some past event. We then posed the question, “Where will you be in the last event of your life?” stressing the opportunity to plan this event. We then discussed the parameters (the Ten Commandments), the way and finally the deciding factor being our relationship to the judge. The sermon was very direct and clear.

At the end of the service we showed pre-recorded video salvation testimonies preceding the girls’ baptisms. The baptismal videos can soon be viewed here on the Scoop. Afterwards we enjoyed a fellowship that all wished would not end.

Vivian, our Bible College Student, is on her way to Africa on a missions (apprenticeship) trip. Please pray with us that God will use this time to encourage and give clear direction for her life.

In the spring we worked very hard to get our foot in the door for the city festival. It was so difficult to convince the city that we had something to offer. We were kind of anxious about whether or not they would allow us to set up a stand again. Earlier this month we received a letter asking us to be apart of the next city-wide festival. Praise God for open Doors! We will have a booth at the Reformation Festival on October 31.

A note about my father’s health: Dad is recovering from his last radiation treatments. They crystallized the disk that as the doctor described it was turned to jelly by the cancer. This greatly reduced the pain, but took its toll on the digestive tract. He is now in physical therapy to rebuild the lost muscles in his back. He is also taking hormone therapy in the hopes of staying the advancements of the cancer. As of the last test results, the cancer is in the lymph glands along the aorta and in the stomach cavity. There is also a spot in one on his lungs. Please continue to pray for God’s healing.

Thanks be to God for our wonderful support team of churches and individuals. We were able to make a trip to see Dad and help as he went through this last bought of radiation. It was a wonderful time for us as a family. Many heart-felt thanks!

Laboring in the land of the Reformation,

Paul Sudbrock

Reveling in God's presence.

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:25:45 +0200

I am reveling! What a morning! You know, one of those moments when God's presence is so real that all worldly realities fade away and all that is left is HIM. In that moment, you could fly. Oh, the savor is so sweet! God is great! The challenge is to remember the reality of the mountain through the entire of the shadows of the valley.

Paul

Water, water everywhere

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:00:31 +0200

Our drought has come to an end. After weeks of dry weather, the rains came yesterday. The gardens were thirsting for its arrival. I on the other hand could have waited one more day. You see, yesterday, our two oldest daughters were baptized. Despite the weather though, we had a pretty good turnout for the services. As a matter of fact, we have been experiencing a type summer drought at church as well, and not just in the back yard. Since the beginning of summer, attendance has been down and the pews have been thirsting for visitors. But the services yesterday showed encouraging signs of new life. We had 45 people attend and more than half of those were first time visitors. What a blessing! To start the morning off each of our children played their instruments and sang praises to God. Leading into his salvation sermon, Paul showed a video clip of street interviews where Germans were asked how a person becomes a Christian. At the end of the service, we projected the girl's prerecorded testimonies up on the wall for all to watch while the girls got ready to be baptized. Sixteen children gathered around the bapitsmal while the adults watched on the big screen. Samantha and Serenity were beautiful as they followed the Lord in believer's baptism.

Our cook-out in the church yard had to be re-worked. We still cooked-out, but we ate-in instead. All of the chairs in the auditorium were moved to the side to make room for the tables. The "Veggie Tales" videos have just recently been translated into German, so the kids enjoyed watching a film or two between rain showers. They also crafted sunflowers to decorate for fall.

Many of our first time visitors expressed an interest in coming back again. Our returning visitors seemed to really enjoy themselves and we left feeling refreshed and thankful that the drought has finally come to an end.

Now, it is time to gear up for fall. In October, we will plan a big bon-fire at church with crafts and games for the kids. The last day of October is of course Reformation Day. So we will be spending the 31st downtown on the market square passing out tracts and Bibles. We hope to end the evening with a parade of light, weather permitting. Each child will be encouraged to make or bring a lantern and we will walk the streets of Wittenberg singing praises to God spreading the light into the darkest of corners. Please pray with us as we prepare for a full month of October. Novemeber awaits with its own surprises. I can't wait to tell you all about it.

Have a great fall day!

Chelli

Our Girls

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:34:19 +0200

Our girls need to understand the fact, that it is better not to have a man than to have a man that is not worth having.

Paul

How awesome

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:19:01 +0200

Have I told you lately how awesome all of our supporting churches and families are? We are so very thankful to all of those who reached out to us when we received the news that Paul's Dad's cancer has come back. Through your prayers and financial gifts, God made it possible for us to make a sudden furlough to the states at the end of June.

When we received the news from the states that things weren't looking too good, we were overwhelmed and didn't know what to do. After seeking wise counsel, we decided to make plans for a 4 week furlough in Iowa and we had just one week to get all of our ducks in a row in order to make it work. The money wasn't there, the tickets weren't there, previous plans for the summer had already been made, but God just kept telling us to trust in Him and head home. The travel agent found us tickets. God provided the money. Everyone was very understanding about our sudden change of plans and we were on our way.

We were able to go with Opa to some of his doctor's appointments and help out around the house and church while making some special memories. Paul was able to preach a sermon series on Colossians that was a real blessing to all of us. While stateside, we were also able to take care of some much needed doctor's appointments of our own. We stocked up on school supplies and some goodies. We even were blessed to be able to bring back Christmas presents from the church in Albia as well as from Oma. At least when she hides them in our suitcases, she doesn't have to worry about finding them again in time for Christmas.

God guided us through the airports in New York, DC and Atlanta and in the end, all was well. It was an adventure as always. It seems we can never have an uneventful "normal" flight.

We are back on the ground here in Germany and into our 3rd week of school already. Amazing how quickly time goes.

Thank you for your prayers for us, our family, and our sending church in Newton, Iowa.

We appreciate you greatly.

Chelli Sudbrock

We were in the paper!

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:33:51 +0200

- The Washington Post - 18 Juni 2009

Correction to This Article

The article incorrectly said that Martin Luther translated the Bible into German from Latin. Luther primarily translated the New Testament from Greek and the Old Testament from Hebrew.

In German Birthplace of Reformation, a Revival of Interest

By Craig Whitlock

Washington Post Foreign Service

Thursday, June 18, 2009

WITTENBERG, Germany -- Martin Luther, a renegade monk, triggered the Reformation here five centuries ago by nailing a long list of grievances to the door of the Castle Church. But as Wittenberg celebrates the founding of Protestantism, it is finding one thing in short supply: Lutherans.

Generations of secularism and communism have exacted a severe toll on church membership in this eastern German city. Today, fewer than one in five people identify themselves as Christian, one of the lowest percentages in the country. Most worshipers who fill the pews in local churches are tourists longing for a glimpse of the holy sites frequented by Luther when he lived here between 1508 and 1546.

"It's a very strange experience for foreign visitors, especially Americans, to come to the city of Luther and discover that east Germany is perhaps the most atheistic region in the world," said Stefan Rhein, director of the Luther Memorials Foundation of Saxony-Anhalt.

The presence of organized religion is so limited in Wittenberg that some U.S. Lutheran organizations are trying to fill the void. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America established a ministry here 10 years ago to cater to the thousands of American pilgrims who visit annually. Study abroad programs for American students have proved so popular that the city plans to open a residential college next year for visiting scholars.

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States, has bought a building next to the old Town Church, where Luther used to preach, and plans to turn it into a welcome center for U.S. visitors. The Missouri Synod also plans to start a congregation by reaching out to German atheists, although organizers acknowledge that won't be easy in a city still recovering from 40 years of communist rule.

"In east Germany, you actually have to go up to people and tell them who Jesus was," said Wilhelm Torgerson, a German Lutheran pastor who serves as the Missouri Synod's representative in Wittenberg. "They say, 'Oh yes, Christ. Didn't he have something to do with Luther?' "

"We would like to proclaim the Gospel to unbelievers, and there are certainly a lot of them here," Torgerson added. "Obviously, there is enough work for all of us without stepping on anyone's toes."

Wittenbergers have welcomed the growing American presence for the most part, but there have been some bruised feelings.

Some Missouri Synod leaders have declared that their congregation would be the only true Lutheran church in Wittenberg -- an assertion that irritated members of the Evangelical Church in Germany, the largest Protestant body in the country. The Evangelical Church comprises Lutherans, Calvinists and other denominations.

"It was strange for them to come here and say, 'We are the first real Lutherans,' " said Siegfried T. Kasparick, the Evangelical Church's bishop for Wittenberg. "We've had a Lutheran congregation here since Luther."

In Germany, about 30 percent of the population belongs to the Evangelical Church. An additional31 percent count themselves as Roman Catholic.

In Wittenberg, however, the number of churchgoers is among the lowest in the country. About 15 percent are members of the Evangelical Church, and 3 percent are Catholic. The city also has a small number of Baptists. ( That would be us! Baptisten Bible Gemeinde )

National leaders of the Evangelical Church acknowledged that they have taken Wittenberg's theological and historical significance for granted in the past. Many west Germans still regard the city, about 60 miles southwest of Berlin, as an east German backwater.

But such attitudes have gradually changed, in large part because of the influx of foreign pilgrims in Wittenberg since the fall of communism two decades ago.

Kasparick, the Wittenberg bishop, said the strong interest from international Lutheran groups has prompted German Protestants to take more pride in their heritage. "They make us stronger," he said.

Commemorations

Wittenberg began a decade-long celebration of the Reformation in September, on the 500th anniversary of Luther's arrival in the medieval city as a priest and teacher at the local university.

A succession of festivals, lectures and other events will run until Oct. 31, 2017, the anniversary of when Luther publicly challenged the authority of the church in Rome by nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church.

The theses were a list of complaints about church doctrine. Luther reserved particular scorn for the sale of indulgences, or the practice of promising salvation in exchange for money. Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther for heresy three years later, but the German's theological rebellion spread across Europe and divided Christianity.

One public-television series a few years ago ranked Luther as the second-most admired figure in German history, behind post-World War II Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. But many Germans are unfamiliar with Luther's theological achievements. He is primarily known as a father of the modern German language, the first person to translate the Bible from Latin into German.

For decades, authorities in communist East Germany tried to suppress Luther's teachings. They promoted the story of an even more radical Reformation-era priest, Thomas Muentzer, who helped spark the peasant rebellion of 1524. Muentzer, a rival of Luther, was seen as more ideologically compatible with the Communist Party.

The East German state later softened its opposition to Luther and sponsored international events to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his birth in 1983. But Wittenberg still became better known for its manufacturing base than its religious heritage.

"People didn't associate Wittenberg as Luther's city, but rather as a city of industry and chemical production," said Eckhard Naumann, mayor of Wittenberg. After the fall of communism, he added, "the city of Wittenberg had to ask itself a lot of questions: 'What are we? Are we the city of Luther? What does that mean in this new world?' "

Today, Wittenberg strongly embraces the old Augustinian monk as central to its identity. Christians may be a minority in Wittenberg, but everybody seems to agree that "Luther Tourism," as they call it, is good for business.

Luther's image is omnipresent in the well-preserved 700-year-old town center, even adorning restaurant menus. Every June, the city holds a festival to commemorate Luther's scandalous 1525 wedding to a runaway nun, Katharina von Bora. The Castle Church attracts 200,000 visitors a year. It is scheduled to undergo a $45 million renovation by 2015.

German church leaders, however, also see the Luther renaissance as an opportunity to bolster dwindling membership across the country. In October, the Evangelical Church in Germany dispatched a senior pastor, Stephan Dorgerloh, to work in Wittenberg full time to help coordinate and promote the religious aspects of the 500th anniversary commemorations.

In the past, Dorgerloh said, international Protestant leaders would visit Evangelical Church officials in Berlin and ask to visit Wittenberg. "The German church would say, 'Why do you want to go there?' " he recalled.

Since then, he said, "there's been a rediscovery of Wittenberg by the German national church. Church leaders have rediscovered that this is the heart of the Reformation."

Special correspondent Shannon Smiley contributed to this report.

Blooming blessings

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:32:29 +0200

Each year since we moved into our apartment here in Wittenberg, God has allowed us to enlarge our garden a little. This year, we were able to add some raised beds and some hanging baskets with fresh herbs. We are even trying our hand at potato barrels. Being in an apartment we have to concentrate on plants that take up little space and have a big yield tomatoes, peppers, zucchini herbs, berry bushes, etc. God has blessed with plenty of rain and with 12 hands to pull the weeds, things are looking good. It is amazing each year to see how God provides for us at harvest. He brings us goodies from all corners of Wittenberg and it is rarely from the same person twice. Just today, two acquaintances showed up with buckets of cherries for us. That is one more opportunity to speak to these people about the blessings on Christ. So far this summer, we have been blessed with blooming flowers from several different gardens, new plants to plant in our garden, lettuce, radishes, kohlrabi, herbs, and cherries. From our own garden and the church garden we have been blessed with strawberries, cherries and herbs - lots of cilantro. I love cilantro. I add it to my ranch dressing and dip. Its awesome!

I discovered peonies this year. They are gorgeous and smell even better. The whole house smells wonderful when they are in bloom. First, a neighbor cut us a bouquet and I fell in love with them. Then, yesterday the same neighbor showed up on our front step with a bucket full of plants for us to add to our garden so that I could enjoy the peonies even more. The neatest part is, I hadn't had the chance to tell our neighbor how much I loved them yet. I had only shared my new discovery with God and planned on telling our neighbor the next time we met. Such a great God thing. It is a true blessing to know that God knows the desires of my heart and they are important to Him.

God takes such good care of us. Thank you for praying for us. I know that financial times are hard for so many of us right now. I just want to thank you for praying for us and thank God for providing. He is an awesome God.

Have a blooming good time this week!

Chelli

Anniversary

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:33:33 +0200

Paul and I celebrated our Anniversary with Luther at the city festival. It was a full 3-day weekend with parades, fan fare, music and one-of-a-kind costumes.

We are so thankful for God's guidance and wisdom in the building of our tent. On Friday, we had wind, rain and storm, but our booth remained standing and we stayed dry. Saturday and Sunday brought beautiful weather and lots of visitors to our booth. We were able to distribute over 1200 Gospel tracts as well as several Bible, Christian books and lots of children's materials. We painted faces and demonstrated paper making. For our first go of it, it was a great success.

Despite the fact that I kept telling people that "Anna is wet and green" instead of our paper is made from "Pineapple leaves", we drew a good crowd and have already seen a spike in our Internet visitors.

Probably the most exciting contact of all was our booth neighbor, Werner. He is very open to the Lord and full of questions. We exchanged email addresses and plan to stay in contact. He will be back in Wittenberg for the Reformation Festival in the fall. Please pray for Werner in the meantime.

On Wednesday we will be making a presentation in the local high school introducing our church to the teens there. Please keep us in your prayers.

Blessings,

Chelli

Hear yee, hear yee

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:49:54 +0200

It is City Festival time in Wittenberg again. Every year the city of Wittenberg celebrates the wedding anniversary of Martin Luther and his bride, Katharina von Bora. This year we will have a booth in front of the church where Luther posted his 95 Thesis. We will be demonstrating how paper was made in the middle ages using common plants. A book table will also be set up with Bibles, tracts, and other printed materials about Luther, God and salvation. Please pray for us during the next three days. We will be downtown from mid-morning till sunset (10 pm) each day. Some of our prayer concerns include:

safety for all involved
safe and easy set-up of our booth
good weather
that many will receive the Gospel
That those already seeking Christ will be drawn to the church
that all of the materials we have purchased will get into new hands and be read
wisdom in managing this undertaking
God's blessings that we will find favor in the sight of the program coordinator
for our children during this long, very busy weekend.
health and stamina for our workers
wisdom as we speak to thousands of people this weekend

Thank you so much for praying with us.

Blessings,

Chelli

Denglisch

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:32:44 +0200

Denglisch runs rampant in our house. For us it is just a normal part of everyday life. I don't normally stop to think about it, but then yesterday, a friend of ours who teaches English here in Wittenberg heard us speaking Denglish and laughed. She said it was very comforting to know that she isn't the only who is fluent in everyday Denglisch. Among Denglisch speakers there is a special camaraderie that only this 3rd culture group can truly understand. I would guess it is the same with other English hybrid languages and their speakers. This morning as the girls were getting ready for church, I had to laugh as I listened to their conversation. Probably the most proficient Denglisch expert in our house right now is Sadie Jane. Just a year ago, she spoke hardly more than a few sentences in German. Now she is doing quite well and getting ready to start the first grade in a German public school. So, it was very encouraging this morning to hear her say, " But I am looking for something hellisch to wear to church this morning." Being translated that would mean she wanted a light colored dress and she settled on lilac. Then this afternoon, she came running through the house, "Skyler, did you want to borg me out for something?" Being translated, "did you want to borrow me for something?"

