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Days 8 & 9

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Saturday was our last day of VBS with the children, and our last opportunity to teach the teens. As with the end of any program, there was the excitement and anticipation of completing something we had been working on for so long, and the sadness that this meant our time with them was drawing to a close. Our fourth day of VBS covered the final stage of redemptive history: the New Creation! We taught the children that when they believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins, God gives them a new heart and a new nature that loves Him and serves Him. The day culminated with the Truth defeating the Lie once for all in our VBS skits, where the children learned that truth wins over lies every time. Following the VBS, we joined the adults in their main session to do a brief VBS presentation, sharing with them what their children had been learning all week. The children wore their superhero costumes—a mask, cape, and shield they had been decorating during craft time all week—and sang o...
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Days 6 & 7

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Since arriving at Felsengrund Conference Center, the days have been an absolute blur of activity. Days 6 & 7 we continued our VBS program with the elementary school students. On day 6 our focus with the children was the fall and the introduction of sin into the human race. Hannah Sears taught the students about the first sin of Adam and Eve, showing them that it all began with doubting God's word and truth. Throughout the morning we emphasized that only God's word is true and trustworthy. The following day, Kelly Salas taught the children about the next phase of history, redemption! He showed them from Scripture that Jesus died to redeem us from our sins and their consequences, that Jesus is the only hero we need. Through the games and skits we continued to emphasize this amazing gospel truth. While the VBS was going on, half of our team met with the teens and led discussions, continuing our theme of being Always Ready. We talked about being ready to be redeemed, and read...
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Days 4 & 5

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Tuesday afternoon—after 6 hours, 4 trains, and 3 stops—we finally arrived at the Felsengrund Conference Center for the BMW Missionary Conference! Needless to say, the team was excited to arrive, set up, and meet the children and teens we would be serving for the rest of the week.  After dinner we had our first opportunity to work with the children, providing childcare during the opening session of the conference. We had a blast teaching them games, eating candy, and getting to know them! Later that night our team stayed up playing games with the teens, building relationships and enjoying some awesome fellowship with them. Wednesday morning was the first day of our VBS program. We began the morning with a team devotional and time of prayer, where Kelly Salas pointed us to Romans 1:11-15 and challenged us to see our obligation to share the good news of Jesus Christ with these kids and to be "eager to preach the gospel."  There are only 6 children in the VBS program, ...
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Day 3

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This morning we said goodbye to the city of Munich and boarded a train headed to Salzburg, Austria. Salzburg is a Bavarian town famous for its pristine views, the home of Mozart, and, of course, being the setting of The Sound Music (apparently it's a pretty great movie). We spent the day exploring this old city and being introduced to the lifestyle and customs of the region. A grueling hike up the mountain in the center of the town brought us to Fortress Hohensalzburg, one of the largest Medieval castles in Europe. We learned that the castle was actually built and commissioned by the Catholic archbishop of the region who had assumed a despotic role over the area. It was sad to read about such an unhealthy overlap of church and state. One of the team reminded us all that "our kingdom is not of this world," and seeing such a beautiful fortress decaying under the pressure of time made us long for the day when Christ returns to recreate this world and make it perfect as it ...
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Days 1 & 2

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We're here! Our team touched down in Munich at around 10am local time Saturday, August 3rd. After a long, full day of travel we had one goal for our first day in Germany: stay awake! After dropping off our luggage at our hotel, we took the opportunity explore this historic city. We enjoyed an authentic Bavarian lunch and explored downtown Munich. The city is a rich blend of old and new, as modern stores and conveniences are integrated into old architecture lining cobblestone streets. It is full of beautiful cathedrals, a reminder of the influence Christianity has historically had here, yet simultaneously indicative of the spiritual darkness of the region—these old churches are architecturally and aesthetically rich but spiritually bankrupt. Sunday was another full day. We began with a group devotion and prayer, looking at Isaiah 40 and being reminded of how great and transcendent our God is, yet how immanent and intimate He is towards His people. It was good to be reminded that, ...
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