In early February, Ben and Sarah Carey, international workers serving in Waren, Germany, welcomed seven Germans to their sending church, Westgate Chapel in Toledo, Ohio. This small team ran a German camp on February 3–5 to thank this couple for their work. More than 300 people attended to learn about German culture.
Through the kindness and warmth of the church members, many of the Germans felt the love of Christ in a way they never had before. They left saying, “We thought we would be cared for very well. But we had no idea how loved we would be.”
Humbled
Before the Careys’ German friends departed, they attended Sunday morning worship at Westgate Chapel. One woman, Alice*, had previously been to a church only as a cultural experience, but this time she was moved by the music.
Toward the end of the service, she approached Sarah, held her tightly, and wept. “I’m strong,” Alice said. “I cannot explain these feelings.” She left quickly, but Sarah followed her. Sarah shared that God knows exactly how to speak to His people, and if the music moved her emotionally, it meant God was trying to reach her.
“I was humbled by how openly she shared with me,” Sarah writes. “She has always valued being a ‘strong’ person, but she was just so overwhelmed by how welcoming people were to her.”
Seeking Truth
Prior to this trip, Edmund*, the 19-year-old son of a woman Sarah works with in Germany, had never been in a church building before. “Do all these people believe in God?” he asked Sarah. “Will it insult them that I have my own beliefs?”
Sarah assured him that no one would be offended. She asked him about his beliefs and then shared her own. As a result, Edmund became interested in learning more about Sarah’s faith. Not only did he talk with her, but he also had many conversations about Christ with other church members.
One of them was David, Edmund’s host. David continually shared with him about salvation and gave him an English Bible. “David told me that the only way I will ever fill the empty place in my heart is with Jesus,” he told Sarah on their way back to the airport. “Can we talk about this?”
Edmund and Sarah conversed about Jesus for more than an hour. A few days after he arrived home, Edmund asked for a German Bible so he could understand it better. As soon as the Careys sent one to him, he wrote to them, saying, “What book will we read together first?”
The Careys are planning to read the Gospel of Mark with Edmund when they return from home assignment. The young man has also made plans to come back to the States to visit David, his “American dad,” in August and will help build a new mission property in Waren when he finishes carpentry school.
“We are blown away by what God is doing in and through him,” Sarah exclaims. Pray that Edmund will put his trust in Christ and continue to seek Truth.
*Name changed