Germany and beyond...

Our team of 22-people arrived in Germany on October 2 and we adjusted to urban life quickly. We walked an average of 6 miles a day and used public transportation frequently. I loved being in the city and enjoyed helping lead the team through the concrete German jungle. 

Our assignment for the week was to reach out to refugees living in the area in an effort to hear their stories and share Christ's story. 

The long term missionary families we worked with are rock stars. Their team is comprised of three families and all have hearts to share the hope of Jesus with refugees AND Germans. It was an honor to work with them. 

While we were in the city, our days were made up of training in the mornings and in the afternoons, we would break into smaller teams and spread out around the city. Some of our sub teams went to refugees camps and helped by serving tea, folding laundry or helping with childcare. Other teams went directly to the homes or apartments of refugees to share a meal or have tea. 

My sub team concentrated on visiting refugee camps in the middle of the city. We went and played soccer with families and ping pong with young men. 

In the evenings, we would all come together for fellowship dinners. As we met people throughout the day, we invited them to dinner. Our goal was to create a safe place for refugees to come and enjoy a meal. 

On the first night we had 5 people come to dinner. On the second night we had 20 people come to dinner and on the last night we had over 50 people come to dinner!

The numbers kept growing night after night as people heard about the American, German, Iranian, Iraqi and Afghani believers eating and welcoming people in love and friendship. 

Sitting in the coffee shop/church in the middle of the city watching men and women from all over the world talk and fellowship was a holy moment. It felt like a little taste of heaven when all of the nations will come and worship the one true King.

It was an honor to meet men and women from Iran who came to German not just because of war, but because they wanted to be free to worship "the Jesus" as they would say. I got to pray and talk with sisters from Iran who are now free to worship the God they love. 

On the first night, I was honored to meet a young man named B. B lost his entire family because of the war. We talked through Google Translate (technology is amazing) for an hour about sports, family, and God. I asked him if he knew God. His response was, "Of course!" He laughed when I asked him, because who doesn't know about God right?

And then I asked him if he knew Jesus. His response was more subdued and he nodded, but then changed the subject quickly. Come to find out, B has heard about Jesus a lot. His new friend from his refugee camp has been telling him about Jesus. 

B is so fully of hope and joy. For someone who's suffered so much, I was in awe of his tenacity for life; and now he has an eternal hope, because of Christ. At the fellowship dinner, he accepted Christ as the Lord of his life. 

I was not at the dinner when this happened. I took a group back to the hotel early. But, when the second half of the team arrived at the hotel and told me my new friend was now my new brother I was overcome with excitement and joy. 

This is just one story of hundreds and I suspect thousands. God is moving among refugees and among Muslims like we have never seen before. 

He is close to the broken hearted and He is near to those who suffer. I saw this first hand in Germany. I am humbled and honored to have been a very small part of the movement that is happening in Germany and Europe. 

God is on the move and I am excited to see what happens in the next few years. This window of opportunity will not stay open forever. Would you pray for more workers to go into the harvest? Would you pray for people to be open to the Gospel of hope? Would you be open to go with me? 

We are all called to participate in the spreading of God's word and I hope you find joy in praying, going or giving to missions both locally and globally! 

To God Be the Glory! 

Caroline 

Understanding Grace

Grace is difficult for me to grasp. 

I understand ‘grace’ in the Biblical sense—we have been given favor and forgiveness from our sins, because of God’s sacrifice and his mercy towards us. 

However, when ‘real’ life comes in to play, it is difficult for me to grasp the concept of grace. Specifically, it’s difficult for me to show myself grace.

I like rules. Let me candid—I love rules. Rules bring balance and structure to my life. I was typically a teacher’s pet, because I enjoyed school. I did my homework and classwork, because I liked to learn. It just so happened I also liked praise from adults. Is it my fault these activities went hand in hand? I still enjoy ticking things off of my to-do list and I enjoy praise from others when I finish a project at work. 

What I didn’t realize until I was an adult was somewhere along the line I became my own worst critic. I would internally criticize myself if I didn’t complete a personal or work goal. If I only completed three things off of my long personal to-do list, I would chastise myself, “Come on Caroline. You’re better than this. Why didn’t you do the whole list?” 

When I slept in after a long week instead of getting up and going to the gym, I would beat myself up. “You’re so lazy. You worked all week and you can’t even get up on a Saturday morning?” 

I thought setting high standards for myself was necessary. In reality, the standards or rules, I set up to bring balance to my life actually weighed me down. The personal goals and check lists I thought helped me be a better person, helped motivate me to exercise more, do more, be better actually crushed my spirit. The rules I set up to bring me freedom brought destruction. 

Living a life of grace is hard. It’s hard, because it causes you to get rid of your own rules that make you feel safe. Rules or standards that make you feel like you’ve accomplished something or that you are worth something. 

