St. Gallen

Today we went to St. Gallen, a village about an hour from Ebnat Kappel. Once again, the drive was absolutely beautiful. We drove through farmland up in the mountains, saw men with scythe in hand cutting the tall grass, heard the bells of the goats and cows as they echoed among the hills.





When we got to St. Gallen the first thing we did was to go see an old library. We walked in and several people remarked that it looked like the library on Beauty and the Beast. It was one of the most impressive libraries I have ever seen. They had several display cases in the center of the room. One of them contained a book with an ivory cover, another with gold leaf, and several with illuminated manuscripts.

They were very strict about photography being “verboten” so I do not have any images. They wanted you to buy their postcards.

After the library we went to a cathedral nearby. We had a discussion as to what style the cathedral was. I think that it is Rococo, because of the lighter colors, but it may be Baroque. Either way, it was very beautiful and I was told it is one of the finest cathedrals in Switzerland.




While we were there we asked them if we could “test their acoustics.” We sang “Gott leibt so die welt” (God so loves the world). The text is John 3:16,17. It is so neat to be able to go and sing the gospel in these places. It never gets old. We were able to do two other songs and give out tracts and invitations to the 20 or so people who were in the cathedral at the time.

By that time Greg had gotten the permission we needed to sing on a particular street corner. St. Gallen has quite a bit of tourism and the streets were busy. We passed out tracts as well as invitations to our concerts at the Ark for a while before we sang. While we sang a group of believers from an Ethiopian church in St. Gallen passed out the tracts and invitations. That church was not getting anything out of their efforts for their own ministry. The invitations were not to their church. But they were partnering with us to spread the Gospel and that is all.

The people seemed pretty receptive to taking the tracts. Two team members were late getting back to the vans because they had gotten into a conversation with a couple and were able to share the Gospel.



Walking out of the village, greg pointed out this statue. It is of a man named Vadian who was influential in bringing the Reformation to St. Gallen. I pray that we might have had a small part in brining another “reformation to this village.

Providence

It is a constant comfort to know that God is in complete control of our lives. If we do not keep this in the forefront of our minds it is easy to get discouraged. It is especially encouraging to know that God is in complete control over our ministry this summer.

I shared in my first post that one or our team members could not travel with us because of an illness. After our service tonight we shared prayer requests. Two different team members asked that we pray for two different ladies that they had been able to talk to on the plane. I believe they were both able to share the Gospel with them. One of the ladies lives in Nuremberg and we gave her the contact information for a church there. She may even come to one of our concerts.

We were all encouraged that we were able to witness on the plane until one member spoke up: “You know, I was thinking . . . We were seated alphabetically, and those two ladies were sitting where John would have been sitting if he had been able to come with us.” And we all praised our God. What a kind God to show us so soon one of the reasons for the circumstances that did not seem good to us. We still do not know all of the reasons John could not go, and probably never will or need to, but we can trust Him.

A note about post dates

Just so you know, posts will be dated by the day they happened, not necessarily on the day posted. Most of the time I will not be able to post the day of an event and by the time I have a chance to post I have a couple posts ready.

Thought I'd give a heads up in case that is confusing to anybody. Thanks.

First Service

It was so wonderful to have our first service this evening. After months of practicing it is hard to believe we are actually here in Switzerland singing in German. The Lord was very gracious and the service went very well. I could see Greg and Lily standing the back corner loving every minute. Our German was a little shaky and I could tell that we had some nerves, but overall it went very well. After the service Dr. McCauley said that it went “better than we deserved in one sense” because we have worked hard, but we know that any success we have is only through the strength and grace that God gives. I am just overwhelmed with this privilege to be able to use music to minister to God’s people and to proclaim the gospel.

Arrival at Ebnat Kappel

After our stop at the Brockhaus we continued on our route through the magnificent countryside.

When we arrived Greg and Lily Kielmeyer were waiting for us with the American flag. The car in front of us stopped momentarily, probably thinking that there was some emergency.

The look on Greg’s face was priceless. He was so happy to see us.




We were very happy to see them again too and are looking forward to partnering with them for the next couple days.

Brockhaus

After our night at Leissigen we had a wonderful drive to Ebnat Kappel. It took us about two hours and our drive was on one of the most scenic routes in all of Switzerland.

On the way we stopped at a one of a kind thrift shop called the “Brockhaus.” I was able to buy a swiss medic bag, probably used during WWII. My sister was able to get the same type bag when she was on team. In the inside flap the name of the original owner is scratched in the leather. They had newer looking ones that were actually a few francs cheaper, but part of the reason you buy an old swiss medic bag is the backstory, which in this case resides nearly completely in the imagination. It has a lot of character. When I said that if had “the perfect amount of weathering” the lady running the shop, and who only spoke German, was standing nearby and she started laughing. Not sure what was funny.










