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Love your neighbor Part 4 Small things change big things

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Love your neighbor Part 4Often we think big things make all the difference. The big gift, the big house, the big car, the big church etc. But in reality a lot of little ones make an even greater difference.

A few years ago we had a thanksgiving meal and invited a neighbor. He wasn’t able to make it so we send him off with some food to go and wrote him an encouraging card which we put in his mailbox. A day later he thanked us and we thought he talked about the food, but it was the card that he was so thankful for. Something so easy.

Another time a neighbor went through a hard time so I called and by that showed that we cared. The person was so encouraged and so thankful that we kept hearing that for a long time.

Once we hang up a sheet of paper at our door which said: Take what you need. On the bottom we had words like forgiveness, hope, joy, healing, inspiration which you could rip of and take home. We later found out that some of our neighbors took them and hang them up at their fridge to be inspired daily.

All of those examples are easy and small things, but they make a huge difference. To go further in a relationship, this is a great way to show that you care. What about if you start doing that with your neighbors? Think about how it can change your immediate neighbors and neighborhood! You can become a hope bringer to people that might be hopeless and a true friend.

How to start?

  1. Brainstorm and pray what little things you could do for your neighbors!
  2. When you figured it out, do them!! Faith without works is dead!

Hey our friend

Hopefully summer is still in full swing for you and we hope you have a chance for a few days off to enjoy it. Jen and I are on our way back from PA. We had a wonderful time which ended with speaking at a church in Lancaster about how to love your neighbor. We were also able to attend the wedding of Cousin Dave and his now wife Rebekah. What a wonderful day.

When we are back in San Francisco we have quite a few things going on. Please pray for a quick time to get over jetlag.

Thank you for all your Prayers.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

It is well with my soul

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it is well with my soulLast year when we were on our way to Germany to go to the funeral of my grandpa we had to go on a 6 hour drive to LA. On that drive we listened to worship music and the song it is well with my soul just kept coming back on. It really encouraged me and brought me hope during that time. When I looked into the story of the song I was amazed. It was written by a Chicago lawyer after he went through many tragedies. First he lost his son, then he lost most of his wealth in the big Chicago fire and then he sent his wife and daughters to Europe for a vacation on which trip the ship collided and all 4 of his daughters died. On his way over to meet with his grieving wife he wrote this song:

1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say:

Chorus:
It is well, it is well, with my soul. It is well, with my soul!
It is well, with my soul! It is well, it is well, with my soul!

2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded
my helpless estate, and hath shed His own blood for my soul.

3. My sin, o, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

4. For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live: if Jordan above me shall roll,
no pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

5. But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
the sky, not the grave, is our goal; O trump of the angel!
O voice of the Lord! Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

6. And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
the clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The trump shall resound,
and the Lord shall descend, even so, it is well with my soul.

His life was hit by one tragedy after the other, but in all of that he kept his focus on God. I’m sure he didn’t understand why things happened the way they happened, but he choose to keep believing that his Father in Heaven is good and does not want any bad for him. Ask yourself those questions:

  1. Do you truly believe that God is good even in times of challenge?
  2. If not, what do you think makes you believe it is not true?
  3. Spend time praying and ask God how you can see this truth again in your life!

Hey our friend

We hope you had a wonderful week. My brother and his wife left to go back to Germany. We had a wonderful time with them and look forward to see them again!! I was also meeting with a friend who uses the ministry concept to bring hope to his community. We also shared with one of my old students from Switzerland on how to impact his area with the ministry concept. God is starting to bring in more people who have a heart for their neighbors and community and want to use the concept there. Keep praying that all those starts will be fruitful.

Thank you for your Prayer and financial support. You are such a huge blessing to us. We are still in need of $1440 more monthly support to be fully funded. If you or someone you know would like to join our team in that way click on this link to see how!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Invest in your neighborhood Part 2 Strategy

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strategyWE hope you had some time to look at the different areas in your neighborhood in which help is needed. This week we want to write about on how to be strategic in moving forward in those areas.

  1. Time: This is a really important point to plan a successful strategy. Think about how much time you want to invest each week. Plan realistically and don’t forget the areas that already use time in your planning(Family time, Church, Hobbies, Rest). Also think about how long you would like the project to go 1 year, 5 years etc.
  2. What do you need? In order to have a good strategy you need to realistically asses the things you have and the things you need. As an example, if you start helping out at a project that already exists you don’t need a lot. Or if you start picking up trash in your neighborhood all you need is some gloves and a trash bag. But if you are tackling a bigger thing, you might need more people and resources. Also think about if you can work on this project together with your family. Ok start thinking about what you need!
  3. Come up with a plan! Now you are at a point in which you have planned for resources and time but you haven’t come up with a schedule. To move things forward it is always important to have a plan, since often things that are not planned moved back on the priority list and eventually are forgotten. Write in your calendar the times that you want to do the work. Write down what you plan to do in those times, as an example: Thursday April 30th 5-6pm Prayer time for the new project, 6-8pm Work on the project, pick up trash on Ellis street.
    As more detailed you plan, as more you can make a difference. But really important, planning should always come out of praying. It is really important to get Gods heart and His plan! We often saw how God gave us different strategies then we planned during times of Prayer.