Not only do our children speak some odd phrases here at home, but their German phrasing can raise a few eyebrows at school as well. It is not only their language skills that make them stand out at school though. They are a peculiar lot. They don't know the most recent pop songs or collect the newest power cards. They don't wear rock star clothing or recite their horoscope. And to top it all off, on Sundays, they don't go to sporting events, they go to Sunday School. Now we are talking really weird!

Okay, so we are weirdos. For adult Christians that is nothing new, but for missionary kids, that can be a little hard to handle sometimes. When things get a little rough, you know, normal third grade stuff, it isn't unusual to hear an, "I hate Germany." "All Germans ever do is complain." "If I were only in America. . . " Those are the times when we get to sit down and think about all the benefits of being fluent in Denglisch. Those are also the times when I am so glad that we have wonderful friends and family back home who are praying for us. So, now that the weather is getting nicer and the sun is shining brighter, don't forget to pick out something hellisch to wear to church next week.

Love and blessings,

Chelli Sudbrock

Wed, 27 May 2009 00:14:57 +0200

Catching up on 2009

We have had the opportunity to be very active in the local schools this spring, with both Chelli and I chaperoning class field trips, helping with special events at the school, and playing an active role in the PTA. This is something we have always done, but this spring showed some rewards for the efforts. Chelli was able to witness to the girl’s in Samantha’s class and to encourage them to read the Easter story for themselves in the Bible. Shortly afterwards, Samantha was able to lead one of her classmates to the Lord. We are praising the Lord for this precious soul saved and for the spiritual growth that we have seen in Samantha. There is also the opportunity that God is opening a door so that I can teach baseball at Samantha’s school. The door had closed due to our last furlough. The principle even hinted at funding!

May 1st is a holiday here in Germany. Everyone gets May Day off of work and this year May Day was a day worth celebrating for us. As we sat at the lunch table, Sadie said, “Mom, do you remember saying that I should come to you when I am ready to get saved? Well, I am ready.” We sat around the table as a family and discussed salvation and praised the Lord as Sadie bowed her head and asked Jesus to forgive her of her sins.

June brings with it the big city festival each year. Wittenberg takes 3 days in the middle of June to celebrate the wedding anniversary of Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora. Tens of thousands of people from all over Germany and some from around the world, will visit our downtown area during the celebration. We have attended the festival for 10 years now and always look for a new way to be involved and be a light for Christ. This year, the church will have a stand where we will distribute Bibles and tracts. The only stipulation from the city counsel was that our booth must have a central “middle ages” theme of some kind. We poured over dozens of ideas and finally settled on “paper making”. Our booth will center around the theme of “paper”. We will demonstrate how to make paper from common weeds and flowers as well as offering biblical literature and homemade book covers. If you would like to help with this outreach, just earmark your donation as “festival” and we will put your money towards the purchase of Bibles and tracts for our booth.

Thank you so much for your faithful support of our ministry in spite of the tough financial times which have hit us all. May God richly bless you for your faithfulness.

Laboring in the land of the Reformation,

Paul Sudbrock

A good neighbor

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:18:25 +0200

I hope you all are having a wonderful Easter week. We are throroughly enjoying having our kids home with us all day. I wish spring break could last a month.

God has called us to love our neighbors. We generally apply this to everyone we know, but today, I would like to take a minute and apply it directly to our physical neighbors. Of the many different neighbors we have had in Germany since our arrival 14 years ago, we have only seen 5 of them come to Christ and only one is currently attending our church. At present, we live in a 7-apartment house. Ours is on the bottom floor which means we have a lot of contact with all of the other neighbors. One family in the house is open to the Gospel and has visited our church a couple of times. Four others are friendly, but not open to any discussion about faith and the last family is hostile towards us. Our prayers are two-fold. We would love to see our neighbors get saved. We pray that our witness would be consistently God-honoring. Secondly, we pray that if the hostile neighbor continues to harden his heart, that the Lord would remove him from our apartment building. We have lived here for 10 years now and he moved in 3 years ago. He visited our church soon after moving in and started disliking us from that day on. His hostility has only grown with the years. Please pray that his hostility would not be a daily burden for us. There are so many other positive things that could use our attention. May the way we respond to him be a witness to the others in the house.

Please pray for an openness of the German people towards the Gospel. Just the mention of faith causes most eastern Germans to turn and walk the other way. This is a very strongly atheist area. Pray that the children here will receive a clear presentation of the Gospel. Pray that God will call Germans into full-time Christian service and burden our lay-people to serve more faithfully.

We are currently trying to acquire German New Testaments that we can distribute. Most East German children have never held a Bible, let alone read one. We were successful in obtaining 12 copies of the Gospel of John to give away at Easter, but our city has over 40,000 people. It will take much more than that to make an impact. We are praying for the blessing of the loaves and fishes with these Bibles.

Thank you again for your faithful prayers.

Blessings!

Chelli Sudbrock

writing for Paul,

Skyler, Samantha, Serenity and Sadie

Palm Sunday

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:38:28 +0200

Today was crazy this side of the ocean. How about your day?

We were at the church until 7 yesterday getting everything ready and then up until after 1 am at home. Around 8 pm last night Paul started sneezing and got really sick with a sore throat and headache and just achey all over. So, at 12:30 I finally got him talked into taking a pH bath. He wasn't much better this morning, so I gave him some vitamins and med and prayed for the best. I actually dreamed that he was too sick to go to church this morning and that I had to apologize to everyone for his abscence. So, I was really thankful that he wasn't that sick. We ended up getting out of the house late though and then we couldn't find the keys. We finally pulled out the extra set and headed off for the church. We got there at 9:15 and there was Johannes' car. Oh no, we thought he wasn't going to be there this morning. Paul was late. Johannes had been waiting for us. When we got half way up to the door, Johannes greeted us. He asked if we knew what had happened at the church last night. - No. What?

Then he asked us if we had been there cleaning up yesterday. - Ya, until late actually.

Well, he said, we had an overnight guest. At first, I thought he meant the mice we have been fighting.

No, a vagabond found his way into the church and ate and slept there, making a mess of the kitchen, cutting a hole in the brand new (bought it yesterday) tablecloth, and ate up the strawberries and some of the grill meat. Melted a spatula on the stove and made an oily, stinky mess. When church started at 10:30, it still smelled like burnt Bratwurst. Yuck!

You see, the keys were left hanging in the door. That is why we couldn't find them this morning. This man, whom we think has probably slept in the church yard before, found the door unlocked and just made himself at home.

What a mess. I was late, the church was a stinky mess, we forgot to pick up the palm branches, and Paul was sick.

Now, are you ready for the really cool thing? At just about the same time as this guy found his way into our building, on the other side of town, Paul suddenly got sick for no apparent reason. That meant our plans got changed. I had planned on taking the car over and being there at 8:30 so that I could finish getting the food set up and the bells set up. Paul was going to take the kids on their bikes and be there at 9 or so. If I would have gone over at 8:30, it would have been Sadie and I who walked in on this guy! Not a good thought. God kept that from happening. Instead, it was Johannes who confronted the guy and everything turned out well. The little bit of damage and loss that we experienced was nothing compared to what could have happened.

So, we are thanking the Lord for an unexplained sudden illness and a late start this morning!

By the way, we had 36 people in church, 2 first time visitors. The children's bell choir did a good job and our Brunch was a delicious success.

I hope your Sunday was twice as good and only half as exciting!

Chelli

Weeping for the lost

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:49:10 +0100

Samantha came home from school on Wednesday praising God. She was able to lead one of her new friends to the Lord. While on a school trip, the girls began discussing God and creation during the bus ride. Samantha was able to explain to her friend all that the Bible has to say about Heaven. Her friend professed to believe in God, but didn't know whether she would go to Heaven or not. Samantha told her she could know for sure and explained salvation to her. Reminding her friend that this is serious and not just a "club for kids", she lead her in prayer asking God for salvation. The girls in the seat in front of them then popped up and said, "Tell us more. We want to know too." They discussed God and the Bible during the whole trip. The next day, Samantha took devotional books to school for each of the girls. Now she keeps a couple of extra ones in her backpack, just in case. Oh, so cool!

We have been studying the great commission in Sunday School and focusing specifically on China. This morning we talked about the great population of China and the number of people who die there every day. Have they heard? Have they read the Bible? Were they saved? Where do all of those souls go? One of the boys piped up and asked about all of the "good people" in the world who don't believe the Bible. Where do they go? Knowing that his Dad is an Atheist, this question was very pointed and real. During the discussion that followed, I noticed another child with her head down. She is a very shy little girl, so I did not think much about it. Then, Samantha stood up and walked over to her and put her arm around her. Then I saw it. This dear little girls was weeping. Both her mother and father are atheists. We immediately stood together with those children whose parents are unsaved and pleaded with God to save them. The hour ended in sweet songs of praise as we all thought about God's love and salvation and how sweet it will be to join Him in Heaven one day.

A lesson about missionaries half way around the world hit home with our kids. Will you please pray with us that hearts will be softened and lives changed here within our city as well as half way around the world in China? Please pray for the five children in our Sunday School who have unsaved fathers.

Thank you for your faithful support in prayers and finances.

Chelli Sudbrock

Editing article

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:18:42 +0100

I'm sorry. I didn't clearly state that the exchange student from Germany is looking for a church to attend when she returns to Germany. She has a good church in Texas where she is currently staying. However, we she returns to Germany at the end of the school year, she will be without a church family.

Thank you for your prayers for Nicole and for workers in the field of Germany.

Chelli

Receiving from the Lord

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:38:09 +0100

We received an encouraging email this week from a German teenager who is an exchange student in Texas right now. She writes, "Last September, I received Christ as my savior. The Lord changed my whole life. Unfortunately, I am not getting any support from my family in regards to my faith. They think I am crazy. I am looking for a good church in my area. I don't want to take the risk of being taught false doctrine. Thank you so much for your Website. You have given me hope and encouragement. May God bless your church."

Oh how I wish I could tell her that there is a good church in her area, but I am afraid I can't.

We receive letters and calls each summer from German exchange students who return home and are looking for a church. We are here laboring to build those churches. And now is where you come in. It is your financial support and prayers that make our work here possible. The other thing you can do to support missions is to take in an exchange student and share the Gospel with them. Invite the mission field into your home. What an awesome opportunity. Would you take some time this spring and pray about opening your home up to the mission field. Hosting is not for everyone, but if it is for you, God will let you know. We can use all the help we can get . . . on both sides of the ocean.

We also received an invitation this week to accompany Samantha's third grade class on their field trip to the home of Martin Luther. We were excited about the opportunity to get to know the teacher and the students better and prayed that God would just allow us to be a witness during the trip. Little did we know that we would be the ones who would receive the "Eye opening" witness on this trip. As the tour of the house began, the students proudly showed how much they had studied by answering all the questions about Martin Luther and the first German Bibles and printing presses and many other details about the Great Reformation of the middle ages. Just before leaving the house, we were in a room with a 15 foot painting of the crucifixion by Lucas Cranach. One of the girls was drawn to the painting and I did my best to keep her focused on the tour guide and the topic at hand. Finally, we came to the painting, and I said, "Linda, now you can ask your questions." Here came my eye opener. Linda asked, "Who is that man and what did he do that was so awful that they would punish him like that? Look, he has nails through his feet. Is that Luther?" Not a single east German child in the group knew the answer to her questions. All heads turned toward the tour guide in search of truth. She hesitated. She faltered and simply said, "This is a painting of the crucifixion. It is not Luther. Now let me tell you about the artist." There stood a group of 10 year olds who had never heard the truth of Easter. I drew Linda to the side and told her where she could read the story of Jesus Christ, but no one in her family has a Bible. Directing her to the library near her house, I made a mental note to pray for Linda every day. Would you also pray for this generation of Germans every day? The Gospel is here. It is available to them. It is no longer hidden by the iron curtain. But they still do not know. That is why we are here. These 3rd graders are only one example of why the Lord has called us to Germany.

Chelli

A Break in the Weather

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:39:29 +0100

Whenever the weather is extreme for a period of time, we grow weary. You start hearing the phrase, “When will we finally see a break”. We have had a bit of a cold snap and it is amazing how unprepared the people are and how little they can endure.

My car almost didn’t start this morning. It went with a slow and dragging Rrrr. Rrr, rooM. One more Rrr would have meant r click, click… Thankfully my car was blessed with prayer and God gave it rooM and not click, click. Not the case for my neighbour’s car though. It didn’t roar to life. It simply clicked as the last of its energy ebbed away. Praise the Lord that we were able to be a blessing and a witness to this family that visits our Bible study occasionally.

The last year has been a cold one spiritually. We have had four cases of Church discipline. Sin like a cold Siberian wind had stymied the spiritual growth of many in our little church. Two cases remain unresolved. The first ended in click, click as a marriage ended. The other has been out of church for two months.

Praise God for a break in the weather! Over two months ago something happened that I had tried to lead in over and over again. It just never took hold. I kept trying to charge the church’s prayer battery. It finally took a charge and our men’s prayer meeting finally got off the ground.

Children’s Program – Our children’s choir sang songs of praise and rang bells of joy as they proclaimed the love of Christ come to Earth. We had 47 people attend our Sunday afternoon program. What a blessed way to spend the last Sunday before Christmas. All of our hearts were warmed by the joy and fellowship that filled the day. A big thank you goes out to those who have financially supported our Hand bell choir.

Christmas Eve – This year I shifted gears. I preached two five-week-series in preparation for Christmas. The first was “What is the best gift? The second was, “Jesus, a gift directly from the heart of God”. Then, instead of taking the planning of the Christmas Eve Service upon myself and our family, I told the church that there would not be a Christmas Eve service if they did not plan it and take responsibility for it. They rose to the occasion and we had one of our better attended Christmas Eve services

New Year’s Eve – Getting people together around holidays where they traditionally celebrate it as a family is like pulling eye teeth. We were wonderfully surprised when we had a group of young people want to join us for our New Year’s Eve fellowship. We ate together, enjoyed games, puzzles and a movie. Then, just before midnight we went for a cold brisk walk and watched the fireworks display as it lit the first minutes of 2009. God is working in our little church. We have seen him light the hearts of our people and we are seeing a spiritual maturing that has given us energy to continue on in the New Year.

The last discipline case to be resolved was that of a young lady. This last Sunday morning she openly confessed, before the whole church, what she had already made known in writing. We were truly blessed. After over two years of cold wind there has been a break in the weather. For two years we have earnestly prayed, confronted, cried, and with contrition waited to see this heart turned to the right again. For two years we heard click, click and silent cold. Praise God for a warming trend!

Thank you for having part in God’s work here in Wittenberg Germany,

Paul Sudbrock

Christmas Handbell Choir

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:56:15 +0100

Exchange Students

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:44:02 +0100

We have been involved in ministering to exchange students for years now, but this year, we decided to take it to a more active role. We have volunteered to help AFS Exchange program. They asked us to host a Christmas party for the exchange students in our area and we were more than happy to do so. Here are some pics from our gathering.

Ladies' craft night

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:55:24 +0100

Our ladies' Christmas Craft night went really well. We combined it with a baby shower for our newest little attendee - Alexander Kai Springer

Full of Praises

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:19:26 +0100

We are full of praises for our Lord tonight.

First of all, Paul took Skyler to the doctor today for another ultrasound on his hip. Are you ready for this? It is completely healed up! There is no sign of arthritis or perthes in his hip. He received a clean bill of health.

Next is our heating bill. If you remember, Paul built solar heater for our windows last year when we returned to Wittenberg. Well, they came to read our meter on Saturday. Guess what! We used less than half as much gas for heating and hot water this year compared to last year! What a blessing. Thank you for your prayers for wisdom and provision. May God continue to bless our income and our stewardship.

Our Christmas program at church will be held this coming Sunday afternoon. Please pray for us as we put the finishing touches on everything and for those we have invited, that they will indeed attend.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers!

Chelli

Skyler's leg

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 08:47:30 +0100

We received the blood work back and they have ruled out Lymes Disease. On Thursday evening they did an MRI and we will go to the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow to find out the results.

