The Heymann Family Journal

I'm very tired and sad. Nicole and I had to pick Philip up from the Discipleship Training School in Hurlach. He had a great time there, but could not follow the program because of his challenges. So it just did not work out. And I'm honestly so heart broken. But they may start a 3 month work program there at the end of March. So there is a chance he can return to do very hands on, practical work. In the meantime he needs about 6 weeks of work. In Germany you can do what are called practicums. These are jobs you can basically try to see if you want to train in an area. Maybe we can find him a few practicums? Last night we had our first evening MOPS group in Heidelberg. The topic was called raising adults. And the challenge is often how we get past hard issues and stay focused on the task. And when you have kids with disabilities this is increasingly harder. There are allot of things he cannot do, but so many things he can do. So we will just bush off the disappointments and try ...

Philip called me from the YWAM base today. He said he was doing well. He understands everything. And he said he can receive mail. So if anyone wants to send him a card the address is Philip Heymann ( DTS) Youth with a Mission - Hurlach Schlossgasse 1 86857 Hurlach Germany He asked me to send him cookies and snacks …and money. Sounds right! He thinks he wants to stay for the entire 6 months. God willing he can. His English is improving. He is trying hard to speak in English, not German.

In 1972, YWAM organized a large evangelistic outreach during the Olympic Games in Munich. Approximately 1000 people from all over the world registered to come. Where could they be accommodated? Initially as an answer to this question, YWAM bought the Castle in Hurlach that was up for sale. After the Olympic Games in 1972, the first base of Youth With A Mission in Germany had found it´s home in the Hurlach castle. This is where Philip is going today. They have allowed him to go for two weeks to try the DTS. If it works out, he will stay for 6 months. 3 months at the Castle, and 3 months some place on out reach. That could be in Africa or Asia or South America? We do not know yet. Please pray all goes well. This could be a life changing event for him.

My son Philip is going to Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Hurlach, Germany. The DTS begins tonight and we just found out about it. Juergen called them to ask if Philip could get in the school. They said he could try it for two weeks to see if it would work for him. So it's just a test. If it works, he will be there for 3 months, and then go on a 3 month out reach. They go to places like China and Africa. But we don't know where that will be. He is really unhappy with his school. We have been praying for direction in his life. You need to be 18 to do a DTS. Philip just turned 18 on January 1st. Juergen will drive him to the school in the morning. It is about 4 hours away. We do not know if it will work out, but we are so grateful for the chance. We don't know what Philips school will say about him leaving right now. I guess we just need prayer. But we are so grateful for the chance to try it for a few weeks.

Jürgen was very excited to find 4 eggs in a nest in our coop today. We don't know who laid the eggs, but we now have our own eggs. Every trip to the coop will bring new gifts! We thought we would not get eggs until March.

Our dog Mickey has Cushing syndrome. It is usually caused by a tumor. It causes the hair to fall out and the skin to become infected. And the medication to treat it is expensive. Jürgen and Nicole took him to the vet to talk about it. They bought medication for a month, but we may need to have him put to sleep in the coming months. He is pushing 14 years old. That is pretty old for a dog. I find it unethical to pay thousands of dollars to keep an old dog alive. Sounds like an argument for Euthanasia? I love him very much, but it is time to prepare for a goodbye.