Category Archives: Germany

Today we leave for home.  Or so we thought…… We all all met at the Mitterden Church at 9:30. Because we had to get to the airport for a 2:30 PM flight,  we were not able to stay for the service.  We were able to meet with all the staff and volunteers.  This was also our final prayer walk specifically for the church.  Mitterden meets in Club Charlotte,  a beautiful music venue in Potsdam.  It is cozy and inviting. You can feel God’s presence there.

Our bags are packed,  we’re ready to go……. To the bus,  train,  bus,  plane, plane etc.  We took off from Berlin and headed to Frankfurt.  No problem. We get on board our plane for Dulles without issue.  9 grueling hours later we land yet not in time to make our plane for Nashville.  Dulles does it again.  Back to our favorite hotel for the night.  We must wait another day to get home.

Todd Wilson

Today is our workday at the cafe.  Renata, Miriam and Katarina organized us into 2 groups.  We cleaned and painted the fence, planted flower pots and 2 trees,  washed all the storefront windows and many other tasks.

The cafe is very much a part of the community.  Families come by with their kids,  regulars stop for their daily fix and it is a place to build relationships . I would definitely hang out here.

Prayer walks around the cafe were done all day by the groups.  There are diverse groups of people in the area.  All ethnic and class of people are evident.  We prayed for God to move among this area and draw them to Himself through the cafe and Mitterden Church.

The evening was left for us to take our host family out for dinner.  Deb and I chose to take the Haas family to Berlin.  Ingolf was born and raised in East Berlin in the communist era so we got a first hand tour of where he grew up as well as many of the beautiful areas in and around Berlin.

We ate Chinese in Berlin.  We had eaten so much German food already so we opted for a change.  We made the right choice.  It was delicious.  It was unusual to have Chinese waiters speak perfect German.

Todd Wilson

Today was our first full day in Potsdam. Deb and my host family, Kersten and Ingolf Haas, live in the 700 year old village of Nudow. They have 3 children, 2 of which we met, Lucas and Becky. Staying in German homes has really given us a totally different perspective as opposed to staying in hotels. The authentic hospitality and sharing of meals and conversation together cannot be duplicated any other way.

Village of Nudow

Kersten, Becky and Lucas Haas

Kersten drove us to Potsdam where we met up with our FBC team, John O’Connor and Ronnie Freeman. We were shown the areas they lived and shopped and interacted with their neighbors. Potsdam is large and has many beautiful areas, castles, gardens and churches. It has many run down and gray sections as well. It is not unlike any other city in America. The beautiful churches are all but empty each Sunday. Years of communism and repression has made the people forget the great evangelical Christian reformation that took place in the 16th century by Luther, forget their Christian Heritage. Later that day we did a Prayer Walk around the city, praying for God to draw their hearts Christ.

The evening was spent at  Zweitwohnsitz, the Cafe and Book Shop associated with the Mitterenden Church. Many of the congregation was there, giving us an opportunity to meet them and put faces with names.

Ronnie, Amanda and Elma watching the Solar Eclipse

We left Lich this morning and headed for Potsdam.  On the way,  we stopped at Erfort and Wittenburg for tours of these cities.  Both of these cities were home of Martin Luther and the beginning of the German Reformation in the 16th century.

The Potsdam host families and members of the Mitterenden church joined us.  It was great to meet the East German group and begin the second part of our mission  trip.
W
All 17 of us shared a fantastic meal at Il Castello in historic Wirrenberg before heading to our host homes for the evening.

Todd Wilson

We were back at FTH for our final day of work.  There is much more to do than we can accomplish but we made a big dent.   In total, 6 dorm rooms were drywalled,  4 were wallpapered.  Many more were in various stages of prep and could be completed by the FTH staff.

The landscape crew completed the outdoor projects. Weeding, trimming and lawn work were the tasks.  One building was completely powerwashed and ready for repainting.
Again today, we spent time with 3 students and heard of there experience at school and plans for the future.  What an encouragement it has been to meet these fine people and hear of their vision and passion to share their faith in Christ.
We had a group dinner at Amici topped off with one more trip for Gelato in Lich.  Tonight is our last night here before leaving for Potsdam.

Todd Wilson

FTHSuperintendant -Peder-

Adrian White

We continued with our projects today. Peter and Todd are dry walling 3 dorm rooms. Elma, Deb and Cathy are hanging wall paper in multiple rooms. Rich has the inglorious job of stripping old wallpaper. Mindy, Rachel and Amanda are doing landscaping, weeding and bush trimming. Jimmy is power washing and painting. Joel Whites son Adrian is helping us as well. We are all amazed at how God has used this school to produce men and women who are concerned for spreading the gospel in Germany. We were able to spend time with Nico and Katarina today. They are both involved in church planting, Nico in Geissen and Katarina in Frankfurt. They have a heart for people who need to hear the gospel and a place to be around other other Christians.
After work we toured Giessen. Our dinner was at a rooftop cafe called Dach in Geissen. Italian food with a clear view of the city . Dr Christoph Raedel, a professor at FTH was with us. He grew up in communist East Berlin and shared what life was like then. He was 18 when the wall was finally torn down in 1989. He became a Christian in spite of man’s efforts to eliminate all mention of God. His talk was like none other I had ever heard.

Today we started our work at FTH. We got to meet the Board of Directors as they were having their quarterly meeting. FBC was able to write a check to FTH for $10,000 from our annual Missions Program so we presented that to them. It will be used for a new heating system in the new office area. We got our assignments from Joel White and we split into 4 groups. Wallpaper, Drywall, Landscaping and Painting-Pressure washing. It worked out so well to have people in each group who were either skilled in that field or capable of being directed by the leader. We accomplished a lot and got the thumbs up from the maintenance director Peder. Dinner was at a Pub in Lich called Schluck Specht, which is translated is Drunken Woodpecker. We ate a great meal in the old wine cellar while listening to Armon Bohn, a professor at FTH, speak on the history of German Theology. I truthfully thought I would have more time and energy to write more but have to admit that I am still tired from the travels and the work. More to come……….

We arrived in Frankfurt at 7 AM as planned.  Sleep on the plane was blissful and we all were well rested.  Not!
We were thankful for finally setting foot on German soil.  We spent the day,  getting settled in our host homes, church,  touring Lich and lunch with all the host families.  The day ended with dinner at the Whites and a rematch of Farcle.  I am too tired to write anymore.

Todd Wilson

So we leave the Hyatt early to get to the airport with time to spare.  Good plan cause when we arrive the power was out.  The lines are a bit long because they are manually checking people in.

All of a sudden,  poof, the lights come on,  the computers fire up and we are back in business.  Thank you Lord.

Todd Wilson

We missed our Frankfurt flight by this much last night. We were not the only ones,  a group of 12 Canadians also missed it.  We hung out together at the Customer Service desk getting our new flight scheduled and a hotel for the night. I will say that we were deep down bummed but the United people did a great job and we were laughing and kidding around.  Off to the Hyatt we went,  scurrying to catch the midnight shuttle.  God wanted us in DC today and we trust  Him for why.
Today will be a different adventure.  Our flight is now set to leave about 5 PM.  We are learning patience, trust,  provision,  and of course our key word of the trip,  Flexibility.  We will have breakfast and then grab a ride to DC for an unplanned tour.  Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Todd Wilson