He's at work, even when you're not looking

Here it is the end of the first week of March and as I look out of my window at the brightly colored apartment buildings across the street, I see the buds on the big tree in the yard about to happen; the “schneeglöckchen” have already poked their little white flowers above the ground where the snow used to be; the sky is only partially obscured and it is beginning to snow again for the third time today! Ah yes, spring is just around the corner.

Since the first of February we have taken part in a couple of projects. The formal language training that began on February 1 is going very well. Our class has grown from 6 attenders to only 4 attenders. We didn’t have a really diverse group to begin with. There were 4 M’s and a lady from Estonia who lives in Basel, Switzerland. We were joined for a week or so by another M; sadly family issues caused her to drop the course. This week the Estonian lady found a job working nights in Basel and she, too had to drop out. Sadly, in a week’s time the class will be down to just 2 – almost a private lesson for those remaining.

Elena, our teacher, is excellent. She is more concerned that we learn the language than get all the way through the book. Every day is different and well worth looking forward to. We spend hours just talking with Elena, patiently tapping the desk when we don’t get the structure exactly right – the good news is that she is not rapping our knuckles when we put the verb in the wrong place! We seek out every opportunity to share our faith in class with Elena. Even though she is Russian, her German is almost without accent.

Please continue to Pray with us for and about The “other” project that we have been working on. This has been with our kids in Korea – the ones we have asked you to pray about. Almost every day as we have talked with them we have noted that they seemed to be a little more tired than the day before. Even through our SKYPE connection, we could feel the tension and stress of their situation mounting. Jimmy has finally gotten a date for the surgery to repair his “Your NFL career is over” knee injury and Mary was finally told by the folks in the OB department that it was imperative for her to slow down and cut back on her schedule. All of that to say that we have asked for and been approved to take a Leave of Absence to go Korea and help our kids get through the situation in which they find themselves. We spent the better part of a month praying about this. Thank you for joining with us.

We did not arrive at the decision lightly; neither did we take the request for the Leave of Absence lightly. Taking a leave of absence from the Company means that we will be able to go to Korea and help the kids out for a few months and then we will return to Germany. While we are in Korea and away from our assignment in Germany, the Company does not pay us and we don’t receive the Company’s benefits. In approving our leave of absence, the Company was both compassionate and very generous. God has provided for us to be the solution to our kid’s situation. We will fly to Korea on March 14with the intent of returning to Germany later in the summer. Our son-in-law will have surgery on April 15 and Mary is supposed to have the baby about the last week of April. We will remain in Korea long enough to make sure they are able to get back to some sort of normalcy – even though it will be a new “normal” with a third child and a rebuilt knee.

Please be sure to pray for the M’s. Scott and Jo Ellen and Len and Amber will continue at language school here. Pray specifically for them to be able to get out and use their new language as much as they are able to do. Pray that Dad will give them courage to speak up, even if they can only say a couple of words. Also there will be several moves in the next few months. Pray for David and Laura as they change jobs and move back to the States. Pray for Rick and Valarie as they are expecting an addition to their family soon. They are having a tough time in their location.

Be sure to check our Face Book: RayandPaula Milburn for updates and what is going on with us.

Blessings,

The sun is shining, even if you close your eyes!

In our last post I wrote about the number of sunny days we have had here in the Drilaendereck since December 1st. Well, we have not broken any records with the number of sunny days this last month: that is certain. Although today, as we were on an outing through the Algäu, the sun came shining through the high clouds just as we crossed into Freistadt Bayern and pretty much stayed that way all day!

