Passionate Worship: Worship Seminar in Allerheiligen 22nd - 27th Aug

Passionate Worship with The Band of Followers...

When the seminar began on Friday evening, we were all asked to express our expectations for the coming 5 days. My expectation was to see the 4 participants having a taste of our spirituality as they share life with us, apart from learning about worship: skills and knowledge.

As we said good bye to them today after a time of reflection of their time here, we are so happy to see their joy and enthusiasm for life, after sharing their experiences in these last 6 days. The work of the Holy Spirit is evident in their lives as we hear their stories and their encounters with God and also with us as a community.


On our first evening together, we were interupted by Norbert, the house care-taker, saying that there is an emergency - the fuse box in the small house blew and there is danger of fire! The fire brigade came and there was a whole commotion on the third floor where the single ladies of the community live.

We continued with the seminar, not knowing the extent of the danger but everything was under control. It was later shared to us of its extreme danger and that they also realised that something very good must be happening in the seminar...


Day after day, we see them soaking in the truth about God and about us, His creation and see their faces shining! Kathryn, Anna Katharina, Gisela & Janina truly blessed us with their openness to what God wanted to do in their lives...


Together with Karol and Karolina, we shared various aspects on worship: the understanding as well as the skills in playing instruments - from guitar to keyboard to jamba to our most important instrument, our voices...


On Sunday, we enjoyed having fun together at Mummelsee, after having a barbecue with our community.



Our last evening together was a taste of "touching heaven" as we worshipped God together. The evening could have continued for hours... though we have to stop to continue the programme - sharing of what God has done in these few days. It was so amazing to hear of God's faithfulness and goodness to us all and to have witnessed healing while worshipping Him.


The seminar was about to be cancelled but we are grateful that we followed the whisper of God in our hearts to lift Him high, regardless of anything. This has indeed revived the passion in our hearts to call on people to the heart of God through this expression of worship.

More pictures and news on www.bandoffollowers.blogspot.com

JUMPFestival Maihingen 1st - 10th August

What an awesome experience to be among young people longing for more of God!!

We spent 10 days in Maihingen marvelled at the work of God among the young people of the Charismatic Renewal here in Germany. The yearly event that gathered more than 500 people from various Charismatic youth groups around the country has again shown God's faithfulness to us in our work in this country.

We arrived on Friday, 1st Aug, and helped with the various practical work that was necessary to make the whole event happen. I helped with the setting up of tents around the compound while Derek took the challenge to set up the stage with some others.

Derek was also taking pictures throughout the event apart from our many other tasks. Every evening, the photos of the day would be shown on the big screen to everyone.

Both Derek and I were also in the Pastoral Care team where we met every afternoon and made ourselves available for anyone who would like to have someone pray for them or just to have a chat on their experiences at the camp, counsel on their future decisions or their present struggles.

The Band of Followers was invited to lead the "Late Night Worship" again this year. Together with Karol & Karolina plus Ingo and Sven, we led the last hour of the programme which ended with the adoration of the blessed sacrament.

It was also nice to catch up with old friends and new friendships are built throughout the time there.

We are amazed at how the young people were moving into a deeper relationship with God as they shared of their experiences and also their longing for more of God. We are grateful to God for the opportunity to experience such an incredible time, seeing young people being very excited for God and talking about what He has done intheir lives!

Intensive English Course 14th - 30th July

For the past 2 weeks, Allerheiligen has been an English speaking valley...

We had a group of 22 people aged between 18 and 23 here in Allerheiligen who were attending an Intensive English course. Anna, Mark, Dagmar & Trish were directly involved in conducting the English lessons in the mornings while other activities were organised for the participants throughout the day.











All the English speakers in the community had 2 participants each for an hour of conversation everyday after lunch. We were given a list of various topics to talk about everyday.


Annika & Günter were with me while Derek had Tim & Dominik everyday.



They are a group of teenagers who are preparing themselves to go to Uganda for 9 months this November. They are participating in a programme organised by Caritas and will reach out to the Ugandans through various social work.







When the group arrived on Sunday, they hardly knew each other since they come from all over Germany. We were impressed by the serenity of the group. At their age, we would normally expect a lot of noise and less interest in learning but we were pleasantly suprised by their teachability and seriousness in learning the language and in integrating with one another.

