Finding Purpose - Song of my Life - Kristine van Dooren

After recooperating from jet lag, it was back to work, and our normal schedule at the Trudering house. It was good that Thomas’ friend, John, had also gone to the elder’s conference with us. They both had fresh inspiration and were happy to share their experiences at the next family meeting.The time we had spent with our old friends from Living Waters, had been a reminder, of where we all came from. We were searching for the truth and found it in Jesus. Thomas and John used to preach on the streets in Eureka, and now, they were doing that in Munich.This makes me think of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in Chapter 2, where he wrote, remember where you came from; “You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked, according to the course of this world, "But God being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, made us alive together with Christ.” The challenge in Munich, was learning to impart these things to people that God brought to us, from different countries. One truth that we had learned early on, I found in Thomas’ notebook titled “Erneuerung unseres Sinnes, Einleitung das Wort zu Praktizieren”, "Renewing your mind." An introduction to practicing the Word.” ..

Welcome back everyone! And I would like to say, a special greeting, to my new listeners! Now we had three little girls, joining us on the journey, of becoming a cross cultural family. We had returned for a visit to California after living in Germany for almost 4 years. Though Thomas had grown up in West Berlin, his roots in the Christian faith, had begun in California. Our story continues! After returning from the elders conference, we took our girls with us to a gathering called the “Festival of the Son.” They were going to see some familiar faces, adults and children, they knew from our communal house in Munich. The festival had been a tradition in the early 70's for the "Jesus People" in northern California. It was an outdoor, camping event in the Santa Cruz area. Fortunately, we could borrow sleeping bags and air mattresses, from my parents. Our friends, Steve and Tony, were bringing an extra tent and everything else needed for cooking. Thomas and I, were looking forward to camping in the forest, but it would be a new experience for our daughters. It was going to bring back memories, of the many tree planting jobs, we had been on.   When we arrived at the camping area, we were pleasantly surprised to see all the tents set up around the picknick tables and barbeques. Many of our old friends from Living Waters were there. It was like the old days, cooking and sharing meals together. It was the perfect opportunity to have some quality time with each other. Thomas and I, were also introduced to a group of people from the new church called “Verbo” in Guatemala City. The original team from Eureka, had gone down there after the earthquake in February of 1976. It was a horrible disaster, with thousands of people dying and injured. This also meant, that thousands of people lost their homes, and live-lihoods.

It was springtime, we had just celebrated Thomas’ birthday, and we had another party with the Trudering kids, for Esther who turned three. Thomas’ had made for himself a strict work plan. In his notebook he wrote out his schedule that says; get up at 5:45, prayer at 6:30, breakfast at 7:30, Bible reading at 11:15. Sundays he got up at 6:30, and breakfast in the house started at 7:30. Once we had the Sunday services downtown that became a big  priority for the day for him. In contrast to his responsibilities, we were always looking to make improvements, for our family life. During that time, we had agreed with everyone in the house, that Tuesday would be our free day. The men and women all had their own jobs, either outside of the house, or working in the “Glasblume” shop. The next bold decision we made, was to have most of our meals as a family, in our room. Little Elisabeth, was six months old, and learning to eat. I found it frustrating, trying to supervise my three girls, in the community dining room. There were just too many distractions.

With our official name “Christliche Hausgemeinde,” we had set out on a significant new course. This effected all of us, as we learned together, how to organize a church service for the public. The men had been scouting out locations near the center of Munich. The two main conditions were, that it was affordable and available on Sundays. What they decided on was somewhat amusing; a Taekwondo hall. Besides the sport classes that took place during the week, there was a meditation group, that was following the teachings of an Indian guru. His picture hung on a prominent wall with the title, “the perfect master.” Fortunately, we were allowed to remove it when we came in, and replaced it with a temporary wall hanging, that Judi and I, had made. None of us realized, how much work it was going to be, to transform that hall into a welcoming place suitable for a church service. We had a couple of teams that came early to set up each Sunday. The first step was rolling out a large carpet we bought to protect the floor. Then our new chairs were lined up in rows facing the front where the microphones were placed. A second team came with boxes of supplies for the room we used for the children. At the end of the meeting and after all of the guests were gone, everyone pitched in packing our stuff, stacking the chairs and rolling up the carpet. For the first meetings, we were excited and nervous, to see who would come and what the atmosphere would be like.

