From the September-December 2010 Issue
LIFE AT HAUS BARNABAS
Tim & Deb Brooks
Haus BarnabasThis Easter saw what we hope will be the first of many Easter Bible Retreats at Haus Barnabas. We were privileged to have Alfred Stäheli from Basel in Switzerland and Bernhard Kaiser from the Institute of Reformational Theology at Reiskirchen near Giessen, Germany, to preach with Len and his son Geoff. The subject was “Our Living Hope” from 1 Peter 1. The conference was aimed at people staying in the house and also the local people, principally German-speaking, with morning and evening meetings and free afternoons to explore the area. English translation was available for our non-German-speaking guests.
It was really encouraging for us to be able to host a mainly German conference where the total authority and centrality of the Bible was plainly taught. It was particularly good to see contacts we have had over the years returning for these meetings and even requesting the CDs. Those that attended enjoyed a wonderful time of ministry and were very blessed. At the moment we have nobody in regular attendance at our services, so it is easy to feel that the Lord has forgotten us, but it has been all the more encouraging to be able to see clearly that this is not the case. The couple mentioned in our last article are having to leave their flat and move further away from us, hoping to find fellowship elsewhere.
FAMILY WEEK
Another recent encouragement was our family week in the school holidays at the end of May. A similar week took place last year, so unlike the Easter conference this was not a “first”. This is organised by a couple from Basildon who are active in children’s work in the area where they live. David, the husband, is also involved in the English side of Haus Barnabas. They bring families from their area, whose only connection to Christianity is that the children attend their weekly club, to stay in our guesthouse. A programme is run for the children and the parents are confronted with practical Christianity on a day to day basis. This has proved to be both a very difficult and an extremely rewarding time. Please continue to pray for these families – some have been converted through these holidays and many seriously challenged by the claims of Christianity.
FUTURE STAFFING
A special area for prayer is the future of the house. Our partners in the work, Len & Phyl Holder, who have been working in this area for over 20 years, are approaching retirement age. Although Len hopes to continue with the ministry side of things, they would like to be able to step back from the day to day running of the house. We are therefore prayerfully seeking folk who could join the team here. We are encouraged by people who give of their time to come and help us for varying lengths of time, from a week to a year or more, but we would also like to see people involved on a longer term basis if this is the Lord’s will.
More details of our work can be found on our website at www.haus-barnabas.de (hopefully soon including details of next year’s Easter conference).