Move Update

“Guten Tag” from Germany! It’s hard to believe that we have been in Germany for over a month already! We wanted to share an update with you all on how things went getting here, what we’re doing now, what comes next, and how you can be praying for us as we start this new chapter!

First and foremost, we want to thank each of you who helped us in so many ways leading up to this journey. 3 John is not an often read or preached from book of the Bible, but it’s where I find myself meditating today as I think about all of the people who have and continue to support us as we seek to serve others through biblical counseling here in Germany. Verses 6-8 say, “They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God, for they are traveling for the Lord…we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.” We have felt every bit of this verse as we’ve been blessed by loving friendships, support, and provision that truly testifies to the Lord’s goodness. In the time leading up to our flight, we were blessed with notes of encouragement, meals, gift cards, time away as a family to recharge, items lent to us so we could survive an empty house for a month, and (in the final days before we left) friends who painted walls, shampooed carpet, and loved our kids well. Above all this, we were covered in prayer! This is truly a picture of the body of Christ at work and we have quite a testimony to share because of it, so thank you!

THE MOVE

As many of you may have seen on our social media posts, a lot went into getting to Germany and there was room for a lot of things to go wrong, BUT GOD worked in every detail from COVID tests to flight connections and passing immigration! One sweet friend’s prayer before we left rings true in our heart: “may all of your anxieties show themselves false and may you rely on God as your help.”

FAMILY TIME

We were warmly welcomed by our friends from Syke and got to check out our new home. Our landlord (and neighbor) goes to our church and loves the Lord and has been such a blessing already! She even planted a garden for us so we have something to tend to this summer (something the girls were very much looking forward to!). After a much-needed break and lunch with our pastor’s family, we drove 2 hours to Dennis’ parents’ house. It was so good to see family. We hadn’t seen his parents in a year and half and the rest of his family in four years. What a blessing to be “coming home” while also leaving home. We have not only enjoyed time visiting his family but also just having some time to rest before our container arrived.

OUR NEW HOME

Our container was delivered June 4th to our home in Syke. Our new church family has rallied around us and set up people to help us move in and unpack as well as bringing meals the first few days. We praise God that our container arrived on time and our things were intact and didn’t sustain damage during the voyage here! We've been in our house a month now and it's probably taken that whole time to really get functioning. Having to figure where to shop, what to buy, and all that sort of every-day-kind-of-stuff has taken up quite a bit of time, but we are slowly finding a new rhythm.

CHURCH

Our church has been so welcoming and we're blessed that several families have already had us over for dinner and extended invitations to small group. The girls have been loving youth group and have been attending every week since we've been here. I'm praying that there will be sweet friendships that develop here...and praying for patience in the meantime.

SCHOOL

Another big step towards settling into a normal routine has been visiting the Christian school that the kids will attend this fall. Lorelei and Leyna are visiting the upper school this week and Callie will be visiting the lower school next week. It has been good to give them the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the school, meet their teachers, and get to know some kids they will be going to school with!

MINISTRY

Although our initial focus has been getting settled into our house and setting up life in Germany, we have also begun laying a foundation for ministry here. We were blessed to attend a weeklong training seminar with our missions agency, VDM, back in June. We loved hearing the stories of how others were called into ministry here in Germany and were able to get practical training on things that will help us assimilate to a new culture and have an effective ministry while here. Dennis has also begun the work of outlining work responsibilities and the beginnings of a plan for what the first year should look like in the details.

PRAYER REQUESTS

- For all of us to get fully settled in this summer (we need to get used to a lot of big and little things)

- For the girls to learn the language so they are prepared for school in the fall

- For opportunities to get to know people in our church and neighborhood

- For God to fill the gap in support so we can be fully funded

- For wisdom as we make connections with churches and pastors interested in soul care

SUPPORT/CONTACT

Lastly, those of you that we have an address for should have received a “Partner With Us” card from us in the mail last month. Please consider how you might partner with the Lord and us regarding this work in Germany. We’d love to set up a time to chat with you on the many ways to support this ministry. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Again, if the Lord isn’t going before us and establishing our home and this ministry, it is all in vain. Thank you all for your prayers and support and we look forward to connecting with you all soon!

MAILING ADRESS Steimker Str 29

28857 Syke

Germany

E-MAIL gruening@att.net

Much love,

The Gruenings!

Hanging Bridge Excursion

Barley Field

Half-timbered House

Kids' new school

Our new church

Training at VDM