Aufstehen Day 4: The Spirit AboundsRachel Wegner - 12 Oct 2011

Hello again, 24-7ers!

I apologize that this blog was delayed in its posting, since we were all in a bit of a flurry after our last day together at the 24-7 Eurogathering on Sunday. I just returned to the lovely (and much warmer) lands of the U.S. today. Here's my best shot at a summary of the fantastic final day we shared at Aufstehen.

We came into the gathering space that morning to see the masking tape map of Europe on the floor with all the countries' borders peeled back. Brian Heasley later pointed out that those boundaries are merely political, but don't exist in our hearts.

The morning kicked off with worship, as usual, and then we heard a few stories from Ralph Neumann about the community he helps to lead in an impoverished section of Neubrandenburg, which is located in northeast Germany. Valentin Ries from the 24-7 community in Frankfurt also spoke of God's work among them. We spent time praying for each community in twos and threes.

Afterward, we launched into the much-anticipated shoe auction. Brian Heasley and Emma Nicholson were at the helm as the auctioneers. In true 24-7 style, this year's auction was a glorious excuse for us to extend generosity toward the 24-7 Burgos community in northern Spain. People contributed secondhand (and even some new) pairs of shoes that were decorated in some form or fashion. One rather extraordinary pairs of shoes, made by our dear friend Peggy, went for over €500 in a fierce (yet playful) bidding war between the Guildford and Stanford Boiler Rooms. In the end, €2500 was raised to bless and support 24-7 Burgos.

We segued into the rest of our session by lifting up a few more songs to the Lord, and then we had the joy of hearing from Susanna Rychiger. She reflected on the messages delivered by others in the days preceding, and charged us to stand firm in the things God has called us to. She spoke of her own story of how God delivered her from her death bed after her life was threatened by a tumor in her intestines two years ago. She said God told her that He kept her alive because her mission was not yet accomplished.

"You're alive because God wants you to be alive," Susanna said. "He loves you and He loves writing history with you."

Her message was a potent end to a truly beautiful and diverse gathering. Again, stay tuned for recordings of all our main sessions and our afternoon seminars to be posted online soon.

Let's keep on writing history together with our Father.

Rachel