Switzerland – East
February 1
Praise the Lord for what He’s doing in the German-speaking world!
On the 29th of January, we had planned to go to Bregenz, Austria. However, the saints didn’t receive
permission to distribute Bibles there. Instead, we made a last-minute change of plans and got permission
to distribute in a city called Dornbirn, Austria instead. We came from Friedrichshafen, Germany, and met
up with saints from St. Gallen, Switzerland. In total, 8 Bibles were distributed in the first ever distribution in
Dornbirn, and three were open for more contact. We met a BfE recipient who already had received a
Recovery Version in Romanian, but she wanted one in German as well. After that, we went back to St.
Gallen for a small gathering with some new ones being shepherded by the family there. It was a very
sweet time. Even as the trainees were washing dishes and singing, the new family was so impressed that
they began to record us. Later a brother shared that what impresses people here is that our enjoyment of
the Lord is not religion. It is us really enjoying the divine life.
The next day (1/30), we went to ETH Zurich, one of the top universities in the world, and the school where
Albert Einstein studied. Even at such a top school, people are thirsty for the Lord. Two people we met
were open to having another appointment before we leave (Zurich is our last stop, so we were able to
plan ahead). K and S need a lot of prayer! Regensdorf is essentially a suburb of Zurich where a group of
saints live. We distributed there next and gave out five Bibles on 1/31. That night, we had a love feast
with 25+ saints and a few new ones from the area. The time was very sweet. The trainees all shared their
enjoyment from the gospel trip and the saints were very encouraged. This was the second meeting for
one newly met couple who are from Chicago, and are going back soon. They will need prayer that they
have a good connection with the saints back in the States.
Finally, today we drove to Bern to have the Lord’s table. Due to the situation with the turmoil in the late
80’s, there’s no Lord’s table in Zurich, so the 20-some saints in the area need to drive over 100 km to
Bern to have the Lord’s table. We were united with the Switzerland West team and blended with saints
from Geneva, Lausanne, Regensdorf, and Zurich. In total, there were 58 adults plus children. We all
really enjoyed that the way to build up the church is by shepherding. We are so glad to be able to
participate in the building up of the Lord’s testimony in Europe by going to shepherd the saints, and also
by being shepherded ourselves.
Prayer burdens:
K and S at ETH Zurich would have follow-up appointments either tomorrow or Tuesday before the
trainees leave Switzerland and also get connected with the local saints.
E and K would get connected to the saints in Chicago when they move back and would be added
to the church there.
The Lord would be able to recover the lampstand in Zurich, and that the Lord would gain what
He’s after in our last two days on the gospel.
