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This was our back yard two weeks ago.I love the colors of Autumn. Bright yellows and golds, oranges and varying shades of crimson. The leafs, clinging for life on the trees, fighting against the wind to stay off the ground. It’s a losing battle. We all know winter is near. This was our back yard last week. The leafs are now blanketed by the snow on the ground. The wind and the cold too much for them. The leaves won’t be back till the snow gives way to warmer temperatures. When we woke I put Gunther (pronounced goon-ter) out to get to know the snow, it was the first time he had seen snow. He wasn’t sure about it at all. It took about 20 minutes for him to decided that the snow was nothing but a whole lot of fun. He can’t be outside enough now. All he wants to do is play, jump, and run around in the snow. It’s going to be a long cold winter this year I think, but Gunther is looking forward to it. As I thought about the end of Fall and the coming of Winter, my mind began to wonder. I started to think about the temperature outside. Right now it’s 0 degrees. That’s 32 degrees Fahrenheit. I started to think about the differences. I mean, who would be crazy enough to go swimming when it’s 0 degrees outside, but 32 doesn’t sound so bad. I thought, if you had 32 of anything, you’d have a lot. Would you rather have 32 dollars or 0 dollars? I’ll take the 32 dollars please. If I had 32 cars, I would need to do a lot of oil changes. If I had 0 cars I would have a lot more time to do other things. If I owned 32 homes, I would be considered wealthy. But since I have no home, am I poor?I guess it is whether you’re a half full guy or a half empty guy, because 0 and 32, in this case, is exactly the same. October is one of the most beautiful months here, yet it is the hardest month for me. It’s the time of the year that most resembles Oregon. It’s during October that I remember, with tremendous love and longing, our church and the fellowship we enjoyed back home in Corvallis.Thinking about our church back home, it was nothing in the early days of Calvary Corvallis to see 10-20 people come to the Lord on a Sunday. Those Sundays that only 1 or 2 people give their hearts to Jesus seemed like a little bit of a let down compared to others Sundays. In reality, anytime the Lord draws someone to Himself it’s miraculous.It may sound like I’m rambling, but there is a point. It’s easy to look back at “Better Times.” It’s easy to think of 32 as more then 0. But it’s not always true.This month we have had a number of people, although not a large number, visit our fellowship. They found us on the web, they were invited by a friend, I talked with them and gave them a card, and they came. A girl from Corvallis came, a family that just moved here from the states, a teacher from a local school, soldiers from post with their families came. It has been a good month.But in all this, sometimes I can still feel a little discouraged. But our God is so Good! He lifts us up when we are down, He strengthens us when we are week, and when we look to Him He leads and guides us. He hears our prayers and knows our hearts. The other day in my devotions, I read 1 Cor 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.“The Lord has spoken to my heart and said. “Gary, it’s enough for you to be steadfast and continue with what I have called you to. Don’t get so caught up in the past you can’t go forward; and don’t be so concerned about the future you fail to see what I’m doing in and through you today. Let me take care of the church. You just focus on following Me.” How good is our God?A Quick Family Update Tina, I’m so thankful for her, continues to be a full time mom. Even though our kids are older, they are at home and are living in a foreign country. Tina’s input in their lives is needed now more then ever. I watch her ministering and discipling our kids and I am blown away by her wisdom and love. Not only that, but her ministry of hospitality to church that meets in our home is remarkable. Ashely has, for a long time now, sensed that the Lord is calling her to serve Him in the middle east. We have been praying about it for a while. It would seem that the Lord may be opening doors for her to go to Jordan. She is in contact with a ministry that teaches English and reaches out to muslim women. The Lord has uniquely prepared her through the years here in Europe for just such a ministry. She is thinking about visiting the ministry around February of next year till May. ...

God is so good! He’s worth enough to say it again and again and again, God is good! The Bible says in Psalm 68:18, “Blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits…” Its a picture of Him lavishing benefits and blessing upon us. Psalm 13:5-6 says, “I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.” Even when we don’t see His blessing with our eyes today, we can look back over time and know that this is a true statement. In our case it is very true. ...

