Dear Friends of Akebulan,

Anyway, by God’s grace we got enough offerings and financial help to be able to finance our work and we thank God and all our supporters very much for this! Special thanks goes to the Evangelical Darlehnsgenossenschaft Kiel Stiftung who made it possible for us to buy new chairs. Another support came from Aktion Mensch and helped us to finance our youth campmeeting, bowling and music lessons for the children in our church. God is good! Our regular meetings remained the same. Only the homework help and ALPHA Bible Course for teens could not be continued during this year.

During the summer holidays, we went to our second youth campmeeting in Grünheide/ Brandenbourg at CVJM House Werlseehütte. Again, we went by bus (thanks to my schoolmate Conny!) and this time, we stayed from Monday to Friday. It was another blessed and happy time.

We had sunny weather so we could enjoy the outdoor facilities for sports and games. In small groups, we allowed the children to go to the village. One time we went to and through the forest to enjoy nature. Every day, we met for Bible studies and learned about people with migration background who achieved good things with God.One day, we had barbecue outside and the last evening, we again did a colourful program where the kids surprised us with cool and funny things and at the end we did a “Ghanaian” dance… Unfortunately, this time we were only three adults (us Arthurs and our faithful Brother Juan) so the responsibility was much especially because at this house, we go shopping, cook and dish-wash ourselves. Thanks to God and thanks to the children who were again always ready to help, everything went fine. But for 2011, we plan to go to Himmelsfels/ Spangenberg with the kids where the program and organisation is in the hands of a team there. We’ll see how this is… During the autumn school holidays, we went to another bowling with the kids which was fun, again!

At our church Sunday school, we still have the two groups, one with the elder girls (age 9-13) and our kindergarten kids of whom two started school, this year. The smaller group at the moment is not a strong group like before because for different reasons, the parents of several of these children can’t make it to come regularly. In addition, we have our toddlers who try to come into the program, too, and the girls like to pamper them. The girls did another dance, this year, which they presented not only in our church, but also at a family summer party at Rathaus Reinickendorf. Thanks to you all, you were great! In February, Pia and Ann-Kathrin celebrated their birthdays together in our church and did a sleep-over party. It was great!

Our men, again, did not need many extra meetings because the meetings on Wednesdays and Fridays are mainly visited by men and mostly afterwards, they sit, talk and eat together. We’re very happy about Andi and Günter who live across the street and have joined our church. They are very open and ask a lot of questions as people who have not been in church often, before. In August, anyway, there was an extra men’s meeting with barbecue in the church garden.

Especially remarkable during this year was how our worship team moved on. They exchange the leadership regularly, now, between Bro. Alex, Pastor Rey, Sis. Christine and Bro. Juan. Bro. Juan has started to not only play the guitar but the keyboard, sometimes, too. Every few weeks, they meet on Saturdays to practise and except from singing in our services, they often came for external song presentations:

In May, our church was part of the Borsigwalde Ecumencial Pentecost Service for the second time. This year, we no longer felt to be “new” but more belonging and we had more chances to participate actively. Our worship team played together with the musicians from there, Pastor Peter preached and Sister Steffi did a powerpoint presentation about the Ecumenical Church Days in Munich where Family Arthur had been shortly before. In June, we again went to our loved neighbourhood festival in Borsigwalde. Here and at a family festival in front of Rathaus Reinickendorf as well as at an Ecumenical Service for the Creation Day, our music team came and presented their music, too.

At the Feast of the Nations organized by International Convent as well as at the neighbourhood festival in Borsigwalde, our church again had an information table. At the Nation’s Feast, our sisters and brothers from Hennigsdorf came and sung in the church. They did this so beautifully, that people thought they’d be a professional choir and wanted to engage them to sing at other occasions, too. A bit later, this became true when a young German-African couple called us last minute before their wedding in Berlin- Lankwitz and asked for an African Gospel choir to come and sing. It was already too late to ask a professional choir. For our people from Hennigsdorf, this was also not easy because of the far way and because of time. But they came and they, again, sang very beautifully. The wedding guests liked this so much, that they even joined them in African dancing! Thank you so much for this effort and special thanks to Sister Christine who organised this singing! She also has continued this year singing in the new Akwaaba Gospel Choir which is also increasing fast and sings very well. Recently, she was blessed to be able to move from the asylum home to her own apartment …

