Looking Ahead to 2012!

Writing a Christmas letter this year seems to have slipped our minds. We hope that you have kept up to date with us throughout the year anyway by reading this blog, and checking in to our Facebook group "Pottengers in Germany." S0 maybe a Christmas letter would be a little redundant.

Instead of re-capping 2011, then, we'd like to share some of what we are looking forward to in 2012. Besides, I would just like the record to show that even a semi-traditionalist history nerd like me has the ability to look forward as well as back. :-)

On January 1, Gina and I will be speaking in the 10:45 a.m. service at Colorado Springs First Church of the Nazarene. We are thrilled to share more of our journey in the past two years with our home church, and we invite those of you in the area to be a part of that service.

EuNC will be hosting its annual Faculty Assembly on Jan. 25-26. Included in that weekend of activity will be meetings of the executive committee and board of trustees. Prayers for EuNC during this time will be much appreciated, as the college continues to move forward in its new phase of decentralized education. I will participate in the Faculty Assembly, and look forward to being reunited with a couple of former students who are now helping develop and operate EuNC learning centers in Italy and Albania.

The most frequent question we've received lately is "How long will you be in Europe?" We'd like to take a moment and share the little we know in answer to that question.


We originally signed on for one year of service and, as you know, ended up serving for a second year. That second year will end at the beginning of February 2012. However, we plan to stay where we are until the end of May. Some of you are aware that I am ready to pursue a Ph.D. in History, so that I may continue following God's call to serve overseas as an educator. I have begun applying to nine different doctoral programs in the U.S. and in the U.K. I anticipate hearing something from each of them sometime in March or April. This will help Gina and I know where we will go next, and give us time to get things together before leaving Büsingen at the end of May.

Besides, we've tried moving in the winter-time three times, and it's no fun! We'd rather wait for warmer weather anyway!

That's what we know, and even that - as we've learned - is pretty much up for grabs. We are preparing for any foreseeable eventuality, knowing how suddenly things can change. More than anything, we are simply trying to keep our focus and our trust where they belong. God has led us well in the past ... we would never have imagined spending two years in Europe as missionaries. He will be faithful (and probably mischievous enough) in leading us to some wild and unimaginable future. We don't believe that a follower of Christ need ever be bored with life, that's for sure! And whenever we find ourselves less than enthused about the old routine, the truth is that even apparent ordinariness holds something of the Extraordinary within if one has the eyes to see.

So, the answer to that most-often received question is, truthfully, "We don't know the details, but we have a plan (or three) currently in operation." In the meantime, we seek the Lord's direction and trust his guidance. It's not a bad way to live at all. In fact, we highly recommend it.

Losing A Friend

Gina and I lost a friend last Thursday. His name was Ernst, and he was an older man who ran a leather workshop a few doors down from the EuNC campus and Eurasia Regional Office.

Gina phoned me Thursday morning to tell me he was gone. Neither of us could believe it as he always seemed more or less in fine health.

We received information today confirming his death, and that he had been to see the doctor that week. The doctor ordered him to immediately go to the hospital, but Ernst (stubborn and independent to the end) refused to heed the doctor's advice. Instead, he went back to his shop, locked the door, and decided to lay down awhile. When he didn't come home, his lady-friend tried to get into the shop to see if he was there. When she couldn't get in, she called the police. They broke into the shop and discovered his body. He had died from kidney failure.

Gina and I were still in the process of getting to know Ernst, but here's the little we do know. He grew up near a U.S. military base in Germany, and learned English from the soldiers he met there. His American accent, laced with a slight East Coast flavor, was flawless. He lived in Büsingen for a long time before leaving for awhile, and recently returned within the past year and opened up his leather shop where Pastor Ludwig (our local church pastor) used to keep his office. Gina engaged him in conversation at one point, and told me what a sci-fi nerd Ernst was. Within days, I also walked down and began talking to him. If there was one thing about Ernst it was his ability to hold up his end of a conversation.

He was great fun to talk to about a wide range of subjects. He gave me a CD of a number of sci-fi books I could read on the computer, and we enjoyed sharing book and film recommendations. He had some very strange ideas about politics and religion, which he seemed to mix up together with a generous dose of occult prophecy and conspiracy theory. He was quite convinced about the evils of the Catholic Church, with which he tended to lump all streams of organized religion. He could talk on and on about such things, unless you found a way to politely change the subject.

Strange ideas aside, he really was very enjoyable to talk with. Sometimes, he might be too eager to talk for a long time if we were on our way somewhere under a time-crunch. For the most part, however, it was pleasant to stop by his shop for a few minutes and talk and laugh with him. Gina and I both tried to "test the waters" and engage him in spiritual topics, but these would usually degenerate into his conspiracy theories and memorized occult prophecies. We could talk about anything else in a rational way, but religion and politics were definitely subjects to avoid. He was so kind and friendly, but filled with distrust of the Church.

Despite his oddness, he was a recognizable part of the community. Many people from Büsingen, as well as Gina and I, would stop by his shop to talk. He was very friendly with everyone, always had something good to say, and appeared to be a popular figure among the locals. He repaired Gina's winter shoes free of charge, and was going to teach me how to do simple leather projects which I was planning to give away as Christmas presents.

It's not the first time someone in my sphere of influence has died before I could directly share the Gospel and invite them to make a decision. It's not the first time that I question whether or not I did my job as a Christian. His death brings questions to our minds: Did we do enough? Were there missed opportunities? Could we have been more deliberate about sharing Christ with him? Could he see Jesus in us at all, despite his distrust of the Church?

We can only trust in God's love and mercy, and His greater knowledge of Ernst's heart and life. We had no idea time was so short.

Christmas market

I shot some video of the Christmas market in Frankfurt so you could have a taste of the atmosphere.