We are continuing with some of the habits we picked during our “Barefoot Language Learning” even now that we have returned to formal language learning. We have continued to meet with a number of “language partners.” We have built relationships with several of them that will probably go on for years after we have moved on. A week or so ago, we met with our language partners for a walk in the woods. Tramping around the top of one of the hills between Lörrach and Weil am Rhein for a couple of hours was their idea of a short walk . . . I forgot that Hans likes to climb mountains for fun! It was a snowy day and walking in town would not have been nearly as much fun. We have also joined a home Bible study group that meets in our area. As we are learning the language, we felt that it was important for us to learn the language that believers use in church and church related settings. Our leaders are terrific! Even though they speak English all we speak is German – what a hoot to sing Fanny Crosby hymns in German. Usually we sing hymns that are only 400 years old. Several of our language partners are a part of “die Eiche” (the Oak) fellowship at church. They have invited us to join them on the third Thursday of the month for their monthly meeting. Since we meet the qualification for membership of being over 50 we accepted. Speaking of church, we have joined the Baptist Church here in Lörrach. We had an interview with the pastor who presented us to the church leadership as candidates. Jürgen was keen on the idea of our being members and then when we do need to move to our ministry location partnering with us in ministry to the Germans. On the Sunday we were accepted as members, we gave our testimonies before the congregation (in German) and had the opportunity to ask the church to partner with us in our “mission.”

As I said, we are back in formal language learning. We are going to a language school in Lörrach, so we walk to class everyday instead of riding the train. There are 6 of us in our class, 3 other M’s and a lady from Estonia. We are having a super time learning. We spend most of our time speaking German on a variety of subjects. We are improving our reading and our writing as well. Following the end of course test we will be on a level that should get us to our ministry setting sooner than we had originally thought.

God continues to bless us everyday . . . could it be that we are meeting Him first thing in the morning? Or could it be that He is God and that we’re not? Or could it be that He loves us more than we could ever dream or imagine? Or could it be that he has a plan and He allows us to participate with Him in spreading His message to the Nations?

Please continue toPray with us for and about our daughter, Mary and our son in law, Staff Sergeant Jimmy Hammond in KOREA. Jimmy saw the orthopedic surgeon earlier this month. He was told that he would need to have physical therapy at least twice a week to reduce the swelling in his knee and strengthen his thigh muscles before the surgeon would operate. He will see surgeon again in early March to discuss a surgery date and further course(s) of action for his healing and rehabilitation. Mary is still pregnant and will have a C-Section at about the end of April. In the mean time she has exhausted herself taking Jimmy to work; to the hospital for regular physical therapy appointments and other appointments in addition to doing all of the household stuff. Our grandkids cannot go into the hospital so even though Mary is taking them along whenever she has to transport Jimmy they are fast wearing out as well . . . Joshy was heard to say the other day, “Mamma, I don’t want to go there today, I just want to stay home.”

Please Pray with us for and about our other son in law, SSG E. B. M., he returned to the warzone following his R&R. If you follow the news, you have already seen what it is that he returned to. As soon as he returned, his living area was washed away in a flash flood. When he called home, he told our daughter that all that he had lost in the flood was 1 pair of socks. Praise God!

Eine Gute Rutsch

Eine gute Rutsch ins neues Jahr! (Happy New Year!)

The other night at church, the leader of our Second Sunday Service (in Englisch) waxed eloquently about life when it is cold and grey. Since his message, we have had 2, yes, count them TWO Sunny days here in the Drilaendereck. That is using the same scale that he used in his message . . . the sun was actually visible for a slow five count. He did enlighten us to the mere 5 sunny days since December 1st. That would mean that only a sixth of the time could have been considered as being sunny. The peculiar bit is that above the clouds, it is ALWAYS sunny!
Today we went to France with some friends from church. It was a minor shopping expedition to find out where to buy the best (and pretty cheap, too) cheese and baguette (it was still warm). They also wanted to show us where we could get diesel for our car for about 10 cents cheaper than in Germany. By the time we had gotten to Saint Louie the sunny day was getting somewhat less sunny. As we walked into what could best be described as a "SUPER WalMart on steroids" but without all of the usual WalMart-ness about it, I inserted my bank card into the automatic teller machine conveniently located at the front of the store. I have not seen the card since it disappeared into the slot on the front of the machine.
I spent about 15 minutes on my cell phone in Englisch and German trying to get someone to help me get my card back. I only made two mistakes. I asked, "Do you speak Englisch?" Ich habe gefragt, "Sprechen sie Deutsch?" But I now have 3 customer service numbers written down in my wallet. Going to the local branch of the bank whose name appeared on the automatic teller machine did provide a face to speak to in German, but not much help in retrieving my card.
C'est le vie! what else was there to do? We bought the baguette and cheeses and with only a short detour to see the pedestrain bridge between Germany and France, we returned to Germany. We dropped our friends off and headed straight to the local branch of our bank.
Apparently losing one's German bank card in an automatic teller machine in France is not all that unusual. Our local teller registered no surprise on her face at all when I told her of my adventures just across the Rhein River. She explained that the card would be returned to the Bank's main office and that in a couple of days I would hear from them to come down and once identified as the owner of the card be allowed to take it home with me once more.
So, what's all of this got to do with what is considered to be a sunny day in the Drilaendereck only about 17% of the time . . . not much really. It is with the 100% sunshiney days above the clouds that it really has to do. If we choose to live underneath the pall of the cold and grey then when our bank card gets stuck in the automatic teller machine, or we don't get the _______ (you fill in the blank), or somebody else's actions just get all over us and leave us in a mess then life is going to be cold and grey. On the other hand, living in the midst of God's grace and mercy and seeking to glorify Him results in the very best even when your bank card gets stuck in a French automatic machine!

