August 2007

Finishing Language School and Upcoming Projects

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We are thankful for:

~ Thad’s allergies improving
~ A fruitful time in German Classes
~ A nice visit with Jana’s dad
~ Cool summer weather
~ More “Laugh Out Loud Moments” than we can put in a single letter

We are praying for:

~ Continued improvement (confidence!) with German
~ GMA implementation—see main paragraph
~ Reworking of the Agape Website
~ The upcoming Kandern Office retreat—that it would be restful but productive
~ Thad’s travel schedule - Thad will be travelling to Bangalore, India in October to talk with Technology leadership from around the world and the GMA team to hammer out the future for that application; as well, he will be travelling to the National Headquarters of the countries seeking the GMA in the coming months.

Language School

The 6 week Intensive German Language Course has finished, so we are back into the swing of working in the office again. Our time in classes, while tiring, was also very rewarding. We gained confidence in speaking German (though still need prayer for more!!), and we also made some new friends from Germany, the US, Japan, and the Canary Islands. Please continue to pray for us in our improvement with the language.

Visit From Roger

In July, we had another guest, Jana’s dad, Roger (pictured above). We tried to wear him out by twice taking him to language school with us, driving him around the area quite a few times, taking a day trip to France to see a castle and some very quaint Alsatian villages, and even a hike in the hills around Kandern. The end result was that we were worn out but Roger was ready to go again!

Upcoming Projects

Thad continues to work on what is called the Global Measurements Application. Currently, he is working to have the program up and going in four different countries: Switzerland, France, Sweden, and Greece (who recently sought Thad out to request the system). This system enables ministry staff to input information about ministry outreaches, projects, growth, etc. that allows for the team and leadership to see the health of a ministry, what is working/what is not, and offer encouragement to teams in seeing how the Lord is using them as a whole. Prayer needed for the GMA: a smooth beginning with the first four countries, willingness amongst teams and individuals to use the system, and clarity for Thad both in learning and teaching the new system.

Jana is in the beginning processes (with fellow co-workers) of redesigning the Agape Europe website. Please pray for the Lord to bless the team with fresh and creative ideas. Pray also for wisdom and technical understanding for Jana as she ventures into some unknown processes.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We would not be here, helping to bring people to Christ, without you!

Sincerely, Thad and Jana