Author Archives: Markus

Love your neighbor Part 19 Be excited about Jesus

love your neighbor part 19In this blog series we want to show you that it is actually really easy to make an impact where you live. We hope you start to see that more by reading this series!

Before I joined YWAM I was in Sales in an Electronic Store in Germany. In that time I learned that if you want to sell a product you actually have to like it first yourself and be excited about it. Sharing our faith is a bit like that too. Of course we are not trying to sell something, but we want to share the true excitement we have about Jesus with others. So first of all we need to be excited about Jesus.

20151102_101326Last week we went to a memorial of a friend of ours from the Tenderloin. Many people were sharing about his life but the common message was always that he was generous and loving. He was in no way rich, but everything he had he shared with others. People could see Jesus by the way he treated others. That is attractive and practical and can be seen! How amazing to think, that every neighbor around you would mention the amazing giftings God gave you and the love you have for Him and people around you.  What if they mention in the next sentence that through that they started to fall in love with Jesus because He actually became real to them through you! How amazing would that be?

Here some things to ponder on:

  1. When people look at us do they see the excitement and love we have for Jesus?
  2. Does He have the most important role and focus in our life?
  3. Is our love for Jesus showing in our life through our actions and the way we live, in a way that is real, contagious and attractive to others? If not ask yourself why and start

Hey our friend

Picture Time with Loren CunninghamWe hope you had a fantastic week! We had our YWAM Fundraiser with Loren Cunningham which raised $190.000 towards paying off the building, game nights and other events at our apartment and different meetings during the week. After all it was a great and thoughtful week. This week we will have a meeting with a book editor who can hopefully give us some tips on writing. Pray that God keeps giving us ideas and the right words to write!

First of all thank you to all who support us in our work here through Prayer and finances! You are a huge blessing to us! May god bless you richly!

We have a request for you! To do the work we are doing we depend 100% on support. Over the last few months we lost about $287 in monthly support through changes of circumstances in peoples lives. So at this point we need about $1560 more in monthly support to be fully funded. We want to ask for your help in sharing with people you know that have a heart for missions and would be interested in joining our support team. Of course if you are not a part of it you are welcome to join as well! When you click on this link you find out more how to do that. Thank you for all your help in this area.

Start this week with a new excitement for God by spending some extra time with Him!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Love your neighbor Part 18 Set time aside

love your neighbor part 18In this blog series we want to show you that it is actually really easy to make an impact where you live. We hope you start to see that more by reading this series!

One of the big issues in todays time is time. We are all rushed for time. We try to save time wherever we can at work, while driving at home etc. Then an interesting thing happens, we are more stressed and we need downtime to refill. So then we use that time, and probably more than we would have needed without the stress, to relax in front of the TV or by looking at Facebook for the 10th time.

What about we just go on a normal healthy pace?  What about if we don’t over commit? What about we keep an open night each week to spend time with neighbors?

Relationships will cost you something and one of those things is time. If you don’t have time in first place how do you want to build a relationship with your neighbor?

Its important that we set time aside but to do that, we have to first do a few things:

  1. For the next 2 weeks observe and see where you waste time and where you go too fast. Also see if you are overcommitted in things. Write everything you find out down.
  2. Ask yourself why you do that and how you can practically change it. When you do that you are able to change.
  3. After you found extra time start setting time aside for relationships with neighbors.

You can do it!!

Hey our friend

We hope you had a wonderful week! We had a workday at the YWAM Base to get things ready for the fundraiser in November. Many hands are needed to get everything done in time. We also had an opportunity to show love to people in our community just by being there for them. Its powerful to just being there for someone and even small actions speak loudly!

First of all thank you to all who support us in our work here through Prayer and finances! You are a huge blessing to us! May god bless you richly!

We have a request for you! To do the work we are doing we depend 100% on support. Over the last few months we lost about $287 in monthly support through changes of circumstances in peoples lives. So at this point we need about $1560 more in monthly support to be fully funded. We want to ask for your help in sharing with people you know that have a heart for missions and would be interested in joining our support team. Of course if you are not a part of it you are welcome to join as well! When you click on this link you find out more how to do that. Thank you for all your help in this area.

This week is a beginning of a healthy life pace with open time for relationship!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Love your neighbor Part 17 Help to see Purpose

love your neighbor part 17In this blog series we want to show you that it is actually really easy to make an impact where you live. We hope you start to see that more by reading this series!

A few weeks ago I read this statement on the Facebook of a friend of mine:

“In one year I did USA for Africa, I played the Olympics, I won a Grammy and all together I played for over a billion and a half people. Finally, after all these years, I had reached the top of the mountain. And you know what’s at the top? Nothing. All you had were the experiences it took to get there. There’s nothing at the top.” -Lionel Richie

How many people in today’s times feel that way? Running through life to chase money or a dream and then realize when they reach it that there was nothing. What about us? Are we living in the purpose God called us to? What do you want to leave behind when you die someday? What are you passionate about?

These are questions all of us should ask ourselves. What about you explore them together with your neighbors and friends! What about if you start helping each other to figure out those questions! I promise you doing that in community is harder, but in the same way more fruitful.

So when we explore those things together we grow closer together in our friendship and we also can help supporting each other to get to that place. When we see clearer on what we are called to do, we open the opportunity to see more about a Father who has a purpose for our life. We are able to keep inspiring each other. It could start really simple in a conversation over coffee.

