Thun, Switzerland

Ivan Voser is minister for the congregation which meets in Thun, Switzerland.  Here are recent reports on the work with this congregation.

Ivan and Lena Voser
Ziegeleistrasse 34a
3612 Steffisburg Switzerland

Sponsoring congregation:

Park Ave church of Christ [Phone: 901 682–1220]
5295 Park Ave
Memphis TN 38119–3543

Reports:

• October ’14
• June ’15
• May ’15
• April ’15
• March ’15
• February ’15
• January ’15
• December ’14
• November ’14
• October ’14
• September ’14
• August ’14
• July ’14
• June ’14
• May ’14
• April ’14
• March ’14
• February ’14
• January ’14
• September ’13
• August ’13
• July ’13
• June ’13
• May ’13
• April ’13
• March ’13
• February ’13
• January ’13
• December ’12
• November ’12
• October ’12
• September ’12
• August ’12
• June ’12
• May ’12
• March ’12
• February ’12
• January ’12
• December ’11
• November ’11
• October ’11
• September ’11
• August ’11
• July ’11
• June ’11
• May ’11
• April ’11
• March ’11
• February ’11
• January ’11
• December ’10
• November ’10
• October ’10
• September ’10
• August ’10
  
• July ’10
• June ’10 (picture of advertisement: Real friends, Real faith, Real life)
• May ’10
• April ’10
• March ’10
• February ‘ 10
• January ’10
• December ’09
• November ’09

http://www.parkave.org/?p=7619

Newsletter March 2010

Dear brothers and sisters,

Grillfest planning group at our apartment

In April and May two groups will meet to plan two informal and non-threatening church meetings in July and December for which we want to invite guests. This is a new effort to evangelize and we hope that this helps to make the churchs’ outreach stronger. A third group will be meeting with Peter who has some ideas on how the church could present itself in the future on the Internet and on flyers. The church is ready to take new steps for making the people around us aware of this church.

We pray that with these efforts we will have some impact on people. I will inform you more on these ideas, as they are further developed. We have also put a group together that will meet to come up with a plan to help orphans in the Ukraine. At this point I would like to share with you some developments in our outreach with people that we have been in contact with for a long time and with some recent church visitors.

Old and New Church Visitors

Margrit and Johanna, which we have known for more than five years, still do not come to church services. Occasionally, they call my parents to talk about different things that disturb them in their churches or in their lives. They both still have not been at our worship service this year and Johanna has never been at our church service. Of course, to not make a decision is also a decision in which one says “no.” They studied the Bible with my parents, some also with Lena and me, for at least four years. My parents stopped their Bible study with them about a year ago and point every time they talk to them to the worship service on Sunday morning and the Bible study on Wednesday evening for which they may join us. They remain indecisive.

We have had a new couple attending the worship service for the last few weeks. Their names are Daniel and Tine with their three year old son Benjamin. They have visited a number of churches during the last few years, but they have missed the emphasis on Bible reading and Bible teaching in each one of these churches. They both were baptised as adults. They seem to feel comfortable at this church. Tine comes from Germany and has lived in Switzerland for one and a half years. She appreciates that we have the worship service in the German language and not in Swiss dialect. Lena and I have had them over to our apartment once where we got to know each other better and we learned something about their Christian background. It seems like they are close in their thinking to what this church believes in and practices, but we will have to see over the next few months if some issues may come up suddenly that make them decide to leave, as we have experienced it many times before. We though have at this time a very good impression on this couple.

News about People

Ruedi and Peter after Sunday morning worship

Peter is still unemployed, but he is in good spirit. He uses this time of unemployment in part to help the church with some advertising ideas for our outreach. Elfriede has to continue to take pills for her sick liver. In addition, she continues to suffer tinnitus, a constant sound in her ears, which cannot be healed.

