NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2018

Transcription

1 NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2018

2 DEAR FRIENDS, PETER & GABY REID The most important thing about our 50th anniversary is the 50 years of undeserved activity of the risen Christ along the way. In Jn. 4:38 Jesus said, I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor. How thankful we are for the many staff and volunteers who served the Lord at Bodenseehof under much different conditions than we enjoy now! When reviewing the last 50 years at Bodenseehof we come to the humbling conclusion that Christ was doing things of which we were not even aware at the time. Truly, one must say, God was causing the growth. (1Cor. 3:8) This newsletter comes with a sincere invitation to join us for our anniversary weekend (April 20-22) or our international reunion week (Aug. 4-11). It would be a great encouragement for us to have many come to give thanks and testify of what Christ has done these past 50 years. Thank YOU for taking the time to read this letter and joining us in celebrating a half century of God s faithfulness! Warmly in Him, and the Bodenseehof-Team Newsletter from 1970: It is our anniversary. Hence, we send you classy greetings this time - just like we did 50 years ago.

3 ONLY BY GRACE PETER REID»My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.«2. Cor. 12:9 It is human nature to earn something and hence to receive a reward for doing so. To receive something without deserving it insults our pride. Grace is not grace until it is undeserved. When a person really receives the grace of God, it may cause jealousy, misunderstanding and even anger in those looking on who may say, But they did not deserve that! We look back on 50 years of God s faithfulness with deep humility and thankfulness at what He has done at Bodenseehof. It has all been undeserved! THE LORD DID IT. The best time to identify a beautiful star is on a dark night; the brightness of the star takes ones attention away from the darkness of the night. The most important thing about Bodenseehof is Christ, not Christians; His power, not our weakness. We need not be too impressed by human weakness, for Christ often works through it in order to draw attention to Himself. The New Living Translation puts it this way, My power works best in weakness. Whether it be in athletics, medicine or business, we seek to create optimal conditions to produce the best results. In the Kingdom of God, things don t necessarily work this way. When the Lord was preparing Gideon for battle against the Midianites, Gideon showed up with 32,000 soldiers. God s answer was simply, The people who are with you are too many for Me Hence God mustered out all but 300 men because Israel might say, My own power has delivered me. His power works well in weakness, for it is by such means that the ones He uses end up saying, The Lord did it, not us. If there was one thing we should say at the end of Bodenseehof s first 50 years it s this, The Lord did it, not us! Unto our risen Lord Jesus belongs all the glory and honor for what we look back on and now see. He has truly worked best in our weakness. PETER REID DIRECTOR

4 PAGES OF HISTORY SNIPPETS FROM THE BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE We want to thank all of you who responded to our request for testimonies sharing what God has done over the last 50 years at Bodenseehof. Over 20 of you sent in articles that reflected on the life-changing, formative and sometimes humorous experiences that God has used to shape lives through His ministry here. Here are a few samples of the testimonies which can be read in their entirety when the Book of Remembrance is made available at our anniversary celebration. Enjoy! I encountered culture shock. The building filled with Bible School students, suitcases, life and noise. I was the only German speaker among forty Americans and Canadians and as an Austrian considered that much more exotic. Would all this go well? Yes, it went well (albeit not always smoothly), because the Lord connected us with such wonderful fellowship, with each person having their place: the hippie from California, the farmer from Arizona, the preacher boy from Texas and even the Austrian from the other side of the Alps Hans Taul, Bible School 1971/2 Bodenseehof? Never heard of it. But I liked the English songs and the testimonies. They seemed real. Authentic. Refreshingly different. They invited us for an Open Evening event and that night at Bodenseehof I encountered a lot of young excited people. Why were they so excited about the Bible?? Klaudija Beutel, Bible School 1989/90 On this evening, Charlie told us about the plans to build Bodenseehof, a project of faith. He got the attention of the audience consisting mainly of young people who were impressed to hear what was supposed to happen by faith in Jesus Christ. Afterwards, many of the young people were determined to help with the building work at Lake Constance. Iris und Edgar Rehrmann about an Open Evening in Marl 1963 In 1990, still before the German Reunification, the Torchbearer Teams came to our region, Vogtland. We did outreaches in schools and evening programs in churches in Auerbach, Klingenthal and Zwickau. The churches were bursting with people and the students and teachers were open to the message! We were breaking new ground! Gunnar Götzel, former Youth Leader Ev.-Luth. Region Auerbach It was an impressive, colorful and turbulent time for us and for our two little boys. Every day, you could hear the calls Cutie!, when one of the numerous American students saw Jakob or Philip around. Heinz & Lilo Horsch, Bible School 1989/90 I will never forget my first evening at Bodenseehof. All the students and staff members were singing together. (...) I could feel a sense of unity that I had never felt before. So many different people from so many different countries and cultures were standing before the one true God and giving Him the glory and honor He deserves. Gaby Baehr, Bible School 2007 Who is God and what is He really like? What are His expectations for my life? What does the Bible say and what does it not say? How do I read it properly? What does God want - and what are His plans for me? These were the kind of questions that I brought to Bodenseehof. Johanna Liebold (right), Bible School 2002)

