Witnessing history

As many of you know by now, I (Gina) was privileged to be able to travel to Bangladesh two weeks ago with the Eurasia Communications team to report on an event that has historical significance for our denomination. It was an AMAZING experience and one that it has been difficult to articulate because it was so overwhelming and there are so many things to describe.

I wanted to share a little with you about this trip in hopes that it will bring you closer to what God is doing in Bangladesh.

During my visit, I learned that Bangladesh is a very special place in our church. It is one of the only places in the world where our church was first opened not by foreign missionaries but by talented, passionate and committed people from inside that country.

A Bible study group that was meeting in the capital city in the early 1990s had written a letter to the office here in Switzerland. The letter asked if our church would be willing to come to their country. To make a long story short, leaders from this office met them and decided they were the perfect people to start the church in this new land, and that they didn't need any missionaries to help them.

It was a risk for our denomination, as it had never been done before to have brand new Nazarenes open the church in a country. What if they didn't really understand the DNA of our church or how and why we do things? What if they weren't loyal to our theological beliefs?

Fast forward 17 years. Bangladesh is now a district that is self-supporting. They have organized more than 1,000 churches (the average district size for our denomination is 57 churches). Last year, 36 students from the country graduated from a seminary program through South Asia Nazarene Bible College. Two weeks ago, 194 were set to graduate. These same people were going to be ordained the next day -- the largest number of people to be ordained as elders in our denomination in our 100-year history.

On top of that, 30 of these graduates and new elders were women. This is also the largest number of women to be ordained at one time in our 100-year history.

My job during these events was to photograph the services and ceremonies, to interview people and to come back with a series of articles and interviews about this moment in our church.

I have never been east of Austria. I have never seen what we call a "third world country" or a developing nation with my own eyes. I've seen lots of pictures and heard stories from many others who have visited places like this. But to get off the plane and to experience with all five senses what really is a whole different world from my own was an amazing experience.

I was bombarded by 95-degree heat and 150% humidity. There was so much moisture in the air that it looked foggy. The trees were heavy with big green papaya fruits, coconuts and bananas. The city streets were a chaotic mass of bicycles, rickshaws (exotically colorful bicycle-driven carts that people rent like taxis), small green autorickshaws (the SmartCar of South Asia), dump trucks, buses, sedans and vans -- all driving in any open spot they could find on the road and honking incessantly. It was so overwhelming it took me a while to realize that people drive on the left side of the road.

Not in Kansas anymore.

I was able to spend some time touring the Nazarene District Center in a growing urban area on the edge of Dhaka, and to meet some amazing young men and women who are leading compassionate ministries throughout the district. They travel to visit child development centers and collect reports on the children who are receiving free meals and education at these centers. In many of these centers, parents are also given vocational training or microlending projects such as fish or shrimp farms. Sometimes they are taught better agricultural techniques. All of this gradually improves the economics of a village or area, and the people see the love of Christ exhibited as the church reaches out without condition or strings attached.

Among the young people coordinating this work is a young woman named Tina, who said she grew up in the capital. People told her that, as a city girl, she wouldn't be able to do the hard work of visiting rural villages where there's no electricity or running water. But she told me that she loves working with the people, and this love continually drives her to travel and meet with the villages to learn their needs and bring important services to them.

After a few days rest and getting ready in Dhaka, our group began the long drive north to where the big event was going to take place.

I'll tell you about the next couple days in a subsequent post so it doesn't get too long.

An Unexpected Trip Home

Andrew’s grandfather passed away on Monday after being very sick for about a week or more. Andrew was fortunate to have been able to visit and spend time with him just days before we came to Busingen. Andrew's mom and aunt and uncle were also able to spend time with Lynn as his health deteriorated and he slipped away. Lynn was a friend of God; we know he is now with his Lord.

Having been here no more than 6 weeks, the loss came while we were a great distance from our support network at home, and still in the process of building one here.

