Well, along with our new family site, we wanted to have our own blogs. I thought my title “Crazy life of a Missionary wife” was a catchy one, and Kevin wanted one of his own. Unfortunately we can’t figure out how to have two separate blogs. So until we can figure that out, we will have one blog page. However, if you notice on the right under “categories” you will find my posts and Kevin’s post categorized. So you can click on either one of our links to read our posts separately. HA! I hope that makes sense. Hopefully we can get this little bug figured out soon 
I hope you will enjoy reading our thoughts and our experiences here in Germany!
Our Blog Introduction…
Unreasonable Servants
A few months ago now, I was teaching the children from the Bible. The area of our study was Luke where the Bible says:
But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? (Luke 17:7)
And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? (Luke 17:8)
Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. (Luke 17:9)
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. (Luke 17:10)
We spent some time explaining how Christians are not extraordinary when they do everything the Bible says to; they are yet unprofitable servants. I began to “wax eloquent” as I brought the illustration home to where my children live at Oberehindenburg Str. 16. “See kids, after you have cleaned your room, done your schoolwork, and finished your chores, you haven’t done anything above and beyond. These are the things that you are commanded to do on a regular basis.”
We always wonder if our kids are listening don’t we? I know we are not the only parents who suspect our kids are watching a movie in their brains while we are talking to them in real life! A few days after I had forgotten all about the valuable lesson bestowed upon the children, I asked Gabriel to get the trash out of the car. Stacy and I had an errand to run and were walking down the street to our house. Gabriel had a large trash bag and was cleaning (and I mean really cleaning) the car out. He had a little hand broom and dust pan and had emptied the car of all junk. Impressed by the grand effort, I yelled across the street; “Good job Gabe! That’s what I call cleaning out the car.” Gabriel stuck his head around the car with a cheesy grin and said, “hey dad; I’m an unreasonable servant.”
They may not understand it all, and may not have the words right; but if we take time to study God’s Word it will not return void. Hey, he sure did a fantastic job on the van and wasn’t looking for a pat on the back. How about you? Are you an unreasonable servant?
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If you drive me there…
This little guy likes swords.
Our kids, (like most kids) often say things that just nearly put us in stitches laughing at them. Caleb is at the age where he is becoming very expressive with his thoughts and trying to get them out. The poor lad has a lot of trouble pronouncing his”L” sounds and they come out with a “sh” sound instead. Caleb does not “love me” he “shoves” me. He doesn’t think he is a “little” guy, he refers to himself as just a “shittle” guy, and so on.
A few weeks ago he asked Stacy if he may have a water gun for his birthday. Stacy said, “sure buddy, I think we can get you a squirt gun.” The youngster promptly replied “thanks mom, I knew I could count on you.” Stacy began laughing at the little goof and Caleb said “I learned that on nansha.” What? Stacy asked. “Nansha!” he repeated, a little louder this time. Stacy asked the third time and this clearly frustrated our Caleb. “I can’t talk very good” he says. Then he says, you know – NA na na NA na na NA na na NA an na NA, NA na na NA na na” .. “Oh,” Stacy said, Bonanza!. “Yea,” he said, “Nansha.
A little while later, Caleb says (as seriously as anyone could be) “mom, if you drive me there; I can save the world.” This little guy has some big aspirations. You know something? I’ve a half a mind to drive him there just to see if he can.
Poems by Josiah
Josiah was very inspired by the new book we received ‘Poems by a Cowboy Preacher’ that he decided to write some of his own!
Your Heart’s Door
When Jesus knocks at your heart’s door
will you answer, or will you ignore?
Will you be rude and say “go away!”
or will you say “come in and stay?”
The Bible
When God wrote the Bible, he wrote it through men,
and then it was published again and again.
It’s purpose is to share the Gospel with you and me,
so through the Cross of Calvary salvation we might see.
So when you read the Bible you’ll see it clear and plain,
you can only get to Heaven by trusting in JESUS’ name!
More to be published soon ;-
)
Poems of a Cowboy Preacher
Is there any greater joy in this world than the experience of leading a lost soul to faith in Jesus Christ? If there is, it must be the joy of leading your own children to the Savior. At the time of this writing, I have experienced such joy three times and look forward to the prospect of hearing the rest of my children call upon the name of the Lord in Acts 16 fashion.
This couch was the altar where I called on the name of Jesus.
Can children understand such things as redemption, forgiveness of sins, propitiation, and atonement? Well, I remember vividly my meeting with Jesus as a five year old boy. I still can’t spell any of those words without the help of my word processor but I know that I am saved. In my limited understanding, I knew that I had sinned against almighty God and I would be punished for my sin forever and ever and ever in a fiery place called Hell. Kneeling beside me that day was my father, Gary Byers; who was leading his third child to Jesus.