We have been having a good week. With Ibuprofen and herbal supplements, Skyler hasn't been having any pain. But then this morning he woke up in great pain again and is having difficulty moving. Please continue to pray for his healing and for wisdom on the part of the doctors.

Thank you!

Chelli

Still thankful for Today!

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:36:34 +0100

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and for those who are celebrating this weekend, I hope it is a special day to remember.

We just finished cleaning up from our dinner. We were able to host a family with 5 children and a single mother and her daughter. Two friends came over and helped me prepare this morning and all went really well. We had such a good time. One of our guests is an Emergency Doctor and was on call, so he was here with his ambulance driver. That was a new experience. They missed the opening prayer and had to leave before dessert, but we are so glad that they were able to enjoy part of the evening. We didn't figure out how to tape the parade, but we did watch clips of it on YouTube. All in all the day ended so well and we have so much to be thankful for.

Our day didn't start out so well though. When I went in to wake Skyler up this morning, he said he couldn't come down out of his bed because he couldn't move his leg. He has been having "growing pains" lately and I just thought he was exaggerating, so I told him to come on down and stop stalling. He did come down, but was soon in tears, so I got Paul to take a look at it. He tried stretching it out and massaging it, but he still couldn't get his hip movement up to 90°, so he started to get concerned. It was 6 am and we considered the emergency room, but decided to wait until 7 when the pediatrician would be in.

Back in July, Skyler was bit by a tick and a week later spent some time in the hospital under suspicion of meningitis. So, the doctor took blood to check for Lyme's disease. We will have the results back from that on Monday. She then sent Skyler to an orthopedic surgeon. He took Xrays which showed extreme inflammation appearing to be a type of arthritis. He then scheduled an MRI for the 8th. The doctors that were here for dinner suggested we also have Skyler checked for an illness called (morbus Perthes) Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome.

The good news is Skyler is thrilled to be excused from Sport for a while.

It was just yesterday that I was sharing with you how thankful we are to all be so healthy this year. Well, . . . we are still thankful to God for today.

We would really appreciate your prayers for Skyler's health and for wisdom on our parts.

Thanks so much!

Chelli

Thank you!

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:32:18 +0100

A big thank you to all of you who have been praying for our newspaper interview. The interview went really well and the reporter wrote a wonderful article for the paper. So far, we have been in all three of the local papers and all three have had very positive things to say. Praise the Lord! May He continue to bless in this fashion. Just having our name in the paper helps to break down walls and lend some credibility to the church. We are eager for every advantage that God can give us so that we might be able to opening talk to more people about His saving love.

On the last Sunday of the month, we will be hosting a Christmas party for exchange students who are here in our area and inviting some Christian families to attend who might be interested in hosting exchange students in the future. There is nothing like inviting the mission field into your home for a year.

The Sunday before Christmas, our children's bell choir will be performing a Christmas program. Please pray with us that we will have many visitors during this wonderful season of celebration!

Have a wonderful week!

Chelli

The Paper is coming

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:44:57 +0100

I just got a call from the local newspaper and they will be visiting the church tomorrow morning to interview us about our Christmas outreach program. Please pray with us that God will give us favor in their eyes and that the article they print will encourage people to seek Him.

Thank you!

Chelli

Peace

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:10:18 +0200

Real Peace is not the absence of war, but rather presence of absolute order of heart.

Psalms 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

Pumpkin jam

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:39:10 +0200

Its not a soup, but it is a recipe that is great for using up pumpkin. It is also my daughter, Serenity's favorite jam of all I received this jam as a gift when Sadie was born and it was so good that I begged for the recipe. I love the chunks of pumpkin in it. I have tried many different variations over the years. One big pumpkin makes A LOT of jam, so there is plenty for your next bake sale or for Christmas gifts. I also add a Tablespoon of virgin coconut oil to each pot. This keeps it from foaming up and gives it a very nice consistancy. Enjoy!

4 lbs pumpkin diced

4 pounds sugar and appropriate sure-gel

3 fresh pressed oranges

Ginger root minced- vary amount according to personal taste

10 cloves

Cinnamon sticks and cloves according to personal taste or ground cinammon and pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp vanilla

Optional - cranberries or raisins or dried apricots (my favorite)

Cook pumpkin until Translucent - pour off liquid

Add sugar, orange juice and sure-gel. Stir together well and allow to sit overnight.

The next day, add the spices and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes or according to sure-gel directions.

Remove from heat.

Remove cinammon sticks and cloves

Stir in vanilla

Seal in jelly jars

altered version

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:29:49 +0200

Here is the altered version that I used while on the road last year for furlough:

1 Tablespoon virgin coconut oil

1 can of pumpkin

1 can cream of chicken

1 can cream of celery

1 large can chicken stock

1 large can cooked potatoes

2 stalks celery

1 onion

1 clove garlic or crushed garlic or whatever my hostess has available

parsley

salt and pepper

sour cream and chives

Saute celery, onions and garlic in coconut oil. Place in Crockpot with canned goods, stir. Cook on low. Serve with sour cream and chives.

If you use small pumpkins the size of grapefruits, save the pumpkin shell, leaving 1/2 inch pumpkin inside. After soup is cooked, spoon it into pumpkin shells, brush the pumpkins with lemon juice (keeps it from getting too dark), cover with puff pastry and bake in oven until pastry is golden brown. - Fun and festive.

Pumkin soup Original

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:25:50 +0200

This is the original recipe, given to me by my German neighbor:

1 Tb butter

1 onion

1 clove garlic

salt and pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 Liter chicken stock

1 pound pumpkin pieces (bite size)

1 pound potatoes

1 cup cooking cream

sour cream

chives

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add onions, garlic and pumpkin. Saute until pumpkin is translucent. Add potatoes, seasonings, and chicken stock. Cook until potatoes are done. Bring to a boil and turn off heat. Add cream and stir through. Serve with Sour Cream and chives.

Our Provider

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:37:09 +0200

Wow, is this world looking crazier and crazier as each day passes! I am so glad that I am just a traveler passing through. As I look around and see the world changing and the leaves falling, I am moved to thank my God and provider for all that He has done for me. He is so awesome! He takes care of me in the big things and then sends me little things to remind me that He is there every moment of every day. Just yesterday, I went to buy house shoes for Samantha (who is growing into quite a wonderful young lady) and I picked up an extra pair for another girl in the church as a Christmas present. When I got to the register, the clerk rang in my purchases for a total of about $6. I gave her the money and when she tipped the enter button, the register started singing and ringing like a slot machine! I have never been to Vegas, but it sure reminded me of a few scenes I have seen on TV. The clerk smiled and said, "Congratulations! You have won our bingo shopping spree. Here is your money back, your purchase is on the house today." Thank you Lord! Free house shoes for Samantha and Hanna. Now that is really cool! God does stuff like this for us all of the time, but it never ceases to amaze me. Last weekend I sold the clothes the children have outgrown at a local flea market and bought them winter coats, insulated jeans and long sleeved dresses for winter. I was amazed at the end of the day to see that I had earned more money than I had spent! God is so good to us!

We received a phone call yesterday from a friend who has a grape arbor and doesn't have time to process all the grapes. So, they asked if we would like to come pick them. Yippee!! There will be grape jelly in our pantry this year along with the peace, cherry and berry that God has already given us. The Lord blessed our peach harvest so much this year that I canned 50 pints of peach jelly! Our provider is so good to us! Now, I am just praying for a pumpkin or two. Have you tried our pumpkin soup yet? If not, I will post the recipe. It is really yummy!

We want to thank all the pastors and churches who participated in "Operation Stabilization" through the BBFI missions office. These extra offerings have indeed helped to stabilize our situation here on the field. We have been able to balance out all of our accounts and repay our furlough fund (providing us a way home if things get too crazy out there). There have also been many individuals and churches who have privately sent extra funds to help during this time of financial crisis. Thank you so much! It is so encouraging to see how God had provided through all of our prayer supporters.

An extra special encouragement was the Christmas box we received from Albia, Iowa. Despite the turbulent times and the rate increase at the post office, they still thought of us and sent a package full of goodies for the kids for Christmas. I just can't express how much that means to us. The physical reminders sure do lift our spirits and help to remind us that you all are in deed praying for us and the people of Wittenberg, Germany.

Thank you all so much for supporting us in prayer, gifts and financial support. We pray that you have a wonderful fall full of thanksgiving!

Chelli

August

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:58:07 +0200

August has just spun by. On the tenth, we had a baptism at the church. Adela surrendered herself for baptism and completed the discipleship classes necessary in order to be baptized in spite of the fact that her Atheist father is quite open about his unbelief. What an awesome experience to be able to see this nine year old girl give her life to God. God has used he in our lives since her birth. You see, her mother and I first met at mother/baby aerobics. It didn't take God long to bring us together and build a friendship between us. Soon, Adela's mom began attending Bible study in our home. Now, 9 year later, she is an active part of our church and brings all three of her children to Sunday School on a regular basis. We were able to see Adela accept Christ as her Saviour two years ago and this past spring, she came and asked if she could be baptized. I asked her how her father felt about it and she replied, "I wanted to ask you first." After Adela and her mother talked to her father, he agreed to let her choose Christianity if that is what she wants. Her father even attended the service along with 40 other people and spent the afternoon as we celebrated our newest member. Please pray with Adela for her father's salvation.

It was Back-to-school Sunday at church today and we had 25 people there for services and dinner on the grounds. School starts back up tomorrow and I think I am more nervous than my children. Skyler will be going into the 5th grade, which is the first grade in the high school here. After a year of homeschooling, this will be a new start for him, new friends, new school, new opportunities. Samantha will continue with her class into the 4th grade. In our city, the children have the same teacher and classmates for the first 4 years of school. Serenity will start the 1st grade. She is ready and eager, nervous and scared. But she has everything ready for her first day and is sleeping soundly. Sadie will be attending kindergarten this year. We are praying for good friends for all of our children. In this Atheist society, it is not easy to find good friends, so we are praying extra earnestly for God's provision. We are praying for wisdom, guidance, protection, and just overall blessings from God for our children for the new school year.

Our church is just a 5 minute walk from Skyler's new school, so we are praying that God will show us how to minister to this large group of Germany's future. We are considering using the church as an after school activity center, offering music and English groups. The details are not clear yet and we are still praying for God's guidance.

Thank you for praying for the our financial needs. The dollar has been gaining strength! What a blessing that has been.

I'm eager to hear what your fall has in store as well. Write and tell me all about it.

Chelli

“Pastor, I am praying for you.“

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:19:04 +0200

Are they simple words, or a powerful resource?

“Pastor, I am praying for you,” words spoken by an older lady that attends our services here in Wittenberg, Germany every other Sunday. Looking into her eyes, a flood of gratefulness overcame me. She continued and emphasized that she prays that I will not grow discouraged in the fight.

Today, I received the testimony of Tony Snow. As I read,” Think of the prayer warriors in our midst. They change things, and those of us who have been on the receiving end of their petitions and intercessions know it. It is hard to describe, but there are times when suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you feel a surge of the Spirit. Somehow you just know: Others have chosen, when talking to the Author of all creation, to lift us up, - to speak of us!” Instantly tears welled up and I was again overwhelmed with the sincere prayers of warriors fighting for me and my family.

Thank You God, for calling those who support us in prayer! When money fails, it is prayer that sustains us. When governments say “no” it is prayer that opens a way. When health fails it is faithful prayer that brings healing. It is enough to say, we feel your prayers!

This last quarter, God has brought a new soul into the family. Thomas found us through our website and sent an email asking for an appointment. He was ripe fruit. It was an easy lead to Christ. He is now growing and we are discipling him. He surprised everyone a few weeks ago with a new hair style. When asked what brought about the change, he simply stated, “my hair was drawing attention away from Christ. Wow! If we would all analyze every aspect of our lives with that measurement, what a difference it would make.

As a result of our Children’s Day Festival God has blessed us with a family of five. The father said, “We will be here every 14 days. You can count on us.”

We are looking forward to a fall full of events. Several are to be baptized. Baptism is an awesome outreach opportunity for our new believers. It is often their first real outward expression of faith in Christ and a great soul winning opportunity. The candidate is required to make a video of their salvation testimony that will be shown before they are baptized. They invite friends and family and we have always been blessed with a full auditorium by baptisms. We are praying that the upcoming baptisms are no exception and that God will gather in the harvest as a result of these outreach opportunities.

Extra blessings:

• Five year old camera was replaced with the newest model due to a faulty sensor – factory guarantee.

• In spite of dry conditions, God has blessed us with a good harvest of berries and other fruit.

• Our Church people gave us a special gift to help offset some of the challenges due to the weak dollar.

• Our washing machine went out and God provide new support to help pay the payments for a new one.

Thank God for the support that He so generously provides through you!

Paul Sudbrock

Looking for Ryan Raley

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:44:38 +0200

We recently received a letter from a Ryan Raley, a sixth grader from Bible Baptist Christian School. The problem is, we don't know which one. There was no return address or reference letting us know how we could write him back. If you know who Ryan is, could you please have him send us his contact information. We would love to correspond with him if only we had an address.

Thanks!

The Sudbrocks

School is out! - almost

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:55:51 +0200

School is almost out for the summer. We have just 3 more days to go. In Sunday School, we sing a song that says, "Its finally here, sunshine and vacation time. Pack your bags. Hit the road. All the fun of summertime has arrived. But don't forget that even at this time, God wants to be your best companion ever." It goes on to talk about witnessing for Christ wherever you go during your summer adventures. The kids sang it with gusto this morning. The time has almost arrived for doing just that - hitting the road and carrying the Gospel to every summer fun spot imaginable.

Our church people surprised us with the most wonderful gift at the end of the service this morning. They presented us with an envelope and gave us instructions to take the kids and get away for a day of pure fun! Knowing that the exchange rate is so bad and seeing how funds are stretched for us right now, they were moved to give in order for us to have some down time this summer. Needless to say, I cried! What an awesome group of people God has given us to work with here.

We haven't decided yet where we will spend our day off, but we know we will be taking our comforter and Savior along to share with others.

We have also been blessed with a new family that has been visiting on a regular basis. The daughter, L., goes to school with our Samantha. Please pray with us that L. and her parents will get saved and become active members of the church here in Wittenberg.

The summer break here is 6 weeks long. This is our time of regrouping and planning for our next year of ministry. Please pray with us that God will guide our path and show us clearly what He would have us do in the coming months.

We appreciate all of you so very much!

A few financial blessings for this week:

the "day off" gift certificate from our church
a bush full of blackberries
tomatoes are coming ripe
Canon recalled our old camera and sent us a brand new, updated version
another mother from Samantha's class approached us about carpooling for the different school activities
We were given gift certificates this week from three different sources. One for the garden center, one for the book store and and another for a drug store. So cool!

Keep praying for us! God is providing in miraculous ways.

Chelli

A bushel of strawberries

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:56:56 +0200

For all of you who were wondering what to do with a bushel of strawberries, I will share with you what we did with them.

First of all, the kids finished off quite a few before we got home. Then I washed them up. My dad suggested freezing the bit size ones to eat on a hot day, so we froze a gallon bag full of strawberries. We used another pound of them to make ice cream. One night for supper, we had fresh strawberries, hot biscuits and cream. Yum! We also had some with our breakfast one morning. With 6 people, a bushel of strawberries doesn't have a very long life. I didn't make jelly though. My strawberry jelly never seems to turn out the way I wish it would.

Now, for the two 5-gallon buckets of sweet cherries. Well that is another topic all together! They keep a little longer than strawberries, so we are enjoying them fresh as much as possible. They travel well in school lunches too. I have frozen a gallon bag full. Then we had some in ice cream. But most importantly, they are turning into jelly. So far, I have 20 pints ready to go to the pantry. Cleaning the strawberries was a cinch compared to cleaning and pitting 10 gallons of cherries! My fingers are a funny color of purple now.

Thank you for praying for us. The blessings of fruit from the Lord have been so wonderful this year. I remember our first summer in Germany. People would give us so much fruit and it was just Paul and I. We didn't have a freezer yet, and I didn't have any canning jars. We ate as much of it as we could and we gave some away, but in the end, a lot of it spoiled - cherries, plums, berries, peaches. I felt so terrible about not being able to preserve any of it, I just sat and cried. I begged God for the things we would need to store the next gifts of fruit that He sent our way. In the years since then, He has provided us with a large freezer and plenty of canning jars, and He continues to bless us with fruit each year.

