News Update

Our first significant personal contact with continental Europe came in 1972 when two au-pair girls from Switzerland came into the small Baptist chapel in Surrey where Len was pastor. Both found a personal faith in the Lord Jesus during their 6 months with us and this aroused in us an interest and prayerful concern for German speaking Europe. It was more than 10 years before we, Len & Phyl and our two sons, moved out to Basel in September 1983 to begin a new phase in our life and ministry, but the seed of God's call had been first sown on that Sunday evening when the two Erikas had come into our home after the evening service in Horley.

This past weekend the two Erikas visited us again. This time in Haus Barnabas in Utzenfeld. Much water has flowed under the bridges of our lives during these intervening 38 years and of course we have kept in touch to some degree, but it was great this weekend to spend time together, to worship together and encourage each other afresh.

News Update

We are encouraged to have about eight folk from the village coming regularly to special events we arrange and several of these are keeping in contact between times by coming into the cafe. It was good to welcome most of these to our Carol evening yesterday together with a few others from Todtnau and Schönau. We valued also the participation of our son Geoff with Ruth and Barney, Tim & Beatice. The picture shows some of the Utzenfeld villagers during a more serious moment of the proceedings.

Our Christmas arrangements with guests has developed in unexpected ways. A British couple expected are sadly now unable to come because of serious ill health, but over the Christmas/New Year period we are now expecting two individuals and a family from Switzerland.

We have had severe low temperatures and fairly substantial snow and were awaken last night by water cascading through the ceiling of our upstairs corridor, and to some degree down to the ground floor below, through a frozen pipe bursting and defrosting! Our work will be cut out to get everything dry and ship-shape before the first guest arrives on Christmas eve! There are no dull moments in Haus Barnabas but it is good too to see our Lord's providential timing of our problems. As friend Spurgeon once said, God makes his grace available in an unlimited way but metes out the gall and vinegar in carefully prescribed amounts.

News Update

Snow has arrived here in the Black Forest. The attached photo was taken by one of our guests on the Feldberg last week. In the far distance is a clear view of the snow-capped Swiss Alps and on the Feldberg itself there was sufficient snow for skiing to have begun.
In Haus Barnabas we are engrossed in preparations for Christmas and also for the on-going work in 2010. We are planning for a Carol service in our lounge on Sunday evening which will be mainly in German but including well know English carols and are also busy printing our own Black Forest calendar which also includes information about the house particularly for those thinking of visiting next year. We are happy to send a copy of this to you without charge on request either by email to len.holder@haus-barnabas.com or by telephone in the UK to Rosemary Edwards on 01227 363857.
Len & Phyl plan to be in England again in January and all are invited to our 'Reunion' meeting at Stanmore Chapel, Marsh Lane, HA7 4HP on Saturday afternoon 23rd January, commencing at 14.30.