We arrived in Germany eight weeks ago and this is only the second full week we have spent in the office. It was good to dig in and get some work done. Besides our regular meetings, we worked with our three infield couples in Spain to present five of their projects for approval. One was for a refugee center in the Canary Islands, another for a convent housing Ukrainian civilians who have been wounded during the war. We also worked with them long-distance to review past projects and get them closed in our computer system. It is a privilege to work with such dedicated people.
We spent most of our time this week finalizing details for the school inauguration in Türkiye. Our area president and a delegation of close to 20 people will be accompanying us so the logistics are intense. We also finalized the assembly of 2000 school kits for children to be donated in conjunction with the inauguration.
We held a country strategy council for Germany, Austria, and German speaking Switzerland. Instead of being reactive (managing random humanitarian projects that are brought to us) we are trying to be proactive. Between now and the end of the year we need to decide on two major areas of focus for each country. With research done by an intern last summer and the expertise of our in-country humanitarian couples, managers, and input from local church leaders we are learning a lot. In these online councils we are prayerful, we make sure everyone has a chance to express their views, and it is amazing to experience the synergy that occurs as we come to a consensus. This will occupy a lot of our time during the next few months (two, two-hour council sessions x 9 countries= 36 hours of meetings plus the research, preparation, and typing up of notes after each meeting)
We took some of our favorite office employees to lunch one day. Celia- humanitarian analyst, Coraline- humanitarian specialist, Lorena- executive assistant. Let’s be honest- these ladies run the office. En serio!
Our office was gifted a replica of the original life-sized statue found in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican. In 2019 it was the first statue added to the square in over 350 years. In ‘Angels Unawares’ 140 migrants and refugees are huddled on a boat surrounding a pair of angel wings. The group represents many migrants and refugee stories- from a young Irish boy fleeing famine to a Syrian refugee escaping civil war, to Mary and Joseph. These refugees from all cultural and racial backgrounds and all historic periods are crowded together shoulder to shoulder. This piece was sculpted by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz and was inspired by the biblical verse in Hebrews 13:2 “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
With love, Elder & Sister Lamb (aka Ed & Debbie, Mom & Dad, Pop Pop & Tu Tu)
Lambs in Central Europe 