50% Deadline & Egg Cracking Fun

Last Saturday, February 19th, the team went out into the Tulsa community on a beautiful sunny day to do our Egg Cracking Fundraiser. We simply invited people to crack a real egg on top of our heads and welcomed them to make a donation if they felt so led. It was a very fun and successful day.

Team Germany is excited to tell you that our entire team reached our 50% deadline this past Tuesday, February 22nd! We have been very blessed from our generous givers. Thank you all for your donations. We appreciate it so much. Our 100% deadline is March 28th. We are working on putting together more fundraisers to help us meet our final goal.

Spotlight: Aubrey Robinson

Hey There Everyone! My name is Aubrey Robinson, and I am a freshman from Edmond, Oklahoma. I am currently studying Health and Exercise Science. Similar to other team members, this too will be my first mission trip with the school, and I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for the team and the people of Germany. A few random facts about me: I love soccer, sushi, Indian food, traveling, reading, thinking, sunshine, the outdoors, and being spontaneous.
A verse the Lord has most recently placed on my heart for this trip is found in Luke 4:18-19 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." These verses alone have a four-fold ministry about them: proclaim, release, recover, and set free. In order to reach the hearts of the those who are lost in Germany, we must operate in the magnificent power that lies deep within us due to the residing Holy Spirit. May God be glorified and His name lifted up!

Spotlight: Grace Varghese

Hey there, I am Grace Varghese, originally from Valley Cottage/Nyack, NY. I graduated from Oral Roberts University this past December with a bachelor’s degree in theology. My major was Pastoral Care Ministry, with a concentration in youth ministry. Though at some point in my life I would like to be a youth pastor, eventually my goal is to be part of a curriculum development organization for youth ministries as well as network churches at a local, statewide, and perhaps nationwide level.

I have never gone on a mission trip before and since this year is already full of change, I decided this would be the year I commit to a trip. I am so excited!

There are quite a few things I love to do. I write [my blog: http://www.opendoor-thoughts.blogspot.com ]; on occasion I dabble with fiction. I love to take pictures [http://www.flickr.com/gvfree ]. I also write music and play guitar. Also, I spend so much time on food sites [recipes, reviews, you name it] – by the time we go on this trip, I will have specific places in mind.

Ephesians 3:16-21 holds a place in my heart because it reminds me that by knowing Him, we are given the chance to dive deep into His steadfast love – not only does it changes us constantly, but it allows us to do so much more than we could ever imagine on our own. And that is the point of this trip – to make ourselves available to the experience and to open our eyes to the bigger picture we have the opportunity to be in.

Grace Varghese

Spotlight: Assistant Team Leader, Ruth Adamiec

Hallo! (Hello in German) My name is Ruth Adamiec and I am from the Northern California town of Concord. I am a senior at ORU finishing my undergraduate degree in Health and Exercise Science. My goal is to continue my education at the University of Oklahoma in their double master's program with a M.A. in Dietetics and M.S. in Nutritional Biology. My parents immigrated from Poland and our entire extended family is in Poland. Thus, my parents, my sisters, and I all have a huge heart for Eastern Europe and their salvation in Jesus Christ. Random facts: I am a twin, enjoy active outdoor activities, sharing the Gospel, traveling, can play the violin, and hope to have a golden retriever puppy one day!

The scripture passage that I have been meditating on, and pray we can share countless times in Germany, is Philippians 3:7-11

"But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

He has created us to know Him and to enjoy Him forever! All the treasures we try to heap up and gain on this earth are vanity and loss. But truly knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is ultimate gain- for this life and the life to come! We as Team Germany pray for fertile soil in Germany in the hearts of many so that this message, His Gospel, would bring many to confess Jesus Christ as Savior and LORD!

Fundraising & Task Groups

As Team Germany approaches our 50% deadline on February 21st, we are continuing to fund raise. As a team we are working on getting new fundraisers set up. In order to best meet our fundraising goals, we have been divided up into task groups. Each task group is made up of two people from the team that work together and share common strengths.

Our task groups include:

Administration: Roman and Ruth

• Meet with RC’s and outreach office frequently
• Guide direction of team to be prepared
• Promote cohesiveness within team
• Develop leaders for future

Fundraising: Michael and Eric

• Plan and coordinate fundraising events
• Notify team of when fundraisers are
• Extrapolate financial/fundraiser course to meet deadlines
• Keep active communication with the businesses that we are receiving ink from as well as with team members who are collecting the ink cartridges

Public Relations: Liz and Karis

• Write blogs every other Thursday
• Create update letter template
• Promote awareness with contacts of where we currently with fundraising and when deadlines are
• Take photos at team events/meetings

Activities: Stephanie

• Plan and coordinate team hangouts and outreaches for every other week (mostly towards end of year)
• Remind team of events

Culture: Grace and Aubrey

• Learn about history/ facts of Germany especially important spiritual/religious events
• Inform team of news in Germany
• Learn and teach team important German words and phrases

These task groups are helping us accomplish things as a team, be proactive fundrasiers, and learn more about ourselves and Germany.