YouDecide.com

This week we are launching a new outreach on campus translated, 'YouDecide.com'. It's a website in German that has a bunch of articles about God and spiritual issues for students to read and make decisions about. The gospel is clearly presented after many of the articles, and there are ways for students to interact with people if they have questions, or get connected with a movement of believers if they want to learn more about having a personal relationship with Jesus.

We're distributing postcards with the website on them, putting up posters, and wearing t-shirts that say 'DuEntscheidist.com' in bold print. There is really very little chance that students will not at least see the website's link posted somewhere on campus--they really will be confronted with making a choice.

Please pray for us as we share this website with the German students-- it presents an absolute Truth, and that is very offensive to people who believe whatever someone wants to believe is ok and even right. Pray that students will check the site out, and that they'll be open to talk about the topics listed on it. Pray that God would move on this campus!

If you'd like to see some of the content from the site in English, a similar one for American students is located at: www.everystudent.com

friends auf deutch

This week has been really fun for me in the Mensas (cafeterias)... I've made a few German friends! One of our project students (Mike) and I have gotten to know two German students: Barbara and Tabea. They both are very sweet girls, and we've been able to talk about spiritual things with them.

Tabea is coming next Tuesday with us to the Campus für Christus weekly 'English Cafe', and we are planning to meet with Barbara next week, too! Please pray that they both would understand the concepts we are discussing with them about God. Tabea is pursuing her minor in Theology, so she understands a lot about church history already, but Barbara hasn't thought about spiritual things as much, she says.

God is amazing in how He chooses to work both on campus and in our American students, too. They all have been challenged a lot in taking steps outside their comfort zones, and have been learning a lot about relating to Germans and experiencing their culture. We've been experiencing the World Cup a lot more than we would in the States! It's very popular here, so it's a great way to talk to German students. This afternoon, I'll be joining a lot of the Americans to watch our own team play Ghana at the local Irish Pub. They make us sing our national anthem before the game...! (Funny, but a good time provided by the Irish!)

Thanks for your prayers and faithfulness! The Lord is amazing and sovereign!

my first odd experience sharing Christ here...

Today one of the students and I met a German movie star on campus and got to talk to him for a long time about God and Jesus. Weird, huh? Vince was on campus here filming a new movie (translated 'Cats and Dogs'), and had a little while to let us ask him q's about his beliefs and thoughts on a variety of topics.

He seemed surprisingly aware of religious thought and had actually thought about spiritual things before (which is uncommon here), but was sadly very messed-up in what he thought to be true. I had a copy of More Than a Carpenter onhand (in German), and he (hesitantly) accepted it as a gift. Please pray that he reads it!!! Many of Vince's areas of confusion would be cleared up if he understood the concepts McDowell presents in that book.

I truly think Kristin and I had a divine appointment in sharing with Vince today. He is leaving Freiburg tonight, and will be travelling around Europe filming after that... praise the Lord for our conversation and pray that He will use it for His glory in Vince's life!

finally here in germany alive!

Hello from Germany! Our team arrived Tuesday morning (6 am German-time), and have been adjusting to the time change ever since. I think we're just about there....

So far, we've spent two days on the University campus meeting German students in the Mensas (cafeterias). There are many international students here, too, so today I met a Japanese student studying here. That can be difficult since German is our only common language and I know so little of it!

I love working with the students we brought from the U.S. They're simply awesome! I live with two of the five girls, and have had a fun time trying to communicate with our landlady, Frau Vilmar.

It's been great learning about the German students and their culture so far, and I've had the opporunity to lead one of the teaching times about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Tomorrow we'll get to experience the blessing of attending church bilingually. Pray for us!

Please pray--

1. That we continue to honor and love each other as a team. (Again, this is a big part of our ministry... showing that Christians are loving because God is loving.)
2. That the language barrier would prove to be a blessing and a way we can trust God more and more.
3. That German students would be excited to talk to us about their beliefs about spirituality. So far, things are going well, but we want to be able to build deep friendships and point students to Christ!

Also, I have an address here!

Please send any mail to--

Katie Hammar

c/o Elisabeth Moe

Schoenauer Strasse 11

79115 Freiburg i. Br.

Germany

Thank you for your prayers and encouraging notes! You are a tremendous blessing to me and our team here!

leavin' on a jet plane...

I'm here in Chicago and have a few minutes to update the progress of our project before our next briefing, so here are a few details before we leave tomorrow for Germany!

Our team of 14 students, 8 staff and 4 children arrived yesterday to begin training that we will need on how to adjust to German culture, how to work best as a team serving in ministry, and to begin building relationships with each other. A big part of our ministry is showing the love and fellowship of Christ to students, so we want to focus on loving each other while we pursue loving the Lord.

We are sharing some of our training times with another Campus Crusade group that is going to another country for the summer, so it's been very fun getting to pray for them and get to know them as they head to a much more difficult culture (predominantly Muslim, and not very missionary-friendly) to share Christ with the people there.

Tomorrow morning we'll have our last training meeting, and then we fly out of Chicago in the afternoon. Please pray for our travel and for God to help us to adjust even before we land on German soil. Also pray for our relationships with each other, specifically that Satan would not be able to attack our fellowship (considering its importance in demonstrating the change Christ has on people's ability to love one another).

Thank you for your faithfulness!

Almost there!

This is my first post on a blog to update the fun and challenges of a summer doing ministry in Germany! I leave tomorrow morning for a two-day briefing in Chicago, and then off to Deutchland. These last 18 hours of preparation and packing are a little stressful (so much to get done in so little time!), but I'm very excited for tomorrow (meeting my staff team and the American students we'll be taking with us, as well as going through some training and teaching our students myself!).

Our summer has a few primary foci (or focuses?):

1. To train American students in how to share their faith, how to study the Bible, and to help them grow in their personal relationships with Jesus Christ
2. To partner with German Christians in the city of Freiburg in reaching the college students (and others) at the University there with the message of the gospel
   
3. To build deep cross-cultural relationships and help German students learn and practice their English-speaking skills through an "English Cafe" put on by Americans in Germany

Please join me in praying for these goals, as well as the obstacles we'll surely encounter with transitioning to the different culture, speaking the language, etc.! Our team consists of eight CCC staff, 14 American college students, and three staff children. I can only imagine the exciting summer God has planned for us!

I'll try to update this blog as often as I can at the local internet cafes (maybe with some pictures!). Please feel free to post comments here or email me throughout the summer!

~Katie