Hello our friend

We are so blessed to have you in our life!! Friends are a true blessing from God. During our last week we started talking about another alpha course here in North Beach. We are praying about the timing. Please pray with us for Gods guidance. We are also moving into the summer season with more interns which is a big help. Through that we are able to help the boys and girls club in a deeper way which is a huge blessing. Last weekend we celebrated our 1 year anniversary and it was awesome. God brought us so much closer together over the last year. He is so faithful. We absolutely love it to be married.

Week 4 Encouragement

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” 1. Thessalonians 5:11

Over the last week we looked at different ways on how to make true friends and change the world. We talked about Prayer, how to look at ourselves and things we have to change and last week how to build friendships. This week we want to talk about encouragement. When you look at todays times and all the negativity we get presented with on a daily base you see more and more the need of encouragement. Many times I hear people that are telling others more about how they didn’t do good instead of telling them areas where they did really good. What about you start doing that with the new friends? Speak words that give life to them. As an example if someone has a beautiful garden compliment them on that. Or if you saw one of your new friends when they look sad, spend time to listen to them. Let God guide you in how to encourage people. Pray and ask for the best way to encourage one of your new friends. You might be the only person that ever speaks life in to them. True encouragement can help a person to become more of who they are. Practice Encouragement with some good friend, spouse etc. and start doing it daily. As more you practice as easier it becomes and as more it becomes something you do automatically.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Hey our friend

We hope you had a wonderful week. During the last week we visited one of our neighborhood friends in the hospital which was a wonderful time. He was so happy seeing us. Also another guy we work with gave his life to Jesus which is amazing. Praise God. Keep him in your prayers since he is in a growing season now. My (Markus) neck is also better but I have really bad allergies right now which give me a very strong cough and steal quite a lot of my sleep. Please pray for healing in that area. Next weekend Jen and I are celebrating our 1 year anniversary. Wow that year of marriage flew by so fast. We are so thankful for Gods faithfulness in our life and for giving us so much wonderful time with each other. We both love being married. It is amazing especially since we had a great foundation as best friends.

Build relationships and connect Week 3

During the last 2 weeks we talked about the importance of prayer and the importance of dealing with the stuff in our own life. Today we want to talk about how to build relationships. What is the best way to start a relationship with people? I don’t think there is one answer to that but instead there are many different ways, but one thing that is the same with each of them is to spend time with the people. So to start a relationship with the neighbors you need to spend time with them. You could as an example invite them over for a coffee. When you invite them over for the first time make it more of a casual and short thing so they can leave whenever they want to. We found out through doing ministry for years that it takes a bit of time to have someone over for a dinner but they are always open for a coffee. Also another good way to get connected is just to talk to them in the hallway, over the fence or however that looks like in your living situation. Another good way is to go grocery shopping together. Invite them to come with you grocery shopping that saves money for both of you but also gives you great conversation time on the car ride to the store. When we connect with people it’s really important to be real. Be genuinely interested  in their lives and who they are. Remember when Jesus talked about the second command; love your neighbor as you love yourself.  When we look at that we see that all our approaches need to come out of love.
These are just a few examples to connect. Use them to brainstorm to find the best way to connect for you.
Have a blessed week.
Markus and Jen

Hey our friend

We hope your last week was a good one. During the last week we had great meetings at the coffee shop as well as with the staff. I Markus ended up having some issues with my neck which got fixed by a chiropractor friend. It is such a blessing having people like that in our life. We were also able to talk more as a staff about how to move forward with the different ministries we are doing in North Beach. Please keep praying for Gods guidance for that.

Week 2 Make sure you have a solid foundation

Last week we were talking in our series “How to change the world and find true friends “about the fact that praying will open a door into their lives. This week we want to talk a about you. One thing I learned in my almost 10 years of ministry with YWAM is the importance of relationship with other believers and a church. I saw people that went home after a great time in missions and then almost lost their faith. Why? Because they didn’t have a place to get refilled by God. To be able to reach out to others you also need a place of refreshment and refilling. First of all you need your personal time with Jesus which can be anytime during your day. Read your bible, pray and just spend time in His presence. Make it a set time and make a habit out of it. That way it won’t be taken out of the schedule just because life gets busier. Second you need a small group from your church where you regularly go to. In a small group setting people can really help you personally to grow as well as help each other with challenges in life. Third have a church you are regularly going to. Jen and I have a church in the city were we are going to. Every time we go we feel refreshed and ready for a new week. We also were able to find wonderful friends there as well.

If you don’t have some of those things on a regular basis in your life make sure to find them. It will help you to move forward.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Hey our friend

Last week was one of those weeks were you just say at the end Thank you God for being so amazing. Jen and I were teaching our Mission Adventure students last week on the topic all in and all out. We talked about relationship with God and how important it is to share it with others. It was awesome to see how God used those times to challenge and encourage the students. On the last day we had them nail all the things on a cross that were holding them away from how god sees them and as well how he wants to use them, like fear, low self-esteem etc. God brought some new freedom to the students, which is amazing. And then God ministered to all the YWAM Staff as well. We had a team from Bethel in Redding here that prayed over each of the staff. Jen and I felt so encouraged and re strengthened. Our father always knows exactly what we need. We also saw one of the people we work with taking one more step towards Jesus which is amazing. Please keep us in your prayers in this week. Your prayers mean a lot to us. Thank you!!

Are you using the influence given to You

I think many times we are asking God for more influence and greater things. But the question should be, God am I using the influence you have given me to the fullest? God all placed us in places of influence. Let me give you an example. Every time I go to the downtown location of YWAM we walk through 5 different neighborhoods. Every time I walk through I start praying and asking God to fill those places with his presence and to touch people with his love. When I see a cop car I usually pray for safety over those officers and also pray for honesty. When we do ministry in the coffee shop we pray for God’s presence over the coffee shop, the same with all the other places we do ministry at. We also pray every morning for the people that live in our building and the neighbors around us. One of the giftings God gave me is encouragement, so I use it to encourage people all over the place. It can be on Facebook, busses, while walking to a place. I still feel that I’m just at the beginning and that there is so much more God has given me influence in. Bu it’s a start.  I want to encourage you to pray and use the influence God has given you for his Glory. Ask Him how to use the giftings he gave you on a daily base. It will change places and will bring more of Gods Kingdom to this earth.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen