When is it hardest to be a missionary?

We all know that being a missionary isn’t the easiest thing to do, but when is it really difficult?

It’s really difficult when:

·       Your father celebrates a milestone birthday and you can’t be there to celebrate with him.

·       Your father passes away and then six weeks later your mother passes away. 

·       There is a women’s conference going on that you have attended for the past six years and you are not there this year.

·       Your children have a milestone birthday and grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins can’t be there to celebrate with you.

·       Your sister has a baby.

·       Grandchildren are born.

      Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Matthew 10:37-38, ESV.

Even though Jesus tells us that we should leave father/mother/son/daughter, and we can find comfort in His words, sometimes it just doesn’t make it easier.

What does make life easier for a missionary when the above occur and you can’t be there?  Prayer!  Understanding family!  Supportive friends!  Did I say prayer?

We have been in Germany now for over three months.  Almost all of the above have occurred in our families in the last three months.  Add to that the daily life of living abroad, settling into a new country, learning a new language, the list goes on. . .we have had quite a time. We are thankful, so very thankful, for all the prayers, well wishes, and good thoughts that have been sent our way.  We ask that they continue.

Two months, one month, routine!

As I write this today, we are grieving the loss of Pete’s mom Ceil.  She passed away on Thursday evening.  It’s only been six weeks since his dad passed.  They were both quite ill and we are at peace that they are no longer suffering.  We ask for continued prayers for Pete’s sisters as they make all the final arrangements.   Once again, Pete will not be going to the states for the services. 

So, we are just over two months in our time in Germany.  We are settling nicely.  Routine is wonderful!  We are getting used to our new home.  It’s smaller than we have ever had, but it is just what we need.  The location is wonderful; close to everything in town.  We walk everywhere, which is good since we still don’t have a car.  We have purchased a car, however, it is still being worked on and we still have to do all the appropriate legal paperwork for it.  We are praying that it might be in our possession by the end of this week.  Will you pray with us?

Pete and I are in German Language School five days a week, four hours a day.  It’s tough!  It’s been a long month and we still have two more to go.   We leave our house about 12:20 pm, and typically are not back home until 5:50 pm.  At which point I still have to be a mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, etc.  We are finishing up level A 1.1 and will start into level A 1.2 next week.  Our Lord has been faithful through it all.  Just when I think I can’t absorb any more, “it clicks”.  So many language things are different here.  Numbers are tricky and so is telling time.  You think, how could telling time be so different?  Instead of saying that it is 30 minutes after something, they say that it is 30 minutes to something.  So, in the states you say it’s 5:30 or it is half-past five; you don’t say it is 30 minutes till 6:00.  In Germany, they say that 5:30 is 30 minutes till 6:00.  Your thinking has to completely change!  Hopefully no one will be stopping me in the street to ask what time it is!

I will say that I think that it’s better to do an immersion school like this than the way we learned Spanish in Honduras.  We are learning much more at a much faster rate.  German is the only language spoken in class.  I made comment to Pete one day that I wish the teacher would say something in German, explain it in English, and then repeat in German.  That way I have context to what she is teaching.  However, this is not possible since not every one of the 18 students in class speak English.  We have students from Spain, Poland, the Ukraine, Russia and China.  It’s amazing how you all learn to communicate through a language that no one knows, yet it is the only common language.

The kids are doing very well in school.  They are actually on their Jr Class trip right now on the beaches of Normandy, France.  Nick was of course thrilled to go to a place so rich in history.  They hope to find some information on Pete’s dad since he served in WWII.  It will be interesting to see what they can find.  They left at 9:00 pm on Thursday night and drove through the night.  They will return early on Monday morning after once again driving through the night on Sunday.  We ask that you pray for them and all that are on the trip.

I have joined a Mom’s Prayer Time group that meets at the high school every Tuesday morning.  We pray for the staff and students throughout the year.  We have cards with all the kid’s names on them and we write a small note to them after we have prayed.  We have similar cards for all the staff as well as the middle school students.  Throughout the year we get to visit the dorms and pray with the staff and residents.  Last week Tuesday I had the privilege of doing just that.  What an amazing experience!  Walking down a hallway praying for each boy (it was a boy's dorm) by name.  The warfare that these kids are facing is incredible.  I can only hope that by standing in the gap for them it makes their school year just a little bit easier.  I look forward to the next dorm visit.  I have to say though, prayer intercessors have got to be exhausted.  I was wiped after a solid two hours of intense prayer.  Very cool to see how my prayer partner and I "saw" very similar things with each boy we prayed for.  The Spirit was with us.

