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Our team logo has three worlds with Europe and the Middle East visible. The three colors represent the three worlds of Eastern Europe, Western Europe and the Middle East. They also represent how we divide our three areas of ministry. Most importantly, they represent the three worlds of Christianity: Traditional, Post-Christendom, and Non-Western. Visit our website www.three-worlds.com to learn more about "the Three Worlds of Christianity."
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Please note that the giving platform for Church of God Ministries has changed to Faithlife.
If you have been giving by credit card, and have not yet switched over, you will need to visit the links below to resubmit your card information.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
Support
Patrick & Jamie Nachtigall
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send checks to:
Church of God Ministries Inc.
P.O. Box 2420
Anderson, IN 46018
Memo: 42.10068
Support
NextGen Fund
Here
Memo: 42.30401
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January/February/March 2020
volume 20 issue 1
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COVID-19 STRIKES EUROPE
T
he last several weeks have brought tremendous changes across the globe. Covid-19 has brought the world to a near stand-still. It has been surreal for us to once again experience life with a virus 17 years, to the month, after experiencing the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong in 2003. That experience many years ago prepared us well for what we are experiencing this spring.
L
ike so many people everywhere, we are following the guidelines of our host country, Germany, by staying at home and only venturing out for necessities. Borders have been closed; our most commonly used airport has no flights coming or going. Marco's schooling has transitioned to online learning. But we are well and healthy and doing what we can to keep life "normal."
O
ur team is also well and healthy. All are following their host countries' guidelines - all are at home and going out for necessities every 2-3 weeks. At the moment, no one is feeling the need to move or return to the US. The Langfords returned to Alabama several weeks ago to spend time with Audrey's father, whose health has taken a turn for the worse. And just this past week, Zach's stepfather in Florida passed away after extended illness. Please lift the Langfords up in prayer as they navigate these difficult situations. Our whole team is staying in touch regularly through internet calls and messaging.
T
he news has been dire, especially in Europe. Italy, Spain, Germany, and the UK have had a particularly difficult time. Though Germany seems to be managing the pandemic well, the death toll is still staggering and is even worse in other countries. We have all been touched by tragedy in one way or another. But there is also good news. In some locations, governments are very slowly working towards reopening segments of society. In Italy, in the midst of tragedy, we welcome new life as Marcos and Katherine Lovaglio added Noah to their family. And our churches and ministries are forging ahead as they are able. Many have transitioned their services online and finding new, creative ways to reach out to their communities.
G
od is sovereign. Yesterday, today and tomorrow.
3W staying connected
The church goes on....online.
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UKRAINE YOUTH TAKES FIRST MISSION TRIP
L
ast November, we wrote about Patrick's visit with Masha from the Ukraine CHOG. Eighteen-year-old Masha was inspired to become a missionary when she, at age 11, heard Patrick speak. Masha is now a Bible college student that takes regular mission trips to other places in Ukraine.
This March, with the help of funds from the NextGen project, Masha was able to go on her first-ever overseas mission trip. She spent six weeks on the island nation of Sri Lanka, just south of India, sharing the Lord with children and adults. Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, she was stranded in Sri Lanka for an extra two weeks. Masha, however, was not concerned. She has great faith in the Lord and is a natural missionary. We are so proud of how hard she has worked over the years to get to this point in her life. She is a wonderful young lady and God has great plans for her life.
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NAVIGATING THE ONSLAUGHT
With the grounding of flights and the cancellation of many plans, Patrick has had more time to read, research and write. S
ince pandemics are a time when there are lots of rumors and false information shared (particularly on the internet), he has begun posting reliable news stories, academic studies and abstracts, and articles from respected medical journals on Facebook and Twitter at Get Your World On.
In an effort to weed through all the information, he has also posted five audio episodes/ podcasts on the coronavirus at the website
www.getyourworldon.com
. These five episodes give an overview of this current virus, discuss how it spreads and how it will affect travel, and offer up good news amidst all the bad news. We were very concerned about the lack of good information initially going out and have had many friends in various countries not taking it seriously or not expecting it to become an issue for them.
This new website that Patrick updates daily will be a regular source of information, and we hope this service is helpful during these difficult times. We believe the best antidote to fear is knowledge. No one should live in fear and everyone should be as well-informed as possible. That is how we, as a global community, will get through this unique challenge.
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MARCO'S WORLD
Like 500 million other children around the world, Marco is currently at home every day doing online education. Marco was about to finish up the third quarter of his junior year in high school when Covid-19 began to hit Germany and school was closed. Our town is on the border of Switzerland and France, both of which were hit hard early on by the virus. In the nearby city of Mulhouse, France, an evangelical church had a major outbreak in what became the most infected region in France. Switzerland struggled because so many from the hard hit north of Italy commute to work in Switzerland.
For the past several months, Jamie has been volunteering at the front desk of Marco's school, Black Forest Academy. As the crisis grew in Italy, Marco and Jamie sensed things were getting critical quickly. Marco was born during the 2003 SARS epidemic in Hong Kong, so our family was more familiar with how quickly these viruses can get out of control. We pulled Marco out a week before his classmates, but Jamie continued to volunteer at the school.
W
hen Germany closed the schools, many students like Marco began to study from home while many boarding students returned to their home countries. Unfortunately, about half of the boarding school kids were not able to get out and are spending this period of lock down thousands of miles away from their parents. This has been very worrying and difficult for the dorm parents as well. Pray for the Black Forest Academy, for Marco and his classmates, and for the students separated from family.
Marco has stayed very informed, advising friends as he is able, and has been very responsible with his online learning. He has handled this unusual situation and unique stress with great patience and grace.
Photo above
: Though the first couple of days were bumpy, Marco settled well into his new routine.
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