Dad with my and my sister's kids
All five of dad’s children profess Jesus as their Savior and to my knowledge; all his grandchildren above the age of seven have called on that wonderful name. I think this number comes to eleven grand children who profess to be saved by faith alone in Jesus. Add this to his five children and you have a total of sixteen family members who trust they are ready for the rapture of the Church soon to take place. Only God knows the hearts and I realize that profession of Jesus does not necessarily prove possession, but we have been blessed with a goodly heritage nonetheless.
By now I hope you are wondering how my dad came to know the Lord. He was not raised in a godly home. On the contrary, my dad’s parents divorced when he was young. Yes, divorce is still sin even in 2010 and will continue to be sin forever. My grandparents on dad’s side smoked, drank, and frequented the nightclubs. Dad says their main goal in life seemed to be “having a ball”, and so they did. God was only a curse word in that home. I remember visiting my grandparent’s home and hearing the Lords name used in ways I had never heard before. Church wasn’t on the schedule in dads broken home.
When my grandpa Byers was on his death bed with cancer, my dad was broken over his soul. He wanted one last chance to speak to grandpa about the Lord, but the stepmother wasn’t going to make it easy. For several days grandpa was in and out of a coma at his house in Oregon. The family took turns watching him and dad was taking his turn when grandpa Byers sat up in bed one night. Earlier dad tried to speak with him but to no avail. This night, grandpa Byers looked right at my dad and said “Gary, could God save an old sinner like me?” Well GLORY TO GOD and PRAISE THE LORD! Chalk up four generations of Byers’ for the family reunion in Heaven. No, the circle won’t be broken.
So then, it wasn’t grandpa Melville Byers who planted the seed, watered it, and then picked the fruit. This line of born again, blood washed, heaven bound Baptist believers that currently stretches four generations started when a young boy named Buddy Brock invited my dad to church. At the age of fourteen, my dad attended a Baptist Church in Camas Washington and heard Pastor Lee Brock preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The spirit filled preacher offered an invitation for sinners to come to Christ and the preacher’s four year old son spoke to my dad while standing on the pew next to him. “Gary, don’t you want to get saved?” were the simple words uttered by the boy. My dad said that’s all the nudge he needed to walk the isle of that little Baptist church and get saved.
Although we have never met, my dad has repeated this story so many times that I feel I know Pastor Brock. The Lord called me to be a preacher not long after finishing High School. Currently I am planting a Baptist church in Illeshiem Germany. About three years ago while traveling across the United States seeking support to begin our ministry here in Germany; I received an e-mail from Pastor Lee Brock. He wanted to know if I may be related to a Gary Byers. Apparently, Pastor Brock found my website on the internet. I was thrilled to answer the e-mail and thank this man of God for impact he has made in my life. If Bro. Brock only had one convert during his time in Camas Washington, I would praise God through all eternity for this preacher answering God’s call. I am so glad Bro. Brock had never heard of this nonsense about “the 10/40 window.” (my preacher friends will understand what I mean by that) Can I tell you that we are not done yet? By God’s grace, we plan to win many more souls to Jesus. In our first year here we led four people to Christ
Poems of a Cowboy Preacher
and baptized one. I am certain that Bro. Brock will be rewarded by God for each and every soul that was saved as a result of his obedience to God. I could hardly believe it when the Brocks began
supporting our ministry financially each month. We have still never met and perhaps never will until Heaven.
A few weeks ago I received an E-mail from Pastor Brock. He has written a book called “The Poems of a Cowboy Preacher.” The book can be purchased on Amazon at this link, and I can’t wait to read it. May I recommend this book to you before I have even read it? This was written by a man who made a difference for the cause of Jesus Christ.
Kevin Byers
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Bella turns 7!
Well, it has been a while since I have written a post. I am kind of behind in things, and trying my best to get things organized. Since we still do not have a vehicle for the moment, Bella’s birthday wasn’t as fancy as I hoped it would be., but she didn’t seem to complain at all, which I was very happy about. She only had two friends come over, but she enjoyed that. Once we started to sing Happy Birthday to her, we didn’t ever get passed the Birthday part when she blew out all but one of her candles. I had to cover her mouth and keep her from blowing out the last one until we were done singing. I guess she was in a hurry to make that wish The homemade birthday cake came out very tasty. Unfortunately though, everyone only got one piece. Oh, there was enough birthday cake for seconds later, but on of the little ones decided to catch the rest of the birthday cake on fire. As I was walking down the hallway, I noticed smoke floating out of the kitchen. I shouted “what’s on fire?!” everyone ran to the kitchen and saw that the plastic container that held the cake was on a burner which had been turned on. So the cake was burning and we were sucking in toxic fumes haha…. We quickly handled the situation and threw out the remaining cake. We couldn’t even feed that to the neighbors pigs! 
