Karl & Liesl Kranich

(a .pdf of this newsletter is available here)

Hey, y’all! I was about to wish you a happy Thanksgiving, but I realize that by the time you get this, you’ll all be thinking about nothing but Christmas. We hope and pray that this season is a blessing to you. Our Thanksgiving was good as we spent it with all of our Florida family. God is so good in so many ways, but I’ll save the list for some other time.

This time we wanted to share with you some updates from a part of the world that is close to our hearts, Germany. With Karl’s family there and my having lived and worked a bit there, we get very excited when we hear positive updates. Germans tend to be very skeptical and reticent to believe in the first place and to share their faith once they have their own, so ministry can be very slow and very discouraging. These stories are anything but!

People are frustrated with politics and the way society is developing. There is not much hope for a better future, so they are looking for something to hold onto. The time when the materialist looked down on a believer for being a believer is coming to an end. Nowadays the believers are looking down on the poor materialist for not believing in anything else but the material things. This is a great time to present the message of the Risen One in many new ways. Some people listen…and are more open to discuss the issues with you. I am very thankful that I can minister in a time and place such as this. (Joe Hartung, Crusade staff in Germany; Connection, Dec. 2006)

Continue reading ‘November update’ »

If you’re looking for Mission trip opportunities for your family, youth group, or church, check out:

• www.svdestinations.com (Student Venture is the High School ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ)
• www.jesusfilmmissiontrips.org
• www.gainusa.org/trips

Last Sunday was the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  I think we need a regular reminder that there are places in the world where it’s not safe or easy to be a Christian, and we need to do whatever we can to help our brothers and sisters in need.

There’s a lot of good information at www.idop.org, including critical prayer requests and a world map that shows where persecution is happening.  Materials are available for download when you click on “Resources” or browse to http://www.idop.org/downloads.html.

Many other organizations provide ways to get involved.  One of them is Open Doors USA.  Look around, and ask God if He wants you to get involved!