Prayer request - I CAN GO TO FRANKFURT!!!!!

Dear friends and supporters, I included some of you in this email and hope that was OK. I would love for you to pray for me in this situation, please pray for HIS protection and wisdom, for the guidance of HIS Holy Spirit. Prayer to our Jesus is my lifeline. I thank you for your prayers and see you in the THRONE ROOM ;) This is a prayer request out of the normal. Let me explain the situation: I AM ABLE TO GO to Frankfurt for 2 1/2 weeks (roughly form the 1st of Oct. until the 18th of Oct.) I will..... - meet with the mission’s director of my foursquare church in Frankfurt and discuss how they can come alongside me financially in the future (they started to contact me 2 months ago and we have been emailing back and forth - they want to create and build a core team around me to support me with prayer, finance and fundraising- they want to be more involved which is such an answer to prayer - I have been praying for that during those past 3 years!) - be able to see and have quality time with my parents!!!!!!!!!! - and actually go and be part of my good friend Aris (The Greek)'s wedding The whole trip would cost me as an estimate of budget: 1400 $. The plane ticket will be about 900 $ and the rest is my budget for Germany which will be taken care of there. I do need to raise the money of the plane ticket in the short time between now and the next 3 to 4 weeks. ALREADY THINGS ARE LINING UP AND FALLING INTO PLACE IN THOSE LAST 2 DAYS. I CAN SEE GOD OPENING THIS DOOR. I am praying and trusting God since I really long to go and see my parents and work on a big picture strategy for my financial support coming from my German church in the future. I think it is possible and if God wants it to happen, I know HE will make a way. I have been praying for my German church to come alongside me and now this opportunity comes where I can actually have meetings and discussions with them face to face. Please consider and pray about maybe chipping in to those 900 $ - I can tell you that every amount of money could help. You can send a check to East Hill church (find details on the bottom of this email). Let me know what your thoughts are and thank you for reading this and praying about it. in HIm, Kerstin -- Kerstin Berthold, a long term Missionary for God in South Africa/Cape Town/Table View -"carrying God's message of restoration & healing to an aching world in need." Please send any support to: East Hill Church PO Box 650 Gresham, OR 97030 Checks made out to East Hill, memo line:Long Term Missions South Africa

4 1/2 weks sick

I am glad I am on the mend. After 4 1/2 weeks of being sick, on bedrest and so weak that I had to stay in my flat all the time...I am soo happy to see the world again. i am still pretty weak but it is much better. I am on vitamin b shots now for a month which is boosting my immune system. The thing that concerened me the most while i was down was that I had never seen and experienced my body to be like that. During this time, God really taught me about Faith and I learned and grew closer to my Creator,t he one and only God HImself. I did let Jesus build new pipelins of Faith for me where could only pray: I Believe but help my unbelief. More abot that at another time, sorry for not posting so often. I will try to update my blog more often

XENOPHOBIA

Xenophobia attacks

Dear friends, you have probably heard some troubling news from this side of the world, from the very country I am in right now. Attacks of xenophobia arose in the province of Gauteng which is the area around Johannesburg and Durban. To sum up the news let me tell you that the attacks happen in the townships, the poor areas close to the big cities and they are aimed at foreigners to this country, mostly people from Zimbabwe (former Rhodesia), Botswana, Mozambique and Swaziland. There have been dozens of dead people and even President Mbeki ordering to have the army around to end those attacks.

Please know that I am ok

. You can pray with me for this country as the spirit of the old apartheid seems to come through again. Read more in the following articles and see you in the throne room! God bless you my dear friends, Kerstin http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Xenophobia/Home/0,,2-7-2382,00.html http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Xenophobia/0,,2-7-2382_2326952,00.html

Packing, un-packing, over-packing, under-packing...

It's time to pack....to pack my whole life again into two suitcases! Somehow I remember saying this already a few months ago when I left the States. Oh well. This time I pack for a life that will be different and for a stay that will be longer. Crazy crazy crazy!! So these days look like this: packing, then unpacking, repacking and then checking if that is not overpacking :=) God helps me- He is in the little things as well as in the big things so I trust HIM! I am leaving such wonderful friends behind, such a wonderful mom and such a wonderful dad. It is hard to say good-bye. However, I embrace this process for it is a sign of a new beginning and a sign that God has given me precious people also on this side of the globe!

Thanks be to God, to my Creator and to the one who comforts me and all I love!

I have the visa!!! I am holding it in my hands right now...still surprised and in awe...all that sweat...all that worry- Oh man! I am thankful and now preparing even more ...24 days to go! Kerstin Sunshine

I am honored in the midst of a storm

So, monday I was able to send in all my papers needed for the visa. BUT today I got a call from the consulate in Berlin saying they need 2 more documents that are not that easy to get. !!!! Yes, it is a storm and I am learning to live in this, not to survive or to die in it BUT to live in this storm. My nerves are pretty thin and I hang on to Jesus because that is the only thing I know. As I am processing all this, I went on my friend Christine' blog and found a beautiful little blog entry about me. I am honored, Christine and humbled at the same time!! Look here: BLOG to read the short blog entry. I was thrown back thinking of God being so gracious to give me the courage and strength to embark on this adventure of my life.

I can only say: 1 Corinthians 10:13!!!!!!!

Germany for 68 more days - decision made

So after lots of ups and downs, I now can say that I wills tay in Germany for another 68 days. After talks with both my sending church and South Africa, I decided to postpone the flight to Cape Town until the end of February 2008. Considering the siuation this seems to be wise. I will receive all the documents soon and then I am able to apply for the visa. This gives me more time at the consulate. Merry Christmas to you all! I want to share something one of my first pastors once said: Our heart is the manger Jesus puts himself in and where He is born into this world. It is there where He grows in us! May this Christmas be a blessed one for all of us!

A change, a relief and a challenge!

So here I am and I have news...big news..news that totally confirmed my sense but news that I still need to process as well. I am going to stay for 2 more months in Germany. I will fly out in the second week of january to go to the country and city God has calle dme to : South Afrcia / Cape Town. I had been sensing such a peace over the fact that God will do what He needs to do and if it took longer for me to go to Aouth Africa then God is Soveriena dn He has plans I do not know of. Well last night I talked with the pastor from Cape Town and throughout our conversation it got clearere and clearer that we would not be able to get all the documents for the 4th of November which is in one month and 2 days. The month of december is a low month there..epopel are on vacation..it is like our month of july. Hence, there is not a lotof activity in the church. This means taht I could use that time better to stay here and raise support and maybe work if that is the case. We talked about where I could stay and about how things are going. I felt such a peace about the whole january idea that we both decided to stay with that plan. I have time to organize my support better, to werite letters and speak and be with my family over Christmas. I also sense that the latter is a very important thing in my recent relationhip with them. All in all this is the best and I trust God because He has the perfect timing! I do not want to rush, I want to trust HIM and risk to live a life worth living!!!!! Emotionally, I am processing this big change right now. I woke up last night and was awake for an hour trying to grasp the whole thing. Good that Jesus has all in HIS hands. I need that. I feel like that little lamb very close to Jesus' heart. Glory be to God in the Highest

I have a new MINISRTY BLOG

Dear readers, I proudly present my new MINISTRY BLOG on blogspot:

http://capetownmissions.blogspot.com/

check it out, I also have a link on here. Be blessed! Kerstin