Ministry comes in all shapes and sizes. The public ministry that the ship usually has, such as the book fair, tours, conferences and programs, is all closed. We are packing down the LOGOS II waiting in anticipation for the new ship, the LOGOS HOPE to join us in Kiel. With the organized ministries closed, everyone on board is encouraged to participate in spontaneous ministries. I've joined the tract team once. I've never been a fan of handing out tracts. I don't like it when people come up to me on the street, so why would I like it if I'm now that person. I had an ok time. I met some very nice people and had good conversations. I don't know when I'll do it again.
Another ministry opportunity I had was to join a "church team". Every Sunday we send 3 teams to visit local churches. It's a nice time to encourage the Kiel churches, share a little bit about who we are and make friendships. On my first church team a couple from a nearby village picked up 6 of us and took us to their church. It was all in German, lots of songs, and some memorized prayers. After the service we joined them for tea and had lots of good conversations with their church body. We met a local college professor who would like to have us visit her class. We also spoke with the youth leader of the church about doing some sort of youth event. I even met an American. One of the women of the church is from Texas and is married to a German man, she has been in Germany for over 20 years, but it was nice to speak English (fast) with her.
Please pray for the open doors of new ministries that the Lord is providing for us. Along with the church teams, we also have made connections with a local football field and two nights a week play football with the locals. They have asked us to come back every week. Pray for friendships to develop and opportunities to share the gospel with them. We also have teams joining local bible study groups, which start next week. This weekend we have a group of 6 leaving the ship to spend a week in Hamburg working along side Campus Crusade at the University there. God has been faithful and everyday we sharing the gospel and handing out bibles to the people of Kiel.