I could have spent hours in that place. So much microhistory packed into one place.

Leissigen

Our first stop was at Leissigen, a small village up in the mountains about two hours from Geneva. It was a gorgeous welcome to Switzerland. We spent a relaxed evening by the lake, eating dinner, skipping rocks, listening to the slowly rippling water, as we tried to keep ourselves awake until a normal bedtime. My roommate actually fell asleep while he was setting his alarm clock, but I think that everyone was able to stay up until at least 10. We are off to a good start in getting over time change.

As we take in all of this beautiful creation I am reminded of the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins. The world is charged with the grandeur of God. God made all of this for us to enjoy, but also to make a point about Himself.






But what about the people that actually live here? The locals that we have talked to have said that “you get used to it.” That is part of human nature. We can be callused to even the most striking beauty, the best gifts can be received with ingratitude, and the sublime can become the mundane.

I was told last year that Switzerland has the highest suicide rate in the world. They have organizations for assisted suicide that have thousands of members. This is an unexpected contrast: one of the most beautiful places in the world has the highest rate of self-destruction. The best that this world has to offer does not satisfy.

Only the light of the gospel can shed light in this dark place. The harvest is great.

Flight

We started our trip on Wednesday. We left Bob Jones at 11 am. After loading up the bus, songing the benediction, and giving some happy and sad goodbyes to some happy and sad patents we drove three hours to the Atlanta airport.

21 hours later we arrived at Leissigen, with a beautiful welcome to Switzerland.

Musical Mission Team 2009

Hello all. 

During this summer I am on the Musical Mission Team from Bob Jones University led by Drs. Bill and Janie McCauley. I had the privelege of traveling on this team last summer and I am very thankful that the Lord has has placed me on this team once again. This is the 19th year that the Musical Mission Team has traveled, all in consecutive summers. This summer we will be ministering in six countries: Switzerland, Germany, Slovakia, Austria, Italy, and France. In 65 days we will perform nearly 100 concerts in churches, schools, nursing homes, and in the streets. Wherever we have an opportunity we will sing. We will “attempt” to sing in the local language wherever we are. We are doing well in German and Italian but have found French and Slovak to be quite challenging.

The team has been preparing for this trip since last October when the team was finalized. During the first semester we rehearsed once a week and twice a week during second semester. There are 28 members on the team. One is not traveling with us because of heath reasons, but we are thankful for his ministry during our preparation and deputation. I know that he must be very disappointed he couldn’t go, but our thoughts and prayers are with him. For part of the summer Danny Reuter, a 6’8” German giant, will travel with us and be our translator. I am really glad that some of the members from last years team are able to go again. I am also excited about all of the new members that I will get to know better over the next 9 1/2 weeks. It is really special to know that God has brought each one of us to this point. Although we are very divers in our personalities and interests, we can have unity through our shared salvation in Christ and our common work for Him.

We are not called to convert people. We are called to proclaim the gospel. With the Lord’s help we will do that this summer. We hope that we can see some fruit, but we know that some plant and some water. Those things are just as important. Even if we do not see anyone come to know the Lord through our ministry this summer, it will still be worth it because God is worthy to be proclaimed just because of who He is. Pray that we would be able to proclaim the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ to many lost people this summer.

Another part of our ministry is encouraging the local churches of Europe. Many times the christians we meet in these churches are a very small minority in their community. They often do not have another church close enough for them to fellowship with. We hope that we can be an encouragement to these faithful people. They certainly encourage us by their example of faithfulness. Pray that we would be an encouragement to the local church.

I am also looking forward to how the Lord will change me and my team members this summer. Being on a mission team can be a humbling experience, because it shows you many things about yourself. It can show reveal your own selfishness and your lack of compassion. But it can also teach you the joy of serving others and the thrill of sharing the Gospel. Pray that the Lord would use these 9 1/2 weeks to draw us closer to Him, that we would become more like Christ, and we would have a greater zeal in sharing the Gospel.

God doesn’t need us to carry out His work. But He allows us to be involved in the work. Kevin Oberlin will be doing a lot of the preaching this summer and he shared with us several weeks ago that God commanded Moses to “stretch out his hand.” Did God need Moses to stretch out his hand to perform mighty works? No, but God wanted to him too. I find that amazing. I am a weak vessel, but the Lord can use me. I don’t know why the Lord desires to use me, but I am so glad that He does. I hope that I am willing to “stretch out my hand” every day this summer and see what the Lord will do.