Rentz Germany Update

BABY DANIEL IS BORN!
My beautiful wife Jenny gave birth to our 4th child on August 22 at 9:50am. Daniel weighed in at 10 lbs. 6½ oz. We praise the Lord that the last 3 months of constant travel did not result in any complications and that both Jenny and Daniel are doing well. Below is a picture of Erich, Emily and Thomas as they meet their brother for the first time.

TRANSITION BACK TO BERLIN
Our transition back to Berlin feels like a gift from God. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us. The move into our new apartment on the other side of Berlin has gone better than we could have hoped. We have wonderful neighbors who also have kids including one who is 7 and likes to play with Erich and Emily. Our wonderful teammates moved our belongings from storage into our apartment a couple of days before we arrived in Berlin. What a blessing! You have been the hands and feet of Christ to us. After 8 weeks we finally have phone and internet service and, praise the Lord, we were able to purchase a used van less than 12 hours before Daniel’s birth! Erich and Emily were able to begin school Aug 27th and now I am preparing to take a short refresher class in German prior to full-time ministry. The culture shock and exhaustion from moving was greatly diminished this time and renewed contact with old friends here in Berlin added to our sense of belonging. We are Home! Thank You Jesus!

CHANGING MINISTRY ROLLS
We began our service in Berlin at Berlin International Church (BIC) in 2001. After 2 ½ years there, we joined Jerry & Shelly Kragt in planting Open Door Church on the other side of Berlin. Now that we have returned, our ministry assignment is once again with the BIC. As we complete our transition to Berlin we join Steve & Karen Mack in serving at BIC. Chuck will be preaching for the first time Sept 16 but our main responsibility at this moment is to build relationships, learn the vision, visit the different ministries to better understand what God is going at and through BIC, and to prepare for formal responsibilities by the end of fall.

PRAISES AND PRAYER REQUESTS
1) We praise God for the blessings He has showered down on us during this time of transition including an apartment, a vehicle, etc. Please pray for the completion of all the details necessary in our transition to Germany (i.e. finding Dr.s, getting the kids integrated into school, our new neighborhood and church ministries, completion of language refresher course, etc)
2) We praise God for our Missionary Teammates and how they have expressed Christ’s love in tangible ways. We are so glad to be part of a team!
3) Please pray for our integration into the ministry at BIC and our partnership with Steve & Karen Mack. It always takes time for us to grasp the vision and ministries of a new assignment and at the same time to build positive personal and ministry relationships with our co-workers.
4) Please Pray for our relationships with the people at BIC as well as with German non-believers outside the church. One such friend commented to Jenny several days ago that he is thankful and even drawn to the fact that, although we are Missionaries in his country, we have not tried to “missionize” him. It is the testimony of a living and active God at work in our lives that draws him to us!