Chapter 4, in which I discover some culture and learn a bit about servanthood

Wow, a lot has happened since I last posted, and I think that I'm starting to really get adjusted to the idea of living in Germany. From purchasing and cooking my own food to fixing problems with the dishwasher, I've begun to adjust and get used to a little bit of the routine here.

A huge part of German culture is obviously soccer, and there are tons of people who go absolutely crazy over it. I don't really care that much, but seeing the defending World Cup champions play is a pretty cool opportunity, so I went along with the hype and watched as Germany beat Azerbaijan 5-1. This was a really fun time and an opportunity to see the German sports culture and to spend an evening doing something with my team.
 This was the view at the beginning of the game. Germans don't express a ton of patriotic pride often, but at soccer games they always go all out. There was even a small marching band to the right side of the huge central display.
After each goal, the fans lifted up a huge jersey to celebrate. The game was one to one until about the 60th minute, and then Germany scored four goals in close succession to prove their dominance on the field once again.

This past Sunday Kris and I accepted an invitation from a lady at our church to go hiking. Initially I wasn't sure if it was going to be awkward, given that it was us along with a middle aged woman, two of her friends, and one of the friends' boyfriends, however, we ended up having a blast hiking all over some mountains and even getting to see a couple of real German castles. In the process, we enjoyed conversation and fellowship with this wonderfully friendly woman who had invited us along.

These castles were quite a pleasure to be able to see, and the weather was much more pleasant than it had been the past few days. I really enjoyed the opportunity to stretch my legs and get out of the house for a bit of time.
 This is Kris just for clarification. Yes, he's tall. 1.98 meters to be exact. No, he doesn't play basketball.

As I've been here in Germany and gone around my work, I've begun to be more comfortable with the role in which I serve. In contrast to this summer, when I was teaching bible lessons and sharing Christ with my campers every day, right now I'm in much more of a support role. Whether it's through prayer or washing dishes, I've been supporting those who have the more hands-on roles in ministry. I'm coming to enjoy being able to be in this position, and I am sure that as I get to know more refugees and others in the city, I will be able to share Jesus more directly with them, but being able to wash dishes, a rather inglorious task, so that others don't have to, is my way of serving at this time. For even the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for all.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 18, 2017 at 11:57 AM

    Very encouraging and awesome to hear your perspective on your present season. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete

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