It is however for the bushels of souls that we are most thankful. Please continue to pray with us to see fruit from the spiritual seeds which have been planted during our 10 years in Wittenberg. The summer holds so much promise.

Praying for fruit in your life as well,

Chelli

alternate reality

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:39:50 +0200

Recently we were pondering the state of the world, including how it all has affected our finances and our ministry. The thought that we may be forced to return to the states and abandon our dream, our vision, our ministry here, left me pretty down. The "reality" of the situation really packed a wallop. After an "anti-depression nap", I awoke refreshed and with an idea to make an alternate reality list. I began listing the many recent blessings that God has showered upon us. Then I determined to live in this alternate reality. If God sees fit to send us back to the states, it will be His doing, in His time, and it will be the right thing to do. Until then, I will focus on the path that I am on and I will live in the blessings that He rains down on me. Here are just a few of the blessings that we have experienced lately.

1. My children are all old enough to play outside by themselves.

2. The children get along well and love playing with one another.

3. The neighbor kids are friendly and enjoy playing with our kids.

4. We were given a bushel of strawberries yesterday.

5. We were given a mixing bowel of cherries today.

6. We went to a picnic yesterday and they sent us home with enough food to last a few days.

7. We are all healthy.

8. The gout has left my hand.

9. We had people at church today.

10. Two families contacted us this week asking for info about our Sunday School so that they can bring their children.

11. We have email and are not isolated here.

12. We celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary this weekend.

13. Our children are bi-lingual - an awesome advantage that we didn't have.

14. Our children are musical - an awesome talent that we never developed.

. . .

I would love to hear some of your recent blessings.

Chelli

Mothers in Need - Babies in Need

Wed, 14 May 2008 22:46:43 +0200

A recent survey published in the Spiegel magazine in Germany stated that 33% of Germans would abort a disabled child. In 2006 12,753 minors got pregnant in Germany. 42% chose to have an abortion.

Please pray for us as we seek God's guidance as to how to reach these young ladies with the hope of the Gospel.

In the meantime, we have a success story of one unwed mother who turned to us for help when she discovered she was expecting. She gave birth last week to a beautiful baby girl, Jodie Anne. Mother and baby are doing fine. Please pray with us for Jodie Anne and her mom. They are precious to us.

Thanks!

Chelli

Taxes

Mon, 12 May 2008 10:38:43 +0200

With taxes being a big topic in the news lately, I thought you might find this little bit of German tax info interesting.

In Germany, the Lutheran, Catholic, and Jewish citizens pay church taxes. The tax - 8-10% of their income - goes to the German version of the IRS. The IRS then keeps 3% as a processing fee. The rest is divided up amongst the churches depending upon their membership. Children, teens, senior citizens and the unemployed do not have to pay this tax, but are still allowed to be members of these churches.

In 2005 the German IRS collected 8 Trillion Euro in church tax. That is a few Billion less than in 1995. 20% of what is given to the churches goes toward social programs, kindergartens and help organizations. The other 80% goes directly to the church leaders to use as they see fit.

So, in Germany, if your parents have you baptized as a baby into one of these churches, when you turn 18 that church will start collecting 10% of your income as church tax.

This causes problems for us sometimes. First of all, some do not want to get baptized because they are afraid we will start taking money out of their paycheck like the state churches do. Then, in order for us to baptize someone who is in the state church, they must officially fill out the paperwork to withdraw from that church. Secondly, the people are not used to giving an offering because it has always been taken directly out of their paycheck. It is often very difficult to bring across the idea of tithes and offerings.

Chelli

Prayers of Thanksgiving

Sat, 10 May 2008 19:28:22 +0200

I'm shouting! Happy Shouts! Can you hear them! I am in awe! God is so good to me!

This afternoon, I asked Paul if he would like to walk to the grocery with me. "Sure, do we need shopping bags?" he asked. "Well, I planned on taking the two-wheeler (a shopping bag on wheels)," I replied. On second thought, Paul grabbed two canvas bags out of the drawer next to the door, just in case. Ping! There it was on the floor. My wedding ring! Thank you so much Lord. We had a praise session right then and there. So, how did my ring end up in among the shopping bags? We really don't know. Do you realize how long that ring could have lain in that drawer before I would have found it? We figure we had no intention of cleaning that drawer out until we retire and move back to the states. That is a good 30 years down the road. Thank You Lord for giving it back to me now!

And a big thank you to all of you who have been praying that I would get it back. Your letters of encouragement were so great. You all have so much faith. Thank you so much!

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday. Tell the people at church thank you for praying for me!

Chelli

First Quarter of 2008

Sat, 10 May 2008 12:17:58 +0200

Upon our return to the field, we were grasping for the rudder and oars. A lot of water flows under the bridge in 4 months. In spite of all the preparation, not everything goes according to plan.

We were immediately confronted with the need of a discipline issue. No pastor enjoys Church discipline. Oh, but when repentance and healing comes. That is what we are earnestly praying for.

The first Sunday back, two of our church members brought us to tears. They very sweetly rewrote one of our favorite songs with words expressing how they had missed us and how that we were not allowed to leave again no matter the cost! It is good to see that you have made an impact.

That same Sunday morning we had a “guest.” This guest came to discuss the breaking up of the church that we have been renting our building from for the last three years. During these years, they have been so gracious in charging only one Euro a month so that we could use their building. However, the little group dwindled to only three remaining members. Three is not enough people to be recognized as a church by the Central association of German Brethren/Baptist. So on this day. I was confronted with three options.

The first two of which were without question impossible:

1. Rent without a contract and have no certainty as the building would also be rented to others who requested its use.

2. Become a part of the central organization.

3. Purchase the building.

At this point our only option is to purchase the building. This seems to be an impossible situation, but we know that our God knows the answer.

Vivian is returning to Germany from her first year at Bible College with no intention of continuing on the direction that God had led her. Please pray her heart will soften to God’s gentle touch.

One of the young men in our church is showing real promise. He has completed more of our discipleship than any of the other men. He is growing, loving his Bible, and serving. Olli has lived alcohol-free for almost a year and God has recently blessed him with a job. Please pray for him as he longs to follow the Lord’s leading.

A tremendous encouragement during April was the many responses we received to our German website. Several have written asking for prayer. We have seen one new visitor because of out internet presence and we are blessed to know that God’s word is reaching hearts via the web. Here is a note we received recently:

„für Menschen mit Handycap sind Ihre Internet - Seiten eine echte Hilfe und Fundgrube. Auf diese Weise können auch wir an Wort Gottes teilhaben.

herzliche Grüße und danke aus dem Schwarzwald“

„For people with handicaps, your website is a real help and treasure chest. Through this, we can also learn from God’s Word.

Best Wishes and thank you from the Black Forest!”

Thanks for your continued support,

Paul Sudbrock

Dad's Cancer is back

Sun, 04 May 2008 09:21:19 +0200

We received news this week that my Dad's cancer is back. They will begin radiation treatments soon. Please pray with us for Albert Sudbrock's healing. As you can imagine this weighs heavy on our hearts, especially with us being so far from home. Dad is also my pastor and carries many responsibilities that will need to be delegated out to others. We are all praying that God will send a young pastor who has a heart and a vision for Newton, IA, to help in this time of need.

Thank you so much for holding us up in prayer.

Paul

May Day

Sat, 03 May 2008 09:26:24 +0200

Happy May Day!

May first was a national holiday here in Germany. Parts of the country celebrated Ascension Day while the others celebrated International Men's Day. The day was sunny and warm, a great day for a BBQ at the church. Our regular Thursday night Bible study decided to meet at the church for a BBQ and spend the evening together. We had 13 people in attendance with 1 first time visitor. It was a good evening.

June 1, is International Children's Day and we will celebrate by hosting a Children's Festival at the church. Please pray for us as we make all the necessary preparations. Pray that we will have lots of kids visit and that they will have a great time and want to come back on a regular basis.

Now for the bad news, on May Day, I lost two very important things. First, while eating chips and salsa, I broke off part of a molar. God was so good to me. My regular dentist is on vacation, but his office referred me to a great dentist who did her best to save the tooth and spare the cost of having it crowned. The total cost was $100. More than I had expected to spend on dental this month, but a whole lot less than a crown. Second, while cleaning up after the BBQ, I looked down at my left hand and saw that my wedding ring was missing. I have no idea what happened, when or where. We had just gotten sized down to fit better while we were home on furlough. We spent yesterday morning (after the dentist appointment) at the church looking for it, but it is still hiding somewhere. I have an infection in my right shoulder, so I have been doing everything with my left hand for a couple of days. I remember having it on Monday and am pretty sure that it was there on Wednesday, but with the pain in my arm, I have been a little preoccupied. As you think about us, would you pray with me that I find my wedding ring. It makes me ill to think about the fact that it could be gone forever. I am so glad my treasure is laid up in heaven. The idea of having to protect such a treasure here on earth exhausts me.

Thank you for your prayers! Please mention our name the next time you talk with the Father.

Chelli

financial prayers

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:17:17 +0200

Many of you are praying for the financial situation of the European missionaries on a daily basis. Thank you so much. A few have even raised our support in the past couple of months. Thank you. I know things are tight in the states as well. Prices are going up eveywhere. We pray for you as well.

As I was finishing up our financial accountability worksheets for the month, I thought you might be interested in seeing how fast things are changing around here.

In February, 500€ cost us $724

In April, 500€ cost us $792

Just 7 years ago, 500€ cost us $430.

The same price increases you are seeing in the states are happening here. The prices are going up. The dollar is going down and the bank account is burning at both ends.

I am so thankful that I serve a God who knows where I live!

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.

Chelli

Miracle Mushrooms

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:03:24 +0200

Growing up, there was nothing like mushroom hunting in the spring. And few delicacies so great as Dad's fried mushrooms or Grandpa's scrambled eggs with mushrooms. Just the scent of morel mushrooms brings bag fond memories. Since we moved to Germany they have developed a whole new meaning for our family. They are rare here in our area. For the first 7 years, we never saw a single one and rarely spoke with a person who had eaten one. Then, one day when Samantha was just 2 years old, she discovered them in a mulched flower bed. They were such an encouragement from the Lord, at a time when we really needed it, that we called them our miracle mushrooms. On Monday of last week, as Samantha and I were walking to meet the school bus, something unusual caught out attention in the flower bed at the local grocery store. You guessed it! Morel Mushrooms! And not just a few like the first time. This time we walked away with a half gallon bag full. One week later, as we were walking to the bus stop again, a new batch had sprouted up and was waiting there for us! What a wonderful blessing from the Lord. Once again, at a time when we have been discouraged by finances and the personal struggles of our church people, the Lord showed us that He is watching over us, even in the little things. The miracle mushrooms are back! And we are enjoying them. They make a wonderful Manna Meal nourishing so much more than just our physical bodies.

Thank you for your prayers for us! Please continue to pray for God's miraculous provision, especially in this time of financial uncertainty.

Guten Appetit! Enjoy your meal!

Chelli

Educational hazards

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 21:44:02 +0200

Attending Bible College can be dangerous. While I was there, I broke my ankle. Paul broke his nose. Others that we knew broke arms, legs and even one who broke his neck - and lived! But this week, we experienced a first. Vivian discovered that dorm life can indeed be hazardous. All of her limbs are in tact and she is doing well. From first glance, you wouldn't know she had experienced so much pain this week, but as soon as she flashes her new smile, you will know not all is as it appears. While goofing around with her roommate, Vivian lost her balance and wasn't quick enough with her hands to catch herself. The floor came at her fast, and her mouth broke the fall. The first of her front teeth broke off upon impact. The sound was so strange, she came up laughing more than crying, but unfortunately that was not the end of her tears. The evening of her accident, she visited the ER with her roommate. They referred her to a specialist and the next morning she went to the dentist. He then pulled her second front top tooth. The two eye teeth are damaged as well, but the dentist believes they can be capped.

Please pray for Vivian as she heals. Pray for wisdom for her as she deals with insurance companies and dentists, seeking the best treatment at the best price. With just one month left of school, Vivian needs our prayers that her year at Bible college will end well.

Thank you so much for your love and prayers.

Chelli

Praying for Germany

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:09:59 +0200

Recently I was asked how someone could best pray for Germany. Well, Germany is a diverse country, so I won't pretend to know what the many needs are throughout the land. After some prayer and consideration though, a list began to form and I wanted to share it with you. When you pray for us and our work in Wittenberg, Germany, please pray with us for the German people we minster among.

- church growth – We need to see the Biblical churches that are here grow.

- Depression – 70% of all Germans receive clinical treatment for depression at some point in their lives

- New leaders – Our young people need to raise up and take leadership for the Lord.

- Prayer warriors – our elderly need to wake up and see the importance of their role as prayer warriors

- Islam – The Muslim religion is growing by leaps and bounds and in Germany

- Truth – May the truth be known throughout Germany. The majority of east Germans are Atheists. May their eyes be opened.

- Need – Germans are generally a wealthy group of people who see no need for God. May God remind them of their ultimate need.

- Families – Germany is in need of good strong, large families. Most Germans only have one child and many never marry. The German population is shrinking rather than growing.

Thank you for your love and prayers.

Chelli

At Home

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:59:06 +0200

Paul's mom is home from the hospital. Here is the latest update on Dorthea:

She is home! we got home at around six PM Friday the 04.04.08

She is doing well but we still have a few trips to the

doctor and then it will be time to start physical tharphy for about a

month. So thanks to all of you who were so faithful in prayer

for us. We were there from Monday until Friday. She can

climb stairs and walk a great distance compared to what she was able to do. She is walking and

standing like she hasn't done for years.

You can't keep a good woman down.

God Bless you all and THANKS.

Pastor Al Sudbrock

Dorthea doing well

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:20:56 +0200

The surgery went well. The only problem that she has is with the

morphine: it is keeping her really sleepy. They took her off of it at noon today and said it

would take a few hours to get out of her system. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and your

response to my e-mail. You are great. But please continue to pray for Dorthea's recovery now.

God Bless all of you.

Al Sudbrock

Newton, IA

Pray for Dorthea Sudbrock

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:15:29 +0100

Please pray for Dorthea Sudbrock, pastor's wife at Newton Baptist Temple, Newton, IA, and Paul's mom. She will be having knee replacement surgery on Monday morning. The last time she had a major surgery, we almost lost her, so we are a little concerned about this one as well. Please keep her and her family in prayer Monday.

Thank you so much!

Its a good Friday!

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:20:47 +0100

Traditionally throughout eastern Germany there will be Easter Bonfires lit to celebrate the holy weekend. Last year, the weather was so dry, they were banned. This year snow loomed on the horizon. It snowed on Wednesday for the first time all winter. Then again Thursday, it snowed off and on all morning. Our church people had planned a bonfire for Thursday evening. Just an hour before the scheduled start, it poured rain. Then the skies cleared, the fire was lit and the people began showing up. We had 20 children present for games, crafts, stories and roasted marshmallows. A good group of adults gathered around the fire singing songs, eating hot dogs and just having a good time of fellowship. I was able to use the egg shaped cake tins that my sister gave me and the Easter sprinkles to make carrot cakes for everyone. It was a busy day, but well worth it. There were a lot of first time visitors there. We are looking forward to a wonderful Resurrection Day! I pray yours is blessed as well!

Chelli

Passah

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:41:51 +0100

13 people attended our Passah celebration this evening. Our evangelistic team decided to host an evening meal centered around the traditions of the Jewish Passover. There were at least 3 unsaved adults present. At each stage of the celebration, the old traditions were explained, scripture was read and the hope of Christ was pointed out. It made for a very busy evening, but a meaningful one as well. Please pray with us that those who attended will continue to pondering the will of God throughout this year's Easter Celebrations.

I hope you are having a wonderful spring and I look forward to hearing how you will celebrate the resurrection this year.

