Kristi Walker – September 2010

Dear Prayer Supporters,

I have two special requests to share with you quickly regarding the next few days:

1. This weekend is our annual church retreat. My home/sending church – Heritage Baptist Church in Clarks Summit, PA – is here to minister to us this weekend. Pray that God will work in a mighty way in hearts and lives tonight, tomorrow and Sunday as we sit under the teaching of the Word of God. Not everyone attending the retreat is a believer, so pray for eyes and hearts to be opened! Also, we are baptizing 7 young people (teenagers and pre-teens) tomorrow (Saturday) in a lake, and several unbelieving family members will be there to witness the baptisms. We are so excited about this! I will send out an update next week and include a couple of pictures.

2. This Wednesday, for the first time ever (that I am aware of), high school students in Berlin will be participating in “See You at the Pole” (http://www.syatp.com/). A young lady in the 10th grade stepped forward and volunteered to be the student initiator for this event. Students at John F. Kennedy School will meet in front of the high school at 7:30am to pray for their school, the city of Berlin, and the nation of Germany! We will also be hosting a 6:30 prayer breakfast before SYATP at a local coffee shop across the street from the JFK school. Pray that many students will be motivated to participate and that they will have boldness and courage to PRAY as their fellow students watch and enter the school all around them.

Thank you for your participation in the ministry in Berlin through prayer. We need it and appreciate it!
Kristi

Kristi Walker – May 2010

“It’s a Wonderful Life”

…and not because things go the way we want, but because we are loved by God!

In my last update, I asked you to pray for several things. I want to update you on a few of those requests.

Help with the youth ministry
I asked you to pray that Richard & Julia Rudolph might be able to come back to Berlin and help me temporarily with the teens if it’s God’s will. Apparently, it’s not God’s will for them at this time. I’m trusting God with this answer, knowing that His ways are higher than mine!

Specific teenagers
I also asked you to pray for three specific teenagers.
- A young man named Lukas accepted Christ a month ago. He is sharing his testimony in youth group this Saturday! This is always a big step for a kid and I’m excited for him to have this experience.
- Lawrence is the teen boy who accepted Christ this past summer and is now undergoing a crisis of faith. He is still struggling. Please keep praying! God is obviously at work.
- Please continue also praying for Negin. God has not yet given us an assurance of her present spiritual state. Her mom (an unbeliever) is attending our ladies Bible study tomorrow morning. Perhaps God will work in another family member’s heart, making living for Christ easier for Negin . . . If you want to pray BIG, ask God to save this entire family. How amazing would it be to see a family of Iranian Muslims come to Christ!

Answered prayer!
Another request I gave you was for my parents’ trip to Berlin. As many of you know, they faced many hurdles getting here due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland which closed all of Europe’s airspace for several days. We believe it was a miraculous answer to prayer that my parents were on the very first international flight into Berlin’s Tegel Airport once the airways reopened.

God had big plans for my parents once they arrived. My dad taught a week-long youth ministry course at Word of Life Germany and then a city-wide youth leader training seminar. It’s so cool to see God use my dad to inspire youth workers internationally! His passion for the next generation is contagious.

My mom spoke at our annual ladies’ retreat and 2 women accepted Christ as Savior! Praise God with us for the salvations of Justina (from Ghana) and Chantall (from South Africa)!

Unexpected Blessing
This past Monday, I hailed a taxi to take me to the airport to pick up a BBC student coming over on a missions trip. The taxi driver and I had a 30-minute conversation in English on the way to the airport. He told me that he and his wife want to improve their English for an upcoming vacation to Florida. I invited him to attend our church to speak English with people and listen to an English sermon. This excited him greatly. He let me out at the airport promising me that he and his wife would be there Sunday. AND THEY WERE!!!! This Sunday, my taxi driver and his wife attended CrossWay. J It was so exciting to see them there. Pray for Thomas and Ilona (pronounced E-lona). I doubt they are believers. They also expressed interest in possibly attending an adult Bible study. Life’s greatest blessings are unexpected.