And last, a copy from our newsletter regarding donations:  As we get to the end of September, one important item might need to be taken care of.  By now most of our ministry partners have received an email and letter from GEM regarding the change of the credit/debit card company that will take place by Sept 30th.  We are now near that deadline and have noticed that some have not made the transfer as of yet, or it has not been recorded at this time.  If you could take a few minutes over the next couple of days to check and make sure that your donation was deducted from the proper place (that you had specified) we would greatly appreciate it. 

Please continue to pray for the following:

Our vehicle to arrive within a timely manner;

Pete’s family on the death of his parents;

Nick and Lily and their classmates on their class trip;

Pete and I for our language training;

Mom’s Prayer Time on Tuesday mornings

Transition to Germany

As I sit here in my very quiet home (minus the hum of the dishwasher and washing machine), I realize that this is it.  This is where God currently has my family and me.  We have been in Germany for just over a month, the kids started a new school today, and Pete and I are looking ahead to starting German Language School next week.  I’ve gotten the grocery shopping thing almost down.  I can go to the bank where they speak a good bit of English.  Restaurants are still challenging, but we are getting there.  Routine is good and I’m glad to finally be getting into one.

Germany, or Germans, are no what we expected, or were told to expect.  They do greet you on the street with a “Hello” or “Guten Tag” (Good Day).  They are nice and not rude.  The other day in the grocery store Pete pulled out his little index card of quick sayings and asked the teller how she was.  In very plain English, she said, “fine, thank you.”  She proceeded to speak to us, very slowly, in German and English so we could carry on a conversation.  We will definitely seek her out the next time we are in the grocery store to continue to build a relationship.

Speaking of the grocery store.  The breads and cheeses here are amazing!  Amazing in taste and surprisingly cheap in price.  Lily really likes Brie; it is her favorite.  It costs us just over a dollar for a nice size piece.  I watch the Sunday paper for sales.  Chicken is a bit pricey, but of course you can find any kind off sausage/bratwurst fairly reasonable.  I found a nice pork tenderloin yesterday for under five euros.  We will be having that for dinner tonight.

I’m learning to cook on an electric stove.  Not crazy about it, but it’s not as bad as I thought.  Lily is learning to bake in a much smaller oven and is experimenting with convection oven cooking.  There aren’t too many pre-packaged baking items here, like brownies or cake mixes, so she is making everything from scratch.  So far she has made a Carrot Cake, German Chocolate Cake, and Blueberry Pie, just to name a few.

Nick found friends right away.  He played basketball almost every day during the month of August.  He will be trying out for the school team sometime in September.  He has gone to the Kandern area pool a few times and loves hanging out with his new found friends.  Freedom is something that the kids have here that both they and us as parents are trying to adjust to.  Walking home from game night at school at 10 – 10:30 pm is not something we are used to.  It’s a learning curve, just like many other things.

We still don’t have a car, but are starting price negotiations on one today.  Please continue to lift this in prayer.  Kandern is a great little town, and much can be done by walking.  However, with my bad knee, it does make some tasks much more challenging.  I did by the $12 bottle of rubbing alcohol and made my homemade ice packs which help more than anything in keeping the inflammation at bay.

We are blessed to be close to the school and the GEM office where we can go and “get connected” since we still do not have internet access in our home.  It is supposed to be installed next Monday the 9^th of September.  We will see. 

First Day of School, 2014

So our journey continues.  Please pray for Nick and Lily and the upcoming school year.  Pray for their individual classes and the adjustment to a new environment and new teachers.  Pray for Pete and I as we start language school next week.  Pray for a vehicle to be purchased.  Please pray for my knee as I seek doctors to help me get it back to normal.  If there is something we can lift in prayer for you, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

March Update

This is a quick update to let you know about our in-country interview and Candidate Orientation with Greater Europe Mission (GEM).  We will send more details next week with pictures, but we had a great three week trip and are thankful that God showed us exactly what we needed to see. 

First of all, now that we have been appointed as GEM missionaries, we will begin fundraising (for one-time move costs and about 15% additional monthly support) as we look forward to working with GEM’s team in their European headquarters in Kandern, Germany.

Our areas of responsibility with GEM will include:

• Administrative support for GEM’s three church plant cities in France (Lille, Paris and Lyon).
• Administrative support for GEM’s “50-in-5” church planting initiative which began in 2012 to provide missionaries to 50 European cities in 5 years.
• Provide organizational support to bring interns and short term teams to France, which is similar to what we have been doing over the past six years with WGO. 

Second, we would like to change some of the ways we communicate with you, our prayer and financial supporters:

• In our new roles with GEM, we will be working with church planting ministries that cater to immigrants from closed (not open to sharing Jesus) countries as well as European natives.  Due to this, we are creating an email list with those committed to prayer and a closed Facebook group that you will be invited to so that we can share our stories and pictures without putting us, other GEM missionaries, or the ministry at risk.  This is also going to be a great way to share our praise reports and prayer requests.  We look forward to the opportunity to pray for you as well.
• Our main missionary e-mail address will change from ingoodshepherdshands@gmail.com to therainerifamily@gmail.com.
• We will begin using a communications tool called Mail Chimp for our most of our e-mailed newsletters and updates.

