They moved to a small town in the former East Germany in 1993 with three young children, into a house they’d renovated with help from friends and family. Thirty-five years later, they’re retiring — and their story is a picture of what quiet, long obedience looks like.
How It Began
It began during Bible school, when this husband-and-wife team first heard about ministry to children in Eastern Germany. The region had spent decades under state atheism, and they saw the chance to help a whole generation hear, for the first time, that God loved them. They followed that call east — first near one city, then another — before settling in a small town with good road access, close enough to serve the wider region.
Thirty-Five Years of Camps and Kids’ Clubs
For over three decades, they poured themselves into that calling. Kids’ clubs, camps, training for local workers, outreach at public pools and campsites — whatever door opened, they walked through it. Twenty-five summers running camps stand out, some held right in their own home and garden: a girls’ week, a boys’ week, every year. It wasn’t always easy. But they say God never once failed to send them the co-workers they needed — in the kitchen, and alongside the children.
The Need Hasn’t Gone Away
They’re quick to point out the need hasn’t shrunk. In the north of Eastern Germany especially, Bible-believing churches are still few and far between, while children who’ve never heard of God are not. Their prayer, as they step back, is that a new generation of young workers would feel that same pull toward this region.
What Comes Next
Retirement doesn’t mean stepping away from children altogether — they’re looking forward to more time with their own church family and their grandchildren, with two more on the way this year. And they’re trusting God for whatever comes next, even without a plan yet in hand.
Their final months are full: last kids’ clubs, one more round of summer camps, a final ministry conference, and a last gathering with the local leaders who’ve stood by them for years — to say thank you, and goodbye.
As this couple hands off the baton, would you join us in praying that new workers — especially younger ones — would sense that same call to Eastern Germany? The fields are still there. They’re just waiting for hands.
-Testimony of workers in CEF of Germany (Andreas & Conny)
(Image:Adobe Express)