  1. Have a coffee with one of your neighbors and share with them about your idea.
  2. If interest is there start talking and meet up more regularly about it.

Hey our friend

We hope you had a great week. We had a goodbye dinner for a couple that worked with us. Please keep them in your Prayers when they move back home to see clearer on what their next steps are. Please also keep praying for the YWAM San Francisco building Fundraiser November 7th. Loren Cunningham the founder of YWAM will be speaking and sharing that night. Pray for a good attendance and for the right people to come.

First of all thank you to all who support us in our work here through Prayer and finances! You are a huge blessing to us! May god bless you richly!

Here a request! To do the work we are doing we depend 100% on support. Over the last few months we lost about $287 in monthly support through changes of circumstances in peoples lives. So at this point we need about $1560 more in monthly support to be fully funded. We want to ask for your help in sharing with people you know that have a heart for missions and would be interested in joining our support team. Of course if you are not a part of it you are welcome to join as well! When you click on this link you find out more how to do that. Thank you for all your help in this area.

Start living your life to thrive and not just to survive!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Love your neighbor Part 16 Love Unconditional

love your neighbor part 16In this blog series we want to show you that it is actually really easy to make an impact where you live. We hope you start to see that more by reading this series!

Last week we were writing about how in order to have healthy relationships, we can’t hold a grudge. But to go even a step further in that, we need to love unconditionally. Let me give you an example: If you do something for a neighbor, don’t expect anything in return. If a neighbor has a bad attitude against you, instead of having a bad attitude back to them, keep loving on them.

When you look at the life of Jesus, you see many times how he loved people with an unconditional love. Imagine Judas, this man was about to betray him and Jesus knew it, but he still treated him like all his other disciples. So how can we do that?

Start with what we were talking about last week, never hold a grudge. When you get into situations think first before you react. React out of love instead the emotion of the moment.

Unconditional means not putting conditions on loving people.

So lets show even more love to neighbors and people in our life.

  1. Start assessing areas where you had a hard time loving.
  2. Ask God to give you love especially for those areas
  3. Go the extra mile, by loving people well. Like Jesus said if someone forces you to walk one mile, walk two with them! (Matthew5.41)

Hey our friend

We hope you had a great week. A few weeks ago I (Markus) was asked to join the financial oversight team for YWAM San Francisco. Helping out in that means to go to 3 board meetings a year and read from time to time through financial reports and voice any concern. Pray for wisdom and understanding for me in this new responsibility.

All the work in the neighborhood is going well as well. Join us in praying for every person in that area to experience the love of God in such a real way.

First of all thank you to all who support us in our work here! You are a huge blessing to us! May god bless you richly!

Here a request! To do the work we are doing we depend 100% on support. Over the last few months we lost about $287 in monthly support through changes of circumstances in peoples lives. So at this point we need about $1560 more in monthly support to be fully funded. We want to ask for your help in sharing with people you know that have a heart for missions and would be interested in joining our support team. Of course if you are not a part of it you are welcome to join as well! When you click on this link you find out more how to do that. Thank you for all your help in this area.

Love this week nieghbors like never before!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

P.s. A few years ago I made a video on how to love people better. Maybe it can give you some helpful tips!

Love your neighbor Part 15 Don’t hold a grudge

love your neighbor part 15In this blog series we want to show you that it is actually really easy to make an impact where you live. We hope you start to see that more by reading this series!

One of the last things Jesus did on the cross was forgiving the people that put him there. It is very interesting to think that Jesus put such a value on demonstrating the need of not holding a grudge. And when you think about it you realize that whatever anyone did to you, it probably doesn’t come close to this moment in Luke 23.34.

But why did Jesus focus so much on this Point? If you want relationships and friendships to work, you can’t hold things against each other. It is important to let go of things. If you always have in the back of your head the comment that was made about how your house is not as clean or your garden isn’t weeded well enough, you will not be able to go deeper in relationship. The most loving thing to you and your neighbor at this point is to forgive and move forward. Relationships can bring up things that are hurtful, and that is also true for relationships with neighbors.

Also remember, sometimes you have to forgive a lot till you see change. Jesus said to forgive 7 times 70 (Matthew 18.22). That pretty much means always!

To have true relationship we can’t keep holding a grudge!

  1. Ask God what grudges you are holding against neighbors or people in your life!
  2. Forgive them for that and have a new beginning.
  3. See how your relationship and the way you see that person will improve!

Hey our friend

We hope you had a great week. Last week we were teaching our students and a friend from our church here on how to love the neighborhood they are living in and to bring hope through the gospel. Pray that God will use the teaching to let it go deeper into their hearts so they start doing it.

Jen and I also had a wonderful week together as well. We started to study the bible specifically on the life of Jesus together to learn new things about him. It will be a wonderful time!

First of all thank you to all who support us in our work here! You are a huge blessing to us! May god bless you richly!

Here a request! Over the last few months we lost about $287 in monthly support through changes of circumstances in peoples lives. So at this point we need about $1560 more in monthly support to be fully funded. We want to ask for your help in sharing with people you know that have a heart for missions and would be interested in joining our support team. Of course if you are not a part of it you are welcome to join as well! When you click on this link you find out more how to do that. Thank you for all your help in this area.

Remember this week to forgive people that you hold a grudge against!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

P.s. We just wanted to share this beautiful song with you! Enjoy

https://youtu.be/xX15hq2VxdQ