The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
Dear pastors, brothers, and sisters, peace be with you in the Lord!
Greetings from Kassel, Germany.
Since our last newsletter, we have journeyed through Christmas, New Year, and the Chinese Spring Festival, with God accompanying us into a new year. The Lord God is faithful; “the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love.” Together with our brothers and sisters in the church, we are experiencing God’s genuine guidance and abundant provision. For this, we offer him our thanksgiving and praise.
Growing in Christ
In the course of our ministry, we have come to understand and deeply experience that only God’s Word and Jesus Christ are the bread of life. They alone can bring true satisfaction, transform lives, and enable genuine spiritual growth. Therefore, in our preaching and teaching, we place great emphasis on God’s Word. In our visits and interactions with brothers and sisters, regardless of their circumstances, we strive to bring them before God, that they may receive heavenly strength and the peace that cannot be taken away by the world. Gradually, as brothers and sisters respond to God, their lives are transformed.
Ministries Updates
In our church, there is a couple known for their “pure hearts.” They desire to know the Lord more deeply, to do what pleases him, and to listen to the beautiful testimonies of fellow believers—testimonies that move and inspire them. Since joining this church, we’ve been conducting one-on-one discipleship training with them, meeting roughly once a month. Our sessions involve studying discipleship materials, exploring specific topics, or sharing in prayer together… Before we knew it, this discipleship journey had continued steadily for over three years.
They possess a pure heart toward God. When they don’t know something, they learn; when they understand, they act. Initially, their goal was “to improve themselves and become faithful believers.” Gradually, as they matured, their focus shifted from their own small households to God’s household. They grew increasingly burdened for the church, longed to do good works, and desired to invest more deeply in the church’s ministries.
Especially this brother, who previously felt he knew little and, being naturally quiet and introverted, remained quite “unnoticed.” He simply wanted to be a worshipper who came to church. But over these past three years, the Lord’s Word transformed him, and he responded to the Lord, willing to break through his own limitations by relying on him. He equipped himself spiritually and stepped forward to serve the Lord. Now, he participates in leading worship services, guiding Bible studies, and serving in children’s Sunday school, growing increasingly mature in these roles. This year, having prepared himself, he has been invited to become a new co-worker. May the Lord bless him and continue to guide him. Praise the Lord, we are being used more and more by him in various places.
Family Updates
During the past Christmas holiday, our family travelled to visit some fellow believers in another city. They have been our friends for many years and also our prayer partners in ministry. We had originally planned simply to meet with them, but God’s minds are higher than ours.
We discovered that whenever we visited a family, God had already prepared both a “task” and a ‘harvest’ for us. Sometimes, it was suddenly learning that the family was about to face a divine commission, and praying together to entrust it to God. Other times, it was sharing our recent experiences and past testimonies, encouraging them through our own journeys. At other times, it was having heart-to-heart talks with the “second-generation believers” in that family, listening to and understanding the difficulties and challenges of their generation. At other times, we were continually answering biblical questions and discussing insights on church ministry. Still other times, we simply shared God’s marvelous leading in our lives, giving thanks together while receiving the care and blessings of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Each day, we were filled with the Holy Spirit, experiencing the beauty of fellowship in the Lord, “teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in our hearts to God…”
Not only that, but through the internet, we’ve also reconnected with brothers and sisters we once knew but who now live in other cities and countries. At the turn of the year, during the New Year season, we shared with one another the marvelous ways God has led each of us—becoming beautiful testimonies that encourage us all. We are reminded not merely to see the blessings God has given us, but to see the God who bestows those blessings. He is the God who has led us through year after year, and in the new year, he will surely continue to guide and watch over our steps. Praise the Lord, our health has improved.
Last winter was the healthiest season our family has ever experienced. In previous years, we would fall ill at least once every month, but last year we managed to get through it relatively unscathed. Even within our church, fewer families have been affected by illness compared to before. We give thanks for the Lord’s mercy and for the prayers of our brothers and sisters in Christ on our behalf.
Following recommendations from many fellow believers, we began taking vitamin D supplements last year to alleviate seasonal depression caused by insufficient sunlight during German winters. Praise the Lord, this supplementation has proven effective for us. While depressive episodes still occur suddenly, they have significantly diminished, greatly reducing their impact on our daily lives and ministry.
Prayer Requests
Please remember our ministry and life here in your prayers, dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
- Give thanks for God’s presence in the past;
- Please pray that the Lord will continue to guide the church and our family in the direction of development for the new year;
- Please pray that the Lord will preserve the brothers and sisters in the church and our family, granting us good health and strength for ministry.
Finally, let us bless one another and encourage each other with these lines from the poem Von guten Mächten by German theologian Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
By loving forces silently surrounded,
I feel quite soothed, secure, and filled with grace.
So I would like to live these days together,
and go with you into another year.
By loving forces wonderfully sheltered,
we are awaiting fearlessly what comes.
God is with us at dusk and in the morning
and most assuredly on ev’ry day.