Third, beginning this week, we will ask all of our financial partners if they will commit to funding us at the level that they have been supporting us and either help us with our moving funds and/or help in funding the increased monthly budget of 15%.  We have been assured that all funds remaining with WGO will be sent to GEM for our continued support, and all proceeds from the sale of our car and possessions in Honduras will be used to purchase our needs in Germany. 

Fourth, we would love to meet with those in small groups/bible studies to allow us to meet with your members to share about this calling and if they want to partner with us and our new ministry in Germany and France.  This can be done now via Skype or in May when Angie will be available to visit the states or during our summer furlough.

Based on our appointment with GEM we intend to transition (Lord willing) to the new ministry as soon as our financial support is verified.  Our plan is to leave Honduras on or about June 13, spend some time stateside, and leave for Germany by August 1st.   Please visit www.gemission.org to learn more about the ministry. 

To recap:  This week you will receive a private email from Pete with more detail and asking the following questions:

• Will you come alongside our family and commit to praying for us regularly once a week?
• Will you continue to support our family in our new ministry, GEM, in Germany/France?
• Would you be able to send in a one-time gift to be applied to our moving budget?
• Would you be able to increase your current monthly support by 15%?
• What is your telephone number and when is the best time for us to call?  We would like to explain more about our move, new responsibilities, and answer any questions you might have.

Your family in Christ, Pete, Angie, Nick and Lily

January Update

Raineri Family Update January 2014

Happy New Year from Honduras, New Year-New Ministry-New Continent!

We are blessed to provide this quick update to you on our ministry search.  Since we were called in September to church plant in France we have interviewed ten ministries who church plant in France.  And this week we are pleased to announce that one ministry, a ministry that we have prayed about, has accepted our family to be missionaries and invited us to a week-long orientation in Colorado.    We are very excited about this opportunity!  Upon completion of the orientation we will join Greater Europe Mission as missionaries in Kandern, Germany.  Germany?  Not France, well please continue reading.

This is not a job offer yet but we have arrived at a stage where the training begins and the selection process ends.  Once we successfully complete the training then we will be commissioned as GEM missionaries.  We are looking forward to this next phase in our family’s faith walk and cannot believe the steps that God has lead us through. 

So what will we be doing?  Well at this point Pete and Angie are praying through the future call to see which door God will leave open.  So far He has shut 8 doors and now we wait patiently to see which door he wants us to walk through.  We ask you to help us in prayer also.  Here is what is on the table now. 

Pete has been interviewed twice for a Personnel Director position with Black Forest Academy, the school that Nick and Lily will be attending.  GEM is a “covering” ministry that will collect funds and administer our service there.  Two great features of this position are learning administration skills from an established ministry and the availability to learn the culture of Western Europe while still being part of a larger organization.  Their need is great for our skill sets of administration, organization and developing procedures.  Just like WGO, all administrative staff at BFA are fund raising missionaries.

The second choice is a position within GEM’s European office in Kandern Germany, in the same town that BFA is located.  This will be an administration job within GEMs “50 in 5” Europe initiative (see below for GEM’s three main points of why Europe), 50 European cities in 5 years.  We will provide oversight and organization of their first three French church plants and two more in the next year, along with administration of the larger Western Europe church plant initiatives.   Some main points to consider about this job include;  The scheduling of interns and teams into the Western European areas; providing direct support to the church planting team through administration; meeting with the church planting teams to provide some missionary care; and prayer time with the GEM-based missionaries.

GEM’s “Why Europe” key points:

·       “REACH EUROPE. Europe knows all about religion, but the knowledge and experience keep most from discovering a life-changing relationship with Jesus. Europe needs a new wave of people following Jesus in such a way that others are drawn to do the same.

·       EUROPE HAS INFLUENCE. Europe influences the world's economics, education, politics, philosophies and culture. Imagine what would happen if Europe's influence could be harnessed to extend God's Kingdom into the world.

·       EUROPE IS CONNECTED. The world, through intensive immigration, has literally come to Europe. France alone is host to over 100 distinct cultures, with a third of them representing unreached people groups.  The relational network of Europe's immigrants has opened doors around the world for the Gospel.”

More information can be found on their website: Greater Europe Mission

Thank You again for your valued prayer support.  At this time we are praying for travelling mercies to do the in-country interview in France and Germany, as well as for the training that takes place with GEM in Colorado.  More information will be forthcoming.

Your missionary Family, Pete, Angie, Nick and Lily.