In reference, to Naomi’s voice message in the last episode, I realized what an important influence the music had in her young life. She said she was surrounded by a Christian environment. In her memories, it was like we had meetings every night, with singing and worshipping God. In an interview for a Christian TV program Naomi said something similar: “I remember when I was four years old, that my dad taught me a song, and we sang it together at the Bible study meeting. We were always singing. My father was playing music every day, either guitar or piano. He always encouraged us to sing with him, it was fun, but above all else, it was about the Bible.“ Her story has led me to consider, how did music become such a normal part of our daily life. Within our community house in Trudering, Bible reading, singing, prayer and even fasting, was a normal part of the schedule. For Thomas and I, that lifestyle started way back at Living Waters. Maybe you remember that in Episode 23, titled “A New Song” Thomas experienced a big transformation, in his identity as a musician. He quit playing his instruments, because he wanted to rid himself, of the pride he had developed. At some point, God gave him a new purpose, with his gift of music. Here's the link to a song we learned, from Psalm 25, at Living Waters, "Unto thee do I lift up my soul." Be encouraged !! https://youtu.be/tjqlkWhz-aA?feature=shared

This week marks two years, since I uploaded the introduction to the podcast, “Finding Purpose”. I had spent a few weeks, filing on the wording, so that it would represent the "Song of my Life". Then I found, the perfect background music for the podcast, from a song that Naomi had written. I cannot thank Debby enough, for her weekly editing, in the midst of her own busy schedule. And I need to add, a heartfelt thank you, to all of my family and friends for the encouragement. I still find it hard to believe, I have such a fun and time consuming hobby, and that you enjoy listening to my stories! This week’s episode is about more important turning points, in our personal lives, and with the ministry work. One big step was when Thomas registered our fellowship as an association under the name “Christliche Hausgemeinde eV”. (Christian Home-Church) For the first time we had an official name instead of just being called “the Truderingers”. It wasn’t easy deciding on a name though, because it had to describe our work, which we considered was building a church. The German word for “church” Kirche, brought to mind the old cathedrals, that represented the state church, being Catholic and Lutheran. At that time there was a church renewal phase developing in the US and in the UK.  It was common to call Christian Bible study groups, “church in the home.” The goal was, to live as the early faith-filled Christians, according to the example in the New Testament. For us it was perfect timing, to finally have an official name, because we started having open services at a rented hall downtown. .....listen until the end to hear the miracle story!!

First what is clear, in looking back over our lives, is that there are two aspects to life. As the years go by, we are busy with different kinds of daily routines, depending on our jobs, our families and our age. Everything is always changing, the circumstances are temporary. At the same time, there is the spiritual side of life, which is eternal. God is working in our hearts, teaching us important lessons, and steering our motives and desires. The foundational question is, “Who do we live for, and what is the underlying purpose of our life?” We never know what the future holds, but hopefully we are learning to trust Jesus, that He has a good purpose for everything we do. As is written in Psalm 23, the result of following the good shepherd is that God’s “goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” This is what Thomas and I, and wanted to impart to our children, and to the many people the Lord brought into our lives. On one sunny day in August of 1977, Thomas had the great idea of taking a group photo outside on the sidewalk, next to the Trudering house. You can imagine, how hard it was to get a crowd of 40 people all together, and positioned so you could see everyone. I was pregnant with Lizzy, and Naomi and Esther, were the only children in the group. I love the picture because it  tells some of our story, you see how many different kinds of people we lived with. Sadly, a few people got left out, because they weren’t at home that afternoon. I am happy to see, that some people in that picture, are still my friends today.

No words could describe how happy, Thomas and I, were with our third daughter. Naomi and Esther, were learning to be mommies, to their real- live dolly. They wanted to help with everything, and couldn’t wait for their turn, to sit on the couch and hold her. Pretty soon they had little Elisabeth lined up on their beds, with their dolls playing house. Like I had said in the last episode, I had somewhat of a hard time physically the first couple of weeks. But that didn’t damper my thrill of taking care of my sweet baby girl. When Thomas had called his mother with the news, she was anxious to plan her next trip to Munich. We were excited that grandma Nadja could come and visit us again. Now we had three children, and a completely different kind of home for them to grow up in. So much had changed since our days, of singing to baby Naomi around the open fire, in our tipi. And for little Esther, it was normal, that we had a bathroom with warm water and a bathtub. That was luxury, after living in a cold farmhouse, with no modern conveniences. The good thing was, we had learned to be content, in all circumstances. Our desire in marriage and family life, was that it would reflect our love and commitment to Jesus. As missionaries, we hoped that our personal lives, would encourage others to also want to know the truth.

