Hey y’all!!
So we have literally had no time at all in the past ten days. We hit the ground running on February 16th when we touched down in Frankfurt and our schedule has been PACKED since. After arrival, we immediately jumped on a train to Kuln, weighed down by our overloaded backpacks. In the words of our fearless co-leader, “There will be a time that will come when all you can have is what you can carry on your back.”
Anyway, Jeff’s words proved to be true as we struggled to lift our heavy bags to our backs and quickly found out that it was harder than it looked. Whilst waiting for the train, we were bored. The train was delayed and so we piled up all of our luggage and sat in a heap. And waited. And waited. And waited. The German announcer announced to us in German that the train was going to delayed for 15 minutes. We don’t speak German but we guess from the changing screen that that was what the harsh-toned female was announcing about. Then it was delayed for another twenty minutes. Then forty minutes. Jeff, BreeAnna, Becki, and Jodie decided to take a quick to the McDonald’s upstairs and leave Miriam and Morrison with the luggage. When we were done and coming down the stairs, we heard something. That something was a yell. That yell was Miriam. And that Miriam was yelling our names. Then she yelled, “Run!” Without thinking, Becki immediately broke out in a full sprint, leaving the rest of the pack in the dust. We galloped behind, breaking out in sweat under our heavy winter coats and warm socks. When we were within sight of Miriam and Morrison, We saw the train. The giant red, double-decker train chugged along quickly and pulled to a stop right as we were a hundred meters away from our bags. Right about then, Becki’s clock that normally hangs from a chain on her neck broke free and went flying to the ground. Like a super ninja, Jeff, without breaking from his fast pace, reached out into the air and caught it. “I got it!” He yelled triumphantly. The rest of us applauded as we raced the rest of the distance and grabbed our luggage. Right before the train’s doors closed, we jumped in and were on our way.
Whilst on our train ride, we were introduced to a new thing. That new thing was a food and that new food was….duh duh duh! A Pretzel Sandwich!! Thinly sliced ham, fresh cheese, leafy lettuce….Mmmmm. Apparently Germans are true intellects as one would have to be a genius to be able to make a combination that delectable. So as we zoomed through country sides and alongside castles, we were suddenly greeted by a German Officer who checked our tickets and said something. It was German so we didn’t really understand what it meant. SO there he was, moving his hands and pointing towards the door and saying something in German. We figured out that he wanted us to get off at the next stop so we did. And as we exited the train, we saw people from the next train motioning us to come onto their train. So we all sprinted to the doors and made it just in time. So see? God provides for people. Even oblivious missionaries who don’t speak German.
When we arrived at the next stop, we searched the crowd for our contact. God was looking out for us, and we found him almost immediately. Benjamin led us through a maze of people and on trains and up stairs and finally we found ourselves in front of a church. Once inside, we were went upstairs and were able to deposit our bags on the floor and rest our aching backs. Right away, Benjamin and his wife Rachel sat us down and gave us lunch. They then told us that in ten minutes there would be a luncheon for the seniors of the church downstairs and they wanted us to prepare some worship songs and testimonies. We hurriedly threw together some ideas and thumped downstairs (I say thumped because we are not used to wearing boots at this point in the journey and our feet feel like we are carrying bricks or something.) We are greeted by a kindly old man with a balding head and smile lines around his eyes. He smiled at us and said nice German things to us. We sang one worship song and they all clapped for us. Then, the old man picked up a ukulele and began to sing a German song. We all joined in and sang in German even though we had no idea what we were saying. Then, they pulled up a table and chairs and motioned us to sit down. They then proceeded to bring us tea and coffee and cake of every shape and kind and color. By the time the 10th cake was being passed around our table, we were stuffed to the brim. But still the procession of cakes went on. Just when we were considering stuffing the remainder of the food on our plates in our napkins and smuggling them out of the country, the elderly gentleman told us in German/English that he was sure that we were tired and that we should go and rest. So we thumped back upstairs and got settled in for the night.
Around 12:30 in the morning, Jeff was sound asleep in his room on the floor when he heard a strange noise. IT sounded like knocking and it sounded like it was coming from the window. He turned to look…and screamed! There, on our second story window was a bearded man yelling and knocking on the glass. “I’m from YWAM Berlin”, the bearded man yelled through the window. Jeff was quite confused but he obediently ran downstairs with the key to let the bearded stranger and his companions into the church. These people were part of the team that we would be working with in Kuln but they arrived about 4 hours behind schedule in the wee hours of the morning. Upon arrival, they found themselves locked out of the church and, without having any other option, Thilo, the bearded man, climbed to the second story and yelled into Jeff’s window. Anyway, all’s well that ends well.
And there was evening and there was night, the first day.
SO there you have it folks! That describes our traveling experience. I hope that you have enjoyed this journey and will continue reading as we have more adventures with God in Germany!!
Until next time, please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We are all very grateful for all of the support y’all have shown to us and we are thankful to have you in our lives.
Bye!
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