I preached in Freudenstadt, Germany, on 18 July in our home church. Now we are leaving for the United States on Friday to attend the General Assembly of the Church of God. After that we will get to spend one week vacation in Clearwater, Florida, with our son’s family, my parents, and two brothers. Then we will fly to California to spend a second week of vacation with our daughter’s family. We will return home to Germany on 16 August. We look forward to possibly seeing some of you at the General Assembly.

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In the evening of 11 July after the celebration meal in Rome, we went to another Romanian church to be with them. I preached and we enjoyed the presence of the Lord. Rome was hot, but God blessed us with His presence throughout the weekend, which is always a refreshing time.

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59 students received certificates from the European Theological Seminary for completing the first-year course of studies, Foundations Course, at a service in Rome on 11 July. I preached that morning and then handed the students their certificates. This is always a joyful occasion for students and teachers. Martin Schaser oversees this school extension and also was present from Austria. Afterwards there was a celebration meal and we enjoyed being able to worship in a Romanian service. It reminded Carol and me of our days living in Bucharest as missionaries 20 years ago. We were proud of these students.

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On Saturday, 10 July, Carol and I were in Rome, Italy,  to represent the European Theological Seminary at the graduation event of our Extension School of Christian Ministries located there among four Romanian churches. That evening the students, both current and graduating, met together at church. I, along with two of their teachers, spoke to them. It was good to be back among the Romanians again. We all enjoyed real Italian pizza afterwards.

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Carol and I celebrated 27 years of marriage on 2 July. We thank God for blessing us with these years to serve Him together. Some of our co-workers and friends came by to wish us a happy day. Vio Bogatzky, Otto Pesel, and Tabita Pnacsek brought us candy and flowers. Thanks also to all in America who sent greetings in various ways.

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After preaching in Crossroads International Church in Freudenstadt on 20 June, we were blessed to worship in two nations on 27 June. In the morning  I preached in a suburb of Basel, Switzerland. In the evening we were back across the Rhine River in Rheinfelden, Germany, where I preached at the Christliche Zentrum Church of God, pastored by Antonio and Anna Imparato.  In between we had a nice meal with a church family and watched Germany defeat England in a World Cup match. God helped us in each service and people responded for prayer times in each church. Pastor Imparato is being used by God in this whole border area, and we appreciated him arranging these visits.

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We went to Mannheim, Germany, on 6 June where I preached. The Christliches Zentrum Mannheim church is pastored by Doyle & Manuela Rehmel, and is one of the largest Church of God congregations in Germany. The church recently moved locations to a downtown site in a nice athletic center. It was also a pleasure to be with two ETS students there. Borislav Romakov is a Masters student and serves as minister of music and youth. Bora finished our BA degree program last year. Oliver Müller is a current third year BA student who is home in Mannheim for summer practicum ministry. Oliver translated for me. You can see them in the photo. God blessed many in the service, and we thank Him for His presence.

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As the 2009-2010 school year ended at the European Theological Seminary on 28 May, we had our final faculty and staff meeting. It is a pleasure to serve with these dedicated, hard-working Christians whom I want to list to honor and appreciate them. Faculty: Paul Schmidgall (also president), Carl Simpson (also dean), Michael Dieterich, Benson Vaughan, Cathy Vaughan (also librarian), Vance Massingill, Jivko Jeliazkov, Otto Pesel (also business office), Anuta Naros, and Rodney Friend. Staff: Gabi Schmidgall (Manager), Jacky Simpson (Registrar), Martin Reinecker (House Master), Joachim Seitle (Cook), Violetta Bogatzki (Secretary), Tabita Pnacsek (Dorm Supervisor),  Helge Tietz (Kitchen), Erika Kuhne (Kitchen), and Carol Friend (Assistant librarian). These are great servants of God and a great team. Thank you for praying for us.

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The last of the final exams at the European Theological Seminary ended today, 28 May. The students will now depart for their summer ministry practicums and some rest. Seniors will continue writing their Senior Papers. God has blessed us with a great school year.

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Each year ETS concludes its year with a Family Day celebration put on by the second year students. This year on 19 May we had a Medieval theme, and we were asked to come dressed in that style of clothing. Our king and queen were Carl and Jackie Simpson, dean/teacher and registrar respectively. Carol and I went as serfs. It was a great evening of fun, games, food and relaxation as a school family. Next week final exams!

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