Blessings,

Chelli

Victory

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:34:50 +0100

We are praising the Lord for His blessings! Many of you have been praying for our children and their schooling. This week, we recieved an answer to our prayers. The week we arrived back in Germany, the grade school principal called and said that a complaint had been registered against us saying that we were keeping our children out of school. At that point, Samantha was back in school, but apparently, at least one of the teachers was frustrated with us because we hadn't put Serenity into the first grade. We placed a call to the Minister of Education for our state and found that he was sick. We continued to call back each week and he was always sick. This week, he came back to work, though not fully recovered, and called us. After a short talk over the phone, he told us to inform the school principal that Serenity would be starting the first grade in the fall and that we did not have to enroll her now. Any questions regarding this decision were to be directed to the Minister of Education. It is official! We have received government permission to follow through with our children's schooling as planned. Skyler will re-enter the public system in the fall and be in the German fifth grade. Samantha will continue with her class at the German elementary school, attending the 4th grade in the fall and Serenity will start the first grade this fall, leaving Sadie to start the first grade next fall.

Please continue to pray for our children as they attend school in an ahteist area of Germany. This means the number of other children claiming to believe in God is very small. In Samantha's class, there is only one other girl who claims Christianity. It is not an easy path that is before us, but the Lord placed us here and will continue to guide and protect us.

Thank you for praying with us through this victory!

inflation

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 10:55:34 +0100

The cost of ministering in Germany continues to soar. The cost of heating our apartment has doubled every year for the past three years, though our usage has gone down or stayed the same. The price of natural gas just continues to increase along with the decreasing value of the American dollar. Cutting costs, we closed off our son's bedroom, making it a cold room without heat. Since it is a corner room, it should not affect the heating in the neighboring rooms. Skyler then moved his sleeping headquarters into the main part of the house. The bathroom is another corner room, so we turned off the heat in there as well. My DH is currently working on a solar solution to help with the costs. Though the winters in Germany are generally cloudy and gray, there are those days when solar could allow us to turn the heat off for the day. Paul found a solar idea in the Internet using black aluminum mesh screening and he tried it out in our bathroom. Thankfully, February is one of the sunniest months of the year here and we had several days in a row that we could test the idea. It worked! Though the temps outside were between 40-50° during the day, we were able to heat our bathroom ( a corner room with 3 outside walls) to 70° without turning on the radiator. Yippee! So, Paul set out to find cheaper aluminum mesh. Sure enough, God provided us with an American company who donated the screen and had it shipped to us via UPS. It has arrived and we are looking forward to a warm cozy spring, as God provides the sunlight.

We have also working to cut back on the electric bill which has also skyrocketed in the past several years. We are eating more fresh meals and avoiding the use of the oven as much as possible. Strategicly placed candles work great for navigating a dark house in the evenings. Thankfully, we have lots of windows to provide light during the day. We moved our dining table next to the window so that we wouldn't be tempted to turn the overhead lights on during mealtime. God continues to show us ways that we can adjust to cut costs and be wiser stewards of His funding.

Please pray for us for wisdom. Pray for the economies of our lands. Pray for God's provision for our family and our ministry. Pray for our health, that we wouldn't need to spend money on Dr. bills. Pray for our church that it would grow and multiply.

We will pray for you, that the Lord will bless you ministries and your finances. We pray for your health and well being. We pray for your spiritual growth. We have a prayer box for our loved ones. If we don't already have your picture and you would like us to pray for you, please send us your picture and prayer requests. We would love to add you to our prayer card box.

Thank you for teaming up with us!

Chelli Sudbrock

Wittenberg, Germany

Maya

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:43:41 +0100

Maya was just a shy 12 year old girl when we first met her 10 years ago. The Lord moved us into an old East German building that needed a whole lot of repair and Maya lived upstairs with her parents and three younger brothers. She was quick to befriend us and start spoiling our firstborn who was an infant at the time. Over time she became a trusted babysitter and best friend to my little ones. When it came time to hold our first Bible study in our living room in Wittenberg, Maya was our first and only attendee. Every week she faithfully came downstairs for midweek Bible study. Soon she began bringing friends and the midweek study group turned into a youth group. When we moved across town, Maya and her friends started bringing their younger siblings to a backyard Bible club. It didn't take long for her to start taking over the lesson time and teaching the children herself. Then in the spring of 2001, she made a profession of faith and Satan quickly moved in to snatch her away. For years now, we have tried to keep in contact with Maya and encourage her in the Lord, always reminding her that the Lord loves her and will always be there for her. What a blessing it was to see her at a church BBQ in August. But it has been an even greater blessing this month to have her welcome us back to Germany from our furlough by being in both the Sunday and midweek services. This shy little girl has turned into a beautiful young mother and we are praising the Lord that He has brought her back to us. Please pray with us that she will raise her precious little girl in the love of the Lord and that they will both grow in faith.

Success!

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:13:05 +0100

We made it! We survived 141 days of living out of the car and cooler. We visited 10 states and 30 different churches. Now we have made it back home to Wittenberg, Germany. We took a week and rested and tried to get realigned with the sun on this side of the planet.

Samantha has started back to school and is enjoying the third grade in the German public school. Yesterday on the way to school, she said, "Mom, thank you for bringing me home. It is so exciting here!" The kids really are more at home here than anywhere else in the world.

When we left, the closets were full of summer dresses and short sleeved shirts. Though February in Germany is nothing compared to the blizzards in Iowa, it is still sweater weather, so we have spent a few days cleaning out closets and finding all the winter apparel that was needed. The kids have grown so much while we were traveling, especially Serenity.

Our church people welcomed us home with an 8 foot square banner and a song that they had written in our honor. What a tremendous blessing they were. After church, we enjoyed lunch from the grill and an afternoon of fellowship. We are excited to be back with them. Please pray for us as we seek God's will considering the future of our building.

We are eager to get things rolling again. The Iowa Pastor's Fellowship was generous enough to commit the money needed to fund the printing of full-colored introductory fliers for the church. Now, with a little more funding, we would like to put together welcome packets and get geared up to see a lot of visitors come through our doors this spring.

A generous supporter in MO donated a set of children's handbells to our ministry. I was able to introduce these to the kids on Sunday and they are all so excited. We will be planning our initial presentation for Palm Sunday. Please pray with us that God will give us wisdom in using this tool to reach the children in our neighborhood and their families.

The two youngest children, Serenity and Sadie, have lost some of their German, so we have enrolled them in preschool and kindergarten respectively starting the 3rd of March. Please pray with us that God will allow us to be a witness in the schools and that He would provide good Christian friends for our children. As you can imagine, being the only one in the whole school who believes in God, can be quite a strain on anyone, and especially on a child.

We appreciate you all so much. Now that we are sitting still again and have reliable Internet access, you should be hearing from me on a regular basis again. I hope to write to you again soon.

Blessings!

Chelli

Trend Tradition or Truth?

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:55:15 +0100

A consistant attitude of submition to God's Truth will keep us from the uncertain waves of Trend and the death sholes of Tradition.

John4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

Trend 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain;

Tradition and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

No Trend 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain,

No Tradition nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Only Truth and Spirit. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

Truth and Spirit is where we meet God. Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The question is not weather so and so is doing it or that it is a known path. The only test is, is it biblical and is God leading me? Jesus said that true worshipers worship in spirit and in truth. Trend and tradition are both worldly and are based on opinion. Take care not to confuse them with Spirit or Truth. Let us choose the balance of God's Truth so as to avoid the extremes of Trend and Tradition.

End of 2007

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:48:59 +0100

Church news

The church in Wittenberg, Germany is doing well in our absence. People have stepped up to the challenge and filled in gaps while we are gone. Naturally and thankfully they are looking forward to our return. Please pray that these precious people who filled in will see their place in ministry and continue standing in the gap. This will free us up for other outreach opportunities.

Caught fruit

Tuesday evening the 18th of Dec., we received a call from Jamie C. She and her 4 year old daughter were taken out of a domestic abuse situation. The police had referred her to churches for help. She was calling from a motel room graciously provided by another non-profit organization. She and her daughter hadn’t eaten since breakfast. After calling the police to verify, which is our home church’s policy, Chelli quickly prepared a food basket, the kids gathered toys and we went off through the snow to the motel. In no time Chelli took Jamie’s attention from her physical need to her spiritual needs and immediately the tears began to flow. She was on the bottom looking for help. Eagerly, this Native American young lady reached out to the Lord for salvation. What a blessing. What a change from what we are used to experiencing. It takes so long to see a German receive Christ. It was a wonderful Christmas present for our whole family.

Family

It has been wonderful to spend the last month with my family. Catching up and getting to know new relatives. It is so strange to realize that my older brother is a grandfather.

My mother had a knee replacement surgery. She put us all through a scare by not wanting to wake back up after surgery. After a 10-day-stay in the hospital she is home and recovering well.

Dad is still cancer free and holding. Please pray for his further recovery.

New support

We have had 1 new church join us in our ministry to Germany and four others promise future support. We have also received an encouraging increase of support from some of our partnering churches. What a great encouragement!

Needs

We still need to see our support increased. As one missions agency explained the situation. “If you can imagine having an income of three thousand become an income of two thousand.” This explains the situation for European Missionaries.

Please continue to pray for our ministry. Without prayer it is impossible to see the victory. If you have web access, please sign up for email updates so that you can pray for current needs.

Laboring for Christ,

Paul and Chelli Sudbrock

Furlough

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 01:23:59 +0100

During the past two weeks, we have driven through or past Warsaw, Peru, Kokomo, London, Miami, Mexico, Chili, Denver, Rochester, Palestine, Columbia City, Roanoke, Bremen, Plymouth, Morocco, Monticello, Frankfort, Lebanon, Moscow, Geneva, Alpine, Philadelphia, Brazil, and Poland while only putting 3240 miles on the car and never stepping foot on a plane. Can you guess where we have been? If you guessed, Indiana, USA, you are absolutely correct. We have had the privilege of ministering in some wonderful churches and visiting with old friends and new. God has blessed us and used us in ways that we will surely never fully comprehend.

Our spiritual and emotional batteries are being recharged as we gather ideas and materials for ministering in Wittenberg, Germany when we return in February.

The church in Wittenberg has been doing well in our absence. They have been taking good care of their guest preachers and have even enjoyed the privilege of greeting a few visitors. They remind us regularly though that our furlough can not be over soon enough. They long for us to return as soon as possible. We have booked a flight back to Germany on February 7th.

Between now and our return date, we are praying that the Lord will increase our financial and prayer support. With the ever-strengthening Euro and the ever-weakening American dollar, the cost of living continues to increase. Even during our absence, our apartment rent in Germany continues to increase each month.

• Vivian is attending Bible College in Springfield, MO, and is doing well. Please continue to pray.

• My father is recovering well from surgery. He expresses his thanks for your prayers.

• Olli has begun playing the guitar for our German church services.

• We have finally received our permanent resident permits to remain in Germany.

• Please pray for God's protection as we travel on furlough. We will be in Ohio, Iowa, Missouri, and Louisiana in the coming months.

• Please pray for the needed new support and funds for continued effective ministry in Wittenberg, Germany

Please continue to pray for our ministry. Without prayer it is impossible to see the victory.

Laboring for Christ,

Paul and Chelli Sudbrock

Aptitude is nothing without a good Attitude.

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:59:41 +0200

Aptitude without a good Attitude creates Intelligence without Character.

The difference between a Hero and a Fiend is Character.

Furlough

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 04:54:10 +0200

Our 2007 ministry video is ready for viewing.

Please pray that our calender will fill up with new churches or churches that are in a position to increase our support.

Evangelistic outreach report

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:53:36 +0200

Our evangelistic outreach touched the lives of 131 souls. The story of Ruth was beautifully portrayed. The truth of God's redemptive work through Christ was clearly declared. Today there was a wonderful write-up in the local newspaper. The writer even captured the message of salvation in the article. It was a page size gospel track. The Baptisten Bibel Gemeinde is no longer obscure. New doors are open.

We have worked for years to be seen so that our message of Christ could be heard. Wittenberg now knows of our existence and all who read the article have heard the Gospel. Please pray that God's spirit will work in the lives of the lost.

Our church and its message were represented through...

	100	large posters
est.	Over 120	medium Posters
est.	Over 2760	Fliers of which a large percentage were given directly to individuals.
	5	Articles - Newspapers and a Magazine

Out of pocket cost: -1,438.22 € = $1984.74

Please pray for of little church as we are going on a 4 month furlough to raise more support due to the weak dollar.

A Strong Man recieves strength by admitting his weakness

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 10:16:02 +0200

A strong man has no inhibition in admitting his weakness. He understands that his admition is a cry for help that God will answer. Whereas the weak man constantly endeavors to maintain a false image of strength.

Dollar Falls

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 20:48:25 +0200

Dollar Falls to 15-Year Low Against Euro

The U.S. dollar dropped to a 15-year low against the euro today amid speculation that continuing signs of slowing U.S. economic growth will prompt the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates on Sept. 18, “reducing the appeal of assets denominated in the U.S. currency,” observed Bloomberg.

The latest fall caps what may be the dollar’s longest losing streak since October 2004, the news source offered.“We’re still in a weak dollar environment. Concerns about the U.S. economy have intensified, and that’s played negatively for the dollar,” a currency strategy expert in London told Bloomberg.

from MoneyNews.com

Please pray for us as we minister here in Wittenberg, Germany.

Paul and Chelli Sudbrock

Evangelistic Outreach

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 15:15:51 +0200

Summer and all of its activities are coming to an end here in Wittenberg, Germany and fall is desperately beating on our door. As we say good bye to summer, we push forward to the last of our summer outreach projects. This Saturday night, we have rented the local theater and will be presenting a dramatic rendition of the Biblical story of Ruth. This is an evangelistic outreach and we are praying for a full house. As of this writing, we know of 100 people who will be in attendance. We are praying for 400. Please pray with us.

The roaring lion is on the prowl and knows that this outreach could impact our area with great victories for the Kingdom of God. He has set up opposition in the form of a "Gay Cabaret" called "The First Ladies" which will be doing an aids benefit concert on Saturday night as well. Wherever we advertise, they come behind us and take our posters down and put their own in its place. Please pray for us as we kick our advertising campaign up a gear and try to fill those last seats before 7:30 on Saturday night.

Thank you for your faithful prayers for the souls of Wittenberg!

Chelli

New Picture

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 20:32:15 +0200

God has allowed us to save on our Pictures. A dear friend spent the time digitaly editing three versions of this pose into a perfectly lit photo. His work and an internet printer saved us sooo much money. God is Great!

Click here to download a printable version.

Ya can't go back! Make it count!

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:22:16 +0200

Life and a Hearse have no reverse. "Life comes at you fast." Nationwide

Corinth Continued

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:26:47 +0200

Thanks so much for remembering us so faithfully. As I was preaching this Sunday, it was as though I was pulling Christians out of Satan's clutches and they were complaining about my efforts. I preached Romans 1. You can imagine how that came across to some of our rebellious believers. Ironically, the three unsaved visitors were excited about hearing for the first time how relevant the Bible is today. Our faithful were fed.

I arrived at the church at 9:30 and our last counseling session ended at 12:30 am Monday morning. God opened many doors, and our day was fuller than I have ever experienced. I officially preached twice. In reality, the whole day was a sermon. At times I dealt with men with chemical dependence, self control of members and defeating the lies of this present "reality". At other times Chelli and I dealt with women about dress, men, adultery, marriage, and abortion. It was a nitty-gritty filled-with-tears trench battle. It still rages in some quarters, but God is winning.

Vivian, is somewhere over the Atlantic on here way to Bible College. Please pray for her! She needs God's hedge. She also needs $5,000 to repay an anonymous interest-free loan. A faithful Christian loaned her the needed funds.

Greetings from the front at Corinth (Wittenberg Germany)

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:36:53 +0200

Oh how I would write a letter of glowing report. A report filled with flowers and no thorns, but that would not be truthful.

As battle wages our Supreme Commander (God) has from His vantage point declared victory, but there are many casualties due to fear in the ranks. This "angst" is not found on the front, but in the camp. The people hear the rumbling and drumming of the enemy and fear captivates and paralyzes their hearts. Still others have, due to fear of pain of the cleansing process, allowed their wounds to fester until amputation of limbs appears to be the only option. There are some serious operations scheduled. Please pray for healing.

After this Sunday's offensive, three captives of the enemy cheered our assault. One even expressed interest in an escape effort. He wants to be set free, but has some trepidation. You see he has been a captive for years bound by alcoholism. He has experienced so many unsupplied attempts by well-meaning other captives. He wants to know if our forces are strong enough before he commits. We have agreed to meet and lay out the escape plan (God's Word). We will then reveal our secret and all powerful weapon (the cleansing power of Jesus Blood). Please pray for K that he will have the courage to jump into the rescue net (Jesus open arms) when it is raised.

