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Special Event
Outreach Story

World Cup
Berlin, Germany

June 29- July 10, 2006

Our World Cup Outreach worked with a local German church, under the auspices of Kickoff 2006, a Christian ministry which coordinated all the Outreach teams that came to Germany during the World Cup.  Thanks to Kickoff 2006, our Outreach team had a key location to touch people for Christ:  the Brandenburger Gate FIFA "Fan Mile," where an average of 100,000 people passed every day.  At our Kick Off 2006 Rest Area we had a big World Map where we asked passers-by to put a pin where they were from.  There were so many people that by the end of each day this map looked like a enormous porcupine.  We had many wonderful opportunities to share the good news with these people.  Take Friday, July 7th as a good example.

Our team was at the Brandenburger Gate "Fan Mile". It had been a blue-sky day, until, right out of the blue, it started to rain. I mean, we did not even see it coming! We quickly pulled the materials in that could get damaged in the rain. We didn't know how long or hard it would rain. It could stop in a couple minutes or NOT! The lightning was flashing and the thunder blasting. It sounded like bombs exploding around us!

The rain came down harder and harder. Before long, we were bringing everything inside our tent. Some of the people who were passing by the tent when it started to rain "cats and dogs" were invited to jump under our tent to get out of the rain.

I began speaking with one of them:  Yu, a Chinese student studying in Lyon, France. "My name is Yu," she said. "Good to meet you, Yu. My name is me, Freddie." (corny) Because she was a student in France, she spoke better in French maybe than English. I introduced her to Anna, our Chinese-American team members. We spoke in English for a while because Anna doesn't know French and I don't know Chinese, but soon, I told them to speak in their mother tongue. It is always better that way.

They jabbered away in Chinese and I was glad that they could talk better that way. I prayed for them.  Anna and Yu seemed to be having a great conversation. (My observation from facial expressions and tone of voice ... hmmm, I guess Chinese is all about tone!) At the same time as they talked, many of the Christians working at the Rest Area began singing praise songs. The Kick Off 2006 tent had become a little Worship Center. There was lots of good conversations going in that tent.

The torrential rains went on for almost an hour. We wondered if the rain would ever stop in time to re-open the Kick Off 2006 stand again. Would people come out again to walk the FIFA "Fan Mile?"  But the rain finally began to slow down. It rained lightly for a while, then, the clouds disappeared, the sun came back out, we re-opened our Kick Off 2006 Rest Area, and people did began to flood the "Fan Mile" as if nothing had happened. It was after all Friday evening and people came to where the action is!

Oh, what happened to Yu???? She got saved! The tent saved her from getting wet. Jesus saved her from her sins. She was saved by the storm, saved thanks to the storm.  And the angels rejoice in heaven!