Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift of 1948 is the inspiration for European Initiative’s mission to mobilize teams to Europe to spark a spiritual awakening.  Jeff Serio, describes how God miraculously confirmed and defined the European Initiative mission:

On a Tuesday morning in early October 2006, my wife Barb awoke me at 4:00am with a troubling statement:  "I am afraid to move to Germany but I am also afraid to stay in the States."  Although barely awake, I sensed my wife’s fears needed to be addressed immediately.

About a month earlier we had made a decision to start European Initiative, targeting the summer of 2007 for our move to Berlin.   I knew that we needed to pray that morning to get clarity on this impending decision.  My wife's anxieties needed to be dealt with before we could go forward.   We began to pray at about 4:20am and our time ended with Barb crying out to God, "Please Lord, confirm by the end of the week if we are to move to Germany."  Even though our faith was low, we knew that God could surely do something to "clear the air" - after all, He had five days.

I left the house that Tuesday morning to attend an Israel prayer watch at Shady Grove Church in Grand Prairie.  The prayer watch went from 8-10am, but I would only be able to stay for the first hour.  At a few minutes before 9:00am, I knelt on the floor and began to listen to the Holy Spirit speak to my heart.  He told me that I was to move my family to Berlin, Germany and that He was calling us to begin a “spiritual airlift” that would mirror the Berlin Airlift.  I barely knew anything about the Berlin Airlift except that American pilots flew food and supplies into West Berlin, which had been blockaded by Russia.   As the thoughts kept pouring into my heart, God spoke to me that He was calling us to move to Berlin to begin mobilizing spiritual food and water into the city. We were to bring salvation and spiritual encouragement to Berliners.  Later, God would clarify to us that the mission of the spiritual airlift would in time extend to the rest of Europe.

This vision lasted about 2-3 minutes and I continued to meditate on it as I gathered up my Bible and coat to leave.  About 40-50 people continued to pray for Israel as I began to walk out of the prayer building.  Then God suddenly intervened.  As I walked out, I noticed Yvette, a pastor's wife from another church standing near the door.  It was odd to see her at this prayer meeting, since she and her husband pastored a church more than an hour away.  It was additionally peculiar to her standing next a man who I had never seen before.  She motioned for me to come over, and introduced me to her friend, "Jeff, meet Reiner who just arrived from Berlin."  WOW!!!  I was truly stunned to meet a Berliner after just receiving the Berlin Airlift vision.

I briefly shared with Reiner what God had just spoken to me minutes ago about moving to Germany and beginning a spiritual airlift.  Reiner was deeply touched and asked if I could wait a moment while he retrieved something from his backpack.  He proceeded to give me a t-shirt and a post card from Berlin.  He explained that God woke him up at 4:20am that morning and told him to take a t-shirt out of his suitcase along with a postcard of Berlin, to give away later in the day. He had originally pulled out a large t-shirt and then felt prompted to replace it with a medium t-shirt (just my size).  He asked me to put on the shirt as a prophetic act. The front had the name "Jesus" in English and on the back in German was John 15:13, "No greater love has a man than this that he lay down his life for his friends."  Reiner affirmed our family would be moving to Berlin bringing the love of Jesus, as we laid down our lives for the German people.

The reason I am sharing this story is twofold. First, I want to glorify God for His quick and certain answer to my wife’s humble cry for a confirmation about our future.  What a God of fine detail to awaken Reiner at the precise time Barb and I began to pray for a confirmation!!!  Secondly, I want to connect it with the actual Berlin Airlift.  The Berlin Airlift of 1948-49 is one of the greatest acts of kindness and redemption in history.  Many of the same American and British pilots who flew bombing missions into Berlin in 1944-45, were now called upon to risk their lives to fly food, water and other supplies to sustain 2.5 million West Berliners.

A few months after receiving the vision of the spiritual airlift, I traveled to Germany and shared the Berlin Airlift vision with several pastors.  One of the most respected men in Berlin, Axel Nehlsen, the leader of Gemeinsam für Berlin (Together for Berlin) told me that in 2001 a German intercessor received a vision about a "spiritual" Berlin Airlift that would bring spiritual blessings from the USA.  Pastor Nehlsen affirmed the vision, saying the time is now for the spiritual Berlin Airlift.

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