Visitors from Chemnitz

Jim and I have had the priviledge the past three days to host Bernard and Ulrike, a pastor and his wife from Chemnitz, Eastern Germany. In the past couple of years our church, Stonebridge Church, has joined together with Pastor Bernard's church to become "sister" churches. Our church had hoped to send a team to visit Chemnitz this fall to learn more about their congregation and to encourage them, but details didn't work out for that trip at this time. So Bernard, Ulrika and two other members from their church decided to travel to the U.S. to come to minister to us! Several men from our church have kept the team very busy this week, touring Cedar Rapids and meeting with our pastoral staff. But Jim and I have had opportunity to get acquainted and share with them during the late evenings and over quick morning breakfasts. They are a delightful couple - and very brave to have left their four children, ranging in age from 6 - 14, at home with friends for nearly two weeks. We communicated well - not so much because Jim recalled all of the German he learned in high school - but because they are fairly fluent in English!