Asking for your prayers:

• Elfriede, 81, who takes pills for her liver and suffers from a constant sound in her ears, tinnitus
• Lena’s mother who is undergoing chemotherapy to fight breast cancer
• Peter who has been unemployed since January of this year
• Regina’s husband, Peter, is looking for a full-time teaching position for ethnology.
• Babies: Ilja’s, Elena’s and Jeanette’s health and continual growth
• Angelica who is expected to give birth to a child in September
• Teenagers of church members – Anna, 20; Mathias, 18; Benjamin, 14; Rahel, 12;
• Ueli, a church visitor, who went to serve in the military service for several months
• Margrit and Johanna who remain indecisive

Any Funds Can Be Sent to Our Overseeing Congregation:

Park Avenue Church of Christ / 5295 Park Avenue / Memphis, TN 38119

Grace and Peace,

Ivan + Lena Voser

Ziegeleistrasse 34a / 3612 Steffisburg /  Switzerland

E-Mail: voserivan@hotmail.com  / Phone number: 0041 33 534 57 37

Newsletter February 2010

Dear brothers and sisters,

In the last few years the membership has varied from 20 to more than 25, not counting children. Currently, we are 24 members and 7 children/teenagers. Although we have been growing, we have also lost members. We lost members because they stopped wanting to meet with the church for various reasons. One member led an immoral life and did not accept any gentle correction. One member thought that we were too conservative. A couple joined the church, but then left again after one year because the husband had his own particular views of church. One member moved to another city and attends the local church there. I can say that every time one member left, the church felt deeply about it even though we knew that most of these people had to leave unless an attitude change occurred. In spite of all these people leaving, the church has slowly grown in numbers since 2002, when I started my full-time ministry with 19 members, including myself. Though the most positive about the growing process is not a great increase in numbers, but the unity that has become stronger among the members and the willingness to serve has become greater. What may that tell us? It makes clear that the members who stayed, have drawn closer to each other and they make up a stable church body. I believe that we can now concentrate on the growing process more than before where there were at times severe dissensions and quarrels within the church.

Andrea with her baby Jeanette that was born on February 11 2010

Adults and children make up now more than 30 in attendance

With the birth of a baby in February of this year, we have grown as a church over 30 people. This includes members or children of members who are at church at least once a month. We have had four newborn babies within just a little over a year. Also, we had two spiritual births last year, James and Maria. We hope the baby boom will last for a while and that we also can experience a few baptisms in the next few years.

What are the main obstacles for growth? Johanna and Margrit told my parents over again that they wanted to come to church. Margrit has been once or twice at church service on Sunday morning and perhaps two or three times a at Bible study on Wednesday evening over the past year. Johanna has still not yet come to church. Our prayer is that eventually they both will come and stay. Ueli is another visitor. Last year he even seemed to be almost ready for baptism and now he is not anymore. Currently, he is still in the military service. He continues to stay in close contact with James and Martin who are his neighbours asking them Bible questions. He also sometimes attends church services.

Our teenagers Rahel, 13, and Benjamin, 15

We have still almost all the teenagers of church members who attend regularly. Anna turned twenty years old last November and continues to attend church, when she is not overloaded with her study and work. One time she came to church with her computer and worked after the worship service on a seminar paper for her education as an elementary teacher. She also works five or six hours on Sunday afternoon to finance her education. She once said that she feels like she is too young to make a decision to become a Christian. She remains a regular visitor. Benjamin, 14 and Rahel, 12, still come with their parents to the worship service every Sunday. Once every few months Lena and I have a Bible study with them during their vacation time from school. What conclusion is there to be drawn? We continue to work with these and other people and we need patience and may be even more patience than ever.

How We Want to Improve our Outreach

This year we work on enlarging the number of church contacts that come to church events like the Knusperfestli in December or the Grillfest in July. We want to encourage church members more to bring along as many people as possible. One way to do that is by printing invitations that church members can give to their friends. We also will pursue with the help of orphans in the Ukraine. That certainly can also provide opportunities for new contacts. This is especially true if we can find regular donators who become appreciative of this work we are doing. There are other ways in which we will try to reach out. As we continue to work on our outreach, I will inform you in which ways we are creating mission opportunities.

Regula and Elfriede after the worship service

News about People

Elfriede, 81, has to take a lot of medicine because of her liver that is not working properly. She is doing a little better. She registered for an elderly residence place so she can be better taken care of. The procedure to find an apartment can take years, but we pray that she will soon find an apartment where she will receive good care. Angelica, who is in her third month of pregnancy, started her final exams for her gymnastic education.

