“Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies, you have prepared praise” (Mt 21:6). The Lord has answered our prayers, including those of the wife and four-year old daughter of our “tattoo man” (see last week’s post). Trinity Lutheran Church in Berlin, pastored by Rev. Dr. Gottfried Martens, has taken him in. After 3-4 months of church asylum with some 30 other Persian asylum seekers, the German authorities will revisit his immigration status. He now stands a much better chance of being allowed to stay in Europe—rather than being deported to Afghanistan. Speaking of the prayers of children, I would like to share a sweet story by Sahar Sadlovsky Gold, the future pastor of a Lutheran church plant in Israel, which is supported by the Mission Province of Sweden and LCMS OIM Eurasia. Sahar recently wrote: “Rarely do I get the chance to speak to my Jewish mother and father about Jesus. They love me, they support me, but when it comes to my faith, the door remains firmly shut. ‘Those things you do in the church,’ as they call it, seem to be of no interest to them…[One night, Sahar and his wife Maria asked his parents to babysit. He continues…] ‘As bedtime approached, our six-year-old, Thea, went to her grandmother with a simple request: “Will you read me a story?” My mother agreed, of course – how could she refuse her charming granddaughter? But then Thea brought her a book. Not just any book, but one titled ‘Everything Points to Him’—a book filled with Old Testament stories that point straight to Jesus. And so, in our own home, my unbelieving mother sat and read aloud to my girls the words of Scripture, speaking of the Messiah hidden in the sacred writings of Israel. She may not have realized it, but as she spoke, she too and my father who sat there, were being spoken to. Please pray for my parents and for the Lord Almighty to unveil the eyes of more Jewish people, that by His mercy, they may look upon Him whom they have pierced, in repentant joy and faith.” Indeed, “out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise”—in Sweden, Israel, and around the world. [Image: Thea at St. Paul LC, Foley, AL].
The Tiews in Germany 