Thought I'd do I quick update since I can't sleep and not sure when I will have time to get back to my blog for a couple of weeks.
Baton Rouge / Church Planting Conference I just returned to Bonn last Saturday from a terrific short trip to the States. If your my Friend on Facebook you saw pics from the Association of Related Churches / All Access Church Planters conference in Baton Rouge. I promise to try to post some of them here soon.
In Jacksonville After the All Access meeting I was off to see my son Shawn and granddaughter Antonella in Jacksonville. While there I connected with the 103rd Street Church of God church located there. They have a terrific men's group led by Cliff Hare. I love working with all kinds of denominations.
Back to Phoenix From there it was back to Phoenix to minister at a gathering of house churches to talk about what was happening here in Europe. This associated group of home churches all met in one location so I could up date them at one time. Sunday morning I drove up to Word of Life Assembly of God Church in Chino Valley, Arizona to minister at their children's church about being a missionary in Germany. It was all great fun. I brought the kids some German candies that they loved (and so do I).
Back to Phoenix with a stop off to my friends Nathan and Deborah Hale to see their brand new, one month old, baby boy Judah. How cute was he.
I was only in Phoenix a week before returning to Germany. Guess I didn't want to wear out my welcome with Mark and Bonnie McKibben. Bless their hearts, they have allowed me to stay with them at their Scottsdale home for the last few years. They just "got rid" of me the month before when I surprised them with a quick return. Anyway, thanks Mark and Bonnie for letting me feel like I'm home when I stay with you.
Upcoming Ministry in the Baltics Friday morning, I'm off again for the next two weeks to Hamburg, Germany, Tallin, Estonia, Riga, Latvia and Klaipeda, Lithuania. I'm connecting with Paul Cole of the Christian Men's Network in Hamburg to minister to the men in those countries. I'll try to post some pics as I travel but I'm not sure about access to the Internet during the trip.
Will keep you posted.
Blessings, Rev. Lawrence Blakeslee Missionary to Europe & Asia
The Icelandic volcano caused all kinds of chaos in Europe. It caused the cancellation of the Christian Men's Network Meetings on Thursday since no one was able to fly anywhere in Europe. My Thursday morning flight from Bonn was canceled Wednesday night but I found an early Friday morning flight on different airline.
Paul Cole who came from the U.S. had to be driven from the CMN Aachen, Belgium meetings to the mid-week meetings in Budapest, Hungry. He and his wife Judi were stuck in Budapest. Getting to Helsinki was impossible and getting stuck there, out of the question. They finally drove for 18 hours to Amsterdam on the hope they would be able to return to the U.S. for his meetings there.
The other team members, Daniel Kawku and Fred Fredricks could not fly from London to Helsinki. They finally arrived late Friday night and feeling good that they could get any flight out.
No one will forget those weeks when people were stuck in airports and the trains and ferries completely full. Rental cars were all sold out and on the roads trying to get their occupants to their destinations. But it was all worth the extra effort to get to minister to the people of Finland.
This was my first visit to Finland and the beginning of many trips in the future. The Finnish people were incredible to me. There was an instant spiritual connection. Making a direct connection to the Finnish men will help me in writing future articles for the Tosimies-Lehti Christian Men's Magazine. www.tosimies-lehti.fi
I've been invited by a local pastor to return in September and preach at his church plus it looks like we'll also have another Christian Men's Meeting while I am there. I'm looking forward to my return.
Our first meeting on Friday evening was at a beautiful downtown Helsinki Lutheran church built in 1826.
Meeting with my translator before the meeting.
The following are pics from the Christian Men's Network meetings on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's all day meeting was at Mission Church, a Helsinki inter-city church. The Sunday services were in a nearby cityofNurmijärvi at a local Pentecostal church.
The Old and the New in Helsinki
The First Lutheran Church in Espoo, Finland
The Ferry to Tallin, Estonia
Street Musicians & an Old Restored Fish Market
Larry praying for a Mia, a young deaf mother, as the other lady "signs" for both of us.
It was blessing. I found out later from Mia, the signer wasn't a Believer, "yet".
The final shot from a great weekend of ministry for the CMN Crew, Daniel Kawku, Kimmo Janas, Fred Fredricks, Larry Blakeslee, and Petri Aalto
Blessings,
Rev. Lawrence Blakeslee
Missionary to Europe & Asia
I've lived near Bonn, Germany, since 2002. Working as an ordained minister and missionary working in Europe and Asia. My heart and calling is to serve the Body of Christ in general but especially to minister the Good News of the Gospel to children. I am also heavily involved in men's ministry, parenting and church planting.
The Mission First Step Ministries mission is currently involved in ministry to men, parenting and church planting.
A new project called Kids Ministry Network has recently started. It's mission is to create a relational online community to link children's ministry workers throughout Europe.
Goals & Objectives · The Kids Ministry Network will provide relationships among European Children's ministry workers. · Provide free or low cost children's curriculum in every European language. · Provide additional training for children's workers. · Create peer to peer connections to share issues and find solutions for children's ministry. · Help men to see victory in all areas of their lives. · Help plant churches in Europe so families have a place to learn and grow in God's Biblical principles.
A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. - Thomas Mann
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