Today as I write this, I have one last week until I leave Germany for home. I have enjoyed all 9 weeks here and cannot believe that my time here has already come to an end. It seems that just like yesterday I arrived here.
I think that one reason that this has gone by so fast is because I have been incredibly busy working with the 3 churches that I was able to work with. With each church I was able to work in different areas and also see the difference of how the IBC (an American operated church within Germany) and 2 different German churches. On similarity with these churches is the area that I worked with; the Children’s Ministry. I was asked, what is one difference between a Children’s Ministry in a German church and an American church. When I thought about it, they all seem basically the same. They want to reach kids with the Gospel and show Christ’s love to them any way possible. The only difference that I saw was that within a German church, there seems to be a lack of discipline. A few days after being asked this question, I was talking with the lady who asked me, and she too said that she would have to agree, that there is some lack of discipline. Now don’t get me wrong, I did not mean to be critical or degrade the work that is being done. This was just one thing that I noticed. There were several times that I wanted to say some things to kids, but I didn’t simply because I was not sure of the right words to use.
As I have stated before that the main church that I worked with was the International Baptist Church of Stuttgart. They kept me busy with many different aspects. One is the Children’s Ministry and working with the Maintenance Guy doing different cleaning, painting, and repair work that needs to be finished. Actually as I write this blog I am on the train going home after painting for about 6 hours. There are still rooms that need to be painted as well, and I will be busy with that next week.
My last day with the Church in Sindelfingen was yesterday. I really enjoyed it there and could tell a difference between the kids here and at the Church Plant outside of Stuttgart. The ones at the Church Plant outside of Stuttgart are less likely to obey and come and go as they please, while at Sindelfingen they stay, and while they still disobey at times, they do all listen and seem more respectful.
This has been a great trip for me as well. I have been able to see more of Germany than just Stuttgart. I got a chance to go to Berlin, parts of North Germany, Perl, and Kaiserslautern. One thing I noticed about Germany is something that already saw in Stuttgart. It is such a marvelous and breath-taking country. It will be a bitter sweet moment coming home. I am ready to come home and at the same time, I want to stay and wish I could stay longer.
Once again I just want to thank all those who supported me on this trip, whether with prayer or financially. Please continue to pray as my last week comes around.
In Christ,
Tyler A. Bowman
