Dear All,The Saturday before we left for a week, we spent at the Chritmas Market in Nurenberg. We are standing near the Albrecht Duerer house. He may be Nurenberg's most famous painter, he painted the famous "praying Hands". We had a wonderful day in Nurenberg, but the most special time for us was the time we spent with 2 humanitarian mission couples working in Macedonia, Kosovo; and Serbia, Bosnia. The good they do, and the love the receive from the people they help is amazing. They are having experiences money can not buy.
While in Nurenberg we thought we would have our picture taken with Santa
This church is in the Market square and everyday at 12;00 the bells toll and the music plays and the figures go around the king sitting on his throne. The church is not ornate on the inside, but the outside is very beautiful. This is a Luthern church.
Here is Susan with Sister Juncker ( the Junckers serve in Macedonia and Kosovo), they volunteer every Monday morning in this soup Kitchen run by the Sister's of Charity. This is the same order of nuns to which Mother Theresa belonged. These nuns are kind and very loving people and really do a lot of good for the local poor. When the soup is completed this kettle will be completely full. For some who come here this bowl of soup and bread will be the only meal of the day. The nuns really love and appreciate the Junckers, and the church has a great relationship with the nuns.
This picture shows Susan with Br. and Sister Juncker and Sister Angela, she is the nun in charge. When she was young she work directly with Mother Theresa. She has run this soup kitchen aand a shelter for abused woman and their children for some years now. Every day except Thursday and Sunday the nuns provide soup and bread to the poor and hungry. When we were done this whole kettle on the stove was full of potato soup. About 150 people are feed each day. Not all can fit into the small room so many bring containers and take the soup home to their families.
In this picture Susan is in a village up on a hill in Bosnia where the church is funding a "clean water project" Because of an inadequate water line some of these people in the summer may go 2-3 days without running water to their home. Others have no running water in their home at all. The church is funding a project to lay an additional water line from a spring to 2 holding tanks. With full tanks the people will have water every day during the summer. This project will also bring water into home that haven't had running water, and the inhabitants had to carry water every day to their home. The Lady with her hand on Susan's arm and her husband are the missionary couple in Bosnia and Serbia, they have directed this project and oversaw that the work was done. The village people here have a tremendous appreciation and love for this couple as you can imagine. The local TV station and newspaper covered the symbolic event of turning on the water. The ceremony was MC ed by the local Muslim cleric. A representative of the regional vice premier spoke and well as the mayor's representative. The national director of the Red Cross was there and spoke extremely highly of the church and all the different projects the church has funded to help the people of Bosnia. Bosnia is 95% Muslim, and the church is reaching across religious borders to improve the quality of life for these people. An amazing amount of good is being done by the missionaries and the church, and the people all know it and appreciate it. This was a tiring but very rewarding week.As Christmas quickly approaches we want to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy new year. Our wish is for more of the world to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, and that you may feel the comfort of His love in your life.
We love you all,
Oma und Opa
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