Pictures of Vietnam

Floating down the river in Saigon.

Apocalypse Now.  "The horror...the horror."

The tunnels the Vietcong hid in were incredibly small.  Compare the entrance to this one with my foot.  Unbelievable.

Me heading into the tunnel.

Hot and muggy in Vietnam, but still not as bad as Hong Kong.

The Cao Dai Temple in  Tai Nihn where they worship Confucius, Jesus, Lao Tzu, Muhammed, Buddha, and Victor Hugo.

Cao Dai.

Cao Dai.

A mountain where the Viet Cong and the U.S. troops faced off during the Vietnam War.

Pictures of Singapore

Singapore.  I call it the Miami of Asia.  Same look, same climate--switch the Cubans and Dominicans for Indians and Chinese and you've got Singapore.  I love the skyline.

The famous Sentosa Lion.

I love hanging out at Boat Quay.

I like Clark Quay too, but Boat Quay is my usual hang out place.

You know you are downtown when you see this.

I love the Miami like colors of a lot of Singapore.  And I love the boulevards with the excess foliage which is there to make this tiny island nation/city seem like it has a bit of nature left.

The giant durian fruit.

Pictures of New Zealand

Jamie and Marco at a beach in Auckland.

A river on the North Island.

The Remarkables in Queenstown, NZ.

Jamie looking beautiful with Marco.

Marco in Queenstown, New Zealand at one of the sights where they filmed Lord of the Rings.

Ridiculously green in one of the world's most beautiful and relaxing countries.

One of the coolest places I've ever been.  Wild animals on the loose overlooking Queenstown.

Milford Sound on the clearest day of the year.  We were extremely lucky.

Look at that waterfall in the middle.  These mountains are about 5,000 feet straight up.  Amazing!

A nice rainbow in the cliff's waterfall.

Look at how dwarfed that boat is in the middle.  These mountains are huge.

My two babies.

Me in New Zealand.

New Zealand.  You have to see it to believe it.

It timed out that one of Marco's good friends Taylor (and our friends Paul and Esther from Hong Kong) were in New Zealand vacationing at the same time.  Fun!

The Green waters of Wanaka.

Get To Know Our New Three Worlds Home

Hello everybody!  Here we are in our new web-home www.threeworlds.com  We hope that you are a frequent visitor to our website and especially this diary.  You are currently in the diary section.  The home page is: www.three-worlds.com.  Check out our lovely front page.  This diary is a bit different than the other one so here's a helpful links page that fills you in on our content at this new website:

1) Learn about what the Three Worlds are here.

2) Get to know our 3W team here.

3) Learn about the "Gateway Berlin Radio" podcast which is coming soon here.

4) Order my new book "Mosaic" here (or die).

5) Learn about our Three World logo and about our ministry types (Red, Green, and Blue) here.

6) Ministry opportunities and internships will be posted here in the future.

7) And check out "Patrick's Photos from Around the World" here.

Kelley and Rhonda Philips

Kelley and Rhonda are the highly respected veterans of the 3W team.  The Philips began their ministry in northeast Florida in 1981, working in the field of youth ministry. Kelley, a commercial pilot, made a career change in 1990 by accepting a full-time position as youth pastor at West Park Street Church of God in Jacksonville, Florida, and received his ordination in 1993.

Kelley made his first trip to Russia in 1991 with a group led by Josh McDowell. That same year, the Florida Youth Fellowship responded to an opportunity to begin an exchange program with students from Chelyabinsk, a city of 1.5 million people located in the Southern Ural region of Russia. The exchange program was a tremendous success and generated a need for a career missionary family to develop a church in Chelyabinsk. Kelley and Rhonda began working in Chelyabinsk in October 1993 with their two children, Lee and Lindsay. They served in Chelyabinsk for eight years. Today, there is a vibrant, growing church in that city.

Kelley and Rhonda—who now have four children: Lee, Lindsay, Natasha, and Christian—accepted the role as regional coordinators for Europe, the Middle East, and the FSU (former Soviet Union) in July 2002 and moved to Berlin, Germany.

In July of 2010, they handed over the position of Regional Coordinators to the Nachtigalls so that they could focus exclusively on the innovative XZ Community in Germany's Capital city.  They also serve as an important part of the 3W team raising up a new generation of globally-engaged Christian youth, emerging leaders, and help to create CHOG inner-connectivity.

Patrick's New Book Released

Patrick's third book Mosaic: A Journey Across the Church of God was released in June.

