Well, this certainly has been an eventful past few days.... I AM still hopeful. I AM still faithful. I AM still searching for a job. But there have been no shortage of challenges. I am a firm believer that if something is truly worth fighting for you will give up everything, sacrifice, leave no stone unturned, remain completely undeterred no matter the circumstance. There are times where that is so hard to do. Simply to trust, to keep on keepin' on, with faith that, in the end, it will all work out.
I'm all in on this deal, but the last few days have been particularly challenging. On Saturday morning, I woke up and overnight Friday I had run an anti-virus scan on my computer, but even while I was asleep I could tell that something wasn't right because I could hear the fan on the laptop acting funny. So I woke up and sure enough, a virus had caught hold of my system. Phooey! This is the one thing I was hoping wouldn't happen while I'm job-searching. Apparently I should be able to fix the problem relatively easily, however, the Windows XP CD (don't judge, it's much more reliable than Vista was) is in storage in Spokane and the person with the key is on the other side of the country. Part of me just finds that funny, part of me doesn't find that the least bit amusing. Oh well, one more test of my faith and my fortitude, I guess.
The weather the past few days has been pretty brutal. It's been 90 or above for three straight days with high humidity and my body is just not accustomed to being in it constantly with no relief, except for possible brief moments of air conditioning in a bus or grocery store... On Sunday, it was about 95 and I was just completely soaked with sweat by the time I got home. It was really nasty. I'm learning how to give my body what it needs when it's that hot, but only after trial and error, unfortunately. Today it's back to about 75, was really muggy this morning but now is sunny, warm and much dryer air. Thanks God, I'm starting to feel like a human again!
I am really hoping for some relief very soon. There has been some possible good news on the housing front, but need to get some advice on it because it seems like a great temporary situation, but long-term it might actually be harder, so I need to sort that out very soon.
So, I am also very encouraged because I have been asked to lead a singles devotional again this Wednesday evening. It will be very good, but may need to do things manually (ie: without a computer), I am sure God will work it out with me.
I feel like people in my life are some of my biggest critics. I think overall that is good, but sometimes I feel like people see things just from a worldly standpoint and not from position of faith. It's so hard to be in this situation in my life, because honestly (and I'm not saying this as a martyr), I don't think some people really completely understand what is going on in my life and they cannot relate. I think even some people may even believe that God might be punishing me for something. While that is definitely a possibility, I don't believe God is punishing me. I have tried so hard to be faithful in everything. God is not punishing me, he's pruning me, to purify my heart. That's what I believe from the bottom of my heart. Please don't approach me as if I am stupid or uninformed, please approach me humbly and ask me, "have you considered...?" As opposed to approaching me "You need to...". Emotionally I am kind of raw right now. This is really one of the most difficult times of my life, not because I don't live in an AMAZING city, with AMAZING people and an AMAZING God, it's because for the first time in my life I have decided to not rely on my strengths, but to allow myself to be weak so that God can show his strength. There is so much to consider, narrow windows of opportunity to get a job, work permit, residence permit. Trust me when I say I have agonized over many many details about every step of this process, and have had to just turn them over to God again and again because I do not have the power over these things, only God does. God keeps reminding me of this scripture (now one of my very favorite scriptures):
2 Cor 12:7-10 -- Because of these surpassingly great revelations...in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
This scripture is so contrary to the world. For all the years I lived and had a good-paying job, I was well respected because I could take care of my business. Now that I have nothing (relatively speaking), to the world it may look like God is punishing me. But God knows my heart. As anyone who knows me is well aware, I am F-A-R from perfect, but he knows my heart is for him. I hope it is becoming more and more so every day....
That having been said, I do sometimes feel envious of others. I sometimes wish I could take great vacations to luxury resorts in tropical places, afford to go to a nice restaurant and not worry about how much it costs, buy that new gadget, go where ever, whenever I want. Unfortunately that is not my current reality. I'm very sorry God for my envy. Please help me to be completely joyful, even in financially sparse times. Please let my relationship with you truly be enough for me, that if our relationship was all I had for the rest of my life, that I could still have that joy and peace that transcends all understanding.
