August / September 2023 — The Gfeller Family

I am always amazed at how quickly your life can change. How quickly you can find yourself so far from what you knew before. Many things that at one time seemed so foreign can somehow become ordinary. This has been our experience moving to a foreign place. Even though there are many cultural similarities, it really feels like different worlds. We use different products to cook with, live and work in a place with different values, and use different modes of transportation to get around (I never considered a bicycle as a mode of commuting before I moved to Berlin:)

Over the past months, I have thought often of where this path has taken my family. It is not only a question of where we have come from, but where we are going. I believe it is easy in these times to ask the question, “What is God’s Will for me?”, but is this the question we should be asking?

It’s easy to believe that we must blaze a trail to God’s Will for us, as if He is waiting for us to find our special calling before we can really understand what our purpose is. But in reality, we need to stop asking ourselves “What is God’s Will for me? and simply ask Him “What is His Will?” It’s amazing the difference between those two questions, and it points out an important truth, that we often try to hijack His purposes for our own when we make His Will about us.

God’s Will is not about how we fit into His plan, but how He can receive the glory.

I’ve found that anxiety tends to rise when I feel like I must know how I fit into His plan, but David reminds us in Psalm 139 that peace is found as we trust Him to lead us in His way.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

David begins this Psalm, by giving a picture of who God is, in relation to us, and we are reminded that the story unfolding is much grander than we can imagine. David’s words help us understand that knowing God’s Will comes as we desire that He would receive the glory. It’s a desire that He would know the deepest desires of our hearts and that He would try our most anxious thoughts. In other words, I believe we find His Will as we desire Him to remove from our hearts and minds, anything that would hinder us from pursuing His Will.

David knew he needed the Spirit to scan the intentions of his heart and mind daily and identify any wicked way that would keep him from God’s way. May we too desire the deep fellowship of the Spirit that brings peace and joy and makes clear the way everlasting.

Ministry Update

We recently had our annual church retreat and a team from Greenville that led our music and worked with our kids. This team of three was such a huge blessing to us! Three young men from our congregation who are in our Leadership Cohort spoke over the weekend. It was so encouraging to see them communicate so well on our theme for the weekend “Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord! We also had a baptism service.

These men that spoke are part of a larger group we have been meeting with over the past year to develop for church leadership. Please pray for us as we are coming to the end of our course work and plan to involve these men in leadership of more practical aspects of ministry in the coming year.

I (Chad) began work once again with our group of boys and girls in Reinickendorf this past month after a summer break. Most of these boys and girls are from a Muslim background and we meet regularly after school to play soccer or do different projects and hear from God’s Word. Many of the kids are asking really good questions. Please pray the seeds being planted will bear fruit.

We are also starting back up outreach to refugees in the coming month. We are in somewhat of a rebuilding phase after losing some of our workers in this area, who have moved abroad, but we are excited to see several open doors, including opportunities for community gatherings, a kid’s program, and language help. I had the opportunity to help Athletes in Action with a tournament they sponsored in July. A new German wing, that works through the game of soccer has developed out of Athletes in Action called Pro 11 and I look forward to seeing how I can team up with them in the future. Please pray for us as we seek to find the best way to engage with our time and resources.

We are thankful for the opportunity to utilize our home for building community and developing leaders in our body. We meet regularly in our home with our community group and recently had the opportunity to host a leadership roundtable, as well as host some ministry guests that were here to encourage us and our church!

Quinn and Gracie have taken an active role in teaching the children at our church plant on Sundays. Through the summer they led our children and provided an opportunity for parents to participate in the service. We are so encouraged to see them take the initiative in this way. Both the girls and Cherry are actively involved in implementing a new curriculum that we just introduced this past month in both churches.

Jeannie has been a tremendous help in providing hospitality in our home and regularly at the church plant in Potsdam as well as serving on our missions committee. We are thankful for the growth we continue to see in both churches and we are thankful for the friendships and community we have built in both Berlin and Potsdam.

Family Update

We had the opportunity to spend four days at the Baltic Sea this summer and go on some day excursions in August. I also had the opportunity to accompany Gracie on her class trip to the Harz Mountains a couple weeks ago.

Quinn started a new season in school this year moving to seventh grade. In Germany, the school is divided into an upper and lower school, so this has been a big adjustment for her. It has not been easy, but we are so thankful for how she has handled all the changes. She now attends our youth group and enjoys the freedom of traveling to Bible studies and youth events by herself:)

Gracie is a sixth grader and a big fish in the elementary school. The majority of her classes (and Quinn’s) are now in German and she is handling the pressure of school and friendships well. On her class trip she walked 6 miles one day and 10 miles another day and I was really proud of her resilience in pushing through. Thank you for continuing to pray for both our girls.

We are thankful for God’s grace in these things and other than a few minor sicknesses the strength and joy He has given us for life and ministry. Here are some pictures from the past months.

Prayer Update

Please pray for wisdom as we steward the resources God has given us, both in discipling and developing leaders well and the material resources that He has blessed us with.
Please pray for direction as we seek the best use of our time and resources in ministry to refugees.
Please pray for strength on Sundays as we feel called in this season to serve two congregations, Fellowship Potsdam mornings and CrossWay Church afternoons.
Please pray for upcoming outreach events we are having in Berlin, specifically our International Thanksgiving Dinner and Live Nativity.
Please pray for our car to be fixed soon. We have a spark plug that will not come out of the engine block and are trying to find a solution to get the vehicle back on the road.