Atleast we were all able to enjoy one piece before we had to throw it out! Happy Birthday Bella!!
Bayerische Semmelklösse
Bayerische Semmelklösse
A few weeks ago, I went to help the sheep community install a new roof for their hay barn. Lunch was served at the Linsenbreit home and Oma Babette made a wonderful lunch.
Something about the German food is just plain wonderful, but something about Frankish food (Bavaria) is even better. I just had to ask the name of this wonderful dish and Andrea said it was Bayerische Semmelklösse. I tried several times to say that, and each time I was corrected. I even spit and nearly swallowed my tongue while attempting to say it, but still to no avail.
No matter what you call it, I knew I had to eat more of it. I took the liberty of setting up a cooking lesson for my wife. After exhausting my German vocabulary and playing a short game of charades, Babette agreed to teach the art of Bayerische Semmelklösse cooking to my lovely bride. Stacy was a little skeptical at first, but in true Bayerishe fashion, the Linsenbreits sent Stacy home with a large portion of the dish they had made together. They were only supposed to teach Stacy and eat the soup themselves; but our neighbors are just the kind to give you the shirt off their backs.
Stacy really outdid herself with this fine dish!
Well, Stacy gave the dish a go and I must say; she did quite well. One of the downsides was the extra butter she used in the bread crumb mixture. By the second time she made the meal, it was absolutely perfect. Now, Stacy really wants me to say how hers was better than Babbette’s, but I don’t dare insult our generous neighbors with such needless comparison. I am one happy man to be married to Stacy Byers. She is even a better kisser than she is a cook!
Lehrberg in the Winter
We sure do have a lot of snow around here. I don’t even know how much we have, but there are piles of it everywhere. We have been doing our civic duty of shoveling the sidewalk in front of our house and the patio in front of our door. Thankfully, Dieter Lindsenbreit has a large tractor so he can pick up the large piles that accumulate in front of our house. Dieter made a little igloo for the kids with his tractor as a result of scooping up all the piles of snow around the farm.
We were able to take two trips to the large hill just half a mile from our house. There is plenty of snow on the hill but it takes some work getting to the top. The kids finally got the hang of staying on the sled all the way to the bottom. Our neighbors are so kind to us and they loaned us several toboggans and sleds.
We really don’t have to get out if we don’t want to. The bakery is right across the street and the market is right next to that. The Lindsenbreit Hoffladen is next door and we can purchase all the eggs, wurst, and pig meat we need. Getting snowed in isn’t really a fear, perhaps its a nice treat. It’s funny watching the little baby goats in the back yard. Several were born just last month and they sure are frisky in the fresh snow. They jump all over the place and butt heads to play.
Chocolate Chip Blessings…
The Lord really showed Himself to me the other day and it was just what I needed. I don’t think I am the only Christian that feels “down in the dumps” every now and then and really needs to see something special from the Lord. Since we have been in Germany, satan has thrown one curve ball after another to cause us to feel discouraged and defeated and I must admit, sometimes he nearly won with me. Since I have been here I have often called out to the Lord and asked Him where He was, and why wasn’t He fighting for me. Of course He is, and He has never forsaken me just as He promised! I like to blame my womanly “hormones” too often, but the plain fact of it is, my discouragement is sin. But the Lord knew that I needed a blessing so I could see that He was still with me, and on Saturday He gave that blessing to me in the form of chocolate chips
Just a little background info so you can better appreciate this story…
Our vehicle has been out of commission for a little while. We have one local store here in our village that is more of a “mom and pop” shop. All of our grocery shopping has been done there, at the local bakery, and our neighbors small farm. It has been interesting and I am starting to get used to the German food.I have even started to learn now to order my lunch meat in grams at the market. Those poor ladies probably dread when I come in! ha! But since we have not had the car over the holidays, I had to miss out on cooking all the traditional food that we were used to eating on Christmas/New Years. I cooked a ham on Christmas since we have been married. Since they don’t sell hams here, I had to cook a goose instead. It was very good and we enjoyed it though! I wasn’t able to cook alot of the holiday cookies and other baking that we normally did, and I was feeling a little blue about it. When I ran out of chocolate chip morsels, I really got discouraged! haha..I had used up my last bag on some cookies and Bella and I were wondering where we were going to get more. I was telling Kevin my “woes”….”we are here, in a strange country…I can’t cook a ham…I can’t get hot chocolate….and I’M ALL OUT OF CHOCOLATE CHIP MORSELS!!!!” As I told Kevin all my problems, he looked at me like I was crazy. He proceeded to count all the blessings for me, but I was too busy pining over all the american food I missed and the fact that we didn’t have a car to go grocery shopping. Our cupboards were bare, and the market was closed for the holidays!