I think that's enough for now. I need to get a few more things done before I head home. Have a great week, everyone and thanks for looking in on me....
Monday, July 29, 2013
Friday, July 26, 2013
Hot Job Search!
Greetings from the Berlin tropics! Just kidding, but lately it's been getting pretty hot in the north of Germany... Today it's about 90 (32C) and on Sunday it's supposed to get to 100.... Gratefully it shouldn't be quite so humid, but either way, I'm not looking forward to it. I wonder if I could just ride one of the air-conditioned buses or underground trains all day... Well, maybe not....
I had mentioned before that I can prove the theory of good vs evil. Do you remember? Well, it goes something like this: Let's say you want to lose some weight and you've decided to start to eat better and go to the gym. Then comes your best friend's birthday party, complete with cake and ice cream, etc. Then you get to bed too late, and forget to set the alarm clock (or phone, etc). Then there is this distraction and that event (or holiday) and that craving... you get the idea. It's not easy to make changes in your life or to push yourself to be better than you are today. In fact, it can be extremely difficult at times.
Before I go off on how "difficult" (I use that term loosely) my life is, let me just say how grateful I am for my life. Even though I have very little in personal property with me here in Germany, I feel so rich. The people in Germany have welcomed me with open arms, have offered their friendship to me, their time, money and even their property. They have invited me into their homes, shared their lives and families with me and I could not be happier to be here. I feel blessed beyond words. Eph. 3:20-21 comes to my mind:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever, Amen! (NIV)
Two years ago I could not have even imagined that I would be living in Germany, even though I have dreamed of returning here for years. I prayed before I came to Germany to be accepted by the church here and God has blessed that in spades! I have food to eat, have met with numerous friends in the church this week, including two new friends. One is an American brother and one is a German that lived in the same area of Rhineland Pfalz where I went to high school! I absolutely couldn't be happier to be around such great people. If I found a job, that would be cool, but my life is pretty awesome right now even without!
Anyway, I have definitely seen this week how it's so easy to be distracted from what is really important right now, my job search. I spent Monday trying to figure out how to get my internet problems fixed, needed a haircut (didn't have money and with the weather getting hot, longer hair was just not an option), etc, etc. etc. So what I have learned from all of this, is to do what I have to do, but to trust God's timing in everything. God is not blind to what I'm going through, but I have to decide if the challenges in my life are a punishment from God, or a test whether I will trust Him, or if I will just get frustrated. I'll give you a hint, the way we respond to the challenges of our life show us who we really are. We can get stressed out, which is us trying to be in control of our lives/destinies/whatever; or, we can realize that these are just the things that God is using to help us rely on him more, to be patient so that when the blessing does come, it will knock our socks off! Since I have been on this journey, God has done this dozens and dozens and dozens of times. I think I'm getting better at my responses, but that's really up to God to decide. Either way, it keeps my life interesting and hopefully is helping me to be patient.
So I was very encouraged this morning, first of all I got a call from Christoph who leads the Singles and Campus ministries here. He asked me if I would be willing to help plan and lead the devotional next week while he is at the campus conference in Paris. I agreed. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to be able to say a few words (other people will be doing most of the talking), but I'm happy to have the chance to serve in this way. After I got off the phone with Christoph, I went to the bakery to get brötchen for my breakfast, and the lady there actually asked me if I would be getting my usual 3 of them? I laughed and said yes. She actually knew what I wanted already! I'm starting to feel like a regular there now. That's pretty cool!
Also, I have been spending a good amount of time at Connections Library doing my job searching stuff and even last Friday, opened up in the morning, and closed at night. Our house church was having a meeting there, and one of the brothers and his wife led a presentation on what they learned on a trip to Israel a couple months back. They brought a huge amount of food with them, and it was really amazing, including hummus, olives, breads, salads and a ton more. It was really excellent and the presentation was very interesting. They really went all out on it! Anyway, I arrived at 9:15am that morning and locked up about 10:30 that night. 13 hours at Connections was no joke! I was exhausted, but happy!!
