inside #10 - October 2005

a lot of Progress

For three months now we have lived in Austin and have seen a lot of progress in all aspects of our ministry.
Out on the street we have authority. The last two years we have spent here evangelizing have really payed off. We are almost the only people who care about the runaway kids. They all know, love and respect us. They are even proud to be our friends.
More and more the street people come to us to seek help. Some share their problems which they cannot talk about to somebody else with us. They even call us to visit them in jail.
We started a discipleship training program with a young man who used to be homeless. He asked us to help him. Now we meet on a regular basis with him and talk about all the questions that he has and teach him the ways of the Lord. Another homeless man gave his life to Jesus. We have known him over a year. Now he has given his life to Jesus and wants to follow him. Almost every day he is with us in our home and is spending time with us. He says that we are his only friends in this town.
During the last few weeks we where able to establish a lot of wonderful relationships with other Christians, churches, ministries, charitable organizations and student grous. More and more Christian students visit us and are willing to learn how to take the gospel to the streets. Again and again people say, "Thank that you are here. We really appreciate your work a lot. We want to learn from you."

Where will we live after November 30th ?

We strongly believe that this is the right time to be here. Among the young homeless people that the Lord has put on our hearts, we experience and increasing openness for the gospel and the Lord is touching their hearts in amazing ways. To continue the wonderful work that the Lord has appointed us to do we have a critical need to find housing for the Team. We are six adults and three children.
The building in which we live in right now will be torn down after November 30, 2005. This old house, in which we were able to stay for free, has been a real blessing. However if you know of a house or a place that would be suitable for us please let us know - maybe there is something in your neighborhood.
Being here as missionaries from Europe we are not allowed to work. We believe the Lord will cover all our living expenses. Therefore we have to either look for a affordable place or for financial support. (Rent, deposits, fees etc.) We would be also able to live outside the city since we have cars. Ideally not more than 20-30 minutes away from downtown Austin. Our dream would be to stay on some property where the three families could live together. However we will be grateful for any kind of housing.
If you would like to become a partner of our ministry by joining our financial support team see http://www.hfan.org/support for detailed information.

Thomas - got saved

Thomas has been homeless for many years and has been in jail often. He often tellis us about how he was abused as a child and thrown out of his parents house when he was 18 years old. Thomas says that his past has messed up his whole life.
One day when he was talking about this again we had a very good conversation and we told him that by being forgiven he will be able to forgive. He gave his life to Jesus that night and asked for the forgiveness of his sins and later he forgave the people who hurt him. Later Thomas told us that while he was praying he felt like all the bitterness was taken away from him.
Since that night he has been following the Lord and is making progress every day. He wants to know God's will and purpose for his life and wants to do the right thing. To support him we spend as much time as possible with him. He really enjoys the times of worship and prayer that we have together.