As I said in the last episode, I still had the baby blanket on the shelf, representing my last pregnancy. The whole story had continued to hang over our heads, leaving us a bit confused. Confused meaning, we thought, we understood the situation correctly. That’s why I saved the blanket, with the name Samuel, embroidered on it.In Episode 58, I told the bizaare story, of what took place in Nienburg concerning our baby. A couple that had come from the States, had taken it upon themselves, to say they had a word, or a vision about Thomas and I. They dared to tell us, that my baby could die, if I didn’t have the right attitude towards God. Unfortunately, we trusted and believed them, when they also said the child is a boy. They added, that he will be a prophet to Germany, and his name will be Samuel. There you have it; the reason that one of the sisters embroidered a scripture on a blanket as a gift. It said, “His name is Samuel - His whole life, he will be given to the Lord.” It sounds like a strange story, but we believed it, because we trusted them.  When our second baby was born, all the women in the house were watching, and heard the midwife say “Ein Mädchen.” Everyone was surprised, because we were expecting a boy. My first thought was, what is her name? Instantly, the name Esther, came to my mind. Thomas put his hand on her and said “Welcome, little Esther.” We were all rejoicing, because a birth is such a miracle, and the Lord had given us a healthy baby.

What better way to start off our second spring in Munich, than with more parties. One was a wedding, and our little family, had three birthdays coming up. As a fellowship we were really getting good at planning parties, and for the coming months, they would all be happy occasions. And we rejoiced, with Brian and Christine, they had a healthy baby boy, and moved into the downstairs apartment. With some flowers and a card, the sisters welcomed her home saying, “Please let us know if you need any help.” Daniel and Susan, were going to be the first couple of the team, to get married in Germany. They were able to book the Chapel at the American base, for their wedding, which included a multi- purpose hall for the reception. Many of our friends worked, and led a Bible study at the base, so it was a familiar area for them. I think Susan also bought her wedding dress, bridesmaids dresses, and flower bouquets there. We could have been a wedding planner business in those days. All of the preparations were taking place in our house. We had cooks, cake makers, musicians and singers, and were good at organizing such productions. The house was bustling with excitement. Judi and Randy were practicing a song, the sisters Dagmar, Sonja and Regina, were upstairs learning a new song with their guitar and a tambourine. One of the German guys, that played accordion, was practicing Bavarian music in the brother’s dorm. - Since I have mentioned Nadja, I decided to add a few excerpts from a tape, that I recently found. It was recorded at an earlier date, when she had come to visit. Thomas asked her, if she was brave enough, to talk to my parents in English. It begins with Thomas and I, and then Nadja had her turn. You can get an idea, about what was important at that time in her life, as a new widow.

Steve took one last photo, of Thomas and John, standing on the gangway after unloading the vans. None of them could imagine, what awaited the two families, once their ship was on it's way. At the Gasthof, the evening before they watched the news on TV. It was reported that a big storm was brewing over the Atlantic. Steve’s wife told me years later that the owner of the guest house warned them, he said it was too dangerous to get on a ship that week. But Peter reminded them, that he and his family, had also been with Thomas and I, on a cruise ship in the winter. He said we only had a couple of days that were stormy, where everyone was sick, but we survived. Steve agreed, that if their cargo ship was embarking as scheduled, it couldn’t be too bad. Terri told me later what really happened. She said that after a couple of days, when the boat was away from the coast, a huge storm hit them. Steve even took pictures with his four year old son out on the deck, showing him how exciting it was, to see the big waves. The powerful winds were so strong, that the ship was stuck for a couple of days, in one place. I think it took them at least 15 days to finally make it to New York. The reality was, she and Steve could have flown with their children to the States, and avoided such a horrendous experience. The good thing was, we had all prayed for their travels, before they left!