On the housing front, still looking into some options. May opt to stay a couple more weeks where I'm at, but will have to see. I really like the area I live in, but it is kind of far from where everyone else lives, Connections, etc. I'm sure I would like it somewhere else, too, if I do end up moving. Please pray for God to make it obvious where I should go. Either way, I need to start saving money...
Also, on another note, I'm a bit sad. I gave my bike back to the brother I borrowed it from so now I am trying to get a hold of another. I really miss doing my long bike rides exploring the city.
Lately I have been thinking a lot of my dog, Wolfi. I miss that little guy so much. I know he's doing well with his new family, but I still miss him. I love dogs in general and whenever I see one here, I just want to start playing with it. The dogs here are pretty well trained, I think Wolfi would hate it here because he would be stuck indoors all day long and wouldn't have any place to really run and play. It was definitely the best decision for him, but it was very hard for me to let my little buddy go. I spoke with someone who knows his new family and he was up camping with them a while back and seemed happy. It puts my heart at ease but it's still hard. I don't regret the sacrifice, but I do miss the little guy.
As I was coming home last night, I had taken a bus I don't usually ride. The nearest stop from my house on that line is about 6 blocks from my house. I had seen signs of a circus coming to that area (it's a pretty big empty lot right next to where the Berlin Wall used to be. As I began to walk home, I walked by a few miniature horses that followed me along the fence, but I didn't have anything to give them. Another lady was there feeding carrots to some of them, but didn't have enough for all of them. The horses looked pretty hungry and since I was planning to head to the grocery store anyway, I decided to get some carrots and go back to feed them.
When I got back, the horses were in a place where I couldn't get to them, so I went to the other end of the field and fed them to an alpaca and a young 2-hump camel. The animals seemed really hungry and I felt bad for the camel because he didn't seem to have any upper teeth. Not sure if they hadn't grown in yet or what, be he wanted to eat the carrot, but just couldn't bite into it. So the alpaca got his. Anyway, you could see the adult camels about 100 yards away, but they didn't come over to the fence. The little camel sure was cute, I might try to go back and get some pictures later on. I think the circus starts tonight, so not sure if I can get any.... It was interesting and a bit weird to see camels, alpacas, cows and miniature horses right down the street from my house.
I'm very excited about my job search. I have been able to find a number of jobs that I am well qualified for and believe that my English skills would be an additional advantage. I have applied for jobs in the insurance industry, hotel industry and today I even applied for a job receiving people at the Berlin Fernsehturm (the tall TV tower I have mentioned previously in this blog)! Very cool. Also applying with a car rental company and I'm sure there will be other places as well. Either way, I believe God will give me something.
Well, sorry nothing too terribly earth-shaking today, just some thoughts from my time over the past week or so. So grateful to be in Germany! Even in the heat, it's an amazing place. No place that I'd rather be right now. Thanks, God. :) Until next time!
I had mentioned before that I can prove the theory of good vs evil. Do you remember? Well, it goes something like this: Let's say you want to lose some weight and you've decided to start to eat better and go to the gym. Then comes your best friend's birthday party, complete with cake and ice cream, etc. Then you get to bed too late, and forget to set the alarm clock (or phone, etc). Then there is this distraction and that event (or holiday) and that craving... you get the idea. It's not easy to make changes in your life or to push yourself to be better than you are today. In fact, it can be extremely difficult at times.
Before I go off on how "difficult" (I use that term loosely) my life is, let me just say how grateful I am for my life. Even though I have very little in personal property with me here in Germany, I feel so rich. The people in Germany have welcomed me with open arms, have offered their friendship to me, their time, money and even their property. They have invited me into their homes, shared their lives and families with me and I could not be happier to be here. I feel blessed beyond words. Eph. 3:20-21 comes to my mind:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever, Amen! (NIV)
Two years ago I could not have even imagined that I would be living in Germany, even though I have dreamed of returning here for years. I prayed before I came to Germany to be accepted by the church here and God has blessed that in spades! I have food to eat, have met with numerous friends in the church this week, including two new friends. One is an American brother and one is a German that lived in the same area of Rhineland Pfalz where I went to high school! I absolutely couldn't be happier to be around such great people. If I found a job, that would be cool, but my life is pretty awesome right now even without!