Please Pray with us for and about our daughter, Mary and our son in law, Staff Sergeant Jimmy Hammond in KOREA. He did a REALLY good job of destroying his right knee playing basketball with his soldiers on new year's eve. He has had the doc in the Troop Medical clinic, an MRI technician and a physical therapist tell him that his dreams of a career in the NBA/NFL are over. He has not been seen by the orthopedic surgeon - yet. There will be at least 3 surgeries to fix him. Mary is pregnant and will have a C-Section at about the end of April. In the mean time she has to take Jimmy to work; to the hospital for regular physical therapy appointments and other appointments in addition to doing all of the household stuff. Our grandkids cannot go to the hospital so they are in need of someone to watch them everytime Mary takes Jimmy to the hospital in Seoul.

Please Pray with us and for us as we are about to go back to formal language training. We should be going to a sprachschule in the local area. The last two months have been a lot of fun practicing our language on a daily basis, but it is time to go back and hit the books.

Please Pray with us for and about our other son in law, SSG E. B. M., as he is coming home on R&R from a large country in SW Asia, even as I am writing this. His unit has been hit pretty hard over the course of the last six months and he is in need of a break.

Denn euch ist heute ein Retter geboren -

Today in Germany we are getting ready for Heiligabend. This evening there will be a lot of celebrating and gift giving and gift receiving in homes. Some people will go to church this evening, although, most will not. We are encouraged when we hear on the street or in the shops, even on the radio, people wishing each other “Ein gesegnetes Weihnachts und einen guten Rutsch in neues Jahr” (A blessed Christmas and happy new year) rather than the generic “happy holidays.”

For us, the entire year of 2009 was an exceedingly blessed year. We began 2009 with the missionary appointment process well underway. In February our candidate consultant called us to let us know that we had been approved for appointment. In March, we partook in God’s blessing of sending our daughter and two of our grandchildren to Korea to join our son-in-law in his posting there with the US Army. We flew to Taylors, South Carolina for a week of filling out more paperwork and more interviews and meetings that culminated in our appointment. God further blessed us to be able sort through 35 years of marriage organizing what to put in our overseas shipment, what we needed to give to our kids, sell or just plain give away. After our crate was packed, God blessed us with a month long trip to say our goodbyes to our kids in Washington and Korea and our parents in Oregon and California. God’s blessing shown all through the commissioning service at our home church in Copperas Cove, Texas. Three days before we were to leave for orientation in Virginia, a routine dental exam revealed the urgent need to replace a 2 unit bridge. God arranged to have us on our way, with the bridgework completed and seated in less than 2 weeks after the exam! God showered us with his blessings once again!! During our 8 weeks and 3 days of orientation, we were blessed daily by the ways God used the ministry of Elbert, the entire ILC staff and our fellow missionaries. God so completely orchestrated ALL of the details of getting us to Germany. God has blessed us with housing, transportation and all that we need to be here. Only a few days after we arrived, God blessed us with a ministry at our language school. Those groups of people that what we call churches in America are called “gemeinde” (community) here in Germany; God has blessed us to land in the midst of a community of believers here. God’s blessings are new every day. He has blessed us so much more than we could have ever dreamed or imagined. The greatest blessing of all, is “Denn euch ist heute ein Retter geboren, welcher ist Christus, der Herr, in der Stadt Davids.” (today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David)(Luk 2:11).

