There’s been a lot of snow in Germany and as I drove down to the Odenwald on Wednesday in the Wehrenfennig’s little Opel, I wasn’t sure whether I should try to drive the “quick” route straight south or not. Sometimes the roads through the higher areas can be pretty treacherous. But the “Autobahn” was clear and I decided to go for it. As it turned out, this was a good idea. The alternative through Frankfurt always means traffic and I arrived safe and sound in time for afternoon coffee with Michael and Monika Wolf (Michael is the Geschäftsführer — “Business Manager” — for the OJC; Monika is in the leadership of the castle team.)

Michael & Monika, Dierk, Clark and Doro.
(Conny is on camera; Dierk’s wife, Ursula, and Ite are away.)

Later, in the evening, dinner with our old Lebensgruppe (“life group”) followed. (The OJC community is organized around “life groups”, each with several couples and singles who share the journey together. They aren’t organized by work areas, so it’s sometimes possible to avoid constantly “talking shop” when you meet weekly for a meal, sharing and prayer.) It was a wonderful time of catching up on what has happened in each our lives over the past year and sharing the story of “House Nazareth”.

Breakfast the next morning with Dominik Klenk, the leader of the OJC, was filled with a lot of laughter and warm memories. Dominik’s response to the opportunity we have in “House Nazareth” was an encouragement and challenge at the same time: “If you keep focused on the Center (Jesus), then everything will work together in balance.”

Lord, please help us to keep our focus on You!

Dominik & Clark in the Chapel at Castle Reichenberg

One benefit of having been part of a community for ten years is that there aren’t a lot of romantic illusions about what life together really means. I’ve noticed that sometimes people can get a romantic and “far-away” look when talk turns to living with brothers and sisters in a community committed to “head work, heart work and hand work”. Ultimately, though, when the reality of the daily grind and the self-centeredness of each and every human being becomes clear, this romanticism can turn into deadly disappointment and a resentment that can poison and even kill the real, concrete fellowship itself. This doesn’t just apply to life in a spiritual community; if our idealized image and reality don’t fit together, misplaced romanticism can wreak havoc in any relationship, from marriage to life in a local church.

Please pray that God will keep all of us involved in the “House Nazareth” project from naive romanticism.

As the Narnia film reminds us, we’re all “sons of Adam” and “daughters of Eve”.

A wonderful New Year’s eve to you and yours! I’ll write again next year!

I’m driving today to the “Odenwald” to spend two days with our friends and former colleagues at the OJC, the community where we lived and worked for 10 years.

Ann and I were last there in the summer of 2004 and it will be good to see how God has led and blessed the fellowship. I value and appreciate the experience and wisdom they have in living and working as a team. Please also pray that we’ll all have wisdom to see if God wants to show us specific ways for Philosophia and the OJC to fellowship and perhaps even cooperate on projects in the future.

Matthias just called at 5:40pm: the contract is signed! Both the sisters and Philosophia are deeply aware that this is more than just two groups agreeing to the sale of some property. The word that came to everyone’s mind was “stewardship”: we are all “caretakers” of the Lord’s property.

We’re at the base of the mountain. Now the real climb begins.

More later!

Today marks a “point of no return”.

The contract for the purchase of “House Nazareth” will be signed at 3:00pm this afternoon (Berlin time; 9:00am, 8:00am, 7:00am or 6:00am, depending on where you live in the continental United States).

How does it feel to be moving toward such a moment? Sometimes it’s immensely exhilarating; sometimes, quite honestly, I’m just scared at the enormous challenge.

The Children of Israel follow the
Ark of the Covenant across the River Jordan

Before Ann and I began our transition time in the U.S., though, God gave us a promise and “marching orders” from the Book of Joshua. As the children of Israel stood on the bank of the Jordan river at flood tide, they received the command:

When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD
your God… you are to move out from your positions
and follow it. Then you will know which way to go,
since you have never been this way before…
Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD
will do amazing things among you.” (Joshua 3:3-5 NIV)

The Promise: You will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. How often walking with God means going on a previously unknown path! God’s purpose is not to make us comfortable but to make us like Himself!

The Command: Consecrate yourselves = dedicate yourselves and all you are to Him and His will.

Today at 3:00pm Berlin time we take another step on the road God has opened before us. Not to sign the contract would be disobedience. But now we face the mountain of discovering $1,000,000 that God has for “House Nazareth” in donations or longer loans by the end of April! Thanks for your continued prayers. It’s a daunting feeling!

A blessed Christmas day to you and yours!