You have been listening to the stories about my past, and have also heard from a couple of my daughters, and grandchildren. Their lives have been influenced by the important things, that Thomas and I learned, in the first years at the Trudering house. Even my youngest grandchildren, unknowingly, are reaping from the fruit that comes from having parents that love God. Even though they are too young to listen to the podcast, I like to show them old photographs, and tell them about how their mommy grew up. I feel like I am, at the same time, planting seeds of faith in their little hearts. It reminds me that even though Thomas and I, were adults, we knew that Jesus said; “You must become as little children." I like to look through Thomas’ first Bible, the one he bought in Eureka, and find the gems, that truthfully motivated us. Here are a couple of them: In Luke chapter 16, 10 it is written simply “He that is faithful, in that which is least, is faithful, also in much.” And another verse was “For we walk by faith, and not by sight,” This helped us to accept, both the good, and the difficult things that came our way.   Speaking of children, maybe you remember an early episode where Thomas and I, talked about having more children. I think we were living in the tipi with our first baby girl. I told Thomas, that I loved being a mom, and couldn’t wait to have more children, maybe even five! We talked and prayed about our future, and asked God, to give us four more children. So here we were in Munich with our two precious little girls, loving being parents, when I said to Thomas one day, that I believed it was time for number three. Even though Thomas’ responsibilities had grown, we were in agreement that we both wanted a larger family. We prayed together, asking God, to bless us with another baby.

Through my weekly stories, you having been getting all the details, about the early years of my life with Thomas. With the addition of the “video conversations”, you can get a tiny glimpse into what my life looks like today. Along with all the unique experiences we had, I think the most important thing, is what goes deeper than the outward events, that were taking place. God was changing our hearts and our minds, through each new phase. I can just imagine Thomas in those days, reading Proverbs, twenty three, verse 26 and hearing God’s Word; “Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes delight in my ways.” Our daily challenges came down, to making a choice. To either hold on tight to what we wanted, or to surrender, accepting the circumstances as part of God’s plan. It was fascinating for me, talking with my daughter Miriam, and granddaughter, Adina. As my children were growing up, it was natural for them, to take for granted our particular lifestyle at whatever time that was. So it was fun for me to listen to the questions that they have now. Our conversation caused me to reflect on the parallels, between our home life at Trudering, and how it evolved over the next 30 years. In talking together, we were trying to connect the dots from the past, to the present. If that’s even possible! The main two questions were; How did we teach our children to pray - and to know Jesus in a personal way!   

My recent stories, take place in the fall, of 1976 in Munich. I even have to remind myself, how different life in the world was at that time. Our communication consisted of writing letters, making tape recordings and sometimes phone calls. I have the benefit today, that my family saved many personal letters and tapes, that we sent to each other over the years. I recently found, in my “go to book,” the Bible, a verse about the importance of learning from generational wisdom. It’s in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy, Chapter 32, verse 7 says; “Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations, ask your father, and he will show you, your elders and they will tell you.” So that leads me to think, if we don’t talk or write about our lives and families in the past, how will the next generation know what their foundation is. Song: "To Dwell in Unity" https://youtu.be/qAs3fKpZ4p8?si=ZrhPCeYP46tJQdcU Song: "I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live" https://youtu.be/33H16zNiGeg?si=t51YAIMClgcfEgMM

Welcome back everyone! I turned 26 at the end of September. It was a milestone - because it marked one year, since Thomas and I, had moved to Munich from Nienburg. The beautiful house in Trudering had been secured and the other families joined us. Who would have known that one year later, we would be saying goodbye, to Gregor, and Alan’s families. At least the dust had settled in our midst, by the time Jim’s promised helpers arrived. They were Scott and Steve from California, part of a team of leaders who Jim called, the Mobile Ministry. Even though they had never been to Germany, or Europe, they weren’t worried about the possible language or cultural barriers. They had experience traveling around in the States and visiting the new  groups. They would spend a few weeks there, to encourage the leaders and offer advice for the next steps. The method at the time, was modelling the community lifestyle, that was popular within the Jesus People Movement. ... For us Americans at the Trudering house, it was pretty special, learning to sing to Jesus, in German. I sometimes felt overwhelmed, like getting a glimpse of God’s heart, for the country I now called home. When I hear the old recordings, it brings back all those wonderful memories. We witnessed people’s broken lives restored, as they learned to sing with their whole heart to the Lord. Thomas and I, had the sense, that it was a “new day” for the German people!