Other highlights in Akebulan were the child blessings of Tobias and Favour at our Thanksgiving Service on the 3rd October and our intercultural Advent celebration with Pastor Hans-Peter Pache from Lukas Church as guest speaker. Our Sister Lydia found a lovely husband and we thank God for this. Also, our Sis. Sia could finally get married at the registry office and Evangelist Ben could bring his wife Florence to Germany. Sister Dorothea was able to organise a memorial celebration for her parents who had died when she was young. Sis. Vida and Bro. Charles were able to travel to Ghana after almost 20 years and the first time with their three children! Also, Sis. Ebere (with her daughter) and Bro. Belvis could travel back home at the end of the year for the first time since they came to Germany. God is good! Another interview was made in our church by a young radio reporter called Rebecca Roth. She is a Christian with an Asian immigration background and was working on documentation about migration churches. The report can be heard on Saturday, the 22nd January 2011 at 16:05 hrs in a broadcast called “Religions” in Deutschlandradio Kultur at 89,6 (99,4 in Tübingen).

Again during this year, we continued to work together with the Christian networks APPA e.V. (African Pentecostal Pastors Association), RACIBB e.V. (Council of African Christians in Berlin/ Brandenbourg), FIKB (Forum Intercultural Relationships from Together for Berlin GfB e.V.), Ekumene (s.a.) und the International Convent of Christian Churches (Festival of the Nations s.a.) In, February, we had an APPA Allnight Prayer Meeting, and in October, we had our yearly APPA-Conference with Pastor Dr. Osaghae from Benin und the German Evangelist Schott from Stuttgart as guest speakers. We had an exalting, blessed time all together, thanks be to God! In December, Family Nimo invited the APPA pastors with their wives to their house and served them African food. It was extraordinary! Thank you so much for your effort and for the blessed fellowship! RACIBB was able to found a new association called Afrimany. This will be for social projects. Also, RACIBB organised a partner forum to win friends as supporters for the work. For the third time, they were responsible for the closing service of the German Intercultural Church Week in Berlin. Together with FIKB, they also organised a public viewing of the German- Ghanaian football game during the world championship. We had our own friendship game, before, a lot of fun, good fellowship and the happy feeling: We can only win, not loose! Later, Axel, Bianca and Peter went to Spangenberg. There is a Christian, intercultural organisation called “Heaven’s Rock”. They asked them for support to be able to send Biance to Boston/ USA for three years to profit from the experiences in a big migration churches’ network. Thanks for the support and may God bless Bianca in Boston!

In November, Pastor Peter was sent by GfB to a conference of the German Evangelical Alliance in Wetzlar to speak on their behalf about the existing and possible relationships of German and immigrated Christians. He found the atmosphere very open and they had fruitful discussions, there. More ecumenical coming together became possible through another Transforum Conference of GfB, a service in Eben-Ezer-Church connected with the worldwide prayer day for women (thank you, Bro. Belvis and Sis. Stéphanie!) and an invitation of a Bible group in this church for Pastor Peter to speak about migration churches. Also, Pastor Peter was invited to do the funeral for a woman who had dedicated her life to build intercultural relationships. In December, we had to finally say good-bye to our loved old people who have been meeting for their Bible studies on Thursdays and who were the ones who had founded and built the church in Räuschstreet a hundred years ago and had left their blessing, there, before we came. May God be with you all!

In September, thanks to God we were finally able to re-do our Akebulan Website. This was really necessary because we were not able to update it by ourselves, before. Our Website had been created very professionally by our loved Bro. Jasper. But because of his studies and work he ended up to be so busy, this year, that he couldn’t make it to come to our church, any more, neither to help us with the site. This is why we asked Bro. Matthias Baumann (Webmaster) and Sis. Annette Schüller (design) to help us to renew the site and they did a great job. Thank you and God bless you! Now we can update the site any time which is very helpful…

Thanks, again, to all our co-workers and guest speakers who make our work possible and make it a dream of God with love! Special thanks goes to our loved, hard working financial administrator Michael Fleischer who’s eager and professional work makes it possible for us to receive financial supports and to get along with the German bureaucracy.

Thanks to all friends of our church who support us with your prayer, encouragements and help of any kind! Also, we thank again our house owner Dr. Per Knappe who allows us to use this nice building and the garden under very fair conditions- God bless you and your family!

Räuschstr. 37, 13509 Berlin, Tel.: 030/ 772 17 79

e-mail: info@akebulan-gm.org; Website: www.akebulan-gm.org

Tax No: 27/ 656/ 55070; District Court No: VR 25928 B;

Chairman: Pastor Peter Arthur, Bahnhofstr. 4a, 12207 Berlin

Bank Account Akebulan: Ev. Darlehnsgenossenschaft, Bank No: 210 602 37, AccountNo: 743534