It was ten years ago this month that we left our home in Corvallis Oregon and moved to Europe. I wanted to give you a brief overview of the last ten years. I can remember writing a friend, when we settled in Hungary, and telling him that I felt like I was at a men’s retreat everyday. That was the euphoria of being a new missionary talking. We quickly learned we weren’t in Kansas anymore. It was shortly after that realization the trials began. ...

Summer is here! Our cherry trees and heavy laden with cherries. The flowers are in full bloom. It’s not dark outside until 10:30. We can’t seem to mow the grass fast enough. As soon as we finish mowing the yard, the grass seems to have grown enough to warrant another go round. The fields behind our house are full of waist high wheat and shoulder high corn. The temperatures here is in the high 80’s - low 90’s while the humidity is just enough to make you sticky and wish for air conditioning. ...

This last month, the month of May, has been full of blessings and challenges. May started out wonderfully as a team of scientist from NASA came and did a week long training session for certain employees who work with the Army youth. I got to meet my counterparts from all around Europe. We were briefed on many of NASA’s current missions, the findings of past mission, and the purpose of future missions. We looked at photos from many different satellites, from those orbiting Mercury to those traveling to the outskirts of our solar system. I was even certified to handle NASA’s moon rocks and meteorites that are considered national treasures. The purpose of the training was to help the youth I work with get excited about science and to get them thinking about future careers. The greatest part was to see the wonder of God’s creation like never before. How interesting it is to see the creation of the universe spoken of in Genesis in just a few verses while the creation of man has chapters devoted to it. As beautiful as His creation is, it’s an indication of what is really important to our God. That’s you and me.Church has been going very well. The 12th CAB, the Combat Aviation Brigade here in Ansbach, has deployed to Afghanistan. There has been a slight increase in attendance since the deployment. That’s always welcome. But we have also been experiencing slight troubles with recording our Sunday mornings teachings. But I trust we’ll get to the bottom of it soon and get those messages posted so you can listen in if you like.The last few weeks of the month I have been very sick. It started out as scarlet fever. After 4-5 days of antibiotic therapy my throat felt much better but I continued to have a fever. It started out at 102.6 and with the antibiotics it dropped to 100-101. The doctor was left wondering what was going on. So after a few blood tests, EKG, sonograms and x-rays he decided that I wasn’t recovering due to severe physical exhaustion. So I have been holding the couch down for the last 18 days now. The day before I got sick, Ashley gave me a gift. I have always wanted a wired hair Dachshund. But I had resigned myself to never getting one as they are quite expensive. Ashley and one of the guys from our church found one unbelievably cheap. They got him for me as a loving gift. So I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Gunther (pronounced goon-ter). What a blessing he is. So small and cute but he’s like an infant with teeth. I forgot how tiring potty training can be. Yet everyone is totally in love with him. Now we have two wonderful dogs and a great cat. Thank you Lord!On May 30th we celebrated Austin’s 21st Birthday. God has blessed us with three of the greatest kids. These last 21 years with Austin has been full of humor, if you don’t know him he’s rediculously funny, and astonishment, just watching him grow from a boy into a man who loves Jesus has been incredible to watch and his heart is to tell others about Jesus.Each of the kids have a strong walk with the Lord and desire to serve him. This week they are in Croatia visiting a missionary family we know there who are preparing to return to the states after 8 years in Europe.You may have heard about two helicopters that went down in Afghanistan over Memorial day. They were from the 12th CAB stationed in Ansbach, one Apache and one Blackhawk, The two who piloted the Apache died in the crash. The pilot of the Blackhawk attends our church. He is credited with saving the lives of his 12 passengers and crew. The helicopter crashed hard but every one walked away from the crash with only minor injuries, at least that what I’m hearing at this time. Please be praying for the surviving family of the Apache pilots. One was married with a daughter and the other was married with no kids I’m told. Pray for the full recovery of the soldiers in the Blackhawk. Pray also and Angel, the pilot of the Blackhawk who attends the church, Diane, his wife and their three kids. Pray for their comfort and strength in the Lord as they wait to get further details on Angel. Also please pray for the in suing investigation. An investigation is common after crashes but will also be very stressful and taxing for Angel.Finally on a personal note, we would like to ask you to pray about getting involved in the ministry with us. We have need to partner with people who are prayer warriors and others who desire to be part of the building of the Kingdom of God here on earth through financial giving. Please pray and seek the Lord on what part He’d have you play. I see us as the tip of the spear and you are the shaft, in fulfilling the great commission. He has called us all to go into the world and make disciples, but all can’t go. In 1 Samuel 30 God sets out the principle that those that go to the battle share equally with those that provide support even though they can’t go to the battle.Saving Grace World Missions has made it easy for people to get involved. You can go to www.sgwm.com and click on “Europe” on the world map, then click on “Gary and Tina Barrow” and sign up for weekly prayer request updates. You can also click on “Become a Financial Partner” and give a one time gift or set up regular monthly donations. If you prefer, you can send a check to Saving Grace through the mail. Just write “Gary and Tina Barrow” in the memo line and it will get to us.We’d ask you to personally get involved in the great commission with us . Don’t put it off, seek the Lord’s face and ask Him what He’d have you do. I promise you won’t regret it. You’ll be storing up treasures in heaven.Thank you.God bless,Gary and Tina Barrow

