"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ...... Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." Ephesians 4:11-16

No matter how well we plan, some things always come up during the STM that we have forgotten to prepare. This time is no exception. Despite making every effort to assign duties for all team members during the trip, we still missed many details.

For example, in order for the team to function well and save money, we must prepare our own breakfast and to pack sandwiches for lunch. All of it takes a tremendous effort to organize and execute. This is one aspect of the mission planning that we had neglected during our preparations.

However, we were so glad to find out that unknowingly to us God had planted so many willing and gifted ladies in our group. They put on the hats of cooks, managers, house keepers , secretaries as we went along with our trip. One of them had taken care so much of the daily house keeping chores that we now called her "the Big Sister" of the house. These ladies have been instrumental in keeping their eyes on some of the daily routine details that makes the team click, of such are often beyond man's visual and mental radar as well as beyond his skill range. We were so amazed by God's unique and wonderful designs. His incredible arrangements went miles beyond our planning.

In many ways, the STM team has demonstrated beautifully what it is like for a team to function together as a united body.

Our STM team members came from different churches and organizations. But we came with one clear purpose, to preach the gospel to the un-reached Chinese population in Copenhagen and to support our brothers and sisters in their ministry in the newly formed Chinese Church in Copenhagen. Every part of our body worked together towards these goals.

Even though there had not been intentional selection in who could join the team before hand, God had put us together with a remarkably complete range of gifts so that we could function as an organic body. With God's hand behind us, we had experienced a wonderfully rich "Body Life" together.

The message for today's Sunday worship service focused on this very theme of "Body Life". We talked about how the church, the body of Jesus Christ, functions. We encouraged the congregation to love one another as Jesus had taught us. It was evident that this new Chinese church would need many new body parts to help one another so that the Body could function well.

We were very encouraged to see many new comers came to the Sunday worship service today. Even some who missed yesterday's gospel meeting came today. Praise the Lord! He has heard our prayers. Many of the new comers showed a willingness to follow Jesus Christ and to attend regular Church meetings in the future.

The team conducted a discipleship training session on "Christian Living in today's society" for the believers. Many believers attended the session. We also prepared a special session for seekers since many of them came. We had good fellowship for quite a long time. Many of us didn't want to stop the conversation when it was time to part. As the end of our time together drew closer, all STM members saw the compelling evidence of God' abundant blessing upon our team. The willingness to let God do His work through us has made a deep impression among our brothers and sisters in Copenhagen while the team has learn much from the local Christians. What a beautiful picture of God's children edifying one another in Christ's love.

Hyggelig (pronounce: ou-ge-li) is a special Danish word. It is used to describe a very warm, friendly, and cozy gathering between friends. It is the highest compliment a guest can give his hosts when invited to a get together in their home.

The STM team and our hosts Peter and Louisa Lam, Pastor and Mrs. Gau, Sister Meng, Sophia, and Mr. and Mrs. Wu enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship together during dinner. It was difficult to leave our new friends at the end. But our time together had indeed been "hyggelig".
To borrow a line from the missionary Apostle Paul:

"In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:4-6)

So we give our thanksgiving to the Lord for all of you, our prayer partners and teammates behind the scene. Your prayer support has been vital throughout this trip.

Please pray:

1. The continued spiritual growth of our brother and sisters here in Copenhagen. God's guidance and protection of the newly formed Chinese Church in Copenhagen and that the co-workers will have unity and experience blessed "Body Life".

2. The team will have a day of relaxation tomorrow. Pray that the team will have renewed energy and spirit.

3. The traveling restrictions are quite stringent between flights to and from England. Pray that we will have a smooth flight back to England and COCM center in Milton Keynes.

Serving together in Christ,
COCM STM Copenhagen 2006