Mistakes turned to Blessings

-written by Cynthia

A few weeks ago, Gerhard had an appointment at a new client's house. He rang the bell & a man came to the door but was certain he didn't have an appointment, so he called his wife who also said she did not make an appointment. After closer observation, Gerhard realized he was at the wrong house. A neighbor had a similar last name & the house number was not far off. Gerhard appologized & left his business card behind trying not to feel like a goof, laughing it off as a simple mistake and went on to the correct house.

Meanwhile....the people at the wrong house decided Gerhard must have been sent as a blessing since they had been contimplating getting their insurances in order and wanted a trustworthy Insurance Broker. They called & made an appointment. Gerhard met with them yesterday & they signed up on Dental insurance. They will be going over the information Gerhard left with them and over the next weeks will sign up on more.

To top it off, the conversation drifted towards personal topics which led to Gerhard learning that the people are Christians and very active in the community. They recently joined the Chrisitan Political Party (PBC) which we are also members. Even more exciting is that even though they are in their 60's, they have stepped out in faith to become part of a team of church planters in Renningen (a town three towns over from us). They filled Gerhard in on some of the details of that project and also on a project they have been working on for years. Prison Ministry in the men's prison in Heimsheim (next town from us). Gerhard is familiar with this prison due to the print shop business the prison runs. They also have other businesses inside the prison to teach the prisoners jobs. Gerhard uses the printshop regularly for his buisness since they are the cheapest & do very good work. When Gerhard has to design a new flyer, business card or what ever, he is allowed to go inside the prison (after security check for sure) and sit down with prisoners at the computers to design his project. It is an interesting experience every time. Each prison business is run by non-prisoners who have a degree in that field, so everything is safe. It is an honor for prisoners to get to work in the printshop, so they don't want to lose the privilege. Yes, the prisoners have been charged with all levels of crimes, so it is maximum security. Seems kind of strange to have such a prison right down the street, but since the trees hide it,,,,out of sight, out of mind....and there has never been a breakout, so it's not something we worry about. Gerhard's fun joke is to say "I've got to go to prison today!".

Back on topic.....Gerhard's simple mistake of ringing the wrong doorbell has turned into blessings not only for his business, but also to meet people who make a difference in the community to spread the Gospel!