Our Trip to Germany

One of the most recent blessing of acquiring Portuguese in Portugal was that we were able to attend the WELS European Reformation Retreat in Germany. While we enjoy the blessing of fellowship with the Lutheran Church of Portugal, we also appreciate studying God’s Word, worshiping, and having fun with other WELS members who likewise live a fair distance from “home.”

Over 50 members attended the retreat in Germany’s Black Forest. The retreat was attended by people who live in England, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, and also Portugal. Many of the families currently serve in the US Armed Forces, others are working for international companies, and others have a European spouse and have made Europe their home. Additionally, some attendees are Europeans who for a variety of different reasons have come to call WELS their church.

Pastor Josh Martin and his wife Katie did much of the organizing and preparation for the retreat. Pastor Martin serves the WELS members in most of Western Europe as if they are all part of one single European congregation, and these twice yearly retreats are the only opportunities for this congregation to worship together in one location. Normally, over the course of each month, Pastor Martin leads worship in three distant locations within Germany, and also once per month in England and in Switzerland. Many of the families of this “broad” congregation also contributed by bringing snacks and drinks, organizing musical accompaniment and choirs, and helping with Sunday School.

The retreat was refreshing and encouraging for us and our families in every respect. We met some old friends and made quite a few new friends. Worshipping in a “large” group IN ENGLISH is always an extra special experience when it only occurs occasionally. Our children also enjoyed Sunday School lessons, songs, and projects with kids their own age, who speak the same language. This is also a rare occasion for them.

We appreciate Pastor Martin and his family, as well as the ministry Pastor Martin has been called to, and we also appreciate the OWLS who right now are generously supporting the European Chaplaincy program.
Here are links to the European Chaplaincy website and the OWLS website if you are interested.

Both before and after the retreat we had the opportunity to visit some old friends we made while living in Malawi. We first traveled to Jena where we visited the Mothes family and Elise was able to reconnect with her first best friend. While in Jena we visited many sights, most importantly, the Wartburg Castle. It was very interesting to see where Luther worked and hid long ago.

We also visited our good friends the Schneiders, just south of Suttgart in Beiberach. It was great to see them again and for Audrey to reconnect with her first best friend. They girls seemed to pick up right where they left off a few years ago.

Although it has taken some time to adjust to life in Portugal, we realize that being able to travel to other parts of Europe affordably is a true blessing. This would not be possible if we were not living in Portugal. We have hopes and plans to visit a few other places before we head south to Mozambique. Until then, you all are welcome to come visit us and you would have a place to stay and eat for free. We love visitors and would put you up for as long as you were here.

God bless you all until the next blog update.