Setting goals and having rules are not wrong; however, when you start to find your identity in your rules that’s when you need a heart check. When your rules become idols is when you need to step back and ask Jesus to give you a clear and intense dose of the Gospel. 

The Gospel is the truth that seeps deep in to your heart and redefines everything about you. 

When you are faced with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you are challenged to let go of your own rules that make you feel safe and embrace a Savior who literally saves you from yourself. 

The thing about letting go of rules and accepting grace is it’s scary. For me rules are comfortable. If I give control over to God I’m scared I will somehow loose myself. What if I give him too much or not enough? 

When God is in control and when we rest in His grace we are safe. When God holds our hearts we cannot be destroyed. We may bend or even crack, but we are eternally safe in Jesus Christ, because we have an eternal hope in him. 

When you start to hand over the rules of your life to Jesus something begins to grow inside your spirit. When you begin to believe you are enough, because of what Jesus did for you and not because of your own efforts, hope is planted in your soul. 

The thing about hope is it’s like a seed that grips your heart and once it’s planted it grows…it spreads and it blocks all other weeds. It ruins you. It infects you. It spreads and leaves you breathless. 

Copyright © 2016 Caroline Damron. All rights reserved.

Gumuze City, Ethiopia

We worked in Gumuze City, Ethiopia and the surrounding villages. The trek to the Gumuze was a long one: 5-hours on a bus through lush and bumpy territory. I managed to take a whole bottle of dramamine by myself throughout the week. 

The plan for the first day was to set up the medical clinic in a government run compound. The majority of the team would run the clinic and four members of the team would go in to the villages. I was a part of the village team. Our goal was to visit eight families and bring them love gifts of clothing, salt and soap.

Our first morning we loaded up the bus with our team of 26 Americans and 15 Ethiopians. Half way through our 3-hour drive to the government clinic, we realized we'd forgotten the gifts for the village families. The eight bags were back at our hotel...

Rule number one of the mission field is to be flexible. We stopped the bus. One of our hard working Ethiopian church planters, T, jumped off of the bus, caught a small taxi and headed back to the hotel to get the gifts. 

We arrived at the government facility and there was already a line of patients waiting. While we waited on T to return from the hotel, the village team jumped in to help the medical team set up and facilitate. 

Several hours later, T arrived with the gifts. By this time it was too late for us to visit each of the eight families individually. We decided to walk to the first house and hope for the best. The trek was long and the sun was hot. Our translators told me and my two college students that we were 'strong women' to walk this road in the middle of the day. We smiled and laughed through the sweat. It's not fun unless you get sweaty and dusty right? 

When we arrived at the first home, we were greeted with smiling faces and generous hospitably. As we sat down to visit the first family, more and more people kept showing up. One of the translators leaned over to me and said, "We have all eight families here. Are you ready to go inside?" I was floored! We couldn't make it to all eight families so they all came to us!

We walked in and sat down on homemade chairs close to the hard dirt floor. Sixteen wide eyed adults sat in front of us. One of our goals in addition to sharing the gospel, is to educate the community on health issues. One of our students, Paula, shared with the families through a translator about malaria causes and prevention. I was able to share a piece of my testimony and Diane, our trip leader, shared the Gospel. 

As the story of the Gospel was translated, I focused on the families. One man to my right was rapt in attention. His eyes widen as Diane and the translators shared the story of Christ coming to earth and dying for our sins. 

After we shared, the translators, who are amazing and passionate church planters in the area, shared a little more. T, the man who had gone back to retrieved our gifts at the hotel, started to speak. He spoke with passion and authority as he explained the Gospel to his countrymen. I don't know what he was saying, but I know that T can preach the word! 

As T shared, more eyes lit up. Everyone in the room was interested in this man called Jesus.

We asked T what the families thought. He told us that everyone wanted to accept Christ: all eight families wanted to follow Jesus. 

My eyes filled with tears as he said the words. Praise the Lord for His plans are better than our own! 

We immediately asked the families if they would take the tools we'd used to share the gospel (small picture tracks) and share the gospel with each other! The man who's eyes lit up early in the conversation stood up. He said he would share with the group. It was an honor to see these new believers, men and women, learn to share what they just heard with others. 

So many times we make discipleship and telling others about Jesus difficult; but, in the New Testament we see over and over again, people hearing the Good News, being transformed and going out to their neighbors and friends and telling them about Jesus. Disciples making disciples making disciples. 

T and his friends will continue to meet with these families of new believers. They are committed to discipling and encouraging these families who are new in their faith. 

It was an honor to be a small part of their story. To share the Good News and the hope of Christ with brothers and sisters around the world...well there is nothing better than that.