Impressions

I have heard from several of you that you have been praying for us and we are very thankful. Most of us have been sleeping fairly well and yet, of course, we fall into our beds exhausted at the end of the night because our brains are on overload.

Yesterday, we met with the youth director, Richard, of a nearby church and talked with him about his ministry. Their church is currently changing a few things including their name, website, and the appearance of their church yard to appeal to more people including College students. This church's youth group has about 15 members in the ages of 14 to 24. Richard says their biggest struggle probably is to reach out to unbelieving youth.

We also enjoyed the fabulous hospitality of two youth leaders of the FEG - which the Millers hope to join this fall. They are indeed looking forward to Jim and Lina coming and playing a mentorship role in their lives as they seek to minister to the youth in the church. These two youth leaders live in a very diverse section of town. We went for a walk in a nearby park which was packed with people of various cultures and lots of children.

Today, we visited a church in Gruenau, which is the low income part of the city. "The harvest is ripe but the workers are few" is truly the case at this church. The congregation is about 25 people with few in leadership and nobody fit to offer an ongoing program for the youth (or for children) who have flocked to their many outreach events in the park and neighborhood.

The second church we visited today is located in a neighboring town called Schkeuditz. This church is very active with missions trips, a resale shop, English lesson outreaches by an American missionary, and a new youth group with about 15 kids from the church. It's a family church located just a block from the public high school.

We spend the rest of the day walking through Leipzig's downtown and soaking in more of the culture of this musical city. We were fortunate to catch a choir singing at the Thomaskirche as well as some street performers. We are using this evening to debrief and would appreciate prayers as we process al that we have seen and heard.

Tomorrow, we are going to the church service here where we are staying. We are also going to get a chance to talk to the leadership of Richard's church. We may or may not be able to be a part of a youth event in the afternoon as well. Keep praying for us to remain open to the Lord's leading in our life.