And now it’s time to start! Have a wonderful time coming up with a strategic plan!

Hey our friend

We hope you had a wonderful week. We had an event with a local neighborhood association we are involved with. During the evening the new President was elected and different other board members for various roles. Jen is still part of the board in her role as the social event planner. Please pray that we can keep being a blessing in every part we are involved.

May God give you a strategic week! Remember that you are amazing and loved!!

Markus and Jen

Alfred Nobel’s (peace price) legacy

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Hey our friend

20141004_165423_Richtone(HDR)We hope you had a wonderful week. Here in San Francisco we are experiencing right now our summer months with temperatures up to 96F which is very unusual for here but we wont complain since we actually really enjoy it! About 6 months ago we started an encouragement group at Café Roma. It is amazing to see how each person that comes is encouraged when they leave. It is a very simple concept but it literally brings hope and courage to people. Start one in your area. Email us to learn more on how to do it.

Please keep praying with us in this season for North Beach San Francisco. Over the last few months we had many car break ins in our neighborhood as well as robberies and other violence. Most of that violence is located on Broadway which holds 8 strip clubs in a very small area, which draws many other problems. Pray for protection over the police while they are doing their job and pray for the people that go into the clubs as well as the women that work there. Pray for Gods peace and love to come to those places. Thank you for praying with us!

Alfred Nobel’s (peace price) legacy

20141004_165257A little while ago  I heard the story of Alfred Nobel, the founder of the nobel prize (see more of his story on Wikipedia). Nobel was the one that invented dynamite. Many years into his life his brother Ludvig died while being in Cannes. But the French newspapers thought Alfred died and wrote this as an obituary: “Le marchand de la mort est mort (“The merchant of death is dead”) Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.”

After Alfred read his own obituary he came to the realization that people would remember him of something he doesn’t want to be remembered for. So he created the Nobel Prize. In his will he left 94% of all his money towards those prices. The most famous one is the Nobel Peace price and that is also the thing Nobel is remembered for.

If a newspaper would write a obituary about you today what would they write about you? But more important what would you like them to write about you? But the most important what would God want them to write about you?

These are good questions to ask when we go on with our everyday life. Ask yourself and then write out a obituary for yourself with all the things you want to be remembered for as well the things God called you for. Read it every morning and live your day focused on that finish.

Remember!!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

http://youtu.be/JPOVwKPMG8o

P.s. Any fulltime ministry always comes with a cost. For Jen and me it is the cost of San Francisco. City ministry is expensive, but in the same way really needed since more and more people in the world live in cities. Consider joining our support team. We still have a way to go, but we are praying for that by January next year we are fully funded through committed monthly support. During this year we lost a few monthly supporters, so to reach that goal we need about $2852 more monthly. You can support us with any amount you like since no gift is too small or too big. Click here to find out more on how to do it! Thank you for considering us.

Invest your most precious gift, your time

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Hey our friend

20140902_101641_Richtone(HDR) 20140902_085513_Richtone(HDR) 20140901_095028_Richtone(HDR)We hope you had a wonderful week. Jen and I got really blessed with a trip to South Carolina. Last year a good friend from the neighborhood passed away and he told his son that he should do something special for us so his son flew us out to his home in South Carolina. It was an amazing time with also remembering this wonderful friend. Thank you friends for that wonderful time.

While we were gone everything else just kept moving forward. One of our Staff started to give Computer classes for seniors in a local neighborhood center. Through that we are able to connect with more people and also bring hope to some of the elderly by connecting them for some to their far away family by email.

Invest your most precious gift, your time

When Jesus talked about to love our neighbor in Mark 12.31 it was not just a good advice, not it was a command. So in a practical way that means: To love someone we have to invest in them. If you want to see an outcome in anything you are doing you need to invest into that area. If you think about your finances, if you put all your money in a box under your bed you will not have any gain. But if you invest it you hopefully will see a gain. The same is true for relationships. When you spend time with family or neighbors and invest in them as an example by encouragement, bringing them closer to Jesus, help them with garden work, just spending time with them, you show in a practical way that you care. You are showing them by your action that they are loved. Over the years I met many fathers, but I have to say the best ones where the ones that took time out of there busy life to spend it with their child. Sometimes it doesn’t even matter what you do in that time, just you showing up already makes the difference.

I want to challenge you this week to make your most precious gift available to further the Kingdom, your time. Pray this week and seek God on how and who you should invest in. I promise you none of that time will be wasted.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen