We have now returned back home to Finland after almost a month on the road in Germany. Even if we had some issues along the road this was definitely the best German trip so far. We saw God work in peoples lives on a level we never seen in Germany before. It is something with this year. We had a fantastic trip to the USA earlier this year and it was something else. Now Germany.
The Wednesday night at the church in Langwasser outside Nurnberg was wonderful. Another wonderful church with heart for the people. We got good connections to the people there and we are returning next time. Friday, May 4th we visited another place. Das Loch in Hof is more like a cafe but the focus is on Jesus. We had a good evening there but that is also where I started to feel sick.
From Hof we drove back to Wetzlar for one night and returned to the east. We stayed for some days at our Vogtland home in Klingenthal. Such a wonderful place and I have to say that when we are talking former DDR there are many churches who has a true heart for the people. The people we know in Klingenthal, they have something that we wish more churches would have. They are passionate about souls, exactly like Jesus. This starts to be rare today so it is always encouraging to work with these wonderful people. They fed me cow tongue but I am still alive :)
Wednesday May 9th the church in Hammerbrucke had organised an event outside the four walls of the church. It was in Waldpark in Grunheide and it was raining when we came to set up. I was sceptic and thought that it was going to flop and we would have a nice evening together with a few people. I was wrong and I believe when the church has the heart of God, He also makes sure there are people coming. We had a packed tent that evening and many of the people who came were people in need. It was an honor to pray for and with these people. We saw Jesus do miracles that night.
Rock and Roll
The night between Thursday and Friday I could not sleep. I felt that a toothache was coming and it dit. One of my last upper teeth was infected so I went to a dentist Friday morning. This would not have been possible without my Klingenthal family. They have a heart for the people. Even the weird evangelist with a bad tooth. I got the tooth pulled and because of this my old dentures won’t fit in my mouth anymore. We drove to Zwickau and checked in at a hotel where we got a little bit of sleep in the afternoon. I was nervous because Friday night was one of the ”highlights” on this trip. We were going to have a gig at a Rock club just like back in the old days but this time with a message. We ended up having a a great and rockin’ night with the southern rock band Just Catfish and as soon as I got on stage I received energy from the Lord. It was a fun night and it was also my first gig without teeth so what else can you do than make fun of it. We got to tell the people who were there about Jesus and I am so blessed for this evening.
Saturday night we had our last meeting at a youth house in Schwartzenberg. I did not know what to expect and I was tired because of the thing with the tooth and the flu. We got there and immediately I felt the love of God through these people. This place had a huge heart for the people and we had a wonderful evening. I mean these people are for real. They care about people. When the church has a heart for people it is more than just Wednesday and Sunday. It is something that is happening everyday. When a church has a heart for the people it is not the ”pastors church” it is based on teamwork as there is NO pastor in the world that could handle it all by himself. Teamwork is on God’s heart and when we work in teams we have the heart of God when we are reaching people.
To me it has been a true blessing and a privilege to work with all these people during our month in Germany. Now we are home and it is with great sadness I can not say the same. The area where we live is hard and rough. I feel like I am on the outside as none of the churches around here seems to care about what God has laid on our hearts. Well, what does the Bible tell us about being a prophet in your hometown?
Being home
Now we are home and it feels good! Please pray for our finances this summer. We are going to take it a little bit easier and work on both the house we live in as well as on my mouth. I need new teeth and this is going to cost money. This is something that would have had to be done a while ago but there has never been any resources for this. Today I know that the ringing in my head, the headache and neck pain comes from my jaws so this is important to get fixed during the next months. This fall we hope to return to Germany for a shorter tour before we are returning to our second home, USA.
Remember that if we do not have the heart of God and we do not have love we are nothing. Paul is clear with this in 1 Corinthians 13. Church is more than a building with a pastor and a small leadership. It is something that we all are part of. Others peoples lives are in our hands so lets try to become one and work together with each other. Also we need to stop judging and condemning people and each other. None of us are perfect and none of us are 100% right. People need us and we have no time to argue about who is saved and not saved. That is just nonsense that does not please God. What pleases God is our faith and that we have His heart in everything we do.
God Bless You All!
Happy Summer!
Pontus J.
& Sebastian Back
Rockpastor Ministries
