School of Missions 16th Sep 07 - 27th Jan 08

"Remain in Me as I am in you" John 15

For 4 and a half months, we have been busy taking care of 8 seeds... making sure they have enough water and good soil to grow on. We're glad to see beautiful shoots springing out, safe in the hands of the Father, at the end of this time.

Together with 5 others from the community, both of us had been living and journeying with 8 men and women who participated in the School of Missions. We also had the opportunity and privilege to work and minister with them during the outreach phase of the school. Aged between 18 and 39, these participants have been witnesses of God's love and power to us as we saw these precious lives being transformed and matured.

As I sat and listen to their testimonies over and over again, during their preparations as well as the time of the outreach, I am again reminded of God's presence and faithfulness in all of our lives. Indeed, He will never leave us or forget us. Each of them has gone through very dark and difficult moments in their lives and God has protected them, brought healing and new hope in their lives. Their faith and zeal for life have been an encouragement to us. It was a joy to be able to witness and live this with them during this time.

The Opening Mass

16th September 2007

The Band of Followers singing at the opening mass.

The community praying for the participants of the school

Derek teaching on Wholeness

23rd - 27th October 2007

A glimpse of our lecture hall: 8 participants and 6 staff from 6 different countries

"My family, my culture, have their influence on "Who I am" today... "

Birthday Celebrations

Honouring Men & Women Evening

30th November 2007

The extravagant welcome drink and speech by the men while the ladies sat in a row and enjoyed...

An honour to be honoured by my husband...

The ladies honoured all the men by baking a personalised cookie for each of them.

End of Lecture Phase. Yeah!!!!!

End of the lecture phase and a start of a new phase: outreach preparation. The team learned a few dances and mimes. Derek taught the musicians some songs while the rest of the participants memorised some German songs for the outreach in Germany and Austria.

Outreach to Kolbermoor Parish, near Munich

5th - 12th January 2008

We did an outreach at the Kolbermoor parish near Munich. We had the opportunity to share with the Alpha programme, the prayer groups around the area, 2 kindergartens, a school with programmes for children between 10 and 15 plus 2 evenings of parish mission for the parishioners in Kolbermoor.

We were pleasantly surprised by the openness of the kindergarten and school children when they were so receptive and open to our sharing and for us to pray with them individually.

Outreach to Austria

13th - 15th January 2008

In Austria, we had the opportunity to visit a youth group and 2 schools with children between 7- 13 years old. Again, we were amazed at their openness. I guess, this was really a very encouraging outreach. The openness and hunger of the people had really encouraged the participants of the SOM and ourselves in our missionary calling.

Last Days together...

Last Men's cell group

Last school outing - Ruins of the Schauenburg Castle in Oberkirch

Last group photo together, after the closing Mass

The seeds offered at the beginning of the school have new shoots growing. We were blessed by the testimonies and lives of the participants. Indeed, they have encouraged us so much in our journey. Such precious lives that we have had the opportunity to share with, these last 4 months. God showed his faithfulness through so many ways! Thanks to all who kept us in prayer during this time.

Weekend at Worriken, Belgium

A group of 15 university students living in Trier gathers frequently for bible study initiated by Ulli, a friend of ours. The unique aspect of this group is that they are a group of students from China who are studying in Germany for 3 - 4 years. We were invited for a weekend to be with them at their leisure weekend at Worriken Fun Park in Belgium.
Derek was able to communicate with them in Mandarin while I (Bea) spoke to them in German, since I don't speak Mandarin... It was a bit strange but it was also funny to realise that we can speak more about God in German than in Chinese!

We were very touched to see their genuine desire to know more about God. They might not have taken the plunge in fully accepting Christ as Lord but we are sure that they are on a good track, being led to that decision.

We enjoyed the weekend with them and came home feeling so grateful in the ways our parents have passed on their faith to us, as well as knowing that God can reach anyone in any way!

JUMP in Maihingen 29th July - 5th August

Familiar faces, great music, wonderful performances, radical teachings, hilarious presentations, active sports, anointed atmosphere... the list goes on. What a privilege to have been celebrating God in the midst of 500 young people from the Charismatic Renewal in Germany.

