Overheard at a Liebenzell Missions Conference in Germany

Sunday, September 12, 2010, Liebenzell Mission International

Fall Missions Festival in Bad Liebenzell, Germany, in the northern Black Forest.

The event, under the motto of “Being Genuine”, started with a service in the tent, with Hans Peter Royer giving the message. Royer is the director of the Torchearers’ “Tauernhof” in the Austrian ski resort of Schladming. In addition, he is working as a mountain guide and as an author of books. In his message Royer reminded us that there are Christians who see their faith as an employment contract. Their profession, career and family already put quite a strain on them, so that it becomes an extra burden for them as Christians to be actively involved in the church or in their community. However, these people have succumbed to a misunderstanding: “Jesus Christ calls people to Himself, in order to give them life, not to put extra burdens on them. He wants to be neither number one nor number five in our list of activities. He wants to be the Lord who goes with us into all tasks assigned to us,” said the speaker. He emphasized that God’s love is without limits. Many people have difficulties with this because they do not know such a love from their own life experiences. “Human love always remains tied to conditions. God’s love goes beyond our thinking and experiences. Only when people internalize this love of Christ, will they be free to be what God created them for. Then they can live as joyful children of God,” said Royer.

European Tour with Jubilance Singers & Orchestra, August 2010

Hello, dear Friends,                                                                     August 24, 2010

Would you believe it? The Sunderwalds are presently in Europe! It happened quite suddenly. On Tuesday, August 10, we received a phone call from the Liebenzell Mission in Canada. On Wednesday we drove five hours to Calgary, stayed there overnight with friends and were already in the air - from Calgary to London - on Thursday.

It came about like this: We were in the midst of furnishing our new apartment (from IKEA, Edmonton) in Hinton, Alberta, when the phone call came. The Jubilance Singers and Orchestra (see www.jubilance.ca), a non-profit missionary organization made up of born-again singers & musicians of all ages, were going on a European tour and needed an interpreter for the German speaking part of it (mainly Switzerland and Germany). We joined the group in Geneva, Switzerland, on Saturday, August 14. Our tour through Switzerland took us to Romanshorn, Winterthur, back to Geneva, to Lucerne and Interlaken; then to Germany: Crailsheim, Bad Liebenzell, Pforzheim, a side trip to Strasbourg in France, then Freudenstadt, Muellheim, Rimbach, Hildesheim and Hamburg.

While Irene joined the choir, Hardy was not only interpreting but also preaching in the open air and giving devotionals. Irene was also asked to put together a program part for the children that would attend the open air performance in Hamburg. She wrote a script about The Prodigal Son for some Jubilance members to act out. Needless to say, it was enjoyed by kids and adults alike!

Presently, we are with our daughter (and her fiancé) in London, England, trying to recuperate after that whirlwind tour. On August 30, we'll fly to Toronto to spend some days with our youngest daughter and family in Ayr, Ontario, before returning to Calgary and the five-hour car drive back to Hinton. There, we hope to set up our apartment and take up a more "normal" life again.

 

You can find 62 pictures related to the Jubilance tour on my Facebook entry (under Hardy Sunderwald).

 

Love and God's blessing to all,

 

Hardy and Irene

Great is Thy Faithfulness!

Hello, Everyone!

This is my first entry on my Blog. Here I plan to share my thoughts, experiences and observations from travels and daily life, with an emphasis on God's great faithfulness.

Currently I'm visiting my daughter in England with my wife after a whirlwind tour of Switzerland, France and Germany with Jubilance Singers and Orchestra - more on that later!

Yesterday we had a scrumptious supper:  Angus burgers topped with bacon and cheese, served with french fries and a mushroom gravy and a salad - yum!

This picture is of my first rugby game. It was a charity match played by my soon-to-be son-in-law for Twickenham (in red and black) versus Egham (in green). The teams got together in order to raise money for one of the Egham team members whose son has leukemia.  "Ts" won by six points!

Later we rewarded ourselves with fish and chips at The Three Horseshoes in Laleham.

For tomorrow I will go to mass, which should be interesting for me as a Free Church Pastor, while my wife and daughter will attend Duke Street Church close by.

More to come!

Dr Hardy