Prayer Requests

• Elfriede who has been very sick and is improving slowly
• Lena’s mother who is undergoing chemotherapy to fight breast cancer
• Peter who has been unemployed since January of this year
• Regina’s husband, Peter, is looking for a full-time teaching position for ethnology.
• Babies: Ilja’s, Elena’s and Jeanette’s health and continual growth
• Angelica who is expected to give birth to a child in September
• Teenagers of church members – Anna, 20; Mathias 18; Benjamin, 14; Rahel, 12;
• Ueli, a church visitor, who went to serve in the military service for several months

Our church contacts Margrit and Johanna

Any Funds Can Be Sent to Our Overseeing Congregation:

Park Avenue Church of Christ / 5295 Park Avenue / Memphis, TN 38119

Grace and Peace, Ivan + Lena

Ivan + Lena Voser / Ziegeleistrasse 34a / 3612 Steffisburg / Switzerland

E-Mail: voserivan@hotmail.com Phone number: 0041 33 534 57 37

Dear brothers and sisters,

We had a very cold month of January. Temperatures stayed for most of the time below the freezing point during the day. One Wednesday we cancelled the Bible class in the evening because the streets were extremely icy. We had never before cancelled any Wednesday night Bible class, but this time it seemed to be a reasonable and necessary decision. The snow and ice in winter is wonderful to look at from the living room or when one takes a walk outside, when the sun shines into the snow and ice. Yet cold weather is also dangerous for all those people who decide to drive in the streets in the late evening.

The evening sun on the top of Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau

Jeanette a short time after birth

Andrea gave birth to Jeanette

Andrea had to be hospitalized because of an excessive amount of water in her body. After a few days in the hospital, doctors decided that Andrea needed to give birth soon through a Caesarean section or the life of mother and child would be jeopardized. On February 11 Andrea gave birth to a baby girl whose name is Jeanette. Her mother, Danielle, who is a member of the congregation, was the midwife who assisted her oldest daughter in the birth process. Mother and child are stable. The child now needs much care because it was born 4-5 weeks before the due date. It was just a little over 2kg at birth. The baby has since then gained some weight, but mother and baby have been staying at home until the baby will be strong enough so the mother can take her to the worship service on Sunday morning. Father, Killian, is a non-Christian, but he is very much approving of Andrea’s faith. We pray for him, too.

Making Groups for Our Projects

We are currently in the process of asking members to join one of three project groups. One group helps in the planning for the money-raising of orphans in the Ukraine in the streets of Thun. Another group plans the “Knusperfestli” in December. The third group is in charge of planning the “Grill Fest” (the grill party) in July which will be taking place for the first time this year. We added it to our activities so we have another time during the year for inviting friends to a “non-threatening” church event. The time gap will be smaller between events.

Wednesday Night Study on How to Interpret Scripture

I was about to start a survey on the New Testament, when some issue oriented questions arose on Wednesday evening. Two members had the problem because helping orphans in the Ukraine would be an activity in which the church would be involved. They believed that from Scripture only individuals should organise these projects and the church should not be involved in it. The only reason that it could become a church activity is, when we raise funds for needy Christians. That is why I started putting all the announcements about our help of the orphans in the Ukraine after the close of the worship service so this would not become a stumbling block. Still questions are raised and require some biblical answers. I suggested that we start a study on how to interpret Scripture. This study should help understand how we faithfully interpret scripture without putting our issues and ideas into a text. I pray that it really will be making clearer on how important it is that we not only read the Bible, but that we do it so we understand, what God intends to teach us through every text of scripture.

“English Conversation” Classes

I have been teaching English in my office in Uetendorf since 2005. Last fall the number of students had decreased to one group of two ladies for which reason I put an advertisement in the newspaper. I was able to gain one student. Early in January I started offering conversation classes in English. As a result, I received several new students. Lena and I really need this extra income for the payments on our apartment and our growing family. I am glad to say that it has not become a big burden along my ministry efforts. It will be also a new chance to let people in my class know of my faith and my work with the congregation.

News on People

Angelica announced in church that she is expecting her first child in September. After a Bible study break of two months, we met with Regina and Marianne again to study in Acts. Regina also hopes to attend worship service again soon. Regina’s husband, Peter, who teaches part-time ethnology at the University in Basel, is looking for a full-time position.