Anyway, I have definitely seen this week how it's so easy to be distracted from what is really important right now, my job search. I spent Monday trying to figure out how to get my internet problems fixed, needed a haircut (didn't have money and with the weather getting hot, longer hair was just not an option), etc, etc. etc. So what I have learned from all of this, is to do what I have to do, but to trust God's timing in everything. God is not blind to what I'm going through, but I have to decide if the challenges in my life are a punishment from God, or a test whether I will trust Him, or if I will just get frustrated. I'll give you a hint, the way we respond to the challenges of our life show us who we really are. We can get stressed out, which is us trying to be in control of our lives/destinies/whatever; or, we can realize that these are just the things that God is using to help us rely on him more, to be patient so that when the blessing does come, it will knock our socks off! Since I have been on this journey, God has done this dozens and dozens and dozens of times. I think I'm getting better at my responses, but that's really up to God to decide. Either way, it keeps my life interesting and hopefully is helping me to be patient.
So I was very encouraged this morning, first of all I got a call from Christoph who leads the Singles and Campus ministries here. He asked me if I would be willing to help plan and lead the devotional next week while he is at the campus conference in Paris. I agreed. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to be able to say a few words (other people will be doing most of the talking), but I'm happy to have the chance to serve in this way. After I got off the phone with Christoph, I went to the bakery to get brötchen for my breakfast, and the lady there actually asked me if I would be getting my usual 3 of them? I laughed and said yes. She actually knew what I wanted already! I'm starting to feel like a regular there now. That's pretty cool!
Also, I have been spending a good amount of time at Connections Library doing my job searching stuff and even last Friday, opened up in the morning, and closed at night. Our house church was having a meeting there, and one of the brothers and his wife led a presentation on what they learned on a trip to Israel a couple months back. They brought a huge amount of food with them, and it was really amazing, including hummus, olives, breads, salads and a ton more. It was really excellent and the presentation was very interesting. They really went all out on it! Anyway, I arrived at 9:15am that morning and locked up about 10:30 that night. 13 hours at Connections was no joke! I was exhausted, but happy!!
On the housing front, still looking into some options. May opt to stay a couple more weeks where I'm at, but will have to see. I really like the area I live in, but it is kind of far from where everyone else lives, Connections, etc. I'm sure I would like it somewhere else, too, if I do end up moving. Please pray for God to make it obvious where I should go. Either way, I need to start saving money...
Also, on another note, I'm a bit sad. I gave my bike back to the brother I borrowed it from so now I am trying to get a hold of another. I really miss doing my long bike rides exploring the city.
Lately I have been thinking a lot of my dog, Wolfi. I miss that little guy so much. I know he's doing well with his new family, but I still miss him. I love dogs in general and whenever I see one here, I just want to start playing with it. The dogs here are pretty well trained, I think Wolfi would hate it here because he would be stuck indoors all day long and wouldn't have any place to really run and play. It was definitely the best decision for him, but it was very hard for me to let my little buddy go. I spoke with someone who knows his new family and he was up camping with them a while back and seemed happy. It puts my heart at ease but it's still hard. I don't regret the sacrifice, but I do miss the little guy.
As I was coming home last night, I had taken a bus I don't usually ride. The nearest stop from my house on that line is about 6 blocks from my house. I had seen signs of a circus coming to that area (it's a pretty big empty lot right next to where the Berlin Wall used to be. As I began to walk home, I walked by a few miniature horses that followed me along the fence, but I didn't have anything to give them. Another lady was there feeding carrots to some of them, but didn't have enough for all of them. The horses looked pretty hungry and since I was planning to head to the grocery store anyway, I decided to get some carrots and go back to feed them.
When I got back, the horses were in a place where I couldn't get to them, so I went to the other end of the field and fed them to an alpaca and a young 2-hump camel. The animals seemed really hungry and I felt bad for the camel because he didn't seem to have any upper teeth. Not sure if they hadn't grown in yet or what, be he wanted to eat the carrot, but just couldn't bite into it. So the alpaca got his. Anyway, you could see the adult camels about 100 yards away, but they didn't come over to the fence. The little camel sure was cute, I might try to go back and get some pictures later on. I think the circus starts tonight, so not sure if I can get any.... It was interesting and a bit weird to see camels, alpacas, cows and miniature horses right down the street from my house.
