Hi, we are Julian and Karolina Tenzler from Bayreuth. Julian’s grandfather, who married us in 2010, gave us this Bible verse as our wedding verse. We could not have imagined how literally this verse has been fulfilled in recent years.

Since our youth, before we met, we had both had a great love for Japan. We were both fascinated by the people, culture and traditions of this country.

We met in the fall of 2008 at Bayreuth University, where we were both studying mathematics and Karolina was also studying business administration. Karolina had previously, through an extraordinary leading of God, been given the opportunity to study for a year in Otaru in the north of Japan and had just returned.

Over time, God showed us that He had meant us for each other, and in March 2010 we were married. After graduation, Karolina worked for the electricity grid operator Tennet in Bayreuth, Germany, and Julian began a PhD in mathematics. Meanwhile, he worked at the university in teaching and gave courses for state exam preparation for students studying to become highschool teachers.

In our church, the Bibelgemeinde Bayreuth, we were actively involved in ministry. Julian was part of the preaching team, teaching in Sunday school and responsible for the technical equipment. Karolina helped to translate the services simultaneously from German to Russian or the other way around. We had our own house in Bayreuth with a beautiful garden. But then came…