Does a reformation movement born in the nineteenth century still have a future?  Beginning at the cemetery where his great-grandfather is buried, Patrick Nachtigall sets out on a journey to see how the Church of God is facing six critical challenges.  From a megachurch in the flatlands of the Midwest, to an isolated churchin Siberia, to the Philippines where pastors deal with Pentecostal movements, to the Middle East where a former Al-Qaeda member comes to Christ, Patrick treks to six different continents to talk with Church of God people.  He seeks to understand the realities that we face in the twenty-first century.

Here is a picture of a very diverse movement where some congregations exist in a traditional Christendom world, others in a post-Christendom world, and yet others in a pre-Christendom Book of Acts world.  Patrick finds that we are a movement filled with holiness but desperately lacking unity.  So our future is an open question.

Mosaic is for anyone who wants to understand the macro trends that affect not only the Church of God, but the entire Christian church worldwide.  Visit the Mosaic website, purchase the book and post your opinion.

Meet the Simpsons

David & Kathy Simpson have been serving as missionaries to Bulgaria.  Their roles on the 3w team has them helping grow a new generation of leaders in the Bulgarian church as well as in the rest of our region. As a young teenager, David Simpson spent three years in Egypt, where his parents were Church of God missionaries. Today, Dave and Kathy (Rankin) Simpson are from Warsaw, Indiana.

Kathy shares that "like Dave, my heart has been moved by the needs of people in far away places. We were able to travel to Eastern Europe in 1991 and 1992. Since then, I have been drawn to that part of the world. I'm excited about the opportunity to work alongside Bulgarian brothers and sisters in strengthening the church and sharing the love of Christ."

Dave and Kathy met and married while at Anderson College (now University). After graduation, Dave worked as a program administrator for the developmentally disabled. After completing graduate courses in psychology, public affairs, and administration, he managed human resources and marketing as a bank vice president. Kathy's interests led to a career in hospice and a master's degree in social work from Indiana University. Dave and Kathy have two adult sons, Nathan and Ryan, who live in Indiana, and a foster daughter, Cate McGurn Caland, who lives in France.

Kathy has used her gifts in the music and teaching ministries of her local congregation. Dave has served in youth ministry and teaching. After almost thirty years in management, Dave felt called to step beyond lay ministry. Resigning from his job, he accepted a position as youth pastor and began the ordination process. In 2004, he completed a master's degree in theological studies from Anderson University School of Theology.

We are proud to have them on the 3W team.

Meet the Oldhams

Born in Anderson, Ken grew up in central Indiana, the son of Rev. William & Lucille Oldham. Ken’s parents met and married while his father was on a Tri-S trip from Anderson College to Lucille’s home country, Guyana, South America, where his grandparents Rev. Ed & Meriam Oldham served as missionaries in the 1960’s  Ken first gave his life to Christ as a child, but found sincere renewal and commitment to the Lord while attending summer camp at Camp Pollock in Louisiana.  During the next year, Ken experienced the Lord’s calling into full-time Christian service.

Keli also grew up as a PK to parents Rev. Frank & Patricia Camper, who served several denominations.  Growing up in Detroit, Keli gave her life to Christ as a young child and grew up with a tender heart for urban ministry service.  Keli intended to live her life in service to God and her community, and initially prepared to study social work.  Keli changed her major to Family Science with the intent of serving in ministry settings.

Ken & Keli attended Anderson University where they met.  After graduation (both, BA ‘95) and marriage, they served as associates at the Scott Memorial Church of God (Chattanooga, TN 1995-1999) and the Riverchase Community Church (Hoover, AL 1999-2003), before taking their current role as lead pastors of the Sixth Avenue Church of God in Decatur, AL (2003-present).  As pastors, Ken & Keli have a passion for the global church and leadership development, leading many cross-cultural trips, speaking at retreats and conventions, and serving in a variety of summer camps and state ministry leadership roles.  Ken & Keli are blessed with three children: Gracelyn, Titus, & Ezekiel. We're thrilled to have them join the 3W team where they will be serving as pastors of an international church in the Middle East as well helping the Three-Worlds team achieve its goals throughout the Europe and the Middle East.

Pictures of Egypt

Here's a picture of the Sphinx taken in 2009 on our last trip to Egypt.

Marco used to call the Sphinx, "the Shunk."

Marco eating an Egyptian pancake.

In Alexandria, Egypt on the Mediterranean.  It was a very windy day and Marco said, "This wind will blow me all the way to Sheba!"

With our super awesome friends Dina and Nada.

Pictures of Poland

This is a picture from Auschwitz concentration camp.  This is the end of the train tracks where the families were separated.  Men, women, and children were then walked to different crematoriums.  It's a terribly powerful piece of land.

The Polish countryside.

The town square in Krakow, Poland and the Cathedral where John Paul II was Bishop of Krakow.

Entrance to Auschwitz Camp 3

Cathedral in Wadowice, Poland.