looking ahead.. 2011

This year saw a lot of unexciting things happen. I learned to sew. I started back to school on my MTh. I had massive troubles with my residence permit. I continued to have them. I finally established my financial support (thanks to all of you!!). I had some health issues redefine annoying. I got better medical insurance. I did as much as i could in Karlsruhe. And now, i am glad to be moving forward... I think 2011 will be quite different.... quite different indeed.

so, without further ado..

Goals for 2011

Ministry:

~move to Leipzig. Some of you might have heard whispers of this.. now i am making it official. Next week i will be going to Leipzig to look for an apartment. It is the culmination of several reasons, and i will post about the decision in more detail later on.

~make contact in the city with churches and organizations that are relevant for my type of ministry, establish what is already in place and what needs are still there.

~if it fits, (and i kinda think it will) establish the Open Living Room. If not, seek God for His new plan in the city.

~preach again!

~start Theater projects. If the camera is replaced, start film projects.

~Convoy 2011 (yeah! we are finally planning another convoy!!)

~maintain the financial support group.

Personal:

~go to lots of Doctors and get all of my stuff checked and fixed and in good shape.

~live alone, Communal living is great, and i though i would always want it.. but i am tired, and just need my own 4 walls to come home to. This might pass, but for now, i just want some space where there aren't random people at all hours making noise and messes. Moving to Leipzig means i can find an apartment for the price i pay here for a single room in a shared flat.

~Studies... finish my NT courses and learn Hebrew. Be at least half finished with masters by end of 2011.

~visit Dallas.. it's been 2 years already.

~learn another big chunk of Bible verses.

2010 review..

ok, so at the turn of the year i shared some goals for my ministry life and personal life.. lets see how i did...

ministry:
~to do street work 2 times a week
yes... spending time on Werder Platz and other city locations was a stable part of my ministry this past year.

~to get more involved with gospel tribe
yes... i took charge of the Werder Platz team while they were out of the country, had good meetings with the leadership, led a Christmas outreach with them, and helped in the development of Laden 33.

~to find ways of working with the salvation army, if possible
yes... i continued volunteering Thursdays at the cafe, took over the Bible Studies when the leaders were unable to attend, and took part in events for the youth.

~to find a church where i can begin preaching
no... well, in theory yes, but i haven't held my first sermon yet.

~to make a new film for a festival that carries a subtle christian message
no... turns out my camera broke, and i was unable to begin shooting (too bad, had a great idea lined up). the expense of repairing the camera is more than i could afford at this time.

~to further develope the "offene wohnzimmer" ministry concept that i have been working on in 2009 and take steps to start making it a real ministry, not just a concept in development.
yes.. in a way.. i developed the idea and even saw a very close model of what i had worked on come into existence in the area i was targeting.. unfortunately, i am not part of the team carrying the project.


personal:
~to start a masters of theology program through distance learning (barring finances: to continue to take the online classes and complete at least 6)
yes! i was admitted to Martin Bucer Seminar and began studies in September. The school has awarded me a Scholarship. I attend class one saturday a month, the rest is done through distance learning. I took my first exam in December and recieved the mark "2" in words "good" and equal to about a B+ at a difficult US school.

~to memorize large passages from the Bble
yes... the MTh helped with this.. i committed 150 Bible passages (ie most more than 1 verse) to memory... in German.

~to find a new mentor
yes.... a couple from Vienna, who have been my model for 5 years already on the "types of people i need as a mentor"... i finally just asked them instead of looking for people like them. they said Yes! and have been my new mentors since the summer.

~to do more athletics for health (swimming, biking..)
erm.. no.. not really.. i do bike everywhere, but i wouldn't classify that as enough to be healthy. and i didn't swim even once.. but to take charge of my health i was able to change my Health Insurance, so that i can now actually go to a Dr when there's a need (ie no deductible).