Prayer Requests

• Elfriede who has been very sick
• Lena’s mother who is undergoing chemotherapy to fight breast cancer
• Peter who has been unemployed since this month, January
• Regina’s husband, Peter, is looking for a full-time teaching position for ethnology.
• Ilja’s and Elena’s health and continual growth
• Andrea and child Jeanette who needs a lot of care
• Angelica who is expected to give birth to a child in September
• Mathias is glad to have found a job
• Teenagers of church members – Anna, 20; Mathias 18; Benjamin, 14; Rahel, 12;
• Ueli, a church visitor, who went to serve in the military service for several months
• Margrit and Johanna who plan to come to Wednesday night Bible class

Any Funds Can Be Sent to Our Overseeing Congregation:

Park Avenue Church of Christ / 5295 Park Avenue / Memphis, TN 38119

Grace and Peace,

Ivan + Lena

Ivan + Lena Voser / Ziegeleistrasse 34a / 3612 Steffisburg, Switzerland

E-Mail: voserivan@hotmail.com Phone number: 0041 33 534 57 37

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Elena Louisa when she was only a few days old

In the month of December we had two new births in our congregation. Our son, Ilja, was born on December 3 and Regina gave birth to Elena Louisa on December 17. Andrea is still pregnant in her 6th month and is expected to give birth by March. There is no doubt that these babies will shape our future ministry. I see in these children new opportunities to reach out. A new generation is growing up and this generation of children who will grow up in the church will probably be more than half a dozen children with less than five years of difference in age. We will be looking forward to starting in the next two years again a children’s Bible class which we have not had for a year or two. I believe that through our children, we will also find opportunities to minister to other children their age and to their parents. The next few years will bring new challenges and new opportunities for growth through a different kind of outreach. Before we can start with our children’s ministry, we are working on expanding other areas of outreach.

Expanding our Outreach Ministry

In my series on “Serving” this fall, I finished the series by making some suggestions on how to reach out to the community and invited the congregation to talk about these suggestions asking them also to bring their ideas to the table. On Wednesday evening of December 16, 23 and 30, we discussed on how we could have more impact on people around us in 2010. The first idea that I wanted to bring across was that we needed to start planning regular weekly, monthly and/or yearly activities. We should try to invite the same people to come every year to gatherings like for example our traditional Knusperfestli in December (where we sit around tables and eat peanuts, chocolate, cakes, oranges, etc.) or the yearly grill party in summer as a new activity. That will help that we stay in touch with people around us.

My second idea was that we start with just a few new ideas and expand them year by year over the next few years. At the end of 2010 we would need to think on how to improve our activities and expand our outreach in new ways. We agreed to work on our outreach in the following ways: We will continue with our Knusperfestli in December, but we will be preparing the members more to think about inviting people. We set the Knusperfestli for December 4 so members know far in advance for which day they can invite people. We will also design invitations which can be passed out to friends. This same idea we will apply to the grill party that we will have for the first time on July 3 2010. We will work in groups on some kind of program for these two evenings. Another suggestion that came from the members was that we start an exercise class for which we can invite outsiders. The White Station Church in Memphis has such an exercise program. If and when it will start, still has to be decided.

Christine Schwertfeger Leaves us to Live and Work in Bern

We reached Christine in 2003 through an advertisement in the newspaper where we offered a home bible study. Christine came regularly and my parents and I had some good Bible studies with her. In 2004 she was added to the church, but in 2006 she moved to another part of Switzerland far away from the congregation and from her teenage children that are already over 16 years old. A year later she returned to Thun, but after one year living near Thun, she decided that she needed to move to Bern. We are glad that she decided to join the Church of Christ in Bern and hope that she will be able to settle down there.

News on People

Sour 7 week old son, Ilja.

Ilja is doing fine except that he almost always rests his head on the left side which causes the head to be shaped uneven. We were told to speak with him from the right side so he will turn his head towards that side more often. Regina gave birth to Elena Louisa on December 17. At first the baby, who was born 2 weeks early, did not gain much weight, but in recent weeks she has been improving. Elfriede, 81, has been in the hospital where one and a half litres of water where taken out of her body. Her kidney has note been working properly. She also has had a high level of sugar in her blood. She has not been doing well over the last few weeks.

