Eiflings in Wroclaw, Poland

New Church and Youth Group Last September we moved to Wroclaw, Poland to begin in serving in our long-term location and local church. It has been great to begin immersing ourselves in our new church home. We are spending a lot of time building relationships, not only with the youth, but with the entire church body by participating in weekly prayer meetings, the fall family picnic, dinners with couples and families, and other opportunities.We are already building a great relationship with Adam (in picture below on left),
not only a working ministry partnership, but also a friendship. We spend a
lot of time together not only planning youth meetings and events, but also talking
about ministry philosophy, strategy, vision and direction, youth culture,
etc. We are learning a lot from each other about ministry to the youth of
Wroclaw, Poland.

One exciting ministry we have
begun is our Elements small
groups. We have one guys’ group
and two girls’ groups with both believers and non-believers who
meet weekly. Elements is a tool created by Josiah Venture and
used in 10 Eastern European countries which grounds new or
young believers in their faith and helps them develop their
relationship with Christ. You can see more about Elements
including sample lessons and videos testimonies from Eastern European young people on the website at
www.jvelements.com.

Iwona is training 2 girls to be leaders of
Elements groups as well as 2 co-leaders who can lead groups in
the future. Daniel is co-leading a group for guys with Adam.
Please pray for these groups that meet every Thursday and Friday evening.


New Role in K2
K2 is the name of our program for training youth group ministry teams. We've had our first 2 of 5 training
weekends with teens and leaders from 4 youth groups from different cities. We had a lot of time together
studying the ministry of Jesus. We looked at how he called, built, equipped and sent his disciples. We also
learned about 6 priorities of Jesus as he did ministry. Each weekend we meet we will focus on 1-2 of these
priorities. For example, we discussed the need to have an atmosphere of love in our youth groups and
taught on the 5 Languages of Love (Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service
& Physical Touch). We then had 5 stations where teens could
learn experientially about each of these (e.g. Youth went in
pairs to the “Acts of Service” station where they read John 13 in
which Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. Then they washed each
other’s feet). In addition to teaching times and learning
experiences, we spent about 1/3 of our time in groups in which
youth leaders and their youth evaluated their own lives
personally as well as their youth groups in light of what we
studied. It was a joy to see the passion of these youth who want
to serve God. Michael told me, “I would like to read my notebook 5 more times because there was so
much important information that I learned this weekend. I have always before though about how to reach
out to my non-believing friends from outside my youth group, but this was the first time I’ve ever thought
about how to care for and shepherd my believing friends inside the youth group.” Please pray for us as we
meet again for our third weekend on February 1-2, 2008.

We had a wonderful time with you while we were in Scottsdale on our short visit in December. Although a week felt like it was not enough time we are grateful for the time we did have with you. Thank you for your faithfulness to pray for our ministry to youth here in Poland!

Sincerely,

Daniel, Iwona & David Eifling

Steve and Kristi in Romania

Kristi wrote:

Ligia, pictured here, received her first wheelchair. Ligia’s mother, Neli, asked for the wheelchair some months ago. She had talked with a member of a small village church where Steve and I visited last Easter. During our visit, Steve measured Ligia for a chair. We prayed that within the shipment of wheelchairs coming from Wheels for the World would have something perfect for her. [Wheels for the World is a Joni Eareckson Tada ministry.]

Answering this prayer, God provided just the one for Ligia. At Cluj, our friend and colleague Jenny Lotter spotted the chair that would fit her perfectly. On August 1st, all three of us delivered the chair.

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You may remember the Carnazzos when they worshiped with us each week. In 2006, Steve and Kristi moved to Romania. They currently live in Timisoara. Their gifts, training, and heart for the disabled have led them to serve in Eastern Europe. Helping the disabled is the focus of their ministry.

Steve, an Occupational Therapist for the past 12 years, worked with a variety of patients within the Scottsdale Healthcare system. Steve also completed his Master of Divinity in 2004 from Phoenix Seminary. Steve's desire is to use all the gifts and talents God has given him to serve the disabled in Romania as well as helping and educating others to incorporate disabilities ministry.

Kristi, a Music Therapist for the past 12 years, has worked using music as a tool to reach the disabled with a variety of diagnosis and ages. Her focus is children with sensory integration dysfunction and autism.

The Carnazzos are also International Ministry Associates with Joni and Friends- Wheels for the World. They are part of a team that organizes and distributes wheelchairs, walkers, and other donated rehab equipment to those in need. Through this process those involved are able to share God's love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

New School Year Starts in Ireland

Patrick Mitchel, the Director of Studies at the Irish Bible Institute, writes, "We started a new school year last week and are very encouraged with the numbers of new students from a wide variety of churches and locations across Ireland."

Patrick is someone Highlands sponsors as a result of networking with Mark Carlson, one of the bass players at Highlands. Mark's father was associated with the Institute for several years.

More about Irish Bible: "Ireland continues to need people who will lead the Irish Evangelical Church through a rapidly changing landscape. We believe these leaders are best trained in Ireland, with an emphasis on the Irish context, where they become answers to Irish questions." Further detail

One-Day Missions Opportunities

Phoenix has its share of homeless people, and Jesus told us serving them is a good thing to do. In fact, He said that the best dinner parties are the ones you host without expecting to receive a return invitation.

Taking this to heart, some Christians in Scottsdale created an non-profit organization that would provide opportunities to serve dinner to homeless people in Phoenix. The group took its name from the scripture passage in which Jesus said, "When you do it for the least of these, My brethren, you do it for Me."

On the third Saturday of September, about 50 people -- mostly from Highlands and Scottsdale Bible -- visited three shelters and served taco dinners to families and single women off the streets. In addition we provide bibles, toiletries, and a short worship service for those interested. Prayer requests and spiritual inquiries are also addressed.

We go down every third Saturday of every month. There are three ways to serve. 1) You can check out our sign-up table in the rotunda and donate the items we need. 2) You can sign up and join us to serve dinner. And/or 3) you can get on our prayer request distribution list.