I'm very excited about my job search. I have been able to find a number of jobs that I am well qualified for and believe that my English skills would be an additional advantage. I have applied for jobs in the insurance industry, hotel industry and today I even applied for a job receiving people at the Berlin Fernsehturm (the tall TV tower I have mentioned previously in this blog)! Very cool. Also applying with a car rental company and I'm sure there will be other places as well. Either way, I believe God will give me something.
Well, sorry nothing too terribly earth-shaking today, just some thoughts from my time over the past week or so. So grateful to be in Germany! Even in the heat, it's an amazing place. No place that I'd rather be right now. Thanks, God. :) Until next time!
Monday, July 22, 2013
Hm. This Could Get Interesting....
Hello all from sunny and hot Berlin. Okay, it's only 30 C (about 80F), but it feels hotter because I walk a lot and not many places have A/C. That's okay, I'll live. Once I drop some more weight, hopefully I won't be as uncomfortable. Yesterday was a bit cooler but being in the hot, muggy weather all day took it's toll on me. I have to say it was nice to get 9 hours of sleep last night though, apparently I was a bit exhausted after the day!
So, I'm so excited that I can continue my job search! I'm very encouraged because in all fairness, they should have sent me home this week, so I'm going to give it my best effort this week because money is an issue at the moment (although there are some things in the works, might take some time to get that all ironed out though).
So this week is going to be interesting. I am able to stay in my place for another week thanks to the help of a brother here. It's so hard to ask for money and help and the more I do it, the harder it seems to get. I have always been a responsible adult. I have always been able to pay my bills, take care of my own business and not have to rely on others. I have always taken these responsibilities very seriously and still do. This experience has been a test of my trust that God not only knows where I will be living as of Aug 1, but that he knows how I can take care of some of these bills. It is really a trust issue. I don't really have any other alternatives at the moment other than to trust him.
But for me this week, I need to figure out another living arrangement. Unfortunately there are no spaces available in the brothers household and I have been asking around where I might be able to crash for a month or so, hopefully for very cheap, or (God willing) free, until I can get work and start getting a paycheck. Also, the past few days I have not had internet so I have been spending time at Connections to use the Wi-Fi. It has been a godsend! Thanks Larry for allowing me to do so!
On Friday, I purchased 5 Euros for my internet account. It costs a Euro per day to do it by the day. Unfortunately, somehow that night, the ISP drained my account within 30 minutes and I wasn't able to reach them by phone all weekend! That has really caused problems for me because I really need to be online looking for work and since Connections is about 45 minutes away by bus and train, it takes a lot of extra effort to be able to use the internet. And on top of that, there is a church group that meets there on Sundays so I can't use the Wi-Fi there then. I spoke to a woman over the phone today and she told me that the settings on my account are incorrect and that I should log on to do an update. Logged on and could not find out how to do them. Ugh, I need something to work correctly.... LOL
These there are just the mundane things of life that are distracting me and trying to discourage me from what I need to be doing. Like the fact that I REALLY need a haircut but just don't have the money yet. It's only about 10 Euros, but I will just have to wait until later in the week to do it. Internet problems, need to reload minutes on my phone (again no $$$ to do so), etc.
All of these things just seem to add to the pressure of having to find work. I have decided that I will be going after all areas, making calls, sending emails, whatever it takes. I am praying to find work quickly because I really need to start catching up on some bills. So, I've been feeling pretty stressed about that. For the first time in my life, I have accounts that are past due. I have a plan to start paying on them in the next 1-2 weeks, but it has been a challenge! Please pray for me to find a cheap (or free!) place to stay for the next month. All these little annoyances are starting to add up to stress again.
