Where in the World are Durand and Ruth?
0 Comments Published by Durand on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at 4:20 AM.
Just for clarification's sake, some of you are wondering if we're still in Germany or if we've moved to Ireland already.
The answer: Germany.
We've got projects going at the moment that are equally handled either place, plus there's a fair bit for the summer months we can do more easily from here in Germany, so there's not a lot of pressure to move immediately. (Except that we'd like to get through the transition ASAP!)
We've no nibbles on our house yet, which means we can't do anything about finding a new place yet either. So be praying for a buyer in June, making it feasible to be moving by the summer's end.
Hope your summer plans are coming together as well. We officially have three daughters and one son-in-law employed for the summer months and are grateful to the Lord for his provision.
We've got a week of music preparation left before heading for Poland. Should be exciting. If you don't know Joni and Friends, the association we're partnering with there, here's a link.
Music for the disabled: Carton Jaune in Poland
0 Comments Published by Durand on Thursday, May 24, 2007 at 5:48 AM.
June 10th the acoustic music group Carton Jaune will be collaborating with Joni & Friends and their "Wheels for the World" program by providing music at gatherings where wheel chairs will be distributed to people with disabilities. The band hopes to attract many to seven days of music and testimony and service. Krzystov Zareba will be ending each of these gatherings with a clear explanation of the hope found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. His wife Mariola is the national president of Joni and Friends.
Carton Jaune has been playing together since 1998, when their first self-titled album was released. Russ Speiser and Durand Robinson form the core of this songwriting duo. This tour they will be accompanied by the swiss guitarist Matthias Keller and keyboardist Ruth Robinson Marj Speiser will be providing the sound and visual support for the band.
Look for regular updates on this beginning June 7th!
And pray!
Three, two, one... touchdown-takeoff!
0 Comments Published by Durand on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 7:34 AM.
Ruth and I are trying to land and take off at the same time. It's kind of interesting.I also worked with the Kandern Evangelical church to provide music for a special outreach week they were hosting.
Ruth's already been to Barcelona and back for a week of training on the use of mapping software she and the eMRG group have to provide churches with visual help in understanding their regions.
Friday I head to Brussels for an arts conference called Imagine, where I'll get a chance to meet dozens of Christians from the arts world, and getting a chance to stretch the vision of how creativity and ministry can work together.
And then next week is the big push to pull together the music for a week long outreach we'll be doing in Warsaw with Polish church planter Kzrystof Zareba. Our original band Carton Jaune will be performing at special events to promote the needs of the disabled with "Joni and Friends" and sharing the Gospel each night in the surrounding bedroom communities of Warsaw where there are currently NO witnessing fellowships.
OK, that's the landing part.
But we're also preparing for our move to Ireland by going through all our stuff, selling off a lot of our furniture, and have put our house on the market so we can move as soon as possible. We've gotten word that one of the couples we've been talking with about GEM has been asked to attend the candidate orientation in a couple of weeks and are also in conversation via email with others, especially artists, feeling the call to serve.
Keep us in your prayers.
It's kind of a birthday and graduation announcement all in one. Anna's finishing up her degree at Metro State this summer! I'm always amazed at this little lady. And a birthday as well. (Don't worry I won't tell them you're 22.)
Oops.
This picture was taken as she was being inducted into the Key Club in Denver. Yep... she's a keeper.
Dad
We've been on a desert island for the last couple of weeks and will be for months to come. Well, maybe it's not quite that bad, but for a blogger without internet at his house it can feel a bit like being cut off from the world. I'll work toward a decent post this week.
Sorry for the silence.
Durand
Prayer Postcard for April-May 2007
0 Comments Published by Durand on Wednesday, May 02, 2007 at 6:24 AM.
Sunday- Praise God for you and the others who've committed to pray and give as our ministry partners. We're thankful to have had enough pledged support to return to Germany. Pray for the remaining few hundred dollars ($400) left to be committed for the additional cost of serving in Dublin.
Monday- Praise for opportunities to serve local churches in their outreach efforts this summer. Pray for us as we serve with churches in Germany, France and Poland, and for our worship ministry at the GEM conference in Hungary.
Tuesday- Praise for the advances we're making with Imagin'Air. Pray for the revision team as we make our final changes on the curriculum and for the teams that will be reaching children this summer in Romania.
Wednesday- Praise for a helpful real estate agent in Germany to help us sell our home. Pray for a quick sale at a price that will enable us to relocate in south Dublin where we lived before. Pray also for our house hunting trip in late May.
Thursday- Praise that Ruth was able to complete the European Believers Report 2007 on schedule. This report, which covers 46 countries of Europe, is a compilation of estimates of the
numbers/percentages of Believers (followers of Christ as opposed to “cultural Christians”). Most of the data was supplied by GEM colleagues. You can view the report by clicking here. Friday- Praise for a good start on the recording of my music. Special thanks to Jimmy Dominy for his help. Pray as he begins working on the arrangements with volunteer musicians from the Atlanta music community to add to the 10 basic tracks. We’re shooting for a fall release.
Saturday- Praise for an amazing year to be with family and friends in the US. Thanks to all who helped us along the way. Pray for our family as we readjust to the distance from one another once again. Pray also for good summer employment for all 4 of our students. And a special word of congratulations for Anna as she graduates this summer! (Her birthday
is on May 9th!) Send her an email to my address and I'll forward it on to her.
Serving the Lord with you,
Durand
Some folks thought we hopped on the plane to Europe and hijacked it toward Jupiter or some far away planet never again to be heard from. NOT TRUE.
We're actually in Germany and are back at our old house for the moment. Since there's no internet there, I've realized my idea of roughing it now includes no broadband. But with only a couple of months planned here before heading to Ireland, the cost of a new broadband contract means I'll get on line a few times a week to do more than email.
We're glad to be back, but it's a little bit strange. The girls are fine back in the US, but as we go through the boxes to prepare for a move, we find a million things to remind us of them. And as well, being in Germany while really heading for Ireland feels more like a long lay-over than being back home.
This week I had the chance to play for an outreach at the Connexion Cafe, a youth hangout sponsored by the local German evangelical church. Then this weekend I'll be playing in a different venue for the same church as they're doing a week-long series of meetings for the town of Kandern to help explain the Gospel. This week-end I'm brushing off my almost non-existent German because I've got to sing two of the four songs "auf Deutsch" (in German.)
All in all, we're really amazed at how well God has cleared the way for this return to Ireland. It'll be great to look back when we finally arrive.
More to come another day.
