Letter from Elsa - October 25, 2008
Dear Friends,
Rejoice with me! I’ve made it through the first year since Jim’s death! Unfortunately, this anniversary is not quite the milestone I had anticipated. Instead it has taught me that the adjustment is still far from over. I think the thing I miss most about Jim besides his presence is his vision. He could usually see the big picture and the goal. Right now, I feel somewhat claustrophobic without his helping me to see past the walls of my experience.
But so far, the Lord has gotten me through — one step at a time. Strangely, it seems that my teaching and counseling have had a greater impact during this time of weakness than before. But then I guess that is what Paul said in 2 Cor. 12:7. I’m not sure I can fully “delight” in the difficulties as Paul did, but it is encouraging to see what the Lord can make out of them.
TRIP TO THE USA
Thank you for your prayers. It was a great trip. Although it seemed very strange not being in Lake Orion and Clearwater this time, it was probably a wise decision not to put any more stops into the trip than I did. I came back uplifted with lots of memories, a notebook full of ideas for future lessons, and enjoyed thoroughly the time with my grandchildren but I am ready to get back to work.
Please pray for Chris (38), who sat next to me on the flight to Memphis. Our conversation started when I was proof-reading Scripture references on the English translation of my “Spiritual Milk” lesson on the Lord’s Prayer. He pointed to “Forgive us our debts….” and said, “I need that one. I have lots of debts.” One thing led to another and he asked me for the lessons. I told him I’d be glad to send them but that they were actually Part 2. First, he needed Part 1 and to get to know about Jesus. After we talked for the remainder of the flight, I ended up giving him a homework assignment in Mark’s Gospel and exchanging email addresses so that we can continue the conversation, and when we parted, he hugged me like a dear old friend. Please pray that he will answer my email.
WHAT IS GOING ON HERE IN BREMEN?
First of all, here is a photo of my almost finished living room! Sorry I couldn’t include that last time when I talked about everyone helping me with the work. I didn’t have the furnishings back in yet, so it wouldn’t have been much of a photo. Having white walls makes the room look so much bigger – and cleaner.
–ACTIVITIES–
Right now we are having a GOSPEL MEETING with Josef Achatz of Augsburg and last night we had 20 guests, all invited personally. Four were there for the first time and two were brought by other guests. Please pray for the meetings tonight and tomorrow and for our guests.
In the last little while, several questions have come up about the work of the Holy Spirit, so the men of the church asked Josef to also share his insights on that subject while he is here (only for the church). This should help us prepare for the Saturday SEMINAR we will be having on the same subject in mid-November with Glenn Jones from the city of Kiel. As you know, this is not an “easy” topic, so we want to get input from various good Bible teachers as we study the Scriptures for ourselves to find the answers. Germans are generally good students and not shy in discussion, so I look forward to profitable exchanges both with these teachers and afterwards.
–PERSONAL EVANGELISM–
Linda, two different Barbara’s, Brigitte, Heather, Kai, Rainer and Jürgen continue to study with Helga, Ingrid, Alicia, Rüdiger or me. Please pray for them that they keep on reading the Bible until they learn to trust the Lord.
–TRAINING–
Rüdiger and Florian are just finishing up their online course on John’s Letters from Sunset International Bible Institute. This is no small undertaking and includes classwork, tests, several papers, and memorizing a lot of Bible verses, which they do in German, of course. In fact, their memorizing has inspired me to try to learn some verses, too. At my age, it’s not as easy as it used to be, but on the other hand, the verses are a whole lot more familiar to me now, so maybe I have a chance. Just trying to keep my mind alive and filled with good things.
SPECIAL PRAYER NEEDS
–My friend Heather, with whom I study, and her husband are mourning the death of his father who was very close to them. Please pray for them and for me in trying to help them through their pain.
–Erika, our oldest member, continues to have difficult complications from diabetes and heart trouble. When she is able to be up at all, her son brings her to worship in a wheelchair. Since she cannot see well enough to read, she feels very confined.
–Early next year, we are hoping to be able to offer an ETM advanced course for the first time without Jim. Please pray that this will come together. By my next letter, I should be able to give you details.
Thank you very much for your continued prayers even when you have many concerns of your own to bring before the Lord. I hope He blesses you as you are a blessing to me.
At the risk of offending some, I will end with a request for prayers for the U.S. government and the nation – whoever is elected president. One candidate seems to have spent most of his time in elected office promoting himself for the next higher elected office. The other prides himself on being a maverick and unpredictable. No matter which of them is elected, I think that both he and the nation are in for a number of surprises. May God help our nation rise above the present distress in a way that will honor Him!
Your fellow servant,
Elsa Springer
We left well-prepared leadership couples in Curitiba: they will be appointing elders by the end of next year. They have 8 full-time evangelists and 2 full-time church workers. We counseled, mentored and discipled 40 couples and 75 individuals in our six years there. Many leadership couples were saved from divorce, others from leaving the church or their walk with God. Dozens grew and matured and were prepared to equip others to grow. A new congregation was started and we were able to play an integral part in preparing the students from the training school to become church planters by mentoring them after graduation. We were blessed to be part of amazing transformations in our six years in Curitiba.
We spent the months of July and August in the US on our furlough. When we were in Dallas we stayed at Angela and Joel’s house along with Kristofer. It was wonderful to have the family all together. Gail’s mother and her husband even spent a few days with us. We visited all six of our supporting congregations where we met with the elders and Jerry spoke before the congregations. All of them were very supportive about our move and our ministry. Jerry spoke at the Global Missions Workshop for the Brazil Interest Group on the state of leadership development in Brazil. He also spent a day with a new team that is heading to Rwanda sponsored by the Richland Hills Church in Fort Worth. He led the three men of the team in a team dynamics workshop. It is so rewarding to be able to show our supporters the kind of work we do here on the field.
Itu, population 160,000, is in the state of São Paulo about 1 1/2 hours from the huge city of São Paulo. We arrived in Itu on August 30 and began looking for a place to live. Some members of the church here already had a place picked out for us which we saw a couple of days later. We still looked at many houses before deciding the first one was the one we believed God has picked out for us. The owner was remodeling the house and wanted to spend a few more months on it, but we convinced him to let us move in after he finished the projects he was working on. He even lowered the rent since he didn’t get to finish the job. We love the house are so blessed. As of today, we still have a handful of boxes to unpack, but we are getting there. Plenty of room for visitors!