God raises the dead!

The first weekend of LoveBerlin, Matthias Beyer's sister asked him to go pray for a friend in a Berlin hospital. Ken went with him, and they found a man in a coma (induced), on a ventilator, and with pneumonia and systemic infection. Thomas is in his 30's and from Hanover, Germany. He and his family are missionaries to Afghanistan.

God spoke very clearly to them how to pray, and they later found out one verse was the very verse his church had been praying for him: "I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done" (Psalm 118: 17)!

We sensed an urgency to get the word out and pray for this man...that the battle over his life was more intense because it was going to be used as a prophetic symbol for the church in Germany. God was reminding us of two of the dreams he'd given us and how Thomas' life was going to play a significant role in God's revealing His Glory and restoring hope.

We prayed with people from the Berlin church, wrote e-mails, and told as many people as we could. One friend had a dream of a telephone pole, saying we are connected...even across great distances. The other verses friends sent/prayed were Isaiah 9:2 and 35:1-10 and 49: 24-26. I remember the urgency being replaced with peace that week. I fully expected to hear news that he'd been healed.

Well, after months of reading updates and God gathering hundreds (thousands?) of Christians around the world to pray, we have some great news: Thomas no longer needs a breathing machine, no longer needs a feeding tube, no longer needs intensive care! When his name came up for a lung transplant, he and his wife Katrin refused it because he is doing so well! He just saw his children for the first time in 3.5 months, and he is being transferred to monitoring unit until they have room at a rehab place.

I cannot wait to hear him tell his story...to hear from his lips what the LORD has done!

Until then, let's celebrate, Church! We have a powerful God!

For those who sent us...Thank You!

When we realized that God was calling us to go to Berlin, I had a secret wish: that all of the churches we'd been a part of AND Christians from every denomination would join together to send us. One day I made a list of all of the churches/groups represented by our friends, and I was amazed: Churches:

1. Peace Lutheran- a charismatic Lutheran church in Port Charlotte, FL
2. Vineyard Central -in Norwood, OH
3. Vineyard Northwest- in the Colerain area of Cincinnati
4. The Bridge-a new Baptist church in Oxford, OH

Friends from the following groups:

1. Catholic church
2. Evangelical Free church
3. Baptist churches
4. Faith Covenant Church-Swedish Lutheran
5. Messianic Jewish believers
6. Presbyterian churches
7. Single moms who believe in God but don't go to church
8. Methodist church
9. Independent/Non-denominational churches
10. Seekers
11. The Call church
12. Pentecostal church
13. Church of the Nazarene
14. Willowcreek Community Church
15. Agnostics
16. Vineyards-Miami, FL; Columbus, OH; Champaign, IL; Maryland

Thank you to each of you who made it possible financially for us to go! What a privilege to be sent in this most wonderful way!

Good-byes and Going back to America

Some of the cool things God did during the last weeks:

• One man who was a recovering drug addict had had 2 surgeries on his arm where he'd injected heroin in a wrong way. He was on his way to the hospital for a dressing change. He asked for prayer for the pain, and God took it away! He said he felt "very good" and gave each person a kiss on the forehead.
• Simon from Sweden prayed for a man with back problems, after he realized it really was FREE. One leg was shorter when they asked and checked (apparently 60% of back pain not caused from an accident is due to a difference in leg lengths) and God made it grow!
• Alex (from the U.S. there caring for the kids of one pastor couple from Germany) prayed for Alexander (a drug addict who believes in Jesus and wanted healing for his "damaged soul"). As they talked he almost fell over from the powerful Presence of God, and they helped him to the chair. He also had cracked discs in his back and had his arm/shoulder in a sling, and ankle pain. God healed his arm (he took it out of the sling and moved it in ways he couldn't that morning) and ankle and back pain!
• Antje (from Hamburg) prayed for a young woman (also from Hamburg!) who was visiting her father. When she finished, she started to hand her a "Vineyard Berlin" card, but said, "Oh, you don't need this since you're from Hamburg!" The woman recognized the logo, and said that a few ladies from this same church had met her on the streets of Hamburg in the red light district and had prayed for her...the same things Antje had prayed! Antje pointed out how God is obviously pursuing her and invited her to her home church in Hamburg!
• Job prayed for Sebastian (a 32 y.o. man with several physical needs and who spent time with Mother Theresa and the Dali Lama) who had leg pain and one leg shorter than the other. God took away the pain and grew the leg!
• Hearing from Heaven-One day we strung pictures up on a clothesline at a busy park; people immediately started looking at them. We offered to pick out pictures for them and give some encouraging words "from Heaven." It was very cool to see God speak through us to the people in this simple way! I talked with a young professional woman, and by the third picture she had tears in her eyes as I spoke of how much God loves her. She also asked how we "knew" the things we did, as the other words were directly related to her life. I explained how God speaks to his children.
• Also that day, a sweet group of Muslim girls and their mother from Iraq came to have us pick out pictures. I got a picture of roses...the girls just looked like a bunch of roses to me! At first there were three girls, then five,...and I overheard "seven" in German...well, the picture had seven roses, one halfway out of the picture. The mother said she has six girls (one wasn't there) and is pregnant! They smiled and giggled as I told them of how God sees them as beautiful flowers. They stayed for about an hour, talking to the other Christian women.
• Thanks for praying for these opportunities, too: I DID get to worship dance with the children, we visited Shoeneberg the day before we left, and Ken finished several paintings and shared them with some people from LoveBerlin and put them on display at one outreach.

Seventh Week Slideshow

A Day on the Streets

• One man was so open as they prayed for him, that afterwards they asked if he'd like to "meet Jesus." He said, "Yes, why not, I don't lose anything!" They replied, "Yes, you actually will lose everything." They talked more and then led him in a prayer of accepting Jesus' forgiveness and inviting Him into his heart. The man said, "That was my first prayer in my life!"
• A 60 year old man had cold, mottled feet. He felt power as they prayed. He knew of the Vineyard because he'd visited a quarterly service in the Koepenick church building.
• An older woman in a wheelchair didn't want prayer in public, but invited Jochen to her home. A few days later he went with another team member. She told them of her history as a general in the Stasi (secret police which is still active in influencing thought) and how she read the Bible prior to that. She felt energy in her legs as they prayed for healing, and agreed to come to the next Alpha group...a big change in direction!
• Alex noticed a woman watching from across the street as the teams prayed for two guys. She started crying as she saw the love they showed.
• A man on heroin 7 yrs. was very open to prayer and conversation about Jesus.
• Antje prayed for Miriana: she saw a picture of Jesus' hand with a coin and shared this with Miriana. Apparently, she'd been betrayed financially recently. As they prayed about this, she cried as she experienced God's love for her.
• Anka prayed for a lady with back problems. She asked her if it was from an accident. The lady looked astonished and said, "Yes." They prayed two times for her and God healed her!
• Anka and Marc prayed for a man with one leg shorter than the other. She felt such extreme heat. "Of course, the leg grew!" A man selling fruit who they'd met earlier was watching. He said, "I feel this warmth coming from you! I don't know why I tell you now, but my 20 year old daughter Manola has had a [disfiguring skin] disease since she was 9 years old. I can't leave this stand, but can you pray for her?" They did.
• A lady came to the door of the Amadeus cafe/Baptist church. She said, "I need to come in but I don't know why." She'd seen food given to the poor and wanted to know more about the church.
• A man wanted prayer for his marriage since this was his fourth wife and he didn't want to continue the cycle of divorce.
• Raymond asked for prayer for his girlfriend who was currently on the hospital's psych unit for attempted suicide. As they prayed, one person had the impression to pray for a "better job" for him. When he shared this, the man said, "How did you know? I lost my job."
• Three times a man approached Marius (leader of the outreaches) to yell at him and say what he was doing was rediculous. Marius just listened quietly. The fourth time he returned to say, "Well you can't judge anything if you haven't tried it!" and plopped down in the chair to be prayed for! He had many health concerns (lung issues, knee replacement scheduled, difficulty breathing while walking). He said he'd call Marius in two weeks to let him know-either way-what happened.

Sixth Week Slideshow