After getting bored with talking about directions to get to their houses in our conversation times, I started asking them about their "personal directions"; their desires and dreams, highlights and struggles etc. I was so blessed by their openness and their trust as they poured out their hearts so willingly and enthusiastically. It was "rewarding" to see their eyes sparkle when the right question is being asked and when they start to discover or connect with something that they have never seen about themselves before.



Barbecue on Sunday: The girls getting some wisdom from Fr Karel... He was here for 2 weeks.

On the last 2 days, they were given the task to give a presentation on a particular topic for 10 minutes each. It was amazing to see their performance after hearing them struggle with the language when they first arrive and now seeing them so confident with the language.

Simon

Caroline

Everyone received a certificate of attendance on the last day.

Carolyn

Tim

We ended the course with a Talent Show on the last evening. They were indeed hilarious and talented!!







When I asked them on the last day, what was their highlight of their time here, all of them mentioned that the life of the community here has inspired them and has helped and encouraged them in speaking English confidently and that they felt accepted and welcomed into our homes (literally) in the last 2 weeks.

Yet another ordinary day: Good bye Attard Family

With the relocation of the Allerheiligen community which is to happen by Summer 2009, we have witnessed the 3rd farewell party and sending out, this week.

As the Attard family prepares to leave for Malta, we had a chance to celebrate who they are to us and bring along a symbol of ourselves as a remembrance of the Allerheiligen community whom they shared life with for the past 3 years

Grace presenting her symbol, who is also leaving for Rome in September to join the ICPE community there. We had her farewell party on Thursday.

Mike with an elaborate explanation of his symbol which can mean anything Stefan & Pia want it to mean...

Our symbol, a dried rose from our wedding bouquet, as a remembrance of them being witnesses at our wedding and for journeying with us as a couple throughout these years.

With Sacha & Elisa, who have impressed us with their lives, as children who grew up in the mission.

For ol' time's sake... the veterans of the mission - Mike, Patricia, Silvana, Stefan & Pia

Coaching

It has been a bit more than a year since I started thinking about getting trained in becoming a certified Life Coach. It is quite a new "profession" although its practice is not all that new. It is in some ways very similar to what we know as discipleship. A coach would listen, encourage, give feedback, sometimes challenge one's "client" to move towards the desired goal.

I have enrolled myself with the ICA (International Coaching Academy) since the beginning of July. All classes are done through the phone. My lecturers are only a phone call away, at a scheduled time. Thank God, it's relatively cheap to call the US from Germany. There are a lot of supportive materials on the web and students are encouraged to read through them before attending the "teleclass".

I have nearly finished the foundational course and hope to move towards the advance coaching course next month. It has been very exciting for me and I am so glad that I have this opportunity to do this.



This idea came as we started thinking seriously about what we would want to do when we are at home in Malaysia. We discovered that we have a strong desire to continue helping people discover the purpose and call of their lives. I can see that through this tool, I will be able to continue doing what I have been doing in the mission. Moreover, through coaching as a profession, the scope of people that I may be able to reach out to will broaden.

Life Coaching is still not very known in Malaysia compared to Executive or Business Coaching. Life coaching is for anyone who wish to move forward in life. It could be the desire to find a better job, start a different career, have more friends, have better relationships in families, have a better working environment, better communication with friends or work mate.

A life coach can also help someone to work through problems of feeling too timid, feeling over weight, being diorganised, overly stressed, overcoming addictions and the likes.

I am praying that God will open the door for us and give us the right connection to start. In the meantime, I am encouraged to do as much coaching as possible to practice my skills. So, if you are interested or know someone who would like to try out having a life coach, please let me know... Also, I'll be glad to help you out if you would like to know more about Life Coaching.

Going home...

There is a time and a season for everything under heaven... Ecclesiastes 3:1



The time has come when we are seriously thinking about our next steps. Since the announcement of the relocation of the Allerheiligen community in April, we have started to discern where God is calling us as a couple within the ICPE mission.

Our initial plan was to plunge into the German language and see the possibility of moving to a city where we would be able to reach out to more people in our everyday life. Very soon we realised our limitations and some realities that are unchangeable.

After meeting many wise people (spiritual directors, priests and counselors) especially during our recent trip to Malta, we have decided to take a break from the mission to further discern our vocation as a couple.

At this point, we will be taking a 1 year break, starting December this year which we are planning to spend in Malaysia.

We ask you to join us in praying that we will have more clarity during this time away from the mission.