Prayer Requests

• Elfriede who has been very sick
• Lena’s mother who is undergoing chemotherapy to fight breast cancer
• Peter who lost his job at the end of 2009
• Ilja’s health and his continual growth
• Regina who gave birth to Elena Louisa and Andrea who is expecting a baby in March
• Mathias is glad to have found a job
• Children of church members – Anna, 20; Mathias 18; Benjamin, 14; Rahel, 12
• Ueli, a church visitor, who went to serve in the military service for several months
• Margrit and Johanna who are still making up their minds about coming to Wednesday night
• Bible class

Any Funds Can Be Sent to Our Overseeing Congregation:

Park Avenue Church of Christ / 5295 Park Avenue / Memphis, TN 38119

Grace and Peace,

Ivan + Lena

Ivan + Lena Voser Ziegeleistrasse 34a 3612 Steffisburg, Switzerland

E-Mail: voserivan@hotmail.com Phone number: 0041 33 534 57 37

Return to Ivan’s Reports

Newsletter November 2009

Dear brothers and sisters,

During the whole month of November we were eagerly expecting the birth of our son. On December 3 at 8:27 in the morning, the time of waiting came to an end and the baby was delivered safely. His name is Ilja which means “God is Yahweh.” Ilja is the Russian version of Elijah in English. We are glad that the birth giving went well and most of all that our son has been well off from the first day until now.

Ilja’s Birth

Two week old Ilja in our living room

The three days before Ilja was born, I was in bed with fever, a hoarse throat, and coughing. On the third day, Wednesday the fever disappeared, but the other two signs of illness did not. However, I felt good enough to accompany my wife to the hospital. On Wednesday evening when the pains became more regular, we knew that the birth would only be hours away. On Thursday morning at 12:30 a. m., we decided that it was time to drive to the hospital and get ready for the birth process. Seven hours later Lena gave birth to our son who was 3 kg 290 gram and 50 cm in length at birth. The baby boy seemed so small and fragile that I wondered whether I could touch him (and because I was still coughing). Lena stayed in the hospital until Monday, December 7. Since she has been home, every few days a midwife came to our home to check on the development of our baby, the cost of which is paid by our insurance company. Ilja was at first in danger of jaundice which is common to newborn babies so we tried to expose him to daylight and even better sunlight, but he is safe now. We can say that mother and baby are doing well and for this we are thankful to God.

The World Is Outraged Because Switzerland bans the building of any minarets

"Stop, Yes to the minaret ban."

On November 29 the Swiss people voted with a percentage of 58 % clearly against the building of minarets. This will prohibit the building of any minarets, towers, next to a mosque.  The countries of the European Union and probably many other countries around the world were shocked at the decision of the Swiss people. This stand generally is seen as an act of intolerance against Muslims. I see it more as a sign of fear of the Swiss people. Strangely this fear is high in a time when Muslims are no longer growing in number in Switzerland. On the other hand the two state churches, Catholic and Reformers, are loosing a lot of members each year and they are still the churches that represent Christianity in Switzerland. My hope just is that whatever happens, it will serve that Swiss people wake up from their spiritual slumber and seek God, Yahweh, again not in a dying State Church, but in a living community like our congregation where the risen Lord is present and changing and molding his people.

As I minister to the church and the community around, I am impatiently waiting for a time when my ministry will see more open doors than now. What new doors may open? I can especially see a growing community of immigrants who will shape my future ministry. Switzerland is becoming a melting pot of all ethnic groups. Half of the doctors and nurses in Switzerland are from Germany. We have a growing population from Italy, Portugal, and even the US. We also have an increasing number of people from all over the world, especially Asia and Africa, to which this church must find ways to minister. I am excited about the upcoming years and I do have great hope that my ministry opportunities and that of the church will increase.

At the same time I see a need that we as a church work on looking for opportunities to serve. On Wednesday, December 16 and 23, the church tries to take a further step of expanding its ministry to the community next year. I will be glad to share this with you.

News on People

Regina caught the Swine flu as well as her husband Peter who teaches at the University of Basel, but they both recovered quickly. On December 17 Regina gave birth to Elena Louisa (more on the baby in the December Newsletter). Margrit continues to come to the Bible study on Wednesday, but Johanna has not managed to come yet in spite of her good intentions. We pray that these two ladies will start attending more regularly and also start coming to the worship service on Sunday.

