Finishing the race!

Can you believe it! I ran in a 5.5 km race – the Basler Stadtlauf! (Basel city run) I have been training off and on for nearly three months. While my time wasn't a record-breaker, this is a huge event in my life. The story starts last year after my brother Jay died and Christopher was born. I was very depressed and ate my feelings away. I realized I needed to do something and in October, got an exercise bike and now bike 4-5 times a week, going anywhere from 30-50km. I completely changed my eating habits (not a diet, but a lifestyle change) and have lost 76 lbs (34 kilos)! I still have 6 more pounds to go, but Lord-willing, He'll help me finish the race!

God at work

It's always exciting to hear how God is working in the hearts of children through the materials we produce. Here's how God is using the booklet Meet the King in the life of a child:

"A grandmother from Denmark told a wonderful story. Her grandchild had never heard the Gospel from her parents because they are not interested in God. The grandmother gave the girl a copy of Meet the King. Several weeks later, the grandchild told her grandmother 'I have asked Jesus to come into my heart and be my Saviour!'

The other day both of them travelled by train and sat next to a young man. Suddenly the child asked him 'Can I tell you a story?' The man was surprised but said 'yes'. The child took Meet the King from her bag and told him the story exactly word for word."

The Church that moves

We had the tremendous opportunity to go to the Freie Evangelische Gemeinde (Free Evangelical Church) in St. Gallen for their very first service in their new building. This is the church we called home for three months as we attended language school five years ago. The church is also known as Stami, short for Stadt Mission. Their tagline is "The Church that Moves," and it certainly lived up to that name this weekend.Pastor Gust Ledergerber (which happens to be my grandmother's maiden name) shared how the Lord brought the church to the new location, closing door after door in order to bless the church even more than they expected. The location could not have been better. Centrally located in the middle of the city, it's across from the hospital and a highway off ramp. It's also a two-minute walk from the St. Fiden train station, one of the two rail hubs in the city.After the church bid on the property, the owner was offered an additional 10,000 Swiss Francs by a cult. He wasn't a believer, but God had been working in his life and he refused the second offer, losing the additional money he could have made.

The music was outstanding. The preaching was even better–focusing on 2 Chronicles 6 and 7. Pastor Ledergerber shared the need for the church to continue it's path of equipping the saints, reaching out into the city and winning souls for Christ. We felt like we had never been away and were warmly welcomed.

Stami has a long way to go. Please pray for the church as it seeks to share the need for the Lord Jesus Christ in a spiritually struggling city. Please also pray for the finances needed to pay off the new building.