Conversations & Callings

Recently, I've very much been missing Germany. I smelled Chamomile Tea (Kamile Tee) at work the other day and was immediately transported back into the kitchen at Padercamp, when I was sick, but being so well taken care of by my new family. I miss my kitchen crew!

My kitchen family <3



First night we were together. I had slept for many hours after Padercamp week 1,
so I was a bit out of it.



:)
Our workspace



Lisa, aka: "Big Mama"
She helped orchestrate a birthdy brunch for me a few weeks
after this, as well as housed me & took me up in a plane! She also
doesn't speak English, so she helped me use German more :)

Then, last week at Homegroup our potluck theme for the week was "no cook," so I brought a version of typical German breakfast & dinner ("Abendbrot," literally meaning "Evening bread"), and with the first bite I was back in the best summer of my life.

However, there are also new dreams on the horizon. I am still feeling called to missions, totally and completely, but am also wondering if Germany is truly where the Lord would have me. Germany is the only place I've ever been on a mission trip abroad, the only language I've attempted to learn, the only culture & people I've been fascinated with. These are all good, and surely blessings and gifts from the Lord! But I also have to wonder, how would I feel if I went on a trip to somewhere else? I've found myself wondering quite often lately what it's like to be a believer in a country where it's illegal... punishable by death... to be a Christian. Or in a country where poverty is so rampant, it is the only way of life fathomable to natives. What would I feel then? I'm not questioning a Call I feel on my life from the Lord, because it has been covered in prayer. I'm questioning how much my emotions have dictated where that calling will lead. Here is a blog I guest-wrote for my good friends that talks about missions as a lifestyle. Let's just say, I was personally convicted on several points I made.

Now, here's my normal post! I'm currently blogging through my summer mission trip to Germany! If you haven't yet, read this!

July 4, 2012

This morning while waiting in a coffee shop for the train to Paderborn here in Hamburg, the Lord allowed me to engage a German woman in a really pleasant and friendly conversation. She actually lives in L.A. with her American husband and was home visiting friends. We were speaking in German for a bit, but switched to English for a deeper conversation. In praying for Father to lead the conversation to spiritual matters, she revealed that she is finishing her education in the states in Education and Religious Studies...  We had a really good conversation about religion, Christianity, God, love, the point of it all, personal experiences--a really heart-wrenching conversation for me--but one that I pray the Holy Spirit was able to speak through, plant seeds, water previously planted ones. She's decided that religion is a man-made institution and isn't how God intended it--religions seem to bring some good into the world, but they seem to forget the main themes of their doctrine and always think they are "special" and can break the rules to kill people, resulting in wars. We talked about how "not religion, but a relationship with Christ" is how it's supposed to be, how I see extremists (she mentioned that too...) as evidence of our broken, imperfect state. I explained how people at home try to have a strict list of right & wrong to "earn the way to heaven" and "religion" becomes a heavy burden, when really it's nothing we can earn--that's why Christ came for us. It's not a burden or weight, but a relationship. 
I am normally hesitant because I feel they sometimes come off as impersonal or pushy, but feeling led by the Spirit when I was leaving for my train, gave her a tract auf Deutsch produced by Campus Crusade for Christ with my email address & a personal note in case she ever wanted to converse, keep in touch, or was in the DFW. When I told her it was true to what I personally believe, she told me that based on our conversation she would definitely read it, thanked me, and hugged me. I will continue praying for the Lord to be pressing on her heart and to call her to Himself! I do not think that is a prayer to bold!

I arrived safely from Hamburg to Paderborn by train today. I'll be taking it easy tomorrow with Juergen and Lydia Schulz, the Pastor here and his wife who are hosting me until Padercamp ( tomorrow I will be mostly with Lydia and their two young boys--one of which is helping me quite a bit with my German;). I go to the church-site which will be hosting Padercamp on Friday morning and I believe the first camp begins on Sunday! 

Lydia, Finni and Janis on our day in the city :)
I love this family so much

I can't express how refreshing it has already been in this one day to be among believers (I spent the day with Lydia, and chatted just a bit with Juergen before he had meetings). It's amazing how quickly I noticed the lacking of community--I didn't realize how constantly I am surrounded by it at home with family, roommates, friends, church, homegroups, places in Denton like Zera Coffee Company, churches on every corner. . . I am blessed.