Prayer Requests

• Lena’s mother who is undergoing chemotherapy to fight her breast cancer
• Peter who will lose his job by the end of the year
• Regina who gave birth to Elena Louisa and Andrea who is expecting a baby in March
• Mathias who is looking for a job
• Our teenagers
• Ueli, a church visitor, who went to serve in the military service for several months
• Margrit and Johanna who gradually start coming to Wednesday night Bible classes

Any funds can be sent to our overseeing congregation:

Park Avenue Church of Christ; 5295 Park Avenue; Memphis, TN 38119

Grace and Peace,

Ivan + Lena

Ivan + Lena Voser; Ziegeleistrasse 34a; 3612 Steffisburg BU; Switzerland

E-Mail: voserivan@hotmail.com Phone number: 0041 33 534 57 37

Return to Voser Reports

Lena and Ivan Voser are expecting their first child with a due date of November 29. We collected funds to shower them with gifts for the new one. They had clothes for the first three months so our ladies purchased clothing from three months. Sunday evening, November 22, following our evening assembly we had a “baby shower” for the Vosers. Thanks to so many for your help. These items will be sent to the Vosers with our prayers for a healthy delivery and baby.

Gifts for the little one and cake for the rest. Thanks to Debbie and Miriam for shopping and organizing the shower.

While the Vosers could not attend, we did remember them in prayer and rejoiced with them at the upcoming birth.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Lena’s pregnancy continues to go well. However, we received news from her mother who lives in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine, that she has cancer. After a successful operation, she is now undergoing chemo therapy. Lena’s mother asked us to pray for her.

Four People from the White Station Church of Christ Visit Us

Our guests enjoy a cheese fondue with Lena, me, and my parents

Jack Bond and Richie and Buffy Lynn with their daughter Audrey from the White Station Church were in Thun from October 10–14. On Sunday Jack presented a lesson. After the worship service the church had a fellowship meal. Lena and I were also glad to be able to show hospitality to our four visitors.

It is the third visit from a supporting congregation this year. All three churches (Park Avenue, White Station, Pickerington) intend to support the mission work in Thun on the same level or even with a greater financial commitment in the next year. We are thankful for that, but at the same time we are doing everything so they can lower their financial commitment over the years.

New Meeting Place for Sunday Morning

Sunday morning worship in the Restaurant Glockenthal

My intent to cut down the cost on the old meeting place in the Höchhus did not work. We continued paying rent for the whole day and not just for the two hours of worship. As a result, we decided to look for another assembly place. We found one in Steffisburg near the city limit to Thun which is more affordable to us. The room is in a restaurant that is closed on Sundays. It will be another transitional place where we will probably stay for a few months. On Wednesday evening we can continue to meet in the Pöstli, though we will not be allowed anymore on Sundays. The church is glad about the new meeting place which fits better our budget.

Fall Series of Sermons on Serving

In October I preached four sermons on “Serving.” The lessons focused on our three short time goals: discipleship, evangelism (in the region and abroad), and benevolence. My first sermon was a call to serve one another and the community. In one sermon I focused on deepening our commitment to the Lord and to the church as his body through which we experience growth in the Spirit.  Another sermon was on the issue of how evangelism and benevolence should be part of a churches’ work, though different churches take a very different approach. In my last sermon I made some suggestions how we as a church could expand our efforts in evangelism and how we could do some regular benevolence work. On December 16 and 23, Wednesdays, we will discuss our efforts on how to expand our efforts on evangelism and how we will be involved in benevolence work.

Old Testament Survey

Last fall I taught an Old Testament survey on Wednesday evenings during three months which I edited for publication. It consists of 12 lessons and an introductory lesson. The course is all written in the German language.  We put the Old Testament survey on our home page (www.gemeinde-christi/thun) which is entitled “With Big Steps through the Old Testament.”

News on People

Peter loses his job by the end of the year as a result of the recession. The unemployment rate in Switzerland is at 4%. If one includes the people who have lost their jobs more than two years ago, which are not counted in the statistics, 8% of the people are without a job. Mathias, 18, returned from his two months stay in Buffalo, New York where he stayed with our friends Alex and Nicole Tullis. Nicole is a daughter of Kornelia and Peter, who lost his job recently. Since the home Bible study group at my parents was stopped, Margrit started coming to the Wednesday night Bible class. Johanna has this same intention.

