What's up with Tim: I've said it twice, I'll say it again... It's a small world!

It's the end of a very beautiful day in Berlin. It was sunny and warm and a great day to meet up with people, enjoy the outdoors and even do a bit of sightseeing in this wonderful city! But I have to share some really cool stuff that happened today. They were pretty amazing.

I was going to meet up with a brother from the church here that we've been trying to get some time for a week or so. I found out where he worked and despite missing the bus, I finally got there about 20 minutes late. Ugh. Now I looked at a map and got there and was a little stymied. I came out of the subway to a very large traffic circle. (It was so big there was a few acre park in the middle of it!!!) Traffic circles are round of course, so I had no bearings as to which way was north, south, etc., so all of the sudden I had no idea which way to go. There were like six or eight roads that converged on this monstrosity of a traffic circle. So I called the brother to come and find me and he did. LOL. So we went to the university to sit down and get a coffee. Much to our surprise, there was Christoph from church as well with another brother and one of their friends! Remember, Berlin has 3.4 million inhabitants, what are the odds you will bump into someone you know? Extremely slim!!! It was cool, because I've been trying to get time with Christoph as well. He leads the singles and campus ministries and he's just a busy guy!

So I got a chance to hang out with the other bro for a while and just chatted. He and I both speak English, German and Spanish, so we ended up talking, at least a bit, in each. Christoph was still hanging around and so when the other bro had to go back to work, I got a chance to hang out with him for a while. We had a good conversation and he told me that's he's really amazed how good my German is. It's totally a gift that God has allowed me to keep for the last 20 years. There's no reason I should be able to speak this well after so long!!! Either way, it never gets old getting compliments on my German! Eventually, he had to go, so we walked to the subway and he left and I grabbed a bite to eat before heading off to see some sights before I met up with some other singles for dinner.

I decided that I wanted to check out this place called Potsdamer Platz. Now, this area was a very beloved place before World War II. There were grand hotels and generally a place people met and shopped and ate and hung out. During the war, it was significantly damaged and because of its location at the convergence of the American, British and Russian Sectors, the wall ended up going right through the middle of the square. It was no longer the center of Berlin life, but rather on the fringes and most of the square was in "No Man's Land", land that lie between two walls, one on the west, one on the east.

After the wall came down in 1989 and the area was mined and made safe for people to use, and since the government wanted to move the capital from Bonn back to Berlin, this was prime real estate! It's only a few blocks from the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (parliament). So they have built some very large skyscrapers (which is not very common in Germany) and have made the square into quite a tourist attraction. On one end of the square is a long piece of land (formerly "No Man's Land") and all the way through it, they erected piping about 10-15 feet above the square to show where the wall once meandered through the area. It took me a while to figure it out, because at first I thought "Why would anyone put a pipeline through this area"? Duh... Anyway, I'll include some photos below.

Earlier I mentioned that I bumped into someone I knew from church, right? Well as I was leaving the square, I saw ANOTHER person from church!!!! What are the odds????? Apparently he works at a coffee shop on the square, but I think I scared him a little cuz I kinda grabbed him by the arm as he was walking by. Oops. We chatted for just a minute. I better apologize on facebook.

Anyway, my last stop was going to be Checkpoint Charlie. As has become exceedingly apparent to me, it seems at least, that very little of what I experienced on my first visit to Germany as a teenager looks ANYTHING like it did back then. Even for the places I visited in '92, it's still completely different. Oh well, at least they try to keep little bits and pieces of that time alive for all to enjoy. The world doesn't stop in time just for me. And frankly the Germans may want it that way too, so it's cool I guess. In any case, the history of this city is one of the richest and most interesting of any city I know. I love digging into the past and see why things are the way they are now.

After I left Charlie, I needed to go and meet some singles for dinner. Katja is so awesome, she wanted to encourage me because I shared with her a few days ago that I've been having a hard time finding a schnitzel. Amazing to say, but it's true. Apparently Berliners aren't as keen on schnitzel, as say, EVERY OTHER GERMAN!!!! LOL. It just seems odd to me, no judgment here, but come on people, this is Germany and I want a schnitzel!!!! So we went to a steakhouse and felt a bit obligated to get one, they did have them there. I ordered an XXL because one I saw a few days ago wasn't very big. Well this one was stinkin' HUGE. It was like a square foot! I'm pretty sure I didn't get through even half of it, so I brought the rest home with me. I ate the fries because I knew they wouldn't reheat well, but it was pretty decent. Now I just need a beer with it when I reheat it and I'll be a happy (-ier) camper!!

Some final thoughts from today... As I was talking with this one brother today, I was sharing how I was struggling with knowing where the line is between being "responsible" and enjoying my new hometown. He asked me why I felt so guilty. I thought about it for a minute and realized that it wasn't guilt, per se, but just a lack having something to do. Now, this theory is full of trap doors, so I want to be very cautious here. I've come to this conclusion. I absolutely do need to find a job relatively soon. This must become a priority for me as I cannot live on what I came over with for very long, not to mention that I only have 90 days before the German government kicks me out of the country. Now, as I mentioned, people have been very encouraging about my ability to *speak* German, which is always great to hear! But I'm still trying to get my feet under me with *understanding* people. I'm definitely improving, but still have a little way to go yet before I will really feel comfortable enough to do a bunch of interviews, etc. Either way, I am starting this week to look for work in earnest and have one lead at this time which I will be pursuing tomorrow (it's 11pm now), but I think it's okay for me to enjoy some time to explore this city, talk to people and continue to build relationships. I've been so enslaved to work, remodel, selling stuff and everything for so long, that I do think I can look for jobs AND try to enjoy my new surroundings, too. I really enjoy working and am looking forward to finding a job and starting it, but I want to not be so stressed out by my situation that I'm not enjoying my situation too. I believe there is a delicate balance there.

Anyway, that's it from Berlin for now. I'll add some photos, thanks for looking in on me. Much love to everyone. Skyping with Don Cypher yesterday (I consider Don one of my very best friends) reminded me how much I really miss everyone, how much I love you all and wish you were all closer. I'm doing fine, and better every day, but my life is very different without all of you near. Talk to you soon.