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Denton was born in Phoenix in 1980. He resides here in Aschaffenburg, Germany and is a teacher.

Lisa, born in 1983 is married to Christof, resides in Aschaffenburg, Germany. Christof is our worship leader. In August of 2011 they are expecting their first child - our first grandchild - who ultimately lived just one day.

Robert, born in 1985, resides in Aschaffenburg, Germany and works as a musical instrument salesperson. At the end of 2010 Robert released his first CD - "The Sacred And The Profane".

 

 

Update: The sorrow we felt at the loss of Ben has been replaced with the joy of Emily - a healthy vibrant and adorable little girl, born November 29, 2012. She continues to delight us and make us laugh.

 

 

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Married in June, 1977, we graduated college in 1979 and proceeded to prepare for a ministry in Germany.

Arriving In January, 1983 with a two-year old and a daughter on the way. Not quite two years of language studies in Würzburg and then on to our present city of Aschaffenburg. One additional son would be born in 1985 completing the family.

Now that the children have their own lives, in addition to church ministry, coaching church planters in Europe has allowed us to travel to some pretty interesting places.

We have established deep roots in Germany and our plans are to complete our natural lives remaining in ministry in Germany (My graveplot is prepurchased here in Germany). The clock does not stop ticking for anyone, so ministry will certainly take a different shape in coming years, but church-planting is and remains the passion.

At this point in our lives we do count every day a blessing and we have been able to check off many desires as fulfilled from our 'bucket list.'

Through the highs and lows - the challenges of ministering cross-culturally, it appears that this statement is true - probably in every area of life, but certainly in ministry: The level of success a person achieves will largely be determined by the pain one is willing to endure. Make a determination to never ever quit. This does not exclude, but rather demands flexibility and adaptation, but it does speak to tenacity and endurance in the face of discouragement.

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NEWS FROM KEITH AND DEBBIE GANDY - GERMANY

A BUDDHIST COMES TO CHRIST

Arthet has been brought to church by his brother-in-law who came to Christ last year. His life is so vibrant and changed that Arthet was strangely drawn to explore the reason for it. Arthet's marriage has struggled - selfishness leaves a terrible wake and brings much pain. Something has to change.

So Arthet attended church for the first time a few months ago. His buddhist background found our services to be strange, but at the same time, there was something about the Word of God being preached in a relevant manner that addressed exactly the condition of his heart.

Three weeks ago Arthet asked me to pray for him as he changed employers. We spoke about positioning your life to please God and even introduced him to the claims of Christ. The young father accepted Jesus as his savior and follows in believer's baptism this month.

NO RISK, NO FUN

Recently you were made aware about the mentoring relationship I have begun with Marco. I accompanied Marco to Manila - this is a young man that is magnetic and desires to lead people to Jesus. The weather was warm and humid, the days were long and we took in many sites and conversations.

The highlight of the stay was to watch as 50 young people who had accepted Christ followed in believer's baptism. Marco is a self-proclaimed tough guy, but he readily admits that he sat at the edge of the pool and cried tears of joy. He, too, longs to see many here in Europe follow Jesus.

As a result of the trip, Marco has quit his engineering studies to serve Jesus full-time. When it comes to Christ, Marco states: "No risk, no fun."

That is why we spend time and money to get people introduced to inspiring ministry opportunities. His life is different.

For a full-length report, access the Acrobat Reader Prayer letter. The letter explains things a little more in-depth.

May 2011

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NEWS FROM KEITH AND DEBBIE GANDY - GERMANY

Returning to Christ

Naëmi walked away from Jesus a couple of years ago. Just 17 years old, but her heart began to wander and soon she found it less enticing to follow Jesus.

And that led her to long for love to quench the emptiness. Someone. Anyone. And she met a young man. It did not take long and she became pregnant. A beautiful baby boy named Aaron would be born. And still she was not happy.

So she returned to services just a few weeks ago. And a fire was relit in her heart. Naëmi found her Savior waiting for her and her heart was warmed. Things are now different in her life. Last week we dedicated her son and the first Sunday in February we baptize Naëmi. She gives a powerful testimony of a forgiving Savior.

Coaching European planters

For the third year running European church planters accepted our invitation and came to a think tank and coaching seminar. Three intense days of sharing content, making new friendships and a heart-moving four hour prayer session made up this year's activities.

Massachusetts' pastor, Ben Feldott, instructed over twenty men from Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Spain, France, Belgium and Austria. A good balance of strategy, leadership concepts and encouragement bring new zeal.

For a full-length report, access the Acrobat Reader Prayer letter. The letter explains things a little more in-depth.

February 2011

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NEWS FROM KEITH AND DEBBIE GANDY - GERMANY

Expanding church focus

The beginning of November a family began a house study in their living room to reach people that we are presently not reaching.

Their kickoff service was a bang and over 50 people showed up. In the meantime they meet regularly, host anywhere from 15 to 40 people in their renovated living room, which is specifically redesigned to handle 40 people. This has always been our desire to see Europeans branch out with a step of faith.

European Church planters

Due to the need of churches needing to get better traction in the European context, along with a fellow missionary, we will host some 15-20 church planters in January.
During this three day event, we are attempting to challenge them to a greater level, expose them to additional resources, and simply to pray for one another's most challenging restrictions. It is always intense, it allows us to look at ministry potential and further expand our skillset. Pray for the dates of Jan 25-27. We want Jesus to pour out a boldness and freshness on us for His honor and kingdom impact.
For a full-length report, access the Acrobat Reader Prayer letter. The letter explains things a little more in-depth.

December 2010

  1. Germany