Summer Friends

So many people come through Berlin during the course of a summer to help out with the ministry. It's always fun to get to know the different interns, short-term missionaries and groups.

When my teammates and next-door neighbors, the Goods, left in May for furlough, Mike & Jesslyn Corman (bottom photo, far right) moved into their apartment for the summer. This was exciting for me because Mike is from Pennsylvania and a former BBC student. :-) We think on very similar wavelengths as a result. He met his wife while teaching at the William Carey Academy in Bangladesh. Jesslyn is from Malaysia. They are a perfect addition to our international church, though they're returning to Clarks Summit in August so that Mike can finish up at BBC.

Mike and Jess are running a series of English camps throughout Germany this summer. As a result, they hired a bunch of counselors from the States - mostly college students. The first to arrive was David Nelson from Grandville, MI (blue GAP sweatshirt). "Chip" as I affectionately call him, is 19-years-old and from my friend Brian Mitchell's former church.

"Backpacker Dan" (top right) came through Berlin for a week. Daniel Hendon is a recent Moody grad and one of Brittany Good's college friends.

Mike and Jess' friend CJ visited us next. CJ (bottom photo, middle) is a BBC grad and future missionary with the Southern Baptist Convention.

Our first set of summer interns arrived the first week of June. Jon and Megan Damon (bottom photo, left) are from South Whitley, Indiana. Their grandparents, Dan & Jean O'Deens, are the couple who stayed in my apartment during my first furlough and took over my ministries with their other grandson, Chris Hoenshell.

Three more of the Corman's counselors arrived this week. Jamie Innis (top right photo, right) arrived Tuesday. Jamie's sisters both attended BBC. Jamie also lives in Grand Rapids. In the photo above, they are painting signs for our upcoming VBS. Good work, guys! Rachel and Justin (not pictured) arrived today. I don't know their last names, but Rachel is from Scranton and attended BBC for a year.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg! This post is more for me so that I don't forget everything and everyone. Two more interns arrive in July and two groups - a high school German class from Montana, and my supporting church in Montrose, PA - arrive in late July and early August respectively. More on them later . . .