Please also pray for our little troop as my recall to the base for debriefing is scheduled and cannot be postponed. We have already delayed our recall for debriefing for a year. I have field promoted one man to oversee operations. I have also called in temporary commanders (other pastors via DVD) from other fronts (other Churches). I have personally planned and set aside operational materials for 5 assaults (pre-taped video messages).

While at the base I must attempt to change public opinion for the cause. I hear rumors that folks back home have lost sight of the goals of our conflict. Some have become lost in the extravagances that the war effort has won them. They enjoy the freedoms so much so that they have forgotten that the once where also captives of the enemy. Still others are so trapped by personal debt that they have made themselves incapable to help the war effort. Others are simply apathetic.

Our resources are being limited due to the dangers of transport (exchange rate - weak dollar/strong Euro) Still other resources are drained due to the ever rising obstacle of cost of maintaining our limited footprint.

Praise our Supreme Commander for those who in spite of personal issues and conflicts have never for a moment lost sight of our goal. They are true heroes. Many have sold, scrimped, saved, and yes - suffered lost to give to the cause. Our Supreme Commander of our forces has seen their sacrifice and their needs will be filled immediately. They will also receive repayment in HIS words "pressed down and shaken together, and running over". We cannot express our gratitude to the Supreme commander for the great Support system that he has put together for our conquest of the enemy.

Thanks to all those who follow his command!

The Sudbrocks

Reason to Celebrate

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:28:40 +0200

Thank you all for your prayers on our behalf. I got up this morning and double checked to make sure I had everything in order before heading out to the foreign affairs office. Vivian helped us translate the last necessary letter yesterday and I put it in the folder. It is a good thing that Paul helped me double check everything because I had packed all of our paperwork and my own passport, but had forgotten to pack those for the rest of the family. With all 6 passports in hand, I packed the file on my bike, we prayed together and off I rode to the downtown office. Though they hadn't sent me a letter telling me I could come in, the lady in the office was expecting me. As I approached the counter, she said, "Ah, there you are, " and turned to take a large file off of the shelf behind her. I handed her our passports and the visa extension slips that we had as well as the letter Vivian translated. She looked everything over and said it looked great. She told me that we would be receiving our permanent visa permits and that it would cost a little more than the usual extensions that we have paid for in the past. She still didn't tell me how much. Then she typed and figured a little on the computer printed out a receipt and handed it to me, 460 € ( $636 ). I swallowed twice and smiled and thanked her. After a quick trip to the cashier, I returned to the office where she had our visa stickers in our passports and ready to go. Paul and I received permanent residence visas with work permits and the kids each received visas good until they are 16 when they can reapply for their own resident visas. Yippee! After 12 years of waiting and praying, we finally have our paperwork. Thank you for you prayers and thank the Lord for his mighty works! We have reason to celebrate. I think we will have a picnic dinner outside and sing extra loud at Bible study tonight.

Chelli

Prayer for Visa Permits

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:13:22 +0200

Tomorrow is the big day! Tomorrow morning I go to the Foreign Affairs office to learn whether we will be granted a new visa permit to remain in Germany. When they gave us the extension in May, they said they would send us a letter when the permits were ready to be picked up. Well, our extension expires tomorrow and they haven't sent us a letter, so I will go in in the morning and see what we need to do next. Please pray that we will find favor in their eyes and that we will finally receive a permanent residents permit for Germany.

Thank you,

Chelli

Summer drought

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 14:58:53 +0200

As we head into the heat of summer, we find our fledgling church in a spiritual drought MH has struggled with alcohol for years but started out 2007 very well. Things seemed to be going so well. Since the beginning of the year he has been growing in the Lord and in joy. But alas, Satan was not going to give up all that easy. Two weeks ago Satan attacked with more than M was able to handle and rather than turning to the Lord, he returned to his alcohol addiction and tried to take his own life. Since that evening, he has been in a recovery clinic. Please pray for healing for him and wisdom for us.

A young couple in our church has been struggling wtih their marriage, but were too ashamed to ask for help. We were all shocked this week when things fell apart and this precious couple separated. Please pray for their darling little daughter AM ( 2 yrs ) and pray that her parents will resolve their difference. We are praying for healing and restoration for A and A. We are also praying for wisdom as we offer counsel and guidance.

These two major crisis have affected everyone in the church to some degree. Our hope is that these trials will draw the church family in Wittenberg closer together rather than dividing and scattering as Satan would have it.

We are praying for showers of blessing and spiritual growth within this young flock in Wittenberg. We covet your prayers on our behalf.

Ecumenicals

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 21:20:04 +0200

Fiery darts of hatred arise in the hearts of "loving Ecumenicals" at the sound of biblical doctrine.

Paul Sudbrock

Pappas Test Results

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:34:30 +0200

Pappa wrote this morning:

"Hey There Everyone:

The PSA test I took at O8:00 this morning turned out to be '0' the very number that the Doctor was wanting and so was I and I believe it was because of your prayers and I thank you for all of them. I am getting better and the bladder control is coming slowly and the doctor said that, that was the way it would happen so please continue to pray that I can get bladder control soon as I can.

We are all rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord. This test means that other treatment at this time will not be persuded. Although cancer is still present at this time treatment will not proceed.

Thanks to ALL

Al Sudbrock"

Glimpses of the Victory in the Midst of the Battle

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 16:15:52 +0200

It can seem at times that we are surrounded by the battle. Often there is the feeling that all will be lost if this present battle is not won. Surrounded by impossible mountains of problems and discouragements, a soul can be driven to the point of despair.

The truth is, the victory is already won. We are victors in Christ. One glimpse of this victory reignites the weary soul with a fire that changes the world.

Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

In the last few months we have faced so many problems and seemingly impossible circumstances, but God has given glimpses of the real victory that have served to inspire and renew us for the battle. Many of these battles are still in progress and cannot be reported upon at this present time. Please hold us up in prayer.

To spite these "unmovable Mountains", God has given us these wonderful glimpses of His victory:

An anonymous donor loaned Vivian the remaining funds so that she can attend Bible College

My fathers' successful prostate surgery

Vivian received her student permit and purchased her plane ticket for America.

Olli was baptized and is growing in the Lord.

After 12 years of patience, we have seen progress toward our permanent resident permits.

Our church is finally big enough to set up a state recognized corporate identity so that we can open a bank account. This will also allow us to give out donor receipts for tax purposes.

Our evangelistic team is starting back up after a time of job related interruptions.

Present needs:

The needed funds to pay Vivian's interest-free loan back as soon as possible

Healing for my father, A.B. Sudbrock, and a cancer free status

Vivian's flight and her continued submission to God's will.

God's hedge about our people

Success of our evangelistic team and our summer outreach project

Our furlough preparations

Needed new support and funds for continued effective ministry in Wittenberg, Germany

Please continue to pray for our ministry. Without prayer it is impossible to see the victory. Please sign up for email updates so that you can pray for current needs.

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Laboring for Christ,

Paul and Chelli Sudbrock

Olli's Baptism

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 23:16:19 +0200

Olli is a biker that has recieve Christ and God is making incedible changes in his life. He is witnesssing and excited about his relationship with God.

Pray for Dad Sudbrock

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:00:41 +0200

On the 3rd day of July my dad goes in to have his PSA test done. Please pray that the results will be Zero. As you can imagine, he really would rather avoid the radiation treatments.

Whoda thunk?

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 21:18:57 +0200

With all the crazy things that have been happening, I was feeling a bit under the rug. I prayed and asked God for a bit of encouragement. He did not fail to answer!

Olli, with his shirt off and hair to the middle of his back, ran to meet us as we drove up. Olli is a "biker". Not exactly, from human perspective (first look), the ideal candidate to represent the King of Kings. The first words out of his mouth were, "the next "Alki" (alcoholic) is on his way and he wants to talk to you!"

We first met Olli (Matthias) in January at one of our evangelistic outreaches. The second time he came, he prayed the sinners prayer. God has been doing an incredible work in his life. He is so excited. He is constantly discovering a new tract or Christian video to share with his friends. We started biblical discipleship Wednesday. Today, as we were getting back in the car, he said that he wanted to talk about baptism. God works in ways and places that we would never have thought.

Praise God for His wondrous works and His acts of encouragement,

Paul

Break down!

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 22:20:51 +0200

This is a month of break down. Our vacuum has been needing to be replaced for months. We investigated for just the right machine and found a quality vacuum We then purchased it through German ebay for half the retail price. Our iron was dropped by a babysitter and needed to be replaced. To top it off, our 10 year old dishwasher gave up the ghost. The repair cost is half of the price of a new machine. Does it make sense to repair such an old machine? I wonder. With the high price of water in Wittenberg, you actually save money with a machine over hand washing. Please pray for wisdom. On the good side, Skyler lovingly gave his mother a coupon for washing up 10 loads of dishes. Little did he know a month ago that the dishwasher would go out just in time for mom to redeem those coupons. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8.28)

*****Update - after typing the above posting, lightening struck our house! In spite of surge protectors, our computer was surged and damaged. Only time will tell to what degree the damage may be. At this point, I know that all the USB ports must be replaced. Heads up - keep your appliances at a safe distance from the Sudbrock family.

Cancer update A.B. Sudbrock

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 09:41:39 +0200

Thank you for praying for my fil AB Sudbrock. His spirits are up which a wonderful blessing. Here is an update that he wrote over the weekend:

Hey There: I want to give you an update on my surgery. I went into the hospital on the tenth of May at 05:00 and was in surgery at 07:15 the surgery was over at 11:20 and a lot was done. I spent the next 4 days in the hospital and it has been a rough time. I came home and the following Wednesday was back in the doctors office with blisters all over my stomach. They made 7 incisions in my lower abdomen and the skin around each of the bandages was blistered so I had 18 blisters on me and that made things more miserable. Plus I was carrying an catheter which I carried for 14 days. The day they removed it I was put back into the hospital with double pneumonia and was released on the 26th. I am still weak and haven't been in the pulpit on a Sunday sense the 6 of May.

I plan to return this Sunday but am still sore. There are still cancer cells present and radiation is on the horizon if my PSA is higher then '0'. The doctor said I will be a year in healing. There were many things removed including 16 lymph nodes which showed no cancer in them.

I have to return for blood work on the 28 of June and see the doctor on the 30 of June. I again see the surgeon on the 6 of July. I never knew that one thing could take you down so fast but I sure don't have much strength to do anything at all.

I haven't been able to set anywhere on any seat for more the a few minutes. I have lost some weight and still don't feel the best my morning are the best part of the day.

Thanks for the cards and calls and for those of you who visited a special thanks. Keep us in your prayers because this is just as hard on my wife as it has been on me.

Al Sudbrock

This week we were also told that the grandson of ABSudbrock, my nephew, Zachary Sudbrock (15 years ) has a growth of some kind pushing on his esophagus. They have run many tests and have narrowed it down to two possible causes: Lymphoma or Sarcoidosis. He will meet with a specialist today and they will schedule a lung biopsy to determine if cancer is present or if it is sarcoid nodules. Sarcoid runs in the family, so we are hopeful that this is the culprit. Please keep the family in prayer. All of this has been very difficult on everyone.

Thanks!

Chelli Sudbrock

Wittenberg, Germany

Surgery update

Sun, 13 May 2007 22:00:07 +0200

From the surgeon’s perspective, Dad’s operation was a success. He believes he got all the cancer. Please continue to pray as the results have not come back from the removed Lymph nods. Also pray for quick healing and for the family as they care for Dad.

Stressed?

Sun, 13 May 2007 17:01:23 +0200

The cure for Stress: Can time!

Do what you can while you can, so that when you can, you can have the time you need to get it all done.

Paul Sudbrock

Vivian Update

Thu, 10 May 2007 22:23:31 +0200

Good news! Vivian has been offered a job teaching beginner's guitar at BBC two hours a week starting in the fall. Though this will only amount to about $50 a week, it is a great start. We are so excited for her and the possibilities that are beginning to open up. Here is the letter that she received:

We are still excited about you attending BaptistBibleCollege this fall. I trust that you received the scholarship award letter sent earlier this year. I am writing you about another opportunity that could be beneficial for both you and the music department. We offer two beginning guitar classes for students who would like to learn to play. Our teacher accepted a position as pastor of a local church and can no longer teach for us.

I have spoken with the academic dean about you and we would like you to consider teaching the beginning guitar classes for us next year. The classes meet two hours a week and you would be paid $25.00 an hour for teaching them. One class is offered in the fall semester and the other class is offered in the spring semester.

This is a minimal teaching load and should not affect your ability to study and practice for your own class work. You will be working with one of the music professors who can help you with any needs.

Thank you for your prayers on Vivian's behalf. Please keep it up. We are eager to see what great plans God has set into motion.

Cancer Surgery

Wed, 09 May 2007 16:31:59 +0200

Please pray for my father as he undergoes his cancer surgery on Thursday, May 10th at the Methodist hospital In Des Moines, Iowa. This hospital is the only one in Des Moines that has the Robotic equipment that will be needed for the surgery. Please keep my mother, Dorthea as well as our sending church, Newton Baptist Temple in prayer during this time as well. Thank you so very much.

Paul

Visa permits

Tue, 08 May 2007 17:38:23 +0200

For 12 years now we have been praying for a permanent residence visa. This is not a work permit but rather just permission to stay in Germany and live here as long as we would like. Repeatedly we have been told that this is impossible, but year after year we have gone back and applied for it anyhow. Our current temporary permit expires on May 30th. I went in last week to start the process of applying for another extension for our family. There I was given a new list of requirements to fulfill and worked on completing everything before returning this afternoon. Right after lunch I gathered up the paperwork and pictures and double checked the list to be sure I had everything before the girls and I headed downtown. We turned in the paperwork to a different person than we picked the list up from and found that we need one more letter. That was a little exasperating, but then came the glimmer of hope that we have been waiting for. The lady said that they had been discussing our case in the office and that they think that a new law has made it possible for us to receive our permanent permits. She needs to check into it further, but she is hopeful that she can give us all permanent permits when we go back to the office in 8 weeks. She did warn that the cost of these permits would be quite a bit higher than the $50 per person that we are accustomed to paying each time. Please pray with us during the coming weeks that God's will will be done. For years we have prayed that God would either soften the hearts of these two ladies or remove them from their office. We are so thankful to be able to report that there has been an obvious softening of their attitudes towards us. We covet your prayers in regards to our visa permits. We are so very hopeful that this will be the last time that we have to complete this process.

Chelli

Vivi is employed!

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 14:33:46 +0200

Vivi has a job! Thank you to all of those who have been praying for Vivian and the finances for her schooling. She had tried to get a position somewhere in town using her English skills and had already applied at all the hotels and tourist shops, but still couldn't find anyone who was willing and able to hire her. Then, while walking downtown, she saw a sign which read: English Speaking Help Wanted. One of the local ice cream shops was looking advertising a position available. Come to find out, the young Italian woman running the shop is fluent in English and Italian, but has very limited German skills. She needed someone to work alongside of her translating and serving customers. On Wednesday Vivian went in and tried her hand at dipping ice cream and filling orders and then again on Thursday. All went well and she now has a job at the local ice cream parlor. Thank you for your prayers. We are praising the Lord that He has given her such a wonderful grasp of the English language and a job to boot. Please continue to pray for Vivian's college fund. We currently have just over $6,000 in there, leaving another $6,000 in order to meet our goal. We are halfway there! Keep praying!

The Coverup

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 17:29:42 +0200

The Accuser is desperate for dirt to cover his own tracks.

Paul Sudbrock

ACT complete

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:47:09 +0200

Saturday I spent the day with Vivian in Berlin. At 5:26 am our train pulled out of Wittenberg and lumbered towards the big city. After our train ride and a few buses, we arrived at the JFK International school in Berlin where Vivian was scheduled to take her ACT. Registration was at 7:45. While the test was administered, I enjoyed a beautiful time of devotion in the park as the sun peaked above the horizon and warmed my back. The little pointed-eared red squirrels which are usually quite shy were on the ground in abundance and making quite a clatter. Even a wood pecker joined in. It is amazing how quiet Berlin can be on a warm spring morning. At about 9 the shops began opening and I thoroughly enjoyed strolling along looking in the storefronts and taking in the sites. One vendor had thousands of cut tulips for sale 20 for 5€ in every color imaginable. I must have looked like a lost little country girl as I gauked at the big city life. It was great! I found a grocery store which had marshmallows and a little bag of Hot Tamalli candies to take home to the kids. Breakfast in the park and some time alone with God and my journal and before I knew it, it was noon already and Vivian was done. We are praying for the best when the results come in. The higher the test scores, the better her chances for getting another scholarship or two. Just a month ago, she took the English As a Second Language Exam at a University in Berlin and scored 118 points out of a possible 120. We were so proud of her. We found a SubWay and had lunch and bought a bottle of Mountain Dew to take home for the kids to share and then we headed back to Wittenberg. We enjoyed such a wonderful time of fellowship and exhortation that we agreed that we need to get away and spend the day together more often.