On Saturday, the big grocery store opened up in the next city, We decided to walk there as a family while it was lightly snowing outside. We thought it would be an adventure for all of us to get out of the house and get some exercise. 7 Kilometers didn’t seem that far away! We were quickly realizing how far 7 Km was with 6 kids and the snow coming down. For those of you who are like me, and don’t know your Km measurements…7 km is roughly 4 1/2 miles away. So that is around 9 miles total..walking with 6 kids, in the snow, to get some groceries! We were regretting our decisions but we just wanted to get to the store to get warm and get some food. We loaded up two backpacks and the bottom of the stroller up at Aldi’s and headed home. That trip was even worse! But thankfully a friend who had called earlier that day and asked if she could drop by with some freezer items and dry goods to give us, saw us on the road and rescued us! We were about 2 miles from our house and we were so glad to get in that warm car! She had to pick us up in two shifts so we could all make it home safely. She had told us that her and her family were going back to the states for 6 months and she didn’t want her food to go bad so she asked if I could use it. Of course you never want to turn down free food so I gladly accepted! She came in with a few large baskets of food. She completely filled up my 3 drawers in my freezer, and filled my pantry cabinets with dry goods. As I was unpacking all this wonderful American food I thought I would never see again, what do you think I saw in those baskets? yes….bags and bags of chocolate chip morsels!!! I was so excited! I didn’t’ ask the Lord for them, but He knew how down I was feeling about silly little things like that and decided to bless me anyway! It was so wonderful, not only the fact that Bella and I can make cookies again, but that the Lord was listening and wanted to give me some encouragement! It is good to know that the Lord is still with me, hearing my prayers, listening to my pathetic woes, and giving me chocolate chip blessings
P.S. I did finally locate some kako (cocoa) for some hot chocolate, and a box of shokolade trink (the German version of hot chocolate mix) at the store the other day The kids are glad for that in this cold, snowy weather!
A Good Day made better with snow
Today we enjoyed many blessing from the Lord. I was able to construct a makeshift pulpit using a school desk with a table cloth over it and a wood box turned upside down and set on top of the desk. Things were much easier with a pulpit for leading singing and preaching. I thank the Lord for people who are willing to learn the Bible and remain faithful to assemble together under the sound of the Gospel.
I challenged the people today out of II Timothy Chapter 4. Here is the message as I shared it with our small congregation:
What we can expect while planting a church
II Timothy 4
1. Some will forsake us “Demas hath forsaken me” (vs. 10)
A. II Timothy 3:12 – We are promised persecution.
B. I John 2:18, 19 – God will purify His church.
C. John 6:53-56 – Jesus had the same problem.
2. Some will do us evil “Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil” (vs. 14)
A. Matthew 5:10-12 – God has a blessing for those who are persecuted.
B. James 1:2-4 – The trying of your faith worketh patience.
C. Matthew 26:47-50 – Jesus had the same problem.
3. The Lord will stand with us “The Lord Stood with me” (vs. 17)
A. I Samuel 15:29 – With strength, (vs 17)
B. I Corinthians 1:18 – Preserving the preaching, (vs 17)
C. Acts 13:47 – To deliver the Gospel to the Gentiles; (vs 17)
D. Psalm 34:19 – And delivering the saint from evil. (vs 18)
E. Matthew 27:46 For our sake, Jesus was not given the same luxury.
The song service was wonderful and we took some extra time to sing favorites. After church, I snapped this photo from our window. I think Lehrberg is beautiful in the winter, but spring is even better. After church, the kids went outside to play in the snow.
Memories of Moving
Heather helped to watch Noah and make sure he didn't get packed
I finally got a chance to do something with the pictures we took while moving to Germany. Things were too busy at the time for much of anything, but in hind sight; I am sure glad we snapped a few pictures. It is amazing to remember how we had an entire semi trailer to fill and from out of the clear blue sky, God sent helpers from all over. The Lord sure does provide.
Bro. Lyle Snakenburg and his wife Rose came and so did Pastor John Wheeler from Hamilton Baptist Church and a few others from their church. Pastor Bragg from Lakeside Baptist Church also came with some men from his church. Our neighbors on both sides pitched in, and boy did we have a work crew! It rained that day, but the Lord gave us ample time to get the truck loaded.
