Brenneman May/June 2021 Update

Hey everyone! It seems like so much time has passed since I wrote to you last. A lot has happened in the past few months, and we’ve traveled a lot. We completed our 4 week cross cultural training in North Carolina, that was a part of our requirements from our missions agency to better prepare us for our move to Germany. We were able to get fully vaccinated prior to our trip, and that gave us more peace of mind before joining a training with people from all over the states. We enjoyed our time in North Carolina connecting with our classmates (all missionaries) and learning more about working on multicultural teams. The scenery was absolutely stunning too. The transition was hard on Emma, and she did not like being in class for six hours a day away from me. She started experiencing a lot of anxiety and was having panic attacks when she wasn’t with me, or anytime she saw her teacher. But, thankfully our missions agency worked with us so Jonas and I could alternate who was in class, and the other stay with Emma. It was a lot to ask of a three year old who spent the last year hardly away from us due to Covid, but we stuck it out and she started feeling more comfortable there towards the third week. Transitions are hard, but good for us to experience. 

God has really been moving in the small group here in PA! The small group has been growing considerably and 9 people have gotten baptized in the recent weeks! It is very inspiring to watch so many lives being transformed before our eyes! Please pray for this group because often times as soon as they make the commitment to wholeheartedly follow Jesus, they are hit with a lot of very difficult obstacles.

Jonas finished his master’s degree one week before we left for North Carolina. We are so excited he has his master’s degree in Cultural Apologetics (philosophy of religion) and it is so useful in our work here in PA and will be in Germany too. A lot of people are asking us what’s the next step for him, and though he does plan to get his doctorate one day to write and teach as a part of our ministry, we are putting all of our time and energy to moving to Germany first. We’re at 64% of our monthly support, with a goal of moving in the fall. So, we will be traveling, speaking, and meeting with as many churches and interested individuals as possible. 

Upcoming Travel/Speaking Engagements:

July- Ohio

July 18- Mt. Olive Church Chicago

August -Kentucky and Missouri 

October/late fall- Hopefully moving to Germany!