Update From Europe: 2016

Wrapping things up in Austria

After leaving New Jersey in January I headed back to the Castle (Schloss Heroldeck) in Austria to serve for a final two weeks and wrap things up before transitioning to England.  We hosted the Calvary Chapel European Pastor’s Conference the last week of January which was a wonderful, busy time.  My time at the Castle over the last year has been a blessing and it was hard saying goodbye, but good things lead to other good things as we follow the call of God upon our lives.

Transition to the United Kingdom and CC York/Bible College

As many of you know, I am in the unique situation of having dual citizenship (British and American).  This has been a blessing at a time when many missionaries are having a difficult time getting visas to stay in the country.  So with passport in hand, I arrived at Manchester airport in early February and got on a train to York, England for the next season of my walk with the Lord.  York is an ancient walled city in the north of England with history stretching back to the Romans and Vikings.  The church is just outside the city wall at Walmgate bar and actually runs a coffee shop (Gatehouse Coffee) on the wall itself.

God is doing a great work here at the Bible college and the church.  If there is a collective desire on campus and in the church it is for the well of God to “spring up” (Num. 21:17).  There is also a corresponding element of perceived spiritual warfare.  There are numerous outreaches into the community and beyond.  The other day we knocked on doors and talked to people in the neighborhood and invited them to some of the church events.  England is definitely more secular at this point in time than the United States, but people are still open and hungry.  In the end, we are called to be simple vessels of His love and “ministers of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18).  More often than not this happens in a supernaturally natural way as we are going about our business.  A few weeks ago a woman named Eunice from the city of Leeds knocked on my door representing the UK Cancer Charity (basically soliciting donations).  I had the chance to share a bit about the Lord with her.  Pray that she would come into a real relationship with the living God!

Concerning the Bible college, I am currently filling in for some of the teachers.  I taught a Galatians class this past Friday and am scheduled to teach several classes in the Gospel of Matthew in the next few weeks.  We have about 35 students this semester representing a handful of countries.  It is a blessing to be involved with this ministry.  In other news, I have applied for a national insurance number which is similar to a US social security number.  With this I will be able to work; I am prayerfully considering getting a part-time job in order to connect with the community.

Outreach Opportunity

People from the church in York have been praying for several years about a possible outreach Bible study in a particular community about an hour away.  It looks like this might be coming to fruition in the near future.  Please pray for that, particularly in regard to my potential involvement with a team that undertakes that ministry as the Lord wills.

Prayers are greatly appreciated.

God bless,

Paul

October/November and Thanksgiving

Bethel University

In October/November we hosted a group of students from Bethel University (Minnesota) who are spending a semester studying in Europe.  They were here for three weeks and brought a level of energy with them- it was a blessing to have them.

Thanksgiving

We had the blessed privilege of hosting a Thanksgiving retreat this past weekend for servicemen and women and their families from the U.S. Air Force base in Aviano, Italy and other missionary families from around Europe.  It was a wonderful time with lots of turkey.  In some ways I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday in that the focus is on the giving of thanks to God, on fellowship around the table, and yes, food, without the fast-paced commercialism of Christmas.  This was our last conference of the year at the Castle.  Things will resume with the European Pastor's Conference in January.  We've also been busy getting the buildings, vehicles, and grounds winterized.  No snow yet on the property but there is plenty of snow in the mountains.  Every season is beautiful here in its own way but the peaks are particularly beautiful when covered in snow.

CC Spittal

I have been leading worship regularly in German and English at Calvary Chapel Spittal.  I also had the opportunity to teach a few of the Wednesday evening services recently.

USA
I will be heading to the USA next week (December 7th) and will be there until mid January before heading back to Europe.  Hope to see you!

Snow in the Mountains

Yes, we've got snow...thankfully not at ground level at the Castle yet, but we woke up the other day to see the top of Mount Goldeck covered in snow.  The weather has cooled off after a very hot summer and the leaves are just beginning to turn.  We've been using the fireplaces to take the chill out of the Castle.  There's nothing as exhilarating as splitting firewood on a crisp autumn day.  We are beginning the Castle winterization process although we still have a few conferences to go before Christmas.

The Calvary Chapel missions conference was a wonderful week of fellowship as many folks pulled together to handle everything from meals to housekeeping to grounds to children's ministry (and many other things).  It's really the highlight of the year in terms of the Castle calendar.  We recently hosted a group of Japanese Christians from Horizon Chapel Tokyo.  They are traveling through Europe ministering to various Japanese congregations.  The pastor actually spoke at one of the early conferences at the Castle back in the late eighties.

CC Spittal

I had the opportunity to teach on a Sunday a few weeks back at CC Spittal.  I shared a message from Luke's Gospel chapter 1.  Still leading worship about twice a month which is a great blessing.  Some of you are no doubt aware of the current refugee crises in Europe.  We are tucked away a bit here off the beaten path in this corner of Austria so this region hasn't been directly affected by it.  That said, CC Spittal has decided to sponsor a family and they have moved in to a vacant apartment that the church owns.  Please pray that they will experience the love of Christ.

UK Visit

I will be taking a short vacation to The UK in mid October.  I will be spending about a week in York before heading south and flying out of London.  Also, I hope to be in the USA for Christmas.  As always, prayers are greatly appreciated.  May the Lord richly bless you!

