Jeff & Linda Brown - Germany

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February 2008

Dear Praying Friends,

We remember when, about 17 years ago we knelt before the Lord and told Him that it looked like our family would be the only people involved in the start of a new church in Erlangen but we would begin services anyway. If He would give us a place to meet, we would be especially appreciative. Three days later we signed a contract to rent building space. Three weeks later we gained our first two families, a full month before we began church services. The Lord built His church. Now that we are gone, it continues to grow inwardly and numerically.

Now we are back at the same spot of "small beginnings." We have eight people (adults, that is), no meeting place, and no set date of beginning church services. It doesn't sound so impressive, does it? Forgive our misplaced enthusiasm. We are very pleased to have eight people. It would be a small congregation but it isn't a congregation. It is a team of co-workers. This is more than a gathering of like-minded Christians. It is a group that is learning to serve and lead as the church begins. They have just begun to sense what they are and we are enjoying watching them. Our eight people include we two and six others: two younger couples with children, one single woman, one young university student, finishing his MS in engineering. These people have begun to sense their need of increased faith. They also have a growing desire to learn how to evangelize. So we are teaching them. Last Wednesday night, the Erlangen church devoted the mid-week meeting to prayer for our Church-planting project in Nuremberg . The team was thrilled to hear the church praying for them. They caught a glimpse of the fact that the Lord is behind what they are undertaking. We continue to meet weekly for prayer. Our team is still only half the size it needs to be.

We have been offered space on the second floor of an office building in Nuremberg for our new church plant. The price is at the limit we had set earlier. The owner is willing to make structural changes at no charge to us. It is not exactly in the area we were looking in Nuremberg and the building will need to be rezoned for us to move in. So we have factors we have to weigh and have to do much praying. But in this way our faith is beginning to be tested. We are required to seek God's wisdom and thus our faith grows.

Linda is pleased to have regular ministry once again (which has not been the case for her for a while, since we resigned our ministries at Erlangen 16 months ago). Jeff is tackling both his dissertation and leading the new church plant. Though he really enjoys the academic work, he is starting to think that it may be a good idea to settle on one thing when the dissertation is over. We would appreciate your prayers for us in these matters.

In March Yvonne Smith will be arriving to join Tim and Shelli Brudtkuhl in their ministry in Berlin . We are thankful she will be here. She will be the first addition to our BMM Germany team in eight years. Three others are raising support to come. At the end of this month we will be hosting a couple for five days that is considering coming to Germany with BMM. We really need fresh recruits and would appreciate your prayers for them.

Other prayer matters:

1) That we as a team make the right decision about rental property.

2) That the team will experience the needed doubling in size.

3) That we introduce ourselves well to other churches in the area.

4) That the Lord supplies the needed funds both for rental and outfitting the rental space for church ministry.

5) That the team grows in its understanding that we have to look to the Lord.

6) I rarely mention this: for all missionaries in Europe , the belt will get continually tighter as long as the dollar remains so low in value. A gallon of gas costs $8.00.

Thanks so much for your prayers.

Sincerely in Christ,
Jeff and Linda Brown

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