Prayer Requests

• Lena’s mother who was diagnosed with cancer
• Peter who will lose his job by the end of the year
• Our three pregnant women in the church: Lena, Regina, and Andrea
• Mathias who is looking for a job
• Our teenagers
• Ueli, a church visitor, who went to serve in the military service for several months
• Margrit and Johanna who gradually start coming to Wednesday night Bible classes

Any funds can be sent to our overseeing congregation:

Park Avenue Church of Christ / 5295 Park Avenue / Memphis, TN 38119

Grace and Peace,

Ivan + Lena

Ivan + Lena Voser Ziegeleistrasse 34a 3612 Steffisburg, Switzerland

E-Mail: voserivan@hotmail.com Phone number: 0041 33 534 57 37

Return to Voser Reports

Dear brothers and sisters,

Lena and I are about to come to a major turning point in our lives: the birth of our first baby. We know in theory that everything will be different. In practice we cannot quite imagine how different it will be. November 29 is the due date for our baby. Anxiety and joy are part of what we as future parents are now experiencing.

Speaking at the Annual Men’s Retreat in Germany

Participants in the Men's Retreat 2009 in front of the retreat center.

This year’s men retreat was focused on Agape. The Church of Christ in Stuttgart, Germany, organised the retreat for this year which took place from September 21 – 25, Monday-Friday. They successfully revived the retreat so that this year approximately 80 men attended, which means that compared with last year the number of men at the retreat nearly doubled. I was invited as one of the speakers. The title that was assigned to me for Thursday evening was at the same time the subtitle of the whole retreat: “he loved them to the end.” Before I began to speak, the brothers from Stuttgart acted the scene of Jesus with his disciples inclining at the table in the upper room and eating the Passover in the night of Jesus’ betrayal. The focus was, of course, on the foot-washing scene which followed the meal. It was an excellent introduction for my speech in which I tried to flesh out the story as Jesus responded to Peter’s objection to wash his feet. I then gave a historical perspective and tried to show how we may take this passage today and give it relevance for our situation in our churches, as we serve one another in humility and love.

Church Contacts and Church Teenagers

Two of our teenagers: Benjamin and Rahel

Presently, we have several close contacts with outsiders. Unfortunately, Ueli, 20, has not attended worship service during the last few weeks. Ueli is the next door neighbor of James and Martine Ferguson. He often visits them, when he has a question to ask about the Bible. They live about 40 minutes from Thun in a small village near Interlaken. Ueli is about to leave to go to the military service for a few months.

My father stopped his weekly Bible study with Johanna and Margrit. He encouraged them to come to the church Bible study on Wednesday evening. It must be about four years ago, when my parents, Lena, and I began the Bible study with these two women and when I first was leading the study. During the last two or three years my parents had a weekly private Bible study with them while Lena and I got involved in another home Bible study group for about a half a year. We are hoping that these two women will soon be part of our Bible study group on Wednesday evening and later on they will start attending worship service on Sundays. Margrit has already shown up once for Wednesday night Bible class and she gave positive comments about the class.

We still have four teenagers in church that have not submitted in baptism. Some attend the worship service often, others only occasionally. The teenagers are Anna, 19, Mathias, 18, Benjamin, 14, and Rahel, 12. I and Lena have held a few Bible studies with Benjamin and Rahel during their school vacation time this year. Maria, 16, was baptised in May of this year. She is the only one of our teenagers that has so far submitted her live to Christ through baptism.

My mother and father on the balcony of their apartment with a colorful blanket on their lap that my mother made for our baby.

My mother, who is the oldest member of the congregation, turned 81 years old on September 23. She is still in a fairly good health. Since July 2008 my mother and father have lived in a senior citizen home in Steffisburg. Our three pregnant women in church (Lena, Regina, and Andrea) are now all in their second part of their pregnancy. Lena will probably be the first of all three to give birth which is coming up in the next few weeks.

Prayer Requests

• Our three pregnant women in church: Lena, Regina, and Andrea
• Our teenagers
• Ueli, a church visitor, who is about to go to the military service for several months
• Margrit and Johanna who are encouraged to join the church Bible study

Any funds can be sent to our overseeing congregation:

Park Avenue Church of Christ; 5295 Park Avenue; Memphis, TN 38119

Grace and Peace,

Ivan + Lena

Ivan + Lena Voser; Ziegeleistrasse 34a 3612; Steffisburg, Switzerland

E-Mail: voserivan@hotmail.com Phone number: 0041 33 534 57 37

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