5 BIBLE SCHOOL STEVE VOLLE I came to Bible school in 1998 for all the wrong reasons I wanted a break from life to see Europe, ski, hike, travel, and adventure. I didn t feel very spiritual about my choice to come, and quite frankly I wasn t! Fortunately, God s strength was not limited by my weakness, and he used my time at Bible school to radically transform my life forever. come as I did (for wrong reasons ) only to discover that Jesus has something beautiful in mind for their lives - to give them a future and a hope. Others come expecting to improve themselves and become stronger for Jesus, only to realize that the true triumph is in his strength, not ours. This modus operandi is not new for Jesus he has been doing things like this from the very beginning! Jesus first disciples were also unlikely candidates: a motley crew of incompatible characters who would not have even been qualified to apply to be a disciple under the Jewish system of the day. Instead of making them prove their spirituality and apply to be his disciples, Jesus actually went to them to call them to himself! How could Jesus choose unqualified, unspiritual people to be his disciples? It s simple: he did not choose them on the basis of what they could do out of their own strength and spirituality, he chose them on the basis of what HE could do in and through their lives. Their weakness was not a problem for Jesus because HE called them, HE is faithful, and HE took the responsibility for their transformation. As I look at our students this year, I see this pattern repeating once again. Many As I watch these stories unfold, I have the joy to see students from all over the world and from many different backgrounds become unified as they discover the amazing reality of Christ as their sufficiency. As the original disciples experienced, there are many challenges and tensions inherent in this beautiful but messy process, so we appreciate your prayers as we press on. Sincerely, Steve Volle Students , Hike Ebenalp STEVE VOLLE PRINCIPAL

6 PAY IT FORWARD OUTREACH JAPAN CHRISTOPH HILS Why a trip to Japan Land of the Rising Sun? In many respects, the last years at Bodenseehof have been filled with blessing and abundance. Therefore, I happily made my way on this journey to share this abundance with another center within our worldwide Torchbearer fellowship. The center in Japan has only five staff members and very few volunteers, and therefore the demands made of the staff team are quite different from what we experience at Bodenseehof. The practical work needed on a staff house is the primary focus at this time, but there are so many opportunities to support and encourage the staff team. PUBLIC EVENTS Sat, Jan 27th 2018 Sat, Feb 24th 2018 Sat, Mar 10th 2018 Sat, Apr 21st 2018* Sun, Apr 22nd 2018* The Crossing, 7.30 pm The Crossing, 7.30 pm Friends Day, 10 am pm Spring Praise Concert, 7.30 pm Anniversary Festivities 50 Years of Bodenseehof, 10 am pm Address: Foyer-Gemeinde, Allmansweiler Straße 114, FN afterwards coffee & cake with Anniversary Exhibition at Bodenseehof Anniversary Church Service with Herb Brasher, 11 am *Please sign up for dinner on Fri, breakfast and brunch ahead of time It s often small things that bring the most encouragement: washing dishes, praying together, offering time and an ear to listen. The modern, high-tech Japan shows itself to be very respectful and polite, but underneath lie deeply rooted cultural influences that cause a lot of expectation and pressure. Therefore, there is a very high suicide rate throughout the country. Please pray that Japan will accept the freedom that Christ offers, and that the Torchebearer Yamanakako team would be strengthened. Steve Frentz (director of center) & Christoph Hils OUTREACHES Jugendhilfe Hoffmannshaus Thomas Günter & Team Youth Group New Generations, FN Kilian Müller & Team Church Service, Kressbronn Kilian Müller Jugendhilfe Hoffmannshaus Kilian Müller & Team Church Outreach, Ottenhausen Thomas Günter & Team Church Outreach, Schönwald Andy MacDonald & Team Church Outreach, Effringen Andy MacDonald & Team Youth Camp, Rostock Kilian Müller, Tabea Messner & Team English-Camp, Friolzheim Kristoffer Poole & Team Youth Group New Generations, FN Thomas Günter & Team Jugendhilfe Hoffmannshaus Andy MacDonald & Team Youth Group New Generations, FN Andy MacDonald & Team Church Outreach, Geroldsgrün Peter Reid, Tabea Messner & Team Church Outreach, Falkenstein Thomas Günter & Team Church Service, Kressbronn Kilian Müller Church Service Altpietisten, Tuttlingen Andy MacDonald Church Service Freie Bibl. Vers., Balingen-Weilstetten Andy MacDonald Church Service, Kressbronn Andy MacDonald Church Service, Owingen/Meßkirch Andy MacDonald Online Giving: (select Germany - Bodenseehof ) Giving by Mail: Make Checks out to: Torchbearers USA PO Box 3340, Estes Park, CO Write in memo line the project you would like to support: Bodenseehof General Bodenseehof Building Project Bodenseehof Student Funds (students who cannot finance bible school) Serbia Funds Please do not forget to leave us your address so that we can issue a donation receipt. *General Donation: Donations for general purposes (renovations, cars,...) IBAN: DE *Student Funds: Donations for foreign students who are not able to finance Bible School. IBAN: DE *Torchbearers India: Donations for supporting the work of Satish John in India. IBAN: DE *Serbia Funds: IBAN Nr. DE All accounts at: Sparkasse Bodensee, Charlottenstr. 2, FRIEDRICHSHAFEN Bank routing number: SWIFT/BIC Code for all numbers: SOLADES1KNZ Ziegelstr FRIEDRICHSHAFEN GERMANY Tel: 0049 (0)