Berlin Recap
Never have we seen a city so raw and vulnerable.
Berlin, Germany has truly dealt openly with their past. From the monument to the "Murdered Jews" to the clearly marked remains of a wall torn down it is so evident that Berlin has chosen one thing above all others... "We will not forget, and we will move forward". This hit us so deeply on our first day in Germany as we were lead through the city by our amazing new friend Tim, a local missionary that we got to hang out with all week. He showed us not only the reminders of the past, but also spoke of what the Lord has been showing his family for the future of this city. 3 years ago when the Ashworths and the Campbells, both missionary families that we partnered with, moved to Berlin neither really new what the Lord had in store. Shortly after both had moved to this City thousands of refugees flowed in. Then the Lord began to make clear the intention of his heart for these beloved people, as well as their purpose in the land.
Thousands of refugees have come to Christ from Islamic backgrounds in Germany within these last few years. People who previously had no ability to hear the Gospel, short of a supernatural visit from Jesus himself. Our friends in Berlin have been so faithfully pouring into the work there and have seen and experienced so many amazing encounters with refugees and their first encounters with Jesus. God has been so kind and faithful to lay the ground work. This is truly a time of harvest for the Church.
Our experience in Berlin has left us so hungry for more and filled with a desire to return to these people and this land. We are so excited for what is happening and we were so blessed to experience it first hand. During our time there we were able to minister in a few different ways. Two of the nights our team lead nights of prayer and ministry for anyone who desired to join. At one point somewhere around 18 nations were represented and 4 different languages were being translated at once.
While we may have blessed some with our prayer, it was truly such a blessing to offer prayer to such kind, loving, and powerful friends. I am filled with hope for the nations when I think of those who are coming to Christ in Germany as we speak. The refugees who are coming to know Jesus move in such power and authority that I truly believe they will bring revival not only to Europe, but back to the Middle-East and beyond.
We also were lead in Evangelism this week by our friend Solomon who is a refugee living in Berlin from Libya. Solomon came to Christ in relationship to the Campbells and Ashworths after several amazing encounters with Jesus himself, and his story is not all that unique. Many of the refugees, we spoke to, who have come to know Jesus all started with seeing Jesus in a dream or vision. Encounters so deep that they can describe how Jesus looks.
Solomon lead us so well during our time on the streets. He basically told us that people would come to us. If they wanted prayer they would say yes, and if not they would leave. That is exactly what happened. We went to a park and waited for the people to come. We didn't hold signs or have any real way of attracting people to us, we simply waited on benches and believed that Jesus would bring those in need to us. Person after person came by and many accepted prayer. Everyone who did accept prayer were so thankful, and in many cases they hadn't really planned on coming, they just decided that that day they would take a walk between their work or whatever they had going on. Jesus brought those to the ones willing to say yes.
We also had many other ministry opportunities as we walked throughout Berlin, had families over to the house, and encountered people in our path. If you'd like to hear more about any of these encounters or have questions about anything we experienced you can message either of us directly. We would love to explain in greater detail or hop on a call to chat about the trip!
