A whole month or more has past since our last blog news update and a fairly full month at that. At the beginning of June Phyl and Len celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary and here's a picture to show how little or how much we've aged. For those who don't know us so well, I, Len, am in the back row and Phyl is sitting in the front in her red blouse (she'll probably dispute that it's red but you know who I mean). Also in the picture is Deb, next to Phyl, and her two children, Tom and Esther, and our two guests at the time, Ann and Joyce.
Len had a quick trip to UK by air in the middle of June, to do several things and not the least to see the spinal consultant who gave the injection I had in March. Because this had little or no effect he is suggesting an operation to widen the spot in the spinal canal which is causing the discomfort and pain in my legs and ankle. We'll keep you in touch with developments.
We have a pretty full summer season before us which is excellent and thankfully we now have help, for which we thank the Lord. In addition to a good number of families, couples and individuals coming to enjoy fellowship and the Black Forest, we have several specific groups. The largest is the Pitsea family week (ten days), with 27 coming out to us by Eurostar and TGV train across France. We also have 17 young ladies coming for a long Sportsreach weekend, Thursday to Tuesday when we have been able to arrange football matches for them against ladies teams in Schonau and Todtnau. Then a group from North Wales who will fill all our guest rooms for another 10 days. (A week last year wasn't long enough).
Looking a bit further ahead at the end of October, in the British school holiday week, we are recruiting youngsters, 12 - 15 year olds, to join us for five days of football training led by a Sportsreach team. This will include a Bible time each day and we are hoping we might be able to arrange a match at the end of their course against a German team of similar age.
Finally at the end of the year Marilyn Baker and Tracy Williamson are, God willing, leading a retreat over the New Year. (A brochure about this should be on our website to download very shortly.)
For our encouragement the India pastor who was with us for our reformation week rang, as he was waiting for his plane back to India, after several weeks in the UK, to say how much he had valued his time in Haus Barnabas and hoped very much to come back next year with others!
We seek to do all for God's glory and praise Him for His grace which, sustained by your prayers, is sufficient for all our needs as He promised.
We seek to do all for God's glory and praise Him for His grace which, sustained by your prayers, is sufficient for all our needs as He promised.
