Our Christmas Newsletter

Soccer Fans

Although unplanned, it was nice that our trip home to Germany coincided with the European Soccer Championship games. We were able to join many German fans in rooting for the national team.
Another wonderful celebration we were able to take part in was our nephew Nikolai’s wedding to his lovely wife Anne!

Nephew Niko and his lovely wife Anne

Northern View

A little over a year ago, we moved out of the building that had been graciously donated to us for ministry use for many years by local friends of YWAM.  We have since had a sense that the Lord wanted to give us our own “domain” for ministry, and we have prayed and thought about this for quite a while. A few weeks ago we began to actively pursue finding a property in our area. We met with a local Realtor and looked at a variety of properties for sale in our area, both with buildings and without. One of them clearly stuck out.
This home is large enough to house staff and students for Discipleship Training Schools. It allows for the possibility of an ongoing sports-outreach to the community and other weekly events, such as Bible studies and youth meetings. It is in great shape and requires almost no renovation or changes to be usable to us. Here are some of the advantages of this property:
Location is only about 3 miles out of town, so it is both close, yet not in a zoned area, that would prohibit us from using it for ministry purposes.

• The property is self-contained with its own septic and water supply. Not to mention the beautiful view.
• The home sits on a 11.5 acre almost completely usable property, in other words, there is much room to expand for building cabins for more housing and a pole building for meeting/classroom/office space.
• We have learned that the owner has already dropped the price to $ 350,000 from $ 395K. Comparisons with other properties clearly let this one emerge as the one perfect for our purposes.

We are quite aware that this is a significant amount of money to be raised, but we have received encouragement from our board to carefully pursue the project and begin a capital fund raising campaign.

View from South

This year we hosted three different outreach teams, from Molalla, Sutherlin and Portland, Oregon. We feel so blessed by the wonderful, quality, hard-working, Jesus- and people loving and servant-hearted groups.
Although they were here one after another, the work they were involved in was true team-work. All three groups worked on repairing, scraping, caulking, priming and painting First Indian Presbyterian Church. The church had received a new foundation last year and now desperately needed the exterior work. The teams also did a great job in reaching out to our community and especially in relating to our young people. They did a worship concert in the Park, put on the annual Kamiah Hoop Camp and Vacation Bible School and a very well prepared Field Day with games, sweets and activities.
I think, we are most encouraged, every time, when we see how young people give their time, talents, money, yes, their whole life to the Lord., working hard in His Service. To see how their dedication and service for the Lord enriches them and blesses others is priceless!

Not to be outdone by the Mexicans, in the weeks that followed, Texans scientists dug to a depth of 75 feet, and shortly after, headlines in the Houston newspapers read: ” Texas archaeologists have found traces of 200 year old copper wire and have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network a hundred years earlier than the Mexicans.”

One week later, “Navajo Nation Council”, in its Window Rock, Navajo times newsletter reported the following:

“After digging as deep as 90 feet in wash beds near Kayenta, Elmer Chee, a self taught archeologist, reported that he found absolutely nothing.

Chee has therefore concluded that 300 years ago Natives had already gone wireless.” Ayyyyyyyye.

(Sorry, do not know who to thank for this, probably received it in a forwarded email)

A local contractor jacked up the building with many heavy duty truck jacks, excavated the old foundation, removed the rotten beams and poured new footers on which concrete blocks were set, fortified with iron bars and filled with concrete. After the concrete had cured for several days, the building was gently let down onto the new foundation.

Now the building is once again level and the previously bowed out wall is straight.

This much needed work also showed us as a congregation just as in the natural so to in the spiritual: a secure and straight foundation is necessary for the soundness and growth of the whole congregation, the living church.