Greetings Dear Friends,                                          1 November 2005

After wrestling with the content of this note, we first must admit we have been delinquent in our correspondence with you. We are unbelievably still trying to settle into our rented row home. Since our last letter we have received our container and moved everything into our house. The garage is completely full and used only for storage. With all of the extra furniture we have been able to help several people with needs they have had. Most of the house is settled with the exception of the office which lacks a desk. With all of the electronic tools we use today we often overlook a main instrument in an office which is the desk. We are waiting for someone to give us one. Until then I use the children's desk in the living room. Finally the bill for the transportation of the container came last week after 3 months. It was more than double the amount we had anticipated. The extra fees for customs and paperwork were there but the 6 days of container rental and storage was a shock. We are currently discussing the charges with the shipping line and hopefully we will be able to pay less than the $1555 that is currently due. Pray for a quick resolution and a discounted amount.

German life is much different than our family expected. Theresa has missed her friends and has made a great effort to learn the culture and language. The children have also missed their friends but they have met several kids in the neighborhood and the church is a real blessing. Jim has lived in the city of Mannheim before and has had a relatively easy transition. We are really learning to settle into our lives here and are working on new relationships. Pray for us as we integrate into the German culture.

The new church plant in the north of Mannheim (Schonau) is ready to begin. After 18 months of meetings and children's outreach into the city, they are ready to begin. The first service will take place in the home of a team member on November 6th, 2005. Please pray for a place to rent for our new church. We have looked since March without finding a place that will meet our needs. We have been turned down for 2 properties that would meet our needs.

Jim has been working with the youth group since we arrived. Also, there have been more meetings than should be allowed. We attend most of them to practice German and help where we can. We have learned that the German people must have all the ducks in a row before they move. The German phrase is "Ortnung muss sein!" Order must be! Jim is a man of action and the German way has been a learning experience. For instance our internet connection took 2 months to be connected. That is amazing and was frustrating. Theresa is learning the language 2 days a week for a total of 10 hours a week plus the homework. As we had planned, Theresa is studying first since Jim is able to communicate in German. Also, Jim has been told he will need 2 months of study to grasp the language completely. Mal sehen!

With our last letter we informed you of our automobile in Maryland. We dropped the price to $5k before we decided to ship it to Mannheim. We could not replace our vehicle for the amount we were selling it. So we shipped it to Germany and it has been here for 2 months. It is amazing to think we where in California in June with our Suburban and in September we were in Mannheim, Germany traveling about in that same vehicle. All of that to say, we had not expected to spend the $1500 to ship our car but that was less than the cost of purchasing another vehicle.

Our budget is an adventure in trust and patience. We knew we would not be fully supported when we moved and now we are taking our lumps and doing without but grateful to be a part of God's work in Germany. The church here is doing all it can to help us monthly. Thank you to all that give to us financially every month. You allow us to do this work that is so much needed in Mannheim.

After living here in Germany for 4 months we have personally seen the need for Christ all around us. The church is composed of solid believers who are committed to the cause of Christ but daily they live in the midst of a world overrun by sin. They are few in number and have a mighty task to reach their countrymen. We hope to help them meet their goals. They have already expressed thanks to all of you who are enabling us to be here. They are glad we're a part of their team.

Pray for Us:
1) Pray for a quick resolution and a discounted shipping amount.
2) Pray for us as we integrate into the German culture.
3) Pray for a place to rent for our new church in Schonau.