Bea: 10 years ago, I encountered for the 1st time the youth work of the Charismatic Renewal here in Germany, now called JCE. I'm glad to see those teenagers then, emerging to be leaders as well as teachers at the recent JUMP in Maihingen. The youth camp organised by the renewal is indeed a blessing to the country. It's great to see them on fire for God and having the desire to deepen their relationship with God. I'm amazed to see the passion of the young people in times of worship and prayer together. Apart from that, there is always a freshness in the celebration of God amongst the young people and it was a joy for me to be part of this! The Band of Followers led the "late night worship" every evening. We had a slot of 45 minutes to close the evening with a time of worship. The response from the young people was really incredible. Their enthusiasm in celebrating God through music and worship is indeed contagious! Many gathered at the front near the stage every evening, praising God even after a whole day of various events.

The band also ran a workshop on worship leading which was attended by about 30 people. Their passion and excitement for God and music had been an amazing witness of God's work in their lives and the groups that they come from.

It was simply a refreshing week, celebrating our lives as "Royal Identity", the theme of JUMP this year. We came home feeling very excited about what God is doing in this country through the young people!

PCS Allerheiligen 8th - 28th July 07

With 25 participants from various countries, we had the PCS running for the 7th time now in Allerheiligen. Both of us have been directly involved in working in this programme since its start in 2001. Apart from leading the small groups, we were also serving in the area of music and worship.

In many ways, it was again a privilege to see lives changed as wounds were touched and healing was experienced by those who came. As usual, we were definitely not left out in the many things that God was doing in that time.

In our free times, we had some opportunities to get to know the participants who soon became our friends. We watched sunsets together, while the camera freaks took pictures and took walks around Allerheiligen just to relax and enjoy God's creation...

New Horizons...FSJ

This June marked the end of our one year working together with FSJ Caritas Hildesheim (FSJ translated as voluntary social work). It was indeed an amazing experience working with young people outside the normal Christian circle which we are familiar with. We had various opportunities to introduce our faith and talk about life, in a way that connects with our journey with God.

These young people have taken one year off from their studies or jobs to have an experience of working in social circles as a volunteer, either as a bridge before deciding what to study or simply as an exposure.

As Caritas Hildesheim organises 5 weeks in the year for them to gather and talk about their experiences at their places of work, we were asked to help facilatate those meetings and help them discover their potentials where they can eventually move on in deciding what's next. In each team, there were 3 staff facilitating the group. Derek was working with a group of 16 men while Bea had a group of 25 women.

In 1 of the 5 weeks, they were given the opportunity to choose a particular theme for their seminar. Two of those theme seminars happened here in Allerheiligen, namely a seminar on Creative Communication and a seminar on International Kitchen. Bea was involved in organising the International Kitchen seminar which includes an International evening where the FSJ group was able to have a taste of both different cultures and different types of food. More than food & culture, I guess, they had a great experience of being around a community of faith and were very happy to have had the experience of living with us as a community for a week.

Since the School of Mission was happening here at that time, the participants of the school also made a big impact on the FSJ group as they shared their conversion stories on an evangelistic night that was organised especially for the school and the FSJ group.

Derek was with another seminar which organised a bike tour from Hildesheim to Cuxhafen in the North of Germany. It was in the little conversation that happened on the way that brought many questions to the young people and an opportunity to share about God and what He is doing is our lives.

We definitely saw this as a new horizon opening for us to share about our faith in a very different way from what we would normally do. This one year with the FSJ had enriched our experience and opened our eyes to see the needs of the young people in this nation. We made new friends, learned a bit about the social system in this country and began to understand a little bit more of the questions and the daily cries of their hearts.

News... in a new way!

Just discovering the various possibilities through the internet these days... Hopefully this would make it easier for us to keep you updated of our happenings...

The one year project of the Band of Followers is soon coming to an end. Since September 2006, there have been various events that the "band" has been involved in.

As Derek led the team of 7 people from various mission centres within the ICPE Mission, it has been another enriching experience as we saw many signs of God's confirmation in leading others into the worship of God.

Do visit the band's webpage on http://bandoffollowers.blogspot.com/ for more news on its happenings.