Of course in the story, there are shepherds that were blessed, first by the angel and then by getting to be the first folks to see Jesus. They were just regular folks like us who had received a blessing. They were compelled to go and tell the rest of the world what had happened in Bethlehem – they had been blessed to be a blessing!

Hopes for a white Christams melted this week when the temps went up to +3.5C

Pray with us:

That God will open our eyes every day to visualize those blessings that the world does not want us to see;

That God will use us who have been so blessed, to bless those who have never had a chance to hear God and receive His blessing;

That God would bless you, the reader, and then that you might become a blessing as were the shepherds who were compelled to tell the rest of the world what they had seen and heard;

That our friend, Lottie Moon, will receive a blessing poured out of the windows of heaven, that is full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and still running over!

This next week (Dec 28-31) as we go to Zurich, Switzerland for our annual year end retreat. We will be praying through and working on:

What makes our family unique?

The answer to this question should be two or three sentences that describe how our family is different from any other family in the world. If you don’t know what differentiates your family from others, you won’t have a basis for making decisions, and you’ll try to be all things to all people.

What is our top priority—rallying cry—right now?

Rallying Cry: The rallying cry is a single, agreed-upon top priority for your family over the next two to six months. Without a top priority, everything becomes important and you end up reacting to whatever issues seem urgent that day.

The 12th of Never has Arrived

The 12th of Never has ARRIVED! we finally got our internet up and it is working. I feel a little like one of those cell phone ads in the states with a background of 6 bars of connection!

We have not been idle since we got done with Goethe. As a matter of fact, we have entered a new phase of language learning - more practical than just going to school everyday. We are in essence doing what I used to do as a Chaplain - wandering around (with a purpose) and talking to people.
We spent last weekend visiting friends in our old hometown on our way to a team meeting in Munich. Practically from the time we arrived in Memmingen, we were practicing our language. We spent 5 hours catching up with our friend Renate - Even though she speaks English, our conversation was in German. We talked about old times, we talked about going to church, we talked about family, we talked about sad times and happy times. It was good to visit.
We connected with some other friends that were responsible for our becoming members of a little German congregation nearly 30 years ago. Marlies told Paula that it only took us about 15 minutes to cover 3 decades of being away . . . We went to church with Marlies and Petros and were truly blessed to have been there. After we ate lunch and chatted with them for an hour or so, we were off to Munich to meet with our team.
We got a good glimpse of what we will be about when we get there . . . for now, we will focus on our language learning and be content in whatever state we find ourselves in (be it confusion or Baden-Wurttemburg). We have more than enough to learn right here in Lorrach.

Please Pray with us about:

The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. It is that time of year again when we as Southern Baptists collectively (no pun intended) support M's serving overseas. We are deeply grateful for your gifts and for your support. We are all feeling the effects of the current financial situation, but in the case of many M's like us, we feel the pinch in being less able to do what you have sent us here to do. We have to wait for much needed new personnel on the field. Please pray for not just meeting our LMCO goals this year, but for a change of heart amongst our people to see the need of the Great Commission and respond accordingly.

Our Language and Culture Learning. Although related to the prayer request above, it is encumbant upon us to learn the language; even though funds for our language learning have been effected by the financial situation. We have embarked upon a practical phase of language learning during which we will not be in formal language school, but wandering about (with a purpose) talking to folks; using a "language partner" to help with the difficult bits. We are also mixing in a portion of our cultural learning. We are not for want of something to do.

Our Team in Munich. We visited with our team this past weekend and began being teammates. We have a great vision to see Munich won over for the Lord, churches planted and new leaders sought out and trained. There is a LOT of work to be done, and the workers are few (Sound familiar?). Please pray for the immediate focus for our teammates. Only one of our team families is in Munich right now.

We are looking forward to the Day later this month when we will celebrate the birthday of the King. The space beneath our tree will not be empty, but well not be buying a lot of other stuff just to fill it up. God has blessed us with more this past year than space allows me to tell. The most precious Gift of all He gives us new every morning, anyway!