Yet, through this time we have seen how the family of Jesus Christ ministers to one of its members, even one they do not yet know well. The entire EuNC campus and staff of the Eurasia Regional Office have reached out to us with genuine concern, with many prayers, and with repeated inquiries as to how our family is doing and if Andrew is OK. We’ve received numerous offers to help us in any way we need, including the offer of financial assistance.

We feel very loved and supported. This is what it is like to be part of this special family of international Nazarenes, both here in Busingen and around the world. It’s overwhelming and fills us with gratitude.

Parades, publishing and ping pong

It has been an interesting first month back in Buesingen, Germany.

This region of Switzerland and Germany has seen an unusual amount of snow this winter, which has continued since we arrived. Early on, it snowed without stopping for nearly five days. Last week we finally had several straight days of sunshine and warming weather. Today, it began snowing again and this morning it was nearly white-out conditions as Andrew and I tried to drive to a nearby village for a few of those famous European pastries and some coffee.

We also got a taste of an annual regional celebration called "Fasnacht", similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans or Carnivale in Venice. In this area, the celebration prior to Lent also doubles as a way to "scare" away the spirits of winter so that spring can come. Thousands of people filled the streets of this tiny village a few weekends ago for a two-hour parade. Hundreds of people from nearby towns dressed up in elaborate costumes made of hand-carved masks and hand-sewed outfits, some of which included real animal furs, and marched through the town. Confetti fights between marchers and observers left a blanket of confetti on the streets so thick it could have been snow. Floats were pulled by tractors and there was much mischief, as marchers "kidnapped" people from the crowd and made them march, or played pranks on them. Carts were set up selling hot bratwurst, pretzels, desserts and drinks. To see more photos of these events, check out our photo site, ginapottenger.shutterfly.com.

Fun and weather aside, now that Andrew and I have been here just over a month, we have gotten more settled into our new roles and responsibilities. It is even more clear now that we are here what a perfect fit our new jobs are for us.

Andrew has been learning his role in operating the library. In addition to managing the day-to-day tasks, he is conducting an audit of the collection. In a few weeks he'll begin teaching Introduction to New Testament, which fits his long-time passion for and dream of teaching. This coming Wednesday he's been asked to speak in chapel. The topic on the calendar is "Coming out of the Desert." We both know that this is something he will be able to speak to effectively from personal experience.

He also enjoys spending time getting to know the students during the campus-wide daily coffee break in the dining hall.

In addition to my existing full-time job of managing www.engagemagazine.com, I am doing my best to continue the region's monthly newsletter, Where Worlds Meet. My predecessors departed in December and there was no one to continue the newsletter until we arrived. We got our first one out March 1. If you're interested in receiving it, you can sign up at the new location of the region's Web site, www.eurasiaregion.org.

Dennis, our new regional communication coordinator, had the great idea to add a weekly news release. We began sending "Eurasia Snapshots" every Monday. As I spend learn the various sources of information on the region and build my network, I am seeing how many amazing stories of God's grace and work in the region are out there waiting to be told.



Around our responsibilities we are fitting in time for fun. The students have a campus activity every Friday evening. Last night it was a ping pong tournament. They put a lot of effort and creativity into these activities. I partnered with Megan, a student from our home church in Colorado Springs who is spending a month in the exchange program here. Andrew partnered with another student named Gideon. We had a great time not only exercising long-dormant ping-pong skills, but chatting with students between our rounds. I was especially excited to meet and talk to a student from Spain who said she loves to write and would like to learn more about how to use writing for ministry. I hope we can connect more soon about our mutual love for writing.

I will be traveling to another part of the region to photograph and write about an event in a few weeks. I would appreciate prayers for safe travels during the long flights and an 8-hour bus ride through a less developed area, for strength and physical health and endurance, and for alertness and skill as I do my best to interview pastors and leaders, capture stories, and photograph an important event in a room that I'm told will be challenging for photography.

One of the best things about our time in Buesingen is seeing how much God is doing in our lives individually and as a couple. I have seen my faith and trust grow so much, as I give God each of my fears, worries and unanswered questions, stepping out on faith that He will make a way.