Salvations
God has given our church the opportunity of seeing 4 people come to Christ in the last 4 months: Anna (from Milan, Italy), Lukas (half German, half American), Justina (from Ghana) and Chantall (from South Africa). I also had an opportunity last week to take a 13-year-old girl out to lunch and talk with her about salvation. She told me she’s ready to accept Christ. I felt she may need a little more time, so I asked her to read the first three chapters of John and find the answer to the question Nicodemus asked Jesus in chapter three. She is meeting with another youth leader this week for a follow-up conversation. Pray for Arielle’s salvation. She is “1/3 German, 1/3 American and 1/3 Lebanese” (her words). She speaks Arabic at home. It’s so amazing to minister in a place with people from all over the world!

Finally, please continue praying for Sheldon Markel as he raises support with EBM to come help with the youth ministry in 2011. I’m personally very excited about getting him over here to bring in some new creativity and energy.

It’s a wonderful Life – an abundant Life!

- Kristi

Up-coming Events
Here are a few upcoming events to keep in mind as you pray for the ministry in Berlin:
June 5 CrossWay Church voting on deacons (first time ever!)
June 19 Final youth event/outreach before summer break
July 19-23 English-speaking Day Camp (for children)
July 26-30 Teen Camp

*The attached pictures are of 1) the attendees at the youth leader training seminar my dad spoke at, and 2) my mom sitting with ladies from Ghana, Italy, Honduras and the Philippines at our ladies’ retreat.

Kristi Walker – September 2008

Most of us are at least familiar with Martha Stewart’s Good Things. Well, I feel like I’ve experienced two months of good things!

It’s been said that, “More isn’t always better; sometimes it’s just more.” This is true, of course, but even if it’s not an indicator of “better”, sometimes it’s still a good thing – something in which we can rejoice!

Event Date Good Thing
English-speaking Day Camp July 28 – August 1 More children attended than ever before (105 on the highest attendance day; over 120 total)!
Teen Camp August 5-9 17 teens attended last summer; 37 attended this summer!
Kick-off teen event September 6 30 attended last September; 61 attended last Saturday!

Other “good things” would include a great European EBM conference in Wagrain, Austria August 25-29 (picture was taken that week 1,991 meters up the Alps). Also, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the Euro is dropping . . . rapidly! Erin Indovina, the intern currently with us from Purdue University, has been keeping close track of the Euro since she arrived in Berlin on July 15th. The Euro has dropped 17 cents since the middle of July – from $1.58 to $1.41!! For a missionary paid in dollars living on the Euro, this is a good thing!

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless (Philemon 1:6; Psalm 84:11).

Praising God for His good things!
Kristi

Kristi Walker – August 2008

Greetings from Berlin! Thank you to all of you who prayed for last week’s English-speaking Day Camp (VBS). We ended up with an all-time high attendance of 105 kids and at least one child accepted Christ as Savior! God is good! Many parents and children returned Sunday for our church service/closing ceremony. Please keep praying for these families!

I’m sending this e-mail to you to prompt you to praise God with us for last week AND to pray with us for this week! Tomorrow (Tuesday) starts our Teen Camp. 23 teenagers have pre-registered. This is already five more than attended last summer, and I have heard of others that are thinking of coming. A team from my supporting church in Montrose, PA arrived Saturday morning and is geared up to help run the teen camp. Please pray with us this week! I know that God has GREAT things in store for all involved!!!! Here are a few prayer requests that I shared with our church on Sunday in preparation for the teen camp:

* Health, strength and creative energy for all involved in running the camp
* The hearts of the 20+ teens that have pre-registered
* Salvation and/or spiritual growth for all who attend!
* Teens to enjoy camp and invite their friends
* Equipment to work properly (ie. musical instruments, technology)
* Growth of CrossWay’s youth group as a result of the camp

Thanks so much for joining in the effort this week through your prayers. Looking forward to the great things God will do!

Kristi

P.S. I’ve attached two pictures from last week. The boy in the green shirt (front row, 2nd picture) trusted in Christ as His Savior!

Kristi Walker – July 2008

Dear Saylorville church family,

I am stunned and completely blessed by your generous and sacrificial gift! From the bottom of my heart I thank you for paying attention to the dollar/euro situation. This extra support could not have come at a better time! May God bless you according to how you are blessing others.

Honored to serve God with you!

Kristi Walker