Well, good evening. Glad you came tonight. It'd be a little bit lonely if you weren't here, but I guess I could still fulfill my responsibility even if you weren't. I want to thank you very much for your faithful support of our family. We went to Germany in 1998. with fresh support from Thompson Road Baptist. Thank you for your prayers over the years. I wish I could spend enough time to tell you what the Lord has done through all of these years. time would fail uh... i mentioned sunday morning in the sunday school hour uh... we were talking about the great commission and how different it is sharing the gospel with atheists like to give two examples before i show you the presentation tonight uh... several years back in our church in dresden we had a sunday school hour and the challenge of the hour was use some questions to try to start a gospel conversation. One of the questions was, why do you think Jesus Christ had to die? Jodi asked this question of our former neighbor and her friend Connie, and you would expect here in America that somebody would have some idea of how to answer that question. When Jody asked Connie, Connie, why do you think Jesus had to die? Connie said, in all seriousness, well, I suppose he was a bad man and they wanted to make an example of him so that nobody else would follow after him. Now, if you're trying to evangelize someone, you don't want your jaw to fall on the floor when you hear an answer like that. Jodi answered wisely, well, I've never heard anyone answer quite like that. Oh, well, what do other people say? And she had the opportunity to share the gospel with her. We live in a country that for an entire generation and a half, had no gospel input for the majority of 16 and a half million people. God was not totally outlawed in Eastern Germany, but anybody who followed the Lord didn't get promoted, couldn't study in universities. They had a very tough role to hold. Totally different situation. Years later, you may remember from prayer letters, we asked for prayer. I had a spot on my right eye. It had developed very slowly over many years and no pain or anything. It was just very annoying to the point where people would look at my eye and say, do you have something wrong with your eye? Well, yes, I do, but I don't know what it is. I finally decided to get it checked out after many years and they said it looks like it might be a melanoma and that might be malignant. Long story short, we went to the university clinic in Dresden and talked to a doctor there and a surgeon there. and I was very uncomfortable with the surgeon. I thought that something's just not right here. It's not going to work. So I put off the surgery. And sometimes, in the middle of all of this, you're doubting yourself. Could it be cancer? If it's cancer, could it be bad? Could it spread? All of these things. And you forget that these things can be divine appointments. And some time had passed, over a year later, we arranged at a different university clinic, miles away from where we live, and we scheduled an appointment, saw the surgeon, the surgeon sounded like he was really top, spent time, answered our questions, I was comfortable, made the appointment, went in, had the surgery. The first roommate that I had left just hours after my surgery. I didn't really get a chance to talk to him. The second one was there, had an operation. And at his operation, another young man, well, young, he's about my age, had a surgery on the same day. His name is Ronald Meyer. Ronald, long flowing white hair, Harley driver, you can picture him, beard, looked a little rugged. And since my roommate and he had similar operations, they were together, and my roommate said, hey, why don't you come and sit with us? We'll talk a little bit. talked with Ronald a little bit, got acquainted a little bit on the first day, talked another day, and before Ronald left, I had the opportunity of sitting with he and Reinhardt and go over the bridge track. Sometimes you have cancer and you think, why me? Well, maybe it's not about you. Maybe it's about Totally someone else. And I suppose that some of you were praying at that time, perhaps for me. But God had totally other purposes. Ronald, when I talked about sin and asked him if he believed that he was a sinner, oh yeah, I don't have any question about that. Reinhardt, who grew up in the Lutheran church and was a, quote, Christian, end quote, said, oh, not me. to which Ronald said, you go to church and you don't think you're a sinner? The atheist had the right answer. After getting out of the hospital, I sent Ronald a Bible. He started reading it immediately. This was October 2019. By Christmas, he had already read through the Pentateuch. And by the spring of 2020, he was nearing the Psalms. I had asked him to read through the Gospel of John, but he said, no, if I'm going to read a book, I'm going to read it from cover to cover. At my next follow-up visit, I asked if we could stop by and visit on the way back and met his wife, Bettina. Bettina also grew up in a Lutheran church. She said she's a believer, went through the bridge tract again with these two, and died for Ronald. He's a precious soul. The Lord died for him. At last contact, he said, I'm not there yet, but I'm still searching. Please pray for Ronald. Just because somebody says they're an atheist It doesn't mean, well, that's a shutdown. They need the gospel just like we did, just from a different point of view. And sometimes the things that we think are our suffering are meant for opportunities for someone else. That's just a brief aside. I'd like to show our presentation. Then I have a couple of things I'd like to share at the end. If