Thank you to all who are praying for Vivian as she prepares for Bible College.

Thank you so much to all you who are praying daily for our ministry here in Wittenberg. We had a new family of 5 visit our services this morning alongside our regular crowd. Please continue to pray for our new converts. Sometimes the claws of our past lives sink much deeper than we perceive.

We are looking forward to a wonderful spring week. I wish one for you as well.

Chelli

Truth v. Lies

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 16:56:36 +0200

The first step in discovering truth without is to identify the lies within.

Paul Sudbrock

New Pictures

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:43:32 +0200

Our new pictures arrived today. Not bad, I must say, but the price! These little 1.25 x 1.75 inch babies cost approx. $100. a piece. Ouch! But oh how precious. The price break down per unit is as follows:

1. Processing fee - $55.

2. Application fee - $30.

3. Security surcharge - $12.

4. Cheesy picture booth - $7.

The next step is to have some pricey and precious little stickers pasted in them, namely our visa permits. Please pray with us as we go in to apply for our visa renewals. We are praying that we will be granted permanant resident status this time around.

Testing Faith - Don't waver

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:13:21 +0200

I spent 3 hours tonight witnessing to O. I really didn't think he would come back to English after last week's discussion. He started off an Agnostic, then here shifted his position to a "God-denying Evolutionist" and at the end to a Creation Evolutionist. What a trip! At the end of the first evening, I was sure he just didn't want to believe.

When he showed up tonight, I was entirely surprised. Not long into the discussion, he was back at asking questions and dodging the answers. But this time his shifting between anti-biblical philosophies had increased in velocity.

After English, a visit to the ice cream Café, and a long walk I realized that it isn't that he doesn't want to believe as much as he is testing the stability of my faith to see if it is real. He wants to believe, but has never found the real thing. He has been testing the ice before committing. Please pray with me that God will use the Word to call him to faith.

Paul

Life - Abundantly

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 23:03:54 +0200

This last month is a good example of that promise. Christ did not say a perfect life, He said life more abundantly. We have been through valleys and on peaks.

The weak dollar continues to wreak havoc on our finances, but God continues to bless our ministry. We are returning on furlough this fall. Please pray that God will give us the right contacts in order to raise the needed support.

On top of the usual social obstacle course that goes along with attending a public school in a second culture, we have recently had some overly inquisitive teachers asking some rather personal questions about our family life. Within a culture where Christianity is an oddity, our traditions and family culture can appear very peculiar. We are praying that the curiosity will lead to Christ. Please pray with us for God’s hand of protection over our family and our children.

At the same time, we were working on plans for our fall furlough which required some cooperation from the school. We planned to delay Serenity’s start into the first grade here by a year while schooling her in English during furlough. At first, the school system challenged our plans. If this had gone wrong it could have impacted our ministry in ways that I don't want to think about. But God gave wisdom and solution through a face-to-face contact with the superintendent of the primary schools in Sachsen Anhalt. At this point, all appears to be ironed out.

My Father, A.B. Sudbrock, was diagnosed with prostate cancer, but through the prayers of many the cancer is limited to the prostrate and it is treatable.

During a Thursday night Bible study, we received the phone call that Chelli’s grandmother had passed away.

Later that evening as snow fell on our sleepy little town, I slid into the car of the one neighbor that I have never been able to befriend. Still waiting to see what God's plan will bring. The bill to repair his car is $ 421.

At our annual fellowship meeting, Serenity fell up stairs and cut herself at the point where the nose meets the upper lip. It took three stitches and several of papa’s nerves. You just feel so helpless. I was fine until the doctor mentioned the pain she was in with the nerve that runs through that area. It was too much. I felt that sick weakness come over me. Keith Gandy had taken the time to show me the way to the hospital. The doctor then mentioned that I should lie down. Keith said I looked like a banana.

As soon as I felt the wooziness subside we moved Serenity into the hall to wait for the medicine to take effect. Soon Serenity was completely happy reaching out to touch objects hanging in the air that only she could see. She began to laugh and state that her nose didn’t hurt any more, but tickled.

The doctor said the medication would block all memory of the event from the time she took it until it wore off. She doesn’t remember the pain of the needle injecting the local anesthetic or papa’s tears at her crying. She has her first three stitches and a war story to boot.

By the way, we made it back to the church in plenty of time and God gave us an effective fellowship meeting.

Now for the mountain top, we had 12 visitors on Easter Sunday at our church Wittenberg. All of the new believers that we have written about during the past several months were also in attendance. It was a good day.

Thank you for your prayers. As you can see, they are needed on a daily basis.

Searching for the lost,

Paul Sudbrock

Easter Weekend

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 18:44:12 +0200

Easter Weekend in Germany is always full of surprises and family fun. Every year is a little different than the year before and this year was not an exception. In past years we have done various things to celebrate our savior's resurrection including an early morning breakfast at our home for the church members, a picnic and bonfire on Saturday night, breakfast at the church, lunch at the church, a children's program, and a quiet time of candlelight devotion and testimonies. This year the church decided to have an afternoon festival for the neighborhood. Knowing that we would be away most of the weekend, we encouraged the church people to take over the decorations and preparations. We printed up posters and fliers and invitations and then headed off to Aschaffenburg for our annual BBFI German Missionary Fellowship meeting. The kids were all excited about spending the weekend in the parsonage at Baptisten Christliche Gemeinde Aschaffenburg. After a 5 hour car ride, we arrived and unpacked and enjoyed some time of fellowship with missionaries Keith and Debbie Gandy and the kids had a blast playing with their dog, Jack. Friday morning with a good night's sleep behind us, Paul and the kids headed over to the church while I finished tidying up. It wasn't long until Paul was knocking on the door needing the car keys. Serenity had fallen up some stairs in the basement where the children's ministry is set up and had cut her nose open. She was going to need stitches. Just a little over an hour before church services, Keith and Paul headed off to the emergency room with Serenity. Keith made it back in time for Good Friday services, which were wonderful by the way. Paul and Serenity however didn't make it back until after the services. Serenity had to have 3 stitches just under her nose. She was a little woosey from the pain killers for most of the day, but by evening she was back running on all cylinders again as if nothing had happened. Friday afternoon, we enjoyed a wonderful time of refreshment, encouragement and fellowship with 7 different German missionary families.

Saturday morning we headed back to Wittenberg to prepare for Sunday. We stopped by the church on our way into town and found that the people had down a wonderful job of cleaning and decorating. The rest of the evening was spent in preparation, cakes to be baked, children's services to be finished off, songs to be practiced, etc.

Just as the disciples were met with a wonderful surprise on the first Easter morning the children also awoke to surprises including new Easter clothes from Oma and Opa in Iowa and soft fleece Easter bags from Aunt and Uncle Dresser in Ohio.

For the morning services we were blessed to have two visitors with us as well as two of our regular families. In eastern Germany, Easter is not known much as a "church" holiday. Traditionally, everyone gets together with family for breakfast and lunch. Because of this, there have been many Easter Sundays that we have spent alone. We are so thankful that we were not alone this year. After services, the children hunted for surprises in the garden, the biggest prize of all being a large red egg with a linen napkin in it. Before the children make their morning trek into the garden, Pastor Paul always tell them the story of the empty tomb and the napkin that Christ left folded and placed to the side symbolizing His eminent return. This year it was Serenity who found the promise in the garden.

Sunday afternoon we enjoyed cake and coffee with several of the church families and a few visitors as well. For the children we have a craft and coloring table set up using supplies that our various churches have sent as well as games and a video. In the evening we BBQ ed and enjoyed an evening service and fireside singing. Despite the cold, cloudy weather, a few neighbors stopped by and most of the church people made it sometime during the course of the day. All in all, it was a wonderful resurrection celebration. We are so very thankful for the people God has given us to minster among.

Thank you for your prayers and financial support which God uses to keep us here.

Objectivity

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 16:46:27 +0200

It is absurd to think that man with a finite mind whose perspective is bound by time, space and natural law could ever be objective.

Paul Sudbrock

Synonyms of Objectivity

Neutrality

Impartiality

Detachment

Independence

Arrogant

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 13:27:20 +0200

Arrogance is the ultimate form of ignorance.

Paul Sudbrock

Good news!

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:11:46 +0200

We have some good news. That is nice for a change. It seems like 2007 has started off with lots of hurdles and pot holes. Paul met with the county school superintendant today about our furlough plans for the fall and the kid's schooling. The meeting went really well. Everything appears to be in the clear for us to come back the states from October to February. When we return to Germany, Paul will set up a new appointment with him and we will work out the best way for the kids to re-enter the German school system. A meeting that we had dreaded went so very well. Thank you Lord!

Honestly forging forward

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:32:36 +0200

For years we have struggled to develop a relationship with our neighbor, Andreas. No matter how we attempted to be friendly, his answer to almost every attempt at greeting was met with a grunt of acknowledgement at best.

Thursday night I went to pick up Chelli from the area college where she teaches English to seniors. It had snowed all day long, but the streets were still drivable. Upon our return, and as I was maneuvering the parking lot our car began to slide and I automatically hit the brakes to no avail. Sure enough, I slide into Andreas' car. My first thought was, "Oh no, anyone but Andreas."

Ironically I was working on my message for Sunday and one verse had been standing out.

John 12:27 ¶ Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

In one way this verse spoke volumes that God has a plan that sometimes isn't a bed of roses. Knowing that God has a plan doesn't always give immediate and complete peace. Christ even bore this out in His statement that His soul was troubled.

On the other side Christ, our leader, gives us encouragement to stay the course that God has planned. No matter the cost!

Andreas' car had a few scratches and a little, almost non-detectable crease in the bumper. It was at night and most were in bed or on the way. The human thing to do would have been to walk away and pretend that nothing had happened. But then what about God's plan? Nothing comes into a Christian's life without God's design.

I couldn't bring myself to wake my already unfriendly neighbor to tell him that I had scratched his one year old pride and joy VW. I decided to take care of it in the morning. I woke up at 5 to assess the actual damage. Normally, Andreas is quite noisy and slow in his preparation to take his son to school. Not so on this Friday. Even with our front door open, I missed making contact in the morning. That served to extend my intrepidation of telling him the bad news.

Christ did say that I needed to take up my cross and follow him.

Later in the day, I was on my way out and stopped at the end of the drive to set up my cell phone for driving. As I made ready to pull out I noticed that Andreas had been waiting for me to get out of his way so that he could pull in the drive. Oh great, I thought. Now he is pre-frustrated with me. This is going to make telling him that I scratched his car so much easier.

When I returned, he was outside and I finally was able to point out the scratch and he took it very well.

I have two prayer requests.

1. That God will glorify Himself through this so that Andreas can see Him through me.

2. That God will help me bear the cost of fixing his car. The repair costs are just above my deducible. Not worth the risk of raising my insurance, but still not an easy hit to take.

No matter the costs,

Paul

Prayer Update - cancer

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 21:49:28 +0200

Here is the most recent information that we have on my father-in-law's condition.

He had a prostate biopsy on the 12th of March that showed cancer, then a colonoscopy on the 20th of March and praise the Lord it was clean, the next thing on Friday the 23rd he had a bone scan, and a body scan and the results will be in on Friday the 30th at 11:00 he meets with the doctors to determine the course of action. Surgery when it needs to be done or when I can get the doctors to do it will be at the Methodist hospital In Des Moines. This hospital is the only one in Des Moines that has the Robotic equipment that will be used in the surgery.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and I will update you again next weekend. So until then please keep praying.

Chelli

Prayer - cancer

Sat, 17 Mar 2007 11:38:31 +0100

We received word last night that my father, Pastor A.B.Sudbrock of Newton, IA, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and there are also indications that it may have spread to the colon. He had a cancer scare a while back, but God healed him and rid his body of the cancer before the scheduled surgery. He has had regular check-ups since then and this time the results came back cancer positive again. He is 69 years old and the pastor of Newton Baptist Temple. Please pray with us as God is the only healer.

Thank you!

Paul Sudbrock

Tuition

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:16:14 +0100

Dear Praying Friends,

We are in need of your prayers and God's provision. Vivian Kleeblatt, a young lady from our church here in Wittenberg, Germany, feels God's leading in her life towards full-time ministry. Unfortunately, her parents are not yet believers and do not support her decision to pursue full-time ministry as a life-decision. She has chosen to attend a Bible college in the states where she can receive a degree in Music Education. She auditioned for their scholarship program and was awarded a $5,000 renewable scholarship for the 2007-8 school year. Now for the prayer request. In order for a foreign student to receive a Visa Permit allowing them to study in the USA, they must pay for their first year of schooling in advance. This means Vivian still needs $12,000 in a stateside bank account in order to be allowed into the country. Several have already helped towards this need and we currently have $3,500 in an account at our sending church in Newton, Iowa, designated for Vivian's college fund. That leaves $8,500 that is still needed by May. Vivian is applying for other scholarships almost on a daily basis while finishing up her high school requirements and working odd jobs, but due to the poor East German economy, has been unable to find a regular job. We are asking you to please pray for us as we seek God's provision for this young lady.

Thank you,

Paul and Chelli Sudbrock

Wittenberg, Germany

Reverse Gear

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 17:14:04 +0100

Be carefull!

Life doesn't have a reverse gear.

A Man with a Bad Memory

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 04:42:21 +0100

If you have a bad memory,

be sure to marry a wife with a good one.

Paul Sudbrock

Judgmentalism

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 08:40:56 +0100

The judgmentalist has a skewed view of others

due to an inflated view of himself.

Paul Sudbrock

Oliver

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:38:48 +0100

Our evangelistic team continues to be an effective outreach. Our latest topics have been "Why is it that some suffer and others don't?" and "Why Jesus and not Buddha?" These topics are chosen, researched, and presented by the team as a whole. It is awesome to see God grow even the newest of believers through hands-on spiritual experience. Oliver has been coming for the last 4 weeks and at the end of "Why some suffer..." he prayed the sinner's prayer. He attended church the first time this past Sunday. Last night at the end of our evangelistic Team meeting, he stated his intention to be in church on this coming Sunday as well.

We have seen the Lord save a total of three people since the inception of our evangelistic team. Last night Anna, one of those who received Christ through the outreach, excitedly talked about how much she looks forward to the team meetings and the fellowship she experiences there. She expressed the comfort she has in knowing that the group is there for her and consistently lifts her up in prayer. What a wonderful testimony. God is good!

Superiority Complex

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 06:59:33 +0100

If you think yourself to be superior, you will make superior mistakes.

Paul Sudbrock

Spiritual legacy

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:06:28 +0100

Last night as I was tucking the kids into bed, Samantha said, "Mom, I tried to talk to Ziynet about God today, but it just didn't work. I wish I was good at it like Daddy is." On the school bus ride between swimming and math class, Samantha's little Muslim friend confided in her that she is afraid she will die and go to hell. "There is no need to be afraid," Samantha replied, " you can pray and talk to God about it. If you ask him to forgive you for the bad things you have done, he will. To go to Heaven all you have to do is believe in Jesus and follow him. Pray with me Ziynet and you won't have to be afraid anymore." But Ziynet looked out the window and cried. She said that she knew her family would all go to hell one day. Samantha was so disappointed that Ziynet wouldn't pray with her. At bedtime, she said, "But it is so easy for Daddy, and people even pray with him. I want to be like that. I want to be able to do that." We talked a little about freedom of choice and freewill. Samantha is encouraged to keep praying for her friend and sharing the love of Christ with her. What a blessing it is to know that our children are sharing Christ in their world.

So, the topic for family devotions tonight: leading your friends to Christ. We will have a chance to talk about the fact that it isn't an easy task for any of us.

What greater legacy could we ask for than for our children to love the Lord and long to see His Kingdom come and His will be done!

Chelli

I won't be questioned.