And He has, just like He always does.

First Two Weeks

If you've been following our posts on our Facebook group, "Pottengers in Germany," you know that we arrived safely on the morning of Feb. 2nd, and have had a great first week.

First of all, thank you to all of those who have continued to encourage and support us in a variety of ways. Moving was a difficult, stressful experience, but we are so grateful that we had friends to help us transport furniture and boxes, as well as providing a basement to store our things. Our families are taking care of sending us anything we were not able to take on the plane, looking after Sophie (our cat), and handling various other responsibilities that we cannot deal with as well from here. Also, we enjoyed seeing a significant number of you at Panera in Colorado Springs shortly before we left. Finally, quite a number of you have believed in what God is doing in this part of the world through the ministry of the Eurasia Region and European Nazarene College (EuNC). We are so grateful for your generous and sacrificial giving that goes to fund God's work here!

We wanted to briefly update you on our first week in Busingen.

1. Gina got to work immediately, continuing to write for "Engage" magazine (see the link on the lower right corner of this page). She has also been working hard on press releases and the newsletter, "Where Worlds Meet," which is an important publication for the entire Eurasia region. She has done very well so far keeping up with a difficult schedule and juggling different responsibilities.

2. I started in the library this past Monday afternoon. The current temporary librarian, Debra Schrock, has been working for a number of weeks in order to get the library back into order. The former librarian, Jillian Kerr, left a couple of years ago after serving EuNC for 14 years and there has not been a regular on-site librarian since then. Debra has done an amazing job of restoring EuNC's library, and is doing great at showing me the ropes. I did not realize until we arrived that I would be running the library single-handedly, which not only includes circulation duties (which I handled at the NTS library) but also ordering, processing, and accounting - duties which I have not done before. Debra and her husband, Alan (who handles educational technology for EuNC), have put a system in place which allows future library workers (including myself) to more easily learn what needs to be done and how to do it. I am extremely grateful for all their work! Alan and Debra will leave at the end of next week for the States, and I will assume full responsibility for the library at that point. You can see how urgent the need has been in this area of EuNC's ministry! I am grateful for my previous library experience which allows me greater ease in learning how to do the job well.

3. I have heard a great deal about how welcoming and hospitable EuNC is, but I had the chance to experience it firsthand these last couple weeks. We have been well taken care of by all the staff, and have truly enjoyed meeting other faculty and administration. The staff of the Eurasia regional office has also been very welcoming and helped us to feel right at home in our first few days here. We were invited to dinner a number of times, taken out shopping, and offered the use of a car to drive.

4. The students at EuNC are a very special group of young people. They take their Christian commitment very seriously, and each of them looks forward to service through the Church of the Nazarene. They have been particularly welcoming to Gina and I, as we have gotten to know them through daily coffee breaks at 10 a.m. and regular lunches in the dining hall. We have participated in a couple of student-led activities such as a Lent discussion group and a costume party. Yesterday, I was invited to join several of them for soccer. Despite getting winded rather quickly and the soreness I feel all over today, I had a great time with them and appreciated their desire to involve me in their activities. Please continue to keep these students in your prayers, that God will continue to make His direction for their lives known to them and for their continued efforts in classes. In just short of two weeks, each student already has a very special place in my heart.

Also, continue to pray for Gina and I as we get settled into our jobs. Pray for Gina's ability to effectively juggle multiple responsibilities and for my preparations to teach the Intro to New Testament course. That course will run March 25 - April 21, with a one-week break between April 1-7 for Easter.

Thank you once more for all your belief in God's work through the Church of the Nazarene in Europe!

Germany Needs YOU

As you can imagine, things are getting even more busy around our place! But I wanted to post at least one more time, and offer some reflections on the process so far.

The most important thing I've learned so far - between the time we were offered the assignment to this moment as our house is filled with boxes, and we are experiencing the uprootedness that comes with any kind of relocation - is that we are not alone. What I mean by that is that this is not "our" ministry, by any stretch of the imagination. We are simply two people deeply excited at having the opportunity to be part of GOD's ministry.

