Dear praying friends,

We have finished our second full week on the road - taking a short break between churches to shoot up to see Niagra Falls. Beautiful! We had a wonderful time sharing at Valleyview Alliance Church last week and will be heading to Grove City this morning.

Wherever we go (including sitting at breakfast at the B&B we are staying at), people are really interested about the work we are doing in Berlin, but they cannot really understand why we are back in USA. Perhaps you are also wondering!

The "very simple" answer is that the USA and most European countries have an agreement about how long a company or organization can continue to pay their employee to work in a different country and pay into the employee's national retirement fund (Social Security for us.). After 5 years (with some possible extensions), the employer has to pay into the national retirement fund of the country the employee is living in, unless they return to their home country and work there for more than a year (366 days works!). As you can imagine, the very simple answer is not all that simple!

So - what does that mean? That means that Elissa and I are on a year of Home Assignment Ministry, where our ministry is to visit churches and meet with people. We are not on "furlough", we are working with a different assignment through with the Alliance. Because we have a small team in Berlin, we also carry responsibilities from Envision Berlin as we travel.

We love talking about what God is doing in Berlin and around the world through the C&MA, but we also miss being in Berlin! One of the joys of our travels so far has been the opportunity to reconnect with people who have served with us (whether for days or months) while we travel.

As we wrap up our time in NY and PA, please pray for:

1. Clarity as we speak. It has been great to report what God is doing and invite people to join him in His work. Pray that we share well.
2. Spiritual refreshment. Being out of rhythm as we adjust to schedules from churches can be challenging. Pray that we continue to find time for our own spiritual disciplines.
3. Desk/Office time. We have some work responsibilities (like financial bookkeeping, emails, and editing a booklet) that need some focused time.
4. Openness to the Spirit's leading. Last Sunday, we received a surprise invitation to have tea at the home of a new immigrant's home. Our time with his family on Sunday afternoon was not on our schedule but was on God's. Pray for this family as the father seeks Jesus.
5. Health! God has been good, and we have remained healthy on this trip. Thank you for praying.

Please also pray for the workers in Germany who are at a Teams Forum this week. Pray for our Envision team as they help with leading music during the worship times.

Thank you for your prayers!