you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer your questions. But we'll look at the presentation now. Thank you. Located in former East Germany, Dresden is situated in the Elbe River Valley. The city is known for its culture, Baroque architecture, fine china, and several inventions like the coffee filter and the toothpaste tube. This growing city of over a half million is also known, unfortunately, for a lack of the knowledge of the living God. God called us over 20 years ago to help make the name of Christ known among these people. We arrived in Dresden in February of 1998, complete with our six children and 19 pieces of luggage. The commitment to start a church in Dresden was made during our survey trip in 1993, and the Dorslings signed a lease on their apartment from where this church would have its start. A Bible study began, and three years later, on Easter Sunday, the first service of the Freie Baptistengemeinde was held. There were five Germans on that first Sunday. After raising support, our family of eight joined the Tuttles and the Dorslings. There were more Americans than Germans in those early services. There are still two people in the church that were there before we came. Rosie, who was the first convert of this fledgling church, and Leo, who was in his early 20s and training to become a police officer. The church grew slowly in those early years. People that have been raised under communism are generally cautious. The Peaches came to a Sunday service just months after our arrival in Germany. They were among the first to be baptized and have been faithful to the Freie Baptistengemeinde and made it their church home. Now God is using Berndt as the church treasurer. There have been people who have come and gone throughout the years, including our children. Even as our children moved out, the church continued to grow. The Freie Baptistengemeinde is no longer filled with Americans, but with Germans God has led to his body. The ministry has expanded to include a ladies' Bible study, which gives women an opportunity to grow in practical Bible knowledge and understanding. The men's Bible study has opened the hearts of men to share God's word and apply it to where they struggle. This is led by different men, giving each of them an opportunity to grow by teaching God's word. Although we've had times with very few young people attending, we currently have a good group of teens who meet for a monthly Bible study. This ministry, led by Tobias and Bernd, grew out of Germans seeing the need to reach their own youth. We have opportunities as a body to spend time together on hikes or adult activities like a progressive dinner. And we seek to affect our community by handing out thousands of gospel calendars, either putting them into mailboxes or handing them out at our city festival. This festival occurs twice in a year, and many in the church come to help for a couple of hours or more during the day. Many seeds are sown by tracts, evangelistic CDs and DVDs, as well as personal witness. Our annual Advent Coffee gives the church an opportunity to invite their unsaved friends and family in a friendly environment where the gospel is clearly presented. Hans Georg suggested several years ago that we post the sermons on our website. Due to this ministry, there are several families who have heard the faithful preaching of God's word without the compromises of the churches they were attending. These new contacts have led to three people being saved and nine people being baptized. The goal of each of these ministries is to teach these believers to use their spiritual gifts to serve the Lord in this local church. Niklas explained to us how the Lord led him to the Friar Baptisten Gemeinde. When I was 13 years old, I watched an occult film, and after some internet research, I believe in elves and fairies. So I slipped into the esoteric. I did many demonic and occult things, and went from one occult subject to the next, because I was seeking fulfillment in my life, but always seeking true teaching in my heart, no matter what I did. I then worked a lot on conspiracy theories and came to believe in Jesus Christ through videos of conspiracy theories and Christians. The same day I heard the gospel, I converted to Jesus Christ. Since then I've been free of all occultism. At the end of January, I prayed to God to lead me to baptism. Before that, two Jehovah's Witnesses in my house had offered me Bible study and said they could baptize me after that. But they stopped in December because I questioned the teachings of the JWs critically. Since I was not baptized, I prayed to God. Three days after this prayer, I wanted to drive to a lake and drove past the Free Baptist Church. One Sunday in the same week, I decided to visit the church there. And since then, I'm in the church. In this church, I was baptized on the 17th of May, so my prayer was fulfilled. will be before the visible coming of Jesus Christ, then think of my unbelieving family members who may have to go through, then I feel sorry for them. Paul told his young disciple Timothy, the things that thou hast heard of me, the same commit thou unto faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. From the early years we have observed Leo and prayed that God would use him to further this work in Dresden. Leo has long demonstrated a hunger to know, study, and teach God's Word. He is a self-learner and has grown in biblical knowledge as well as in his ability to teach, preach, and counsel in the Word. He began preaching for our monthly communion services, teaching Wednesday Bible studies, and preaching in our absence. The Lord has brought Joy, a pastor's daughter from Rhode Island, into