While celebrating with the Wehrenfennigs after the midnight church service, it occurred to me that most Americans don’t realize that Germans still use real candles on their Christmas tree. Contrary to expectations, it doesn’t seem to result in very many fires. There are probably a couple of reasons for this: the “Tannenbaum” is not normally put up until Christmas Eve; most homes have a bucket of water near the tree; someone is always in the room with the tree.

This year Chanukkah and Christmas overlap. Chanukkah is the only feast in the Jewish year that doesn’t have roots directly in the Old Testament; it celebrates the cleansing of the temple under the Maccabees, when there was not enough consecrated oil to keep the Holy Place lighted until fresh oil could be prepared. A miracle happened and the menorah kept burning until it could be refilled. Jesus celebrated this feast, as recorded in the Gospel of John, chapter 8. Connecting the image of light to Himself, He said, “I am the light of the world.”

Let’s pray together that this Christmas-Chanukkah season the light of His love and character will shine brightly through us, His people - out to a needy and dark world.

There is a wonderful story of the German “Christmas Markets” in the Munich newspaper, the Süddeutsche Zeitung. (It’s in English.) Enjoy!

Christmas Eve is a BIG DEAL in Germany - not just the kind of shopping circus that we know from the States (that’s here too), but also a deeper, more traditional sense of “Christmas-tide” in the air: special “Christmas Markets” with stands like those at county fairs. (Brr… great thankfulness that God did not call me to sell candles outside in the winter in Berlin!)

We said “Goodbye!” to Sister Ursula and Sister Juliana this morning, took the metro to the train station and boarded the Inter-City train for Hannover - along with hundreds of other people. Everyone in Germany is headed, it seems, like Joseph and Mary, to the “place where they were born”. I was very thankful to Seanne and Daniel that they went to the trouble of standing a half hour in a long line three days ago and managed to get 3 of what were probably the last seat reservations in the entire country. We were spared wandering through the train with our luggage looking for single seats for at least a stretch of the trip. Now I’m comfortable and cozy at the Wehrenfennigs in Wetzlar (north of Frankfurt if you’re a map-searcher).

Breakfast tomorrow at 9:00am. (It’s almost 1:00 in the morning); then last minute shopping (Germans aren’t that different!); traditional church service at 5:00 in the afternoon; dinner and present opening; midnight Christmas-eve service; then, friends gathering at the Wehrenfennig’s for Doris’ birthday party (Daniel’s Mom is a “Christmas kid”), then into bed for Christmas day.

Update on “House Nazareth”: Matthias and I met with the “Notar” (German semi-judge/lawyer) yesterday to discuss the final details of the contract to be signed next Tuesday. It again became clear to us that this would not be happening if God had not built such a bridge of love and appreciation in Christ between the sisters and Philosophia. Please pray for these dear women as they quietly prepare to turn over their life-time home and work to us and go into retirement as they wait for the Lord’s call. Sister Juliane (91 years young) underwent a very serious operation on her face and still carries the marks of it. She told us a couple of days ago, “I’m glad to carry this if by doing so I can help one more person go to heaven!” That’s what I call an eternal perspective.

Seanne and Clark with Sister Ursula

We feel at home here. As I mentioned before, Seanne and Daniel are with me in Berlin, as well as the Heinrichs.

Seanne told Sister Ursula two days ago how she felt coming into “House Nazareth”: “I thought I was coming into the house of strangers,” she said. “But then I saw the same candle with the Lord’s prayer on it that we had at home when I was growing up. I went into the room prepared for Daniel and me. There on the wall was the same icon that I have on my desk in Long Beach and I thought, ‘This is not the house of strangers.’”

Later, Sister Ursula responded: “You’re not strangers! You’re family. We all belong together! This is the Lord’s leading.” Yesterday she took us on a tour of the entire chapter house, outbuildings and grounds. I was and am overwhelmed at what God seems to be doing. Apart from a very few pieces of furniture and other things that mean something to one or the other of the sisters personally, they are leaving everything in the house for our future Philosophia community. It is as if your 12 older sisters were to hand you the keys to their home and business and say to you, “Use it for good and for God!”

Amazing. Grace. Overwhelming.

Today was originally the day for signing the contract on “House Nazareth”. Christmas time and law offices seem to combine to slow things down, so the actual signing is now scheduled for December 27th (next Tuesday). The final negotiations with the realtor representing the church and the sisters have gone well. A real atmosphere of trust exists. EVERYONE wants this purchase to go through! What a great gift in the Spirit!

While out in the city yesterday, we saw the television tower. It soars over the city skyline, a perfect sphere topped by a broadcast mast. It was built by the communist authorities in East Berlin during the time that the city was divided. They wanted to show off the “technical superiority” of the communist system.

