We’ve always been a little uneasy with the 20th century American vision of “work like crazy until you turn 65, then enjoy a long-term vacation called retirement.” When Cal went through an unexpected health journey that included chronic kidney disease, open heart surgery, and a successful kidney transplant, God got our attention and grew our faith and trust. In the midst of planning our first big retirement trip to Switzerland, we started to wonder if we could find something “useful” to do while we were there. Emails we sent to Swiss churches were forwarded onto German ministry contacts, who reached out to us as a possible answer to some of their prayers.

So…now we’re going to Germany September 1 – December 15, 2025, to build relationships with leaders in a Calvary Chapel church in Freiburg im Breisgau, with the goal of serving as God leads there. Cal will be counseling for a week at a missionary retreat in Switzerland sponsored by Catalyst International. We already have invitations and dates to mentor and teach workshops at Stadthafen Kollectiv in Stuttgart and an invitation to develop and teach lay counseling at a new Bible college just starting near Freiburg with a vision to train and equip church planters in a land desperately in need of the light of Christ. In addition, God likely has plans we can’t even imagine just yet! (You can subscribe for updates at our website.)

We originally planned to self-fund this as a retirement trip, but several friends and family members have asked how they could help. Given our home front expenses are not going away while we travel, and the last two years have been more financially challenging than expected (e.g. medical expenses), we are very grateful for any monetary support you feel led to contribute towards this trip. Above all, please pray for God’s purposes to be accomplished in this mission and for our hearts to be in tune with his leading.

(Please note your donation is NOT tax deductible.)