Leo's life. Joy has complimented him in his ministry as well. Although Leo is a full-time police officer with a family of four, he volunteered to take over the majority of preaching responsibilities in our absence. The Lord allowed this group of believers to officially organize in 2014. With God's clear leading, Leo was chosen by the church as one of the assistant pastors. Tobias was the other man that the church chose to assist in leading the Freie Baptisten Gemeinde. After I get saved, I think it's a great wish. I want to preach what I understand through study of the Bible and I want to say to others what Jesus has done for me and now what I understand in the faith. And my first opportunity was to speak to young people in the Lutheran Church. That was my first time. After that, we go out from there because there was so much liberal thinking and we become accepted and we go to a free evangelical church and there I preach my first time before the church. It was a good thing. I feel it was my Aufgabe, it was my calling, so I feel that I have a joy to preach. After our church dissolved in Glashütte, we visited the Freiburgischen Gemeinde. We knew it before. And we found there very good spiritual help, good sermons from Joel, from Leo, and also my wife found spiritual counsel by Julie. We grew up spiritually. In this moment I need strong convictions about the faith and also the spiritual counsel were very good for me. After a few times, we join the church and get members. My burden is to lead believers to grow into the image of Christ, that they grow in faith and biblical conviction. Also, I want to lead them to be an example for other believers, for our children, for our families, neighbors, Unbelievers, that's my wish and that's my burden. I want to preach and take them by the hand and lead them to become more like Christ. It's also a wish for me and for my wife and for my children and I hope through God's power I can do that. I knew that I am weak but God is strong and He can make it in me. Joel began teaching Leo and Tobias starting with Baptist distinctives and ecclesiology. Currently he is teaching them basic New Testament Greek and hermeneutics. This is a huge undertaking and a large sacrifice for these men to add to their work and family responsibilities. Yet their passion is to see others grow in faith and in the knowledge of God's word. Our goal as missionaries is to plant autonomous, self-supporting, self-propagating, biblically grounded Baptist churches. The planting and watering continues. Where once only missionaries were doing the work of the ministry, there are Germans who are leading and teaching others. This work is accomplished by teaching God's word to others so that they can teach others too. The Lord has helped us toward this goal and we are encouraged with the work he has done. What the Lord has accomplished in the Friar Baptisten Gemeinde needs to be repeated in so many cities and villages in Germany and around the globe. It all starts by hearing the word, obeying the Lord, and teaching others what he has taught you. That's a short version of some of the things the Lord has done. And like I said, I wish I could share a lot more with you. Perhaps you have some questions arising from the presentation. Great, that's my first perfect presentation ever. Or maybe you just want to get on with the evening. Just let me share a couple of more things. Since COVID hit, the Lord has also blessed our church. Nonetheless, Teresa and Volker Haas started visiting our church. Since then, Teresa was baptized. They both joined the church in 2020. At the beginning of this year, the Stenke family, a family of six, started attending the church. Soon after they started attending, their youngest daughter came and said that she wanted to be baptized. Just about a month and a half back, their oldest son asked about baptism. I left Germany and put Lutz, put some baptism booklets in Lutz's hand and asked him to lead his whole family through the biblical teaching of baptism. We've already talked to Lutz and Christine about their need of being baptized. Uwe and Esther Schultz started coming at the beginning of this year and we went through the need of them being baptized they were baptized in july as well as monica who attended our church for more than five years uh... we had many discussions with her about her need to be baptized she said i'm uh... almost eighty years old i won't get any younger she was also baptized in may and if you are in july and if you've uh... read our prayer letters and no doubt you've prayed for monica and the lord has blessed there. Denise started attending our church just before Jody's dad's funeral, and she was referred to our church by a German evangelist. She's been very faithful, is still attending our church, and our church is in transition. The need of the hour is for the Germans to catch the burden of supporting their own pastors who they've already elected so that we can move out of the ministry and turn the whole ministry over to German hands. That was the whole reason that we went. And we're so close. Please pray that we can accomplish this. It's been done in very few German missionary churches that the church actually has given over to the Germans to lead. It would be a tragedy in my thinking. if when we leave another missionary comes and takes our place. Thank the Lord for the work that he's done. Thank you for your help in the ministry, for your support of the ministry there. We couldn't have done it without you. And please, Continue to pray. We're so close to the goal. Pray that God will help for the glory of his name so that we can leave a work there that he's done for his glory. Thank you.