And it is not only we who are joining Him in His work; we are simply the two pairs of hands and feet who are going to be on the ground in Germany and Switzerland. Mission is not simply the call of a few who decide to leave their home country and serve God in some other world area. Mission is the purpose of the Church, our very reason for existence as the people of God. This means that you, not simply those who do leave home for another place, are challenged to become part of what God is doing all over the world - including right where you are.

So, we want to continue extending to you the opportunity to participate in what God is doing on the Eurasia region through the Church of the Nazarene. Specifically, we challenge you to prayerfully consider becoming a financial partner, making our continued efforts possible as you give sacrificially one time or on a regular basis. Because of the difficulty of our times, your giving is particularly important to the continuing work of the Church of the Nazarene all over the world.

For your convenience, online donations to ministry in Germany through us may be made HERE.

I mean it from the bottom of my heart when I say that you may be the most important participant, even though it is only Gina and I who are relocating, writing the Eurasia newsletter, helping run the library and communication center, and teaching the New Testament course. Your prayers and your generous financial giving continue to make it possible; your encouragement and support are some of the means God is using to confirm His call. We look forward to reporting regularly on this blog and on our Facebook group, Pottengers in Germany, on what is taking place there because of your involvement.

We appreciate each one of you, our friends and family, for all you have done and are doing. Nobody has a small role to play, each of you are vitally important to the success of what we're becoming a part of this next year.

Ministry in Germany

As we pack, prepare and pray for our upcoming year-long journey as Mission Corps missionaries in Switzerland, I have been thinking a lot about the first time I volunteered there.

In June 2002, I went for a six-month stint as a short-term assistant to the communication coordinator at the Eurasia Regional Office -- the same place I will be serving starting in February. Then, as now, I lived on the campus of European Nazarene College (EuNC), next door to the regional office. In that place I was privileged to get acquainted with many of the students at EuNC who hailed from all over Europe and even other continents. It has been a pleasure in the 7 years since then to follow some of these students' ministries from a distance. I have been greatly impressed with the passion, commitment and innovation they are infusing into the Church of the Nazarene in the Eurasia Region.

One of them is Philip Zimmerman. He is now leading a creative ministry in the town of Mainz, Germany, called KiA Mainz. KiA stands for "Kirche in Aktion" (Church in Action.) This group of believers has purchased an old hotel and a number of them live in the hotel, inviting people from the neighborhood who need a place to stay to live among them. Some who accept this invitation are Christians, others are not. But the entire group has embraced a type of ministry focused on living out Christ's love in community, sharing everything in common--perhaps in a similar way to the very early church 2,000 years ago.

As a community these folks conduct projects of love and outreach to Mainz, including baking treats for city workers, sharing hot meals with neighbors, making first-day-of-school gifts for children of refugees, tutoring local school children, making regular visits to a nursing home, and gathering for Bible studies, discipleship and worship services. They are truly being the hands and feet of Christ through incarnational ministry in a country where many are growing up without even basic knowledge of who Jesus Christ is.

If you're interested in learning more about this ministry, visit the Web site kiamainz.de (it's in German) or check out this article in English: http://www.naznef.org/news/newsstory.asp?newsID=89. You can also read some of Philip's reflections in a recent essay on Engage magazine: http://engagemagazine.com/Magazine-Content/Stories/December-2009/The-power-of-presence.aspx

Stay tuned to our blog to hear more exciting stories about current and former students who are up to great things in Europe. We are itching to get there and be part of what God is doing through these energetic and creative leaders.

- Gina

The Countdown Begins!

Following our Christmas vacation to Colorado and Ohio, we've returned to Kansas City to begin packing our house.

Andrew's mother and sister have helped us begin the great task of packing, and in just a couple of days and despite a threatening snow-storm, we've accomplished a lot already.

We are so grateful for all the expressions of support we've received over the last few weeks! We appreciate your continued prayers and encouragement for a smooth transition from Kansas City to Busingen.