God bless-

Paul

Summertime at the Castle

We have been running back to back conferences since early June so things have been quite busy (but good) here at the Castle.  It's neat to see how the Lord has brought together a team of people from a variety of backgrounds and places to serve the body of Christ at a Christian conference center in the Austrian alps.  We have hosted groups from Germany, Slovenia, Romania and other places.  This week we have a group from Calvary Chapel South London.  Next week we will be hosting the annual missions conference which focuses on the various Calvary Chapel ministries in Western Europe.  This is the biggest conference of the summer and probably the highlight of the year as over 300 missionaries will gather at the Castle to be refreshed and renewed in the Lord.  Please be praying for the speakers and attendees at this conference which runs from August 16-22.

A lot of the practical ministry (housekeeping, kitchen/dishes, grounds) is performed by Summer of Service students from the USA and various European countries.  I had the opportunity to take a group of these students on a day trip to Venice a few weeks ago which was a great blessing.  I will try to post some pictures soon.

Still actively involved in the worship ministry at Calvary Chapel Spittal.  I'm in the process of learning to sing German worship songs that I already know in English.  I will also be teaching on Sunday August 30 in Spittal so prayers are appreciated.  God bless until next time!

Spring Into Summer

My apologies for the delayed update.  It's been fairly busy here at the Castle since early spring with a steady flow of retreat groups and private guests passing through.  One of the biggest blessings is being able to pray with many different people.   I've been overseeing grounds and maintenance and with that has come the opportunity to work alongside of some great young people who are here to serve for the summer.  Here are some of the other highlights of what's been going on and what I've been doing:

City Chapel Klagenfurt

I was blessed with the opportunity to teach at City Chapel Klagenfurt this morning.  Klagenfurt is a city that is about an hour from the Castle with a population of about 90,000.  The church is an  international fellowship made up of Austrians and people from several other nations.  It was a wonderful time of fellowship with like-minded believers.  One of the beautiful things about the body of Christ is that we can have fellowship with people we've just met because we serve the same Lord.  John communicates this in a wonderful way in his first epistle:  "that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ" (1 Jn 1:3).  Praise God.

CC Spittal

I've also had the opportunity to rotate in on the worship schedule at Calvary Chapel Spittal.  Right now I am singing about half the songs in German and half in English.  YouTube videos and the Holy Spirit have been very helpful with the greater emphasis upon the latter.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had the privilege of hosting a group of soldiers and their families from the U.S. Army base at Grafenwohr, Germany over Memorial Day Weekend.  It was a special blessing for me because I had spent some time at the Grafenwohr base some years back while in the Army.  I had the opportunity to share a testimony and pray with some of the soldiers.  It was a nice way to spend Memorial Day weekend.

Budapest, Hungary

In early May I helped my friend and co-laborer Attila and his family move back to Budapest after serving at the Castle for five years.  I was able to spend the weekend and attend services at CC Budapest which was my home church in 2001-2002 while I was there teaching English.  Another great blessing to spend time with God's people in a great city.



So there you have it in a nutshell- It looks like the summer will be full and busy here so prayers are greatly appreciated.  May the Lord bless you-

Paul

Resurrection Sunday

Had a wonderful Easter service this morning at Calvary Chapel Spittal followed by a potluck lunch.  It's a wonderful thing to serve a risen Savior.  Some years back I was on an airplane returning to America after spending a year teaching English in Budapest.  I remember the tension and uncertainty that was in my heart as the plane began to make its initial descent into JFK/New York.  I was heading back to the fast paced American life and I didn't know where I was going to work, what car I was going to drive, or how the next chapter of life was going to unfold.  I remember praying and then opening my Bible to Matthew 28.  It's the passage where Mary Magdalene and the other Mary arrive at the tomb after the Sabbath to look for the body of Jesus.  Instead of finding Him, they are met by an angel who tells them to not be afraid  and that the Jesus whom they were seeking is risen.  The angel then tells them to quickly go tell His disciples that Jesus is "risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him" (Matt. 28:5-7).  As I was just sitting there in my seat at 30,000 feet in the airplane, the peace of Christ flooded my heart.  The Lord spoke three things to my heart through that passage:  First, that Jesus was alive; second, that He was going before me into my Galilee, and third, that I would seee Him there.  And that is how things worked out.  I got home and the resurrected Christ had indeed gone before me into my Galilee and I saw Him there.  He provided a car, a job, and a wonderful season of fresh ministry.  Those are three great things to remember today:  That Jesus is alive, that He goes before you into your Galilee, and that you will see Him there!  Praise God.

It's been a very busy month here at the Castle.  We've ben wrapping up a few construction projects in addition to sanding/refinishing the dining room floor and painting th dining room.  A group of Scottish youth from Scripture Union are arriving today for a week of skiing at the nearby Molltal Glacier.  Some of them are already here.  I've been blessed with the opportunity to lead our staff devotional time in the morning.  We just wrapped up a study in Ephesians and will probably head into the Gospel of John next.  Well, that's the update for now.  Thank you so much for your prayers!

Springtime in Austria

Well, here is proof that spring has arrived in Austria- just hope it doesn't snow on the beautiful flowers!  It's been relatively mild over here; lots of snow in late January/early February, but sunny and in the mid forties for the most part since then.

We had a Slovenian family here the other week on a ski retreat and they saw me carrying my guitar so one night they asked me to play some worship songs.  We gathered around the fireplace in one of the rooms at the castle and had a wonderful time singing before the Lord.  They asked me to play a lot of the old Maranatha songs- said they had learned them 20 years ago at the castle.  It was a great night of fellowship and worship!  I love it when the Lord does spontaneous things like that.

In other news, we've been working on several improvement projects and ongoing general maintenance (the castle is 102 years old) in preparation for the busy conference season.  I've had the opportunity to lead the staff devotional time in the morning which has been a great blessing.  We serve a wonderful God who is worthy of our worship and praise!  Thanks as always for your prayers.