Dear Friends of Eastern Europe Renewal:

The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

Greetings from Basel, Switzerland! It has been over 3 months since I've written. There is so much to write about it seems I should write more often.

Mary has had a radical hysterectomy, which was a bit experimental and totally endoscopic. She has recovered wonderfully. She also had cataract surgery on both eyes, which went very well and seems to have given her better vision than she has ever had in her life. We are thankful.

My health is pretty good. Last week I had a small surgery to remove another basilioma (pre-skin cancer thing) on my arm. If they keep taking these things out they don't develop.

The work at the Church in Lausanne continues well. We had our Christmas early as we are an international Church and people go home for Christmas. They let me play 3 different recorders at the Advent concert. We finished the series of sermons on Ephesians and I've actually been able to make a CD with all 14 sermons on it. They average 32 minutes and can be played on computers or IPODS, etc. but not on normal CD players. If you are interested in one of these CDs I could send it to you in the post. They are not for sale but you could make a donation. We are thinking of starting a Preachers' Class in Lausanne similar to the one in Basel but in English, which will make it much easier for me. A lovely family living near the Church have invited me to stay with them on Saturday nights instead of in the hotel. This is very pleasant and a huge help. On 13 December we will begin a series of sermons on the book of Malachi after which I hope to preach through Galatians.

Now I've had 5 Recorder lessons and have given one private concert in Vienna and one public on in Lausanne - both rather informal. Some people and I are thinking of putting together a more formal concert of Baroque music.

While in Vienna for the concert I also met with Christian workers at the University for a lecture discussion breakfast, which seemed to encourage people a lot, preached in a Church in Vienna and visited people in Bratislava for 3 days, where I picked up a non-swine flu, which stayed with me for a few weeks.

The 5th. Annual English L'Abri Film Festival was a huge success and I enjoyed my part in it very much. I could also preach again in the International Presbyterian Church near L'Abri and play some flute music. We did a short readers' theatre play production with discussion and I gave an initial version of the lecture on manners. I should go back to English L'Abri in February in connection with the Blueprint Christian Arts conference in Wimbledon. On my way to the Film Festival I stopped for 3 days in Brighton and met with some Christian Unions and gave an evening lecture for a Church. The Brighton people are very interesting and worthwhile and I love visiting them.

Since writing last I've been twice to Kiev and surrounding area for teaching at the Baptist Seminary, helping in a L'Abri type weekend conference, teaching counselling teachers how to teach counselling for 2 days and leading a Church weekend retreat. It takes a lot of energy to work in Ukraine because of the different language, culture and alphabet but I pray the work was effective.

A large Church in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland has been asking me to do some teaching for various groups. It is a very good Church and the students can be quite exciting and stimulating and encouraging.

Often I teach about apologetics and evangelism. Something I noticed recently is that the first apologete/evangelist was God in relation to Adam after Adam sinned and was hiding in the garden. God's approach to the lost was to ask 3 questions: "Where are you?", "Who told you?" and "Did you eat?" Perhaps we should be asking these questions (in that order) in trying to engage and bless our neighbors. Where are you in your identity, meaning, purpose, hope, guilt, philosophy, relationships? How do you know that and how did you get that information; who are you believing actively or passively and are they trustworthy? If where you are is not all good are you at least partly responsible and is there forgiveness and restoration possible in reality? Adam's responses were not very good but God did not give up on him. Perhaps that is an example for us. Think about it. I would love your thoughts.

Our finances continue borderline but always above the water line. Thank you very much to those of you who participate in them. Thank you for your prayers, your communications and your encouragements. In the next quarter I will be teaching mostly in Switzerland but also going to England and Slovakia in February and to CANADA in March for 10 days.

May the Lord bless you and give you a rich and thankful Christmas time and a good beginning to the next year.

Much love in Christ,

Ellis

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Copyright © 2009 Ellis Potter.