However, they forgot one detail of physics. Light reflected off a sphere forms a perfect cross. So, the communist party in East Berlin managed to erect a cross that towers over the entire city when the sun shines. They tried everything short of tearing the tower down to get rid of it. Unsuccessfully. Now, today, the cross still lights up Berlin when the sun shines (which it is unfortunately not doing right now!).

Let’s pray together that what is only a symbol would become reality and the Cross of Jesus would truly be seen by the spiritual “eyes” of the millions who live here.

Yesterday morning I was in the 7:15am chapel service with the Sisters. Afterwards, Sister Ursula met me with tears in her eyes: “This is a very special day,” she said. “You’re in the chapel of ‘House Nazareth’ for the first time; this is the beginning of the transition from the old to the new. I am so happy!”

This morning, after the service, I met Sister Juliane (91 years old). She warmly shook my hand.

“We’re so glad you’re here!” she affirmed. “Actually, humanly speaking we wouldn’t have wanted to leave this house, but we’re so happy that you are coming: we really want to entrust this place to you for the future!”

There is a divine logic and plan to all that has happened. From a human point of view, we are on a huge faith-adventure. But in the Spirit, God seems to be calling Philosophia to step into the place that He has used the Sisters for the last half century.

These are quite some shoes to fill!

Front entrance to “House Nazareth”

After 20 hours of flying (Boise-Atlanta-Frankfurt-Berlin), I was waiting for my checked-in bag at Tegel airport. Then, through the glass wall, I spied Matthias waiting for me. We piled into the car and headed “home”. I had not connected in my brain how close “House Nazareth” is to the embassy quarter in Berlin. We drove past the Thai, Iranian, and Canadian embassies as well as several others that I can’t remember.

“House Nazareth” is perfectly located, not only for the Free University and the metro connections to downtown, the parliament and the other major universities. It is also perfectly situated for outreach to the representatives of the nations that are sent to Berlin.

About a half an hour at the Ploner’s to freshen up and call Ann and Charissa, then we headed out to a very special meal. It was Sieglinde’s birthday on Friday and the family (plus several friends of the kids and me) were invited to eat roast goose out at a restaurant on the Wannsee (infamous for the secret conference that took place there during the Nazi dictatorship). It was good to warm up my German and catch up on news with Sieglinde (I had the honor of sitting next to the “birthday girl”.)

Then we drove back to the Ploner’s and walked over to “House Nazareth”, where I’ll be staying this week.
What an amazing feeling to walk through the gate and realize: God seems to want to give this house to Philosophia. What a grace! What a sense of responsibility!

Sister Ursula (the Mother Superior) is every bit as Jesus-centered and Spirit-filled as Matthias and Sieglinde told us! There is a real sense of peace and joy about her.

We walked through the main chapter house. I’m sorry to keep using the words “special”, “amazing” and “grace” so often, but that’s all I can say: Special! Amazing! Grace!

Coffee and German Christmas cookies followed at the Ploners.
A good friend of Matthias and Sieglinde came too (Gaby - another physician and psychotherapist). I was so tired! I’m going to have to ask them today if I said anything stupid ++ !

Sleeping in “House Nazareth” for the first time was an unforgettable experience. (There! I used a word other than “special”, “amazing” or “grace”.)

It’s now 6:00am on Monday (Berlin time). I’m ready for the future. Please continue to pray for our family!

I am sad. About four years ago, Ann started having dizzy spells. It started after several particularly long and strenuous airline flights. She’s had MRIs and there doesn’t seem to be anything life-threatening.
But the doctor told her that she shouldn’t fly to Germany this Christmas. Her body needs some time to regenerate.

We were seriously tempted to power through this like we often have in the past, but after a lot of thought and prayer, we decided that it would be really stupid for her to go. So she’s staying in the U.S. Charissa decided to stay with her, “So that Mom won’t be alone at Christmas.”

I miss them. When meeting new people and facing new situations, Ann is like my right arm. Her sensitivity and deep awareness of people’s needs is something very special. Charissa brings a reflectiveness and “bounce” to every situation she’s in.

Ann wants to use this time for a period of spiritual discipline - no phone calls, no TV. Just her and God. She wants to be with me in the Spirit. Would you please pray for us all?

Pray that Seanne and Daniel and I will be good representatives of the King. (They’re with the Wehrenfennigs near Frankfurt.)

The two of them and our friends Jerry and Julie and Brad and Emily are going to be with me in Berlin the coming week. We want to meet as a team with the sisters at “House Nazareth” for a time of sharing and prayer. More tomorrow from Berlin. Thanks for being there!!