It was such a privilege to be in Germany at the time they were hosting the Soccer World Cup. Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world; so all eyes were on Germany.
About two years ago God spoke to our band about going to Germany. We had planned to come earlier, but now realize his timing was perfect. We flew from Kona, Hawaii to Begin in a town called Konstanz on the edge of a beautiful lake right next to the Swiss border. God had opened up an opportunity giving favour to the Churches to run an event organized by non- Christians. It was a large arena with a huge stage and a massive screen to show the game on. Little booths of food, beer and soccer memorabilia surrounded it. The pastor shared their passionate vision with us. He said they felt that God had given them favour to break the ground with prayer and was sending the worshippers ahead of the battle. Though it was not a time they could share the gospel openly it was a time where bands with hearts after God could pray and worship and break the hard ground. We played right before the game between Germany and Argentina. There were around 9,000 people at this game all dressed in their national colors. The atmosphere was pure excitement. It was really awesome to look from the stage over such a crowd and pray that God would reveal his passionate love for them. Certain faces would pop out to pray specific things for. The pastor told us the next day that the organizer asked where he could come and try church. Praise God!!
Following this, we drove to Frankfurt, where we teamed up with a number of different YWAM teams and church groups. There were teams from South Africa and all over Europe sharing through dance, drama and music, including the Global Access DTS outreach team from Kona, Hawaii.
They had organized a large stage outside the Haupt Bahnhof (central train station) – the biggest in Deutchland. It was a great opportunity to play there for three days as many people were walking past. We sensed the spiritual environment as soon as we arrived. When we pulled up with our van and right in front of us there was a group of people huddled in a circle shooting up with heroin with needles. Their faces were so empty and hollow and you could see the addiction of drugs draining their lives. Later we were told that this was like the red-light district of Frankfurt.
The spiritual warfare was very tangible here, for example, while we were playing and interceding with one of our songs called “At the Well”, an older woman started dancing in front of the stage. We sensed something dark about her and began to pray. She reached into her bag and pulled out a whip and started waving it at us a cursing us aloud. She then went over to the information booth threw a number of gospel tracts on the ground and left the area. On the other hand, another time, we challenged people to search for the truth and the importance of knowing Jesus. We told them of the information booth and a woman walked up to the stage and pointed to the booth saying she was going to search for truth.
We are so thankful to God for bringing us to Europe and giving us a glimpse of his deep love for Germany and other parts in Europe that we have been to.
By Tim Wells and Natalie Moe-Bruce. August 2006