It’s a beautiful time of year here in Bavaria. The days are longer and warmer, the flowers are blooming, and the Lord’s blessings are evident.During the month of April we had a number of different families visit the church. Our prayer is that they would be blessed and feel that Calvary Chapel Ansbach is the place for them to plug in, to be fed, to be challenged to walk closer to the Lord, and to grow in the knowledge of His grace.One of the German teenagers who had been coming this last month asked me if I would visit his school and share with his class. So, last Friday I drove the 30 minutes to Grafensteinberg. I was met by Chris and his teacher, and they escorted me to their classroom. On the way the teacher told me that the topic they were discussing that day was death. He asked me if I could speak about death and my belief of an afterlife. With a rather large smile I said, “Okay, I think I could say something about that.“After a short time of class business, I was introduced and given the floor. For the next 45 minutes I shared about God’s love, sin, the cross, forgiveness and the certainty of heaven if a person would receive Christ verses rejecting Christ and the certainty of hell. The classroom, full of 14 and 15 year old students, was silent, every eye fixed and every ear waiting to hear more about Jesus and His heart for each of them. The Lord blessed and it was a great privilege for me.Afterwards the instructor thanked me and told me it touched his heart. He asked me if I had time in the future, would I consider coming back and sharing with the class again. He said it was a message that the students needed to hear. I gave him a card and told him I would return anytime and as often as he wanted me to. Praise the Lord for open doors. On a family note, Bryan has been working on post as a projectionist in the post theater. He has been saving his money for sometime now in hopes to get an old German motorcycle. If you know Bryan and Austin, you’re aware that they have quite a collection of WWI and WWII artifacts. A German motorcycle would be a great addition to Bryan’s collection. Well the Lord blessed Bryan with a really great price on a fairly rare motorcycle. He purchased a 1941 DKW NZ 350. God is so good! He enjoys blessing His kids with things that are special to them. Thank you Lord for your grace. Finally, I would encourage you to please be praying for us and the church plant. Pray for our family, our devotion time and our walks. Please pray also that God would bless and establish Calvary Chapel Ansbach. And please pray that God would give us vision and wisdom for the work He has entrusted to us.Thank you for your prayers and support.God bless,Gary and Tina

Gary and Tina Barrow serving in Germany Tina and Gary both grew up in southern California and met in high school. Tina knew that Gary was not a Christian so she began to pray for him. After about a year of praying, Tina had a chance to share the gospel with Gary and he gave his life to Jesus in 1979. Tina and Gary were married in 1984. God opened doors for them to move to Oregon in 1995 to help a Calvary Chapel get established in Corvallis. As the young church grew, Gary labored faithfully in many practical areas, in addition to serving as an elder and leading the men’s ministry for several years. While at Calvary Corvallis Gary was also involved in a number of outreaches to Eastern Europe. ...