Germany
It comes to no surprise to any of us that the English language is one of the most sought after languages in most countries of the world. As a result, Janz Team Ministries—through its LinGO service program—is teaching English as a tool to share the Gospel of Christ. They have had missionaries teaching English for several years in Germany, Poland, Portugal, and Brazil. They are now expanding into other countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
The English camp staff team gathers
for a group photo in Marzell, Germany
In the 1950’s, four brothers, the Janz Brothers, served as missionaries in Germany and desired to have an English-speaking school available to instruct their own children. The Black Forest Academy, located in the village of Kandern, Germany, is now home to 350 missionary children. The English camps, which are used as an outreach tool, are held in 3 different villages, each at a Black Forest Academy dormitory. One of the Janz Brothers’ sons, Bob Janz, married DeEtta Hofrichter, our own Pastor Paul’s sister. Paul and Diana Hofrichter served as full-time missionaries with Janz Team Ministries in Germany for 17 years before coming to GI Evangelical Free Church.
Team member, Roma Rees, and her class.
This summer—for the 4th straight year in a row—our church had the opportunity to send a short-term missions team to help conduct one of the English camps in the village of Marzell, Germany, from July 27 – August 11. This year’s team members are as follows: Pat Liebsack (camp director), Mona Casey (teacher), Roma Rees (teacher), and Robyn Baker (counselor).
An average camp consists of 28 students, ranging in age from 14-17. The German students who attend this 10-day camp have already studied at least two years of English. Upon arrival of the camp, they are pre-tested and then put into the appropriate level class (I, II, or III) for the camp’s duration. Upon our own team’s arrival, they received 3 days of staff training to prepare them for the camp. One of the staff training days involved a team bonding/sightseeing trip to Lucerne, Switzerland.
Worship is a key element of the evening
chapel time – Etwas Mehr
Because this is a summer camp, the plans for the day are not as class intensive as a normal school day. The camp day starts with personal devotions led by a camp counselor. The English language component involves a two-hour English class in the morning, another one-hour English (more American culture than language) class in the afternoon, followed by fun activities. In the evening, the staff leads a chapel time (“Etwas Mehr” – meaning “Something More”), followed by another time of reflection and debriefing, which is also led by a camp counselor.
A number of the students attending are already Christians, but this year the team witnessed some first-time decisions, as well as a number of recommitments.
.
Lord willing, the team is looking forward to going again next year and is looking for new team members. A full staff for one language camp consists of 15 team members. The team needs cooks, counselors, and teachers. Each team member needs to raise approximately $1,750 in support; this cost covers airfare, room, and board. If you are out of high school and have a desire to share the Gospel through an English language camp, you should take the next step and talk to Pat Liebsack, the short-term mission team leader. No post-high school education is required. Pat can be reached at 308-380-6056 or at pliebsack1@msn.com.
Camp Director and Grand Island team leader, Pat Liebsack, attends to administrative details which frees the rest of the staff to invest in the lives of students.
.