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 22:17:18 +0100

Those who are afraid of questions are afraid because they don't know the answers but refuse to admit it, or they have something to hide.

Paul Sudbrock

“As full as it gets this side of heaven”

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 13:03:31 +0100

Our Christmas season was completely full this year and we were blessed beyond measure.

It all started with a wonderful time at the Annual Christmas Celebration for missionaries hosted by Rhein River Baptist Church in Mannheim.

We finished up the Psalms 119 series on Christmas day. We thoroughly enjoyed the study as we all realize to a clearer depth and richness that Jesus is the Word.

This year our Christmas program was a true blessing. In past years it was like pulling teeth to get involvement. In contrast, we had 6 people outside of my family involved in the presentation. I can’t tell you how encouraging it is to see the ministry ball begin to roll with momentum.

Even our guests were a surprise as many had approached us and asked when our program would be held this year. In past years we advertised and begged people to come. Almost 80% of the attendees were first time unsaved visitors. It was truly incredible to see God open doors.

We gave away 4 Bibles to eager recipients. The father of one of our ladies came and received a bible. When I later relayed that fact to his son-in-law, his jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe it. He said, “When we baptized our daughter into the Lutheran Church he refused to come. He would not even consider going in a church.” Not only did he come in but he heard the gospel.

One of the kindergarten teachers came and also took a bible home.

Our evangelistic team primarily made up of new Christians was successful in passing out tracts at the Christmas market. It is so wonderful to be around young Christians that haven’t let the world dampen their zeal.

If your church is not presently supporting our ministry, would you prayerfully consider doing so? Over the past 5 years the weakness of the dollar has not only kept us living on a shoestring, but we have also needed to tap into our retirement to stay in the black. With this, in addition to the sales tax hike up to 19% this year, it is crucial that we raise some additional support. We are taking a four month furlough in October of this year. Naturally this is not enough time to raise the needed funds traditionally, but it is all the time that I dare take from the fledgling church plant. I am therefore asking churches to consider supporting us sight-unseen.

In Him,

Paul Sudbrock

And God said, "Tree be moved."

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 21:54:19 +0100

The Orcan ’’Kyrill’’ was responsible for massive damage and 47 lives in Europe. An orcan in a mixture of extreme straight winds and an occasional cyclonic wind. Wittenberg was hit severely on Friday around 7 pm local time. The neighbor lost the front side of his roof as the wind broke through the large window. The wind simply filled the house and lifted the roof off and threw it to the ground. There was damage all over town. Please pray for us as we look for the open doors that God has created through this storm.

Our one hundred year old oak Tree found a resting place leaning on the back corner of our church building. See more pictures here: pix Thankfully, last year we did a extensive trim job which lightened the tree's overall mass. God leaned the mighty tree against our building. Rough estimates are about $1500, but I believe that it will be more. Please pray that the insurance deals favorably with us. I would like to see a new insulated roof instead of the simple roof we have presently.

This could be a blessing in disguise as any proposed building plans have always been thwarted in the past because of the placement of the oak. And in Germany, you can't cut down such a tree without a permit and lots of money. We have worked the past two days cleaning up the mess from the orcan. God blessed us with much help. I teased some of them that a disaster is the only way that I can get them to come to church. They all enjoyed the humor that will hopefully bear some fruit. Well, I am in sore need of some muscle rub and some rest. Please keep our church and our city in your prayers as we recover from this disaster.

Paul

The Greatest of Fools

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:06:23 +0100

The greatest of fools is the fool convinced of his superior wisdom. His mind is unable to learn. Healthy is the fool who sees his foolishness in the light of God’s Word (Jesus) and repents.

Paul Sudbrock

A little Flakey

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 21:24:14 +0100

Christians are like pies.

The best ones are all a little flakey on the outside,

but the filling is what sets us apart from the rest.

Paul Sudbrock

New Year's Eve

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 09:52:24 +0100

In Germany, New Year's Eve is called Silvester. We celebrate by setting off lots of fireworks. This year we had a family night at the church where we watched videos and snacked until it was time for the big fireworks. I also built some paper airplanes out of the new book that I got for Christmas.One of my friends at church is in the German Air Force and I like to talk to him about my planes. We also sang songs and prayed together. I like to play the keyboard. I am learning a few songs on my fiddle as well. At a quarter till 12, we all bundled up and walked down the street to a local hotel where they set off fireworks by the billions (or so it seemed ). In the courtyard, they had quite an explosion of colors and sounds. They had flairs going and a symphony playing. Their show lasted about half an hour and then the neighbors started setting off their fireworks. So first everything inside the courtyard was lit up and exploding and then everything all around us on every side started going off. It was very loud and really beautiful. We were out walking around looking at the fireworks everywhere for about an hour and then we went back to the church. It was really warm this year, which was nice because my toes didn't freeze. We started to set off some fireworks of our own, but it started raining at about 1am, so we didn't do much. We decided to save them for our family 4th of July celebration. So, we went back inside and sang songs again for a while before heading home. I got to stay up until 3 am! I had a good time and am looking forward to spending New Years at my Oma and Opa's house in Iowa next year. Here is a picture of our family that was taken at church on Christmas Eve.

Happy New Year!

Skyler Sudbrock

Children's Craft Day

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 20:12:54 +0100

Last Saturday we provided an afternoon full of fun for 20 little girls, freeing up the day for their parents to do some Christmas preparations.

From 3-7 we crafted gift bags and necklaces and ornaments as well as watching a movie, eating lots of yummy stuff and playing some really funny games.

The girls had a really good time and we enjoyed getting to know them and sharing the love of Christ with them.

We especially want to thank those churches which sent the Christmas craft supplies and candy canes that helped make the afternoon possible. We hope to make this an annual event and expand the group of kids that we invite. We would appreciate your prayers for the children of Wittenberg, Germany. They are seeking love and acceptance and we long to show them where to find it.

Recitals, recitals everywhere

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 21:03:21 +0100

It is the season of recitals! First Samantha, then Skyler and today we had another recital for Serenity and Samantha together as well as a school program for Skyler. They sure keep us hopping. What a blessing it is to be able to meet with these other parents on a regular basis though. This morning, I helped backstage for Samantha and Serenity's recital program and was able to spend most of the morning talking to one of the other mothers. She opened up and shared many details of her life with me and I was able to share with her the hope and peace that is only found in Jesus Christ. She shared her thermos of coffee as we began a new friendship. I hope to be able to introduce her to The Everlasting Friend before it is too late. When we parted today she bid farewell with a smiling, "See you tomorrow." Boy was that nice. It was worth a morning spent backstage with 50 little kids! This afternoon we had the privilege of having one of Samantha's little friends spend some time with us while her mommy had to work. Please pray for MJ. She has been visiting us now for 3 years and feels very "at-home" around us. She also has many questions about God and the Bible. Rounding off our evening, we all attended Skyler's Christmas program at school. Sitting there watching a group of 4th graders act out the story of the Golden Goose and listening as the main characters sent their sons out into the woods to work with a lunch of cake and beer, I asked myself, "what in the world am I doing here?" Then when the program was over and the teachers presented my husband with a gift for volunteering to coach Friday afternoon baseball, I was reminded why it was so good to be there. These kids from our baseball team are learning to love and trust us and we hope that one day they will learn to love and trust Christ as well. When we see them in the store or on the street, they run up and hug us and introduce us to their parents. Oh how our hearts yearn to see kids like Sophie and Margarita and Olga and Tilo find the unconditional, everlasting love of Christ. Yes, it is the season of recitals, but the reason for the season is still Christ!

Enraptured

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 21:17:30 +0100

Today we continued our series through Psalms 119. This morning we covered the Hebrew letters Ayin, Pey, and Tsad / Tsade. Each of these letters symbolize respectively: Eye, Mouth, and lying on the side. The meanings are found in studying the Ancient sometimes called Proto or Paleo Hebrew. A website that lists the meanings is: http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/4_alphabet_01.html

• Ayin - God watches all that is thought, done or happens in our life. He is all seeing (v. 121-128).

• Pey - We hungrily open our mouth to receive His word (v. 129-136).

• Tsad / Tsade – We lay helplessly as an infant awaiting the help that only God can give through His Word Jesus (v. 137-144).

We have had such a wonderful time of discovery during this series. It is truly incredible how the symbolic meanings of the Hebrew letter hold the key to the application of each section of Psalms 119. I can’t remember when a study has been so rapturing. The more I meditate upon it the more excited I become. This is maximized by the fact that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and now He lives in the lives of those who believe.

Tonight we practiced for our Christmas program and instead of having our usual English service we had a Q&A session. We had some interesting questions and then we went to Ephesians 5 and covered family structure and responsibilities. Our new believers love this very practical teaching.

Take a Break

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 09:48:39 +0100

That was the name of the leaflets that we distributed at the Christmas Market on Monday. Each tri-fold pamphlet contained an envelope of instant soup and a very clear and to- the-point message of Christ. It cost us $0.35 each for the flier-soup packets and we were able to distribute 100 fliers in about 15 minutes. This was the first time for all of our new believers to have an open witness. The evening was damp and a bit chilly. At first, all thought "oh no, such terrible weather," but it was a perfect combination for the tracts we had picked out. When I first introduced the idea I noticed some had doubt, but after God had given us such success they were all encouraged. We went out in 3 groups of 2. The tracts were well received Afterwards, we met back together for a warm cup of tee and followed up with prayer that the message would be read and that God would work. I believe the next time all will be excited about the adventure and it will go even better. Our next distribution? German Christmas Stollen

The night of St. Nick

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 11:00:56 +0100

Alles gute zum Nikolaus!

On December 6, the Germans celebrate a festival of giving in the spirit of St. Nick. The children clean and polish their shoes and place them outside of their door in hopes that when St. Nick comes by, he will notice what good children they are and reward them with a small gift and some candy.

On Wednesday night, Dec. 6th, the Baptisten Bibel Gemeinde had its annual ladies' Christmas Craft night at the church. We started out with a candlelight time of devotion, cake and coffee and followed up with a Christmas craft.

I was so excited about the lesson God gave me for the evening. Since it was Nikolaus Tag in German, I used the story of St. Nick and how he supposedly slipped coins through the window of a poor and needy nobleman like a thief in the night. As we celebrate Advent and await the celebration of the first coming of Christ, we need to keep in mind that there is someone besides Nickolaus who will come like a thief in the night and change the world forever - Jesus Christ. I had been struggling over what to present that night and the Lord opened my mind so completely the morning of the meeting and filled it with His inspiration.

We had 10 ladies in attendance - Two first time visitors and a third who has been to activities but has always managed to avoid the Devotion time and sermons. Well, last night she hid behind someone so that she didn't have to make eye contact, but sure enough, she heard the message and was obviously under conviction. Please pray for my good friend AZ.

It was such a blessing to see God's answer to prayer. We sent invitations out to about 30 women. Then, counted up those who would be there and those who might be there and set up a table that could seat as many as 18 people, but only set it for 10 with the extra plates on hand in case others showed up. We bought enough crafts for at least 15 people. We had exactly 10 ladies show up and 4 children - who watched a movie in the other room during the first half of the evening. The planning went well and I had been praying for at least 10 women!

Using cork, we made tee lights that look like gingerbread cookies. What a blessing the evening was. One of our first-time visitors will be back this weekend for a children's craft and fun day and the other first-timer told me to be sure and send her an invitation any time we are doing any special activities.

It was a good evening. As we prepare to celebrate the first coming of Christ as a babe, my prayer is that these 10 women are all ready for the second coming of Christ as Lord, Savior and King! May we all keep watch for him as the nobleman did for St Nick.

Thanks again for your prayers.

Chelli

Christmas Fairy Tales

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 21:05:51 +0100

What comes to mind when someone mentions Christmas in your house? If you lived in eastern Germany, you might think about gifts, cookies, candles and family gatherings. The Christmas Season here in Wittenberg looks almost identical to the Christmases that I remember from growing up in Ohio. The Christmas lights, almost all white, are glowing in the windows and on the houses. Gingerbread and cookies can be found in all the stores and bakeries. Roasted nuts and hot mulled juices can be purchased at the outdoor markets. It all looks joyful, but be careful that you don't buy into the counterfeit! Only 23% of the east German people even believe that God exists. Less than half of those will attend church this Christmas. You won't find the life-size nativity scene like the one our neighbors used to put out each year, nor will you hear the Christmas Carolers. When I ask Wittenbergers what Christmas is and why they celebrate, they often reply that it is the celebration of the family. It is a time at the end of the year to get together with family and friends and celebrate another year gone by. Another frequent reply is that it is a Fairy Tale time of year when magic is in the air. Hansel and Gretel is playing in all of the theaters in town. Local parks are turned into Fairy Tale forests with of the familiar Hans Christian Anderson and Grimm Brother stories represented. You can even spend the evening in the woods with a white bearded elf who will tell you many of the old classics and possibly a few new ones of his own.

Every year, we emphasize the celebration of Christ's birth both at home and at church and try desperately to be a curious light amongst all of the counterfeit. This year is no different in that respect. However, the dark somehow seems darker and the counterfeit more overbearing. Samantha won a coloring contest at the Christmas Market this year and we were invited to an awards ceremony there. Before handing out the prizes, a kindergarten group presented their Christmas program on the platform. What to our wondering eyes should appear - three witches! Oh the magic of Christmas! Somehow I had never thought of "Christmas Magic" as being witchcraft, but here they were, the three witches of Christmas stirring up Christmas cookies and sprinkling gold dust. How awful! To any Wittenberger, this is just expected. Afterall, this is the season of Fairy Tales and Magic. To follow through with the "theme" of the season, the elementary school will be focusing on fairy tales all month. I was shocked to hear that in Skyler's fourth grade class, the story of David and Goliath was presented to the class alongside of Snowwhite and the Golden Goose as a fairy tale classic. At the same time, I was proud of my son who stood up and shared with the class that it is actually a true story and that they could read more about it in the Bible!

"The Greatest Christmas Gift" will be the theme of our Christmas program this year, presenting the contrast between the real Christmas and the accepted counterfeit Please pray for us as we strive to be a true light in the prevailing darkness.

A Christmas Blessing

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 08:02:38 +0100

As we were driving home from Mannheim Sunday afternoon, we were listening to a tape of short Christmas stories - the kind that are published in Reader's Digest. Several of them told about people who were able to be a real blessing to someone in need on Christmas Day and I began praying about that. I really want to be a blessing to someone in need this year at Christmas. I have no idea who, what or where, but I am praying that God uses our family in a miraculous way to be a blessing to someone.

We have tried in years past to have some kind of special outreach from our church here in Wittenberg for the needy, but in a socialist country, there really aren't very many needy people. They are real hard to find! We continue to pray for something that God would have us do.

One dear friend shared what her family does each year, and I think we will do it this year as well. On Christmas Eve on their way home from church, they stop at a hotel or gas station or nursing home or hospital or somewhere where people are working and don't have the privilege of having the evening off of work, and they sing and play their instruments for them and share homemade baked goods. - So they go Christmas Caroling as a family before they go home to open their gifts. I would like to try that this year.

Any other good ideas?

A Day Away

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 22:48:22 +0100

Last Sunday we spent the weekend in Mannheim with Rhein River Baptist Church. Every year they have a Christmas banquet for the misssionaries in Europe. It is a wonderfully refreshing time.

________________________________________________________

Twas the first day away in almost a year

And all the sheep and pastor were filled with ,well… not quite, fear.

Preparations were made for the day as it drew near

Knowing that the time with Jesus would be, oh, so dear.

As the day dawned all arrived a bit early

With last minute arrangements to complete in a hurry.

The pastor called long distance only to find

The sheep were all busy which calmed his concerned mind.

With his thoughts of disaster all vanquished

He returned to the service to have his soul replenished.

The first time in a year to sit with his wife,

To enjoy a sermon about death and endless life.

After the sermon to his joy he discovered

The Spirit of God had ensured the service was covered.

Paul Sudbrock

What is the meaning of the name Eli?

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:26:41 +0100

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

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 13:17:36 +0100

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

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 00:16:44 +0100

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

Thu, 23 Nov 2006 23:53:08 +0100

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

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 16:10:18 +0100

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.

Willkommen to the Scoop

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 20:17:57 +0100

Welcome to our newest addition to our electronic communications array. We are excited about the possibility of keeping our supporters and prayer warriors informed. God Bless!