God Already Knew Who They Would Need

News from Kandern, Germany

There are moments in ministry that remind us God prepares His people long before they ever understand why.

Sometimes the preparation happens years in advance.
Sometimes the assignment seems ordinary at the time.
And sometimes the gift God planted in someone decades earlier becomes the exact answer to a need on the other side of the world.

That is exactly what happened this month in Kandern, Germany.

Serving Missionaries in the Black Forest

Rick and Connie returned to Germany this spring for their second extended season of service alongside missionaries serving in the Black Forest region. Last summer they spent more than ten weeks helping support missionary families, churches, and community events. This year, their time is shorter — about eight weeks — but their hearts remain the same: come willing, serve wherever needed, and strengthen those who are faithfully ministering far from home.

Kandern may appear quiet and picturesque, tucked into the southern Black Forest, but it quietly carries the weight of global ministry. The town serves as a hub for numerous international mission organizations and is home to many missionary families serving across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Missionaries often spend their lives pouring into others. Yet many are exhausted, stretched thin, and carrying responsibilities that never fully stop. That is part of why people like Rick and Connie go.

They do not arrive needing a platform or title. They come looking for needs.

Ministry Often Looks Different Than Expected

Last summer, some of those needs involved helping run church-sponsored summer picnics for Black Forest Christian Fellowship — gatherings intentionally designed to provide weary missionaries and families a place for rest, fellowship, and connection.

This year was different.

They arrived without a specific assignment, simply believing God would open the right doors at the right time. Before leaving the United States, they even completed the process necessary to become certified to work with students at Black Forest Academy, sensing there may be opportunities there.

Still, after arriving in Germany, the first week felt surprisingly quiet.

There was one large service opportunity connected to Black Forest Academy’s 70th anniversary celebration where hundreds of guests, students, and families gathered. Rick spent hours grilling hamburgers and sausages while Connie helped prepare and decorate cakes, organize food tables, and clean up afterward so exhausted staff members could finally go home and rest.

Then the larger scheduled assignments slowed.

That does not mean the ministry stopped.

The first week in Germany was filled with conversations over coffee, reconnecting with missionary families, encouraging weary servants, discipleship moments, and simply being present. Often the most meaningful ministry happens quietly around dinner tables, sidewalks, and shared conversations. Rick and Connie came ready to serve however God desired — whether visible or unseen.

God Never Wastes Preparation

And then came a simple conversation over dinner.

Rick learned Black Forest Academy would be hosting a large track meet the next day involving multiple schools. Most people would hear that detail and think very little of it. But God already knew something few others did.

Long before Germany was ever on the horizon, Rick had spent years coaching track while serving in education and administration. Even more specifically, he had experience directing track meets — something that requires organization, leadership, calm under pressure, and a willingness to manage what can only be described as organized chaos.

If you have never attended a track meet, you may not realize how many moving pieces exist simultaneously. Timers, starters, field events, runners, relays, coaches, schedules, scoring, volunteers, and constant adjustments all happen at once. Few people know how to successfully run one. Even fewer actually want to.

But God knew.

Rick casually asked if help was needed.

The answer came back quickly: yes.

Exactly Who Was Needed

The next morning he arrived expecting to simply assist where asked. Instead, within minutes it became obvious the meet lacked experienced leadership. Coaches were attempting to coach athletes while simultaneously managing operations. Volunteers were overwhelmed. Systems were struggling.

And suddenly, years of experience that may have once seemed random or unimportant became exactly what was needed in that moment.

By mid-morning Rick was no longer simply helping. He was effectively directing the entire meet. Coaches were freed up to coach their athletes. Events began running smoothly. The schedule stayed on time. Confusion settled into order.

At the end of the day, coaches from multiple schools personally thanked him.

But the deeper story is not really about track.

It is about the faithfulness of God.

It is about a God who wastes nothing.

The years Rick spent coaching.
The experience gained decades ago.
The leadership developed in education, ministry, and military service.
The willingness to simply ask, “Do you need help?”

None of it was accidental.

The Beauty of Quiet Kingdom Work

This is the beauty of missionary support ministry. Sometimes serving missionaries means preaching or teaching. Sometimes it means encouragement over coffee. Sometimes it means helping exhausted families carry practical burdens. And sometimes it means stepping into a track meet in Germany so weary coaches can breathe again and students can simply compete well.

Rick and Connie will continue serving in Kandern over the coming weeks as they help missionary families, encourage believers, and assist their daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren as they prepare to transition back to the United States after eight years overseas.

If you would like to partner with Rick and Connie during this season of ministry, we invite you to pray for them as they continue serving wherever God opens doors. And if you feel led to financially support their time in Germany, your generosity helps make these moments of quiet, faithful ministry possible.

Because sometimes the most powerful Kingdom work happens simply by showing up ready to serve wherever God says,

“You’re exactly who is needed here.”