We left Athens on Wednesday morning to fly to Germany. Flying into Leipzig and driving through Leipzig felt like we were
driving through Lancaster county.
(no, this isn't Three Mile Island)
We arrived in Zwickau around 2:30.
M met us to take us to “Lighthouse” or “House of Light,” the local
ministry here serving refugees.
Some sights along the drive to the center:
When we
arrived at the center, we met F. M, F,
and R make up the leadership team for this ministry. We sat together over tea and cookies to learn
about the work they are doing here.
The Lighthouse offers kids clubs, homework/tutoring, womens café time,
mother/child groups, and Bible studies.
They are also involved at the local refugee camp, teaching German three
times a week. Many of the families
represented are from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Russia. When refugees arrive in Germany, they get
assigned to a town to live. This process
could take up to 3 months. There are
1,000 refugees in Zwickau. This center
is close to two of the camps.
F and M lead a church plant of about 350 people. It is connected to the center, most who attend
are new believers. The name of the
church is “City Light.” Once a month,
the church partners with other churches in the area and 350-400 refugees come
together for one service.
F had always wanted to be a missionary to the Middle East. He had served at an orphanage for 4 months in
Romania. As a teen, he had Muslim
friends and always enjoyed talking to them.
When he returned to Germany after Romania, his pastor wanted him to
plant a church. He was planning to leave
the country but instead, the refugees arrived and he stayed. He loves to share about the freedom and peace
of God. It is so easy to reach out to
Muslims here—there is no fear.
We took a short walk around the community and F pointed out various
locations where many of the refugees live, as well as the other center they
have available for their monthly activities.
Then we took a trek up the 11 flights of stairs to see a view of the
city.
The team’s desire is to live here, develop relationships and grow the
church with refugees. Ultimately,
wanting to bring refugees and Germans together.
There is a need for short-term interns.
They need English tutors and other volunteers to help at the center.
It was encouraging to meet with this team today. F is a 24 year old young man who is
passionate about what he is doing and he is following God’s call on his
life. The work isn’t easy at all. But you could see the passion that he has for
the people there and his desire to bring them to Christ, through building
relationships.
We enjoyed a German meal tonight with the group at a local
restaurant. Lots of meat and potatoes…not
too different from Lancaster county, haha!
On Thursday, we will join the group again in the morning before going
back to Leipzig to catch a train to Hamburg.
Lots of planes, trains and automobiles on this trip…
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