Thanks.

WOW! We have completed our first 8 week INTENSIVE language course at Goethe Institute. We finished the day before Thanksgiving - you know that we were thankful. We were even more thankful for the number of opportunities that we had to share and build relationships. We shared almost everyday during our lunch break with several people from a large Middle Eastern country. We talked with them about what our relationship with the Father means to us. We talked about culture and somehow the love of God kept coming through. We had the opportunity, thanks to a news report, to share about Thanksgiving and how the turkey being "pardoned" at the White House was not a sacrifice of thankfulness as a part of a national day of thanksgiving. With the couple of days between language learning opportunities we have taken a short "mental health break" and done several small things to make our apartment a little more homey; things that have needed doing since about the time we started at Goethe. We are thankful as well for getting settled into our apartment in Lorrach. Thanksgiving has taken on a bit of a different twist this year for Paula and me. We are deeply thankful for not only the ministry that we now have, but for the organiztion that is making it possible. We are thankful for the "gemeinde" that we have joined as a place to worship; the bonus there is that we are stretched to learn our new language. We are thankful for the people that the Father has placed in our way as opportunities for ministry, and as our trainers, and as our mentors, and as our friends. We are thankful to be a part of the Master's plan. We are thankful for the "folks back home" who faithfully remember us in their prayers and we are thankful for the support they provide through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and Cooperative Program.

Please Pray for opportunities for us to continue to share the Father's love with our friends from Goethe Institute;

Please Pray for our next language learning experience, beginning in early December;

Please pray for and about the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering this year. As you pray, allow the Spirit to lead you in making missions a priority in you giving. We depend upon your generousity to be able to continue fulfilling the Master's plan as He has called us to do.

Ray and Paula

This is not a Lawyer joke . . .

Did you hear about the French lawyer who met the American missionary on the steps at the Goethe Institute in Germany? Today, during one of the breaks at Goethe, I spoke with Sabastian, a French lawyer in my class. As we chatted, he told me that on Nov 29, the 1^st Sunday in Advent, he and his wife were going to have their son baptized. Wow! talk about an open door to share!

I told him that I thought that it was good that he wanted to have his son baptized. This gave me an opportunity to share the Gospel with him, right there on the stairway between the ground floor and the first floor.

I explained that as Baptists, we do not baptize infants, but wait until we are old enough to choose for ourselves to be baptized. I explained that we do not sprinkle water on the one being baptized but that we are completely immersed in the water. I told Sabastian that baptism did not save us, but that it is symbolic of what we believe – Jesus died for our sins, was buried and on the third day rose again. We are buried with Him, by immersion in the water. Our coming up from being immersed is symbolic of being raised to new life in Christ.

Before we had to go back to class, I was able to explain to Sabastian that we must accept, by faith, that Jesus has died for our sin and that it is only by faith that we are saved. He was very interested in our discussion. When I spoke with him later, he confirmed that he was Catholic, but his wife was not. If I had to guess, I would say, she is like so many of the folks around us, without any religious faith at all.

On the other hand, did you hear about the three Saudi Arabian dentists . . . Paula and I continue to share ourselves with the Saudi Arabian couples. Of this group, three of them are, in fact, dentists. They have come to Germany to further their education and to study in their chosen specialty. What began as Paula sitting with one of the women in her class during the lunch break has blossomed into a regular “lunch bunch.” We all share our mid-day snacks and are learning about each other’s cultures. Spiritual matters are a regular topic of discussion in English, German, Arabic and sometimes a combination of all three. Two of the women are pregnant and this gives Paula, in particular, an opportunity to share with them from a mother’s perspective. All of the Saudi couples are about the same ages (or younger) than our kids. Parenting across cultural lines allows for us to share God’s insights as parents.

Please pray that I will have further opportunities to speak with Sabastian about the things that really matter . . .

Please pray that God will place questions in Sabastian’s mind regarding salvation for which he will need to find answers . . .

Please continue to pray for our lunch group from Saudi Arabia that we will influence their lives even as they return to KSA.