Loading Truck in Harrison, TN
We pulled a little trick to get the mattresses in and then voila, it was done. Stacy and I are both against moving any more. I think we have moved around 15 times since we were married. I sure do feel at home here in Lehrberg and we pray our moving days are over. Every week I try to do something else to make our house more permanent and drive the steaks as deep as I can. We hold loosely to this world, but we have a mission to accomplish here for the LORD. Stacy and I are both thinking our next move will be straight up.
The Lord sent an army to help load our truck and we thank these folks for beign willing to lend a hand!
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I Love Stacy
I just wanted everyone to know that I love Stacy!
Have a good day
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Fröhliche Weihnachten!
All was quiet during this Weihnachetn (Christmas) season. We didn’t do much other than hang out around the house, eat LOTS of cookies, watch Little House episodes, and play with the kids new gadgets they got from family. Our neighbors gave us fresh, smoked fish for dinner a few days before Christmas, and on Christmas Eve I cooked a goose. It wasn’t a fancy dinner, but we really enjoyed our time together. Here is a picture of our goose dinner. Caleb is missing because he wanted to sleep instead
Introduction to the “crazy” blog..
Here is my crazy “stick family” My mom thinks I should have my own reality show since I have so many kids. I don’t think we are that bad! Things do get pretty crazy around here though. It isn’t easy trying to start a new ministry, home schooling 3 kids, chasing after two toddlers and caring for a newborn baby; but I wouldn’t change a thing about any of it! We are truly blessed. I have had SO many people ask me “do you plan on having any more children?” I’ve heard all the comments…”surely you aren’t planning more, you must be done, how many more will you have?” Although those comments really irritate me, I have come to expect it when someone looks at our large family. It is rather amusing to see people count the children as we go by. You can see the look on their faces and almost hear them audibly count haha! It is very unusual here in Germany. We get some strange looks. But, our answer to all those comments usually is “we haven’t had a kid we didn’t like yet!” Kevin and I wanted a large family from the beginning of our marriage in 1997 and we have grown happier with each new addition to our family. Yes, it does get rather crazy around here…but we like crazy, it keeps life interesting . We praise the Lord for His goodness to us.
Elijah (our little wooden Indian)
On November 26, 2009 (Black Friday), little Elijah Joseph blessed us with his presence. He is our third German born baby. Gabriel and Bella were both born in Germany while we were in the Air Force. They were both born in the military hospital which is not unlike the hospitals there in the States. Elijah however was born in the German hospital. I can’t really say that I enjoyed the experience in the German hospital, but I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as the hospital conditions that some Missionary wives experience in different countries. Elijah was born via C-section (he was my 5th C-section). I only spent one night in the German hospital, and I requested to go home the following morning. The Dr’s were very uneasy about we going home since the normal hospital stay is up to 5 days with a C-section, but after I signed the release papers they allowed me to go home. I was able to rest and recuperate much more quickly at home, even with 5 other kids running around. Kevin and the older kids did a splendid job taking care of me and allowing me to rest!
We had a scare with Elijah shortly after he was born. His newborn screening came back abnormal and he had high levels of tyrosine in his blood. We didn’t know what that meant at first, but after doing some research we discovered that tyrosinemia is a very serious genetic condition that causes life long problems, possible kidney transplant, or even death! Needless to say we were very worried and prayed that he did not have this medical condition. We had to wait a few more days for more blood work to come back. But after much prayer from our family, friends, and supporters, his second batch of blood work came back normal. His tyrosine levels went down and the German Dr said he was very healthy and told us to have a Merry Christmas. We were overjoyed! The Lord is good. We are excited to have little Elijah as part of our family.
I was always fond of the name Elijah, but Kevin wasn’t really keen on the name. He said that it reminded him of the Hank Williams song “Kaw Lijah”. He would then break out in song whenever I mentioned the name. One day, Kevin came home and told me how he was praying and thinking about the “Lord God of Elijah”. He told me that for over a year, he had been praying for the Lord to show Himself with the power He did for Elijah. Remember Elisha said “where is the Lord God of Elijah” before parting the waters (2 Kings 2:14). Kevin said that he knew I had been mentioning the name Elijah for some time, so he finally decided that was the name for our new son. We had decided on the name Joseph on the way to the hospital at 6 am 
Not only do we love the story of what God did for Joseph in the Bible, but Kevin’s Grandfather was named Joseph. So it was the perfect fit.
Elijah is 4 weeks old today, and nearly everyday Kevin still breaks out singing “Kaw Lijah was a wooden Indian standin’ by the door…..” Poor Elijah 