I had a brother talk to me last week about not being more open with him. I asked him how I could possibly be more open than I have been. I update on facebook, have dozens of in-person conversations every week, update this blog, etc. I was pretty discouraged by the conversation. My situation has changed seemingly constantly (ie: visa expiring, had to get extended and couldn't look for a job. Then they allowed me to start looking for a job again, which means I have to figure out where to live, how to pay for it, etc.). Anyway, I have been getting advice on how to be more open. I feel like I am an open book. I guess if you have questions or concerns about me, what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, if I need assistance, please contact me. I do have a phone, email, facebook, or you can write a comment on this blog as well. Unfortunately the hard thing is to have the same conversation with 100 people every week, that's one of the reasons I take the time to write this blog, so that people know what's happening. Anyway, I'm humbly trying to do better with this brother because I respect him, so it will be better.
Well, that's it for now, thanks for checking in on me. By the way, for some reason I have not been able to give you the surprise I have been promising. I'll tell you what it was supposed to be. I was videotaping myself here in Berlin, to show all of you back in the states and in other places around the world a little bit what my life is like here. Where I live, public transportation and just showing a bit of this beautiful city as well. I am going to try to find a way to get the footage off my video recorder, but it has some kind of problem that it doesn't let me do much of anything. Anyway, I hope you understand. I'll post it if I can figure out how. Thanks, and I'll talk soon with you again!
So, I'm so excited that I can continue my job search! I'm very encouraged because in all fairness, they should have sent me home this week, so I'm going to give it my best effort this week because money is an issue at the moment (although there are some things in the works, might take some time to get that all ironed out though).
So this week is going to be interesting. I am able to stay in my place for another week thanks to the help of a brother here. It's so hard to ask for money and help and the more I do it, the harder it seems to get. I have always been a responsible adult. I have always been able to pay my bills, take care of my own business and not have to rely on others. I have always taken these responsibilities very seriously and still do. This experience has been a test of my trust that God not only knows where I will be living as of Aug 1, but that he knows how I can take care of some of these bills. It is really a trust issue. I don't really have any other alternatives at the moment other than to trust him.
But for me this week, I need to figure out another living arrangement. Unfortunately there are no spaces available in the brothers household and I have been asking around where I might be able to crash for a month or so, hopefully for very cheap, or (God willing) free, until I can get work and start getting a paycheck. Also, the past few days I have not had internet so I have been spending time at Connections to use the Wi-Fi. It has been a godsend! Thanks Larry for allowing me to do so!
On Friday, I purchased 5 Euros for my internet account. It costs a Euro per day to do it by the day. Unfortunately, somehow that night, the ISP drained my account within 30 minutes and I wasn't able to reach them by phone all weekend! That has really caused problems for me because I really need to be online looking for work and since Connections is about 45 minutes away by bus and train, it takes a lot of extra effort to be able to use the internet. And on top of that, there is a church group that meets there on Sundays so I can't use the Wi-Fi there then. I spoke to a woman over the phone today and she told me that the settings on my account are incorrect and that I should log on to do an update. Logged on and could not find out how to do them. Ugh, I need something to work correctly.... LOL
These there are just the mundane things of life that are distracting me and trying to discourage me from what I need to be doing. Like the fact that I REALLY need a haircut but just don't have the money yet. It's only about 10 Euros, but I will just have to wait until later in the week to do it. Internet problems, need to reload minutes on my phone (again no $$$ to do so), etc.
All of these things just seem to add to the pressure of having to find work. I have decided that I will be going after all areas, making calls, sending emails, whatever it takes. I am praying to find work quickly because I really need to start catching up on some bills. So, I've been feeling pretty stressed about that. For the first time in my life, I have accounts that are past due. I have a plan to start paying on them in the next 1-2 weeks, but it has been a challenge! Please pray for me to find a cheap (or free!) place to stay for the next month. All these little annoyances are starting to add up to stress again.
I had a brother talk to me last week about not being more open with him. I asked him how I could possibly be more open than I have been. I update on facebook, have dozens of in-person conversations every week, update this blog, etc. I was pretty discouraged by the conversation. My situation has changed seemingly constantly (ie: visa expiring, had to get extended and couldn't look for a job. Then they allowed me to start looking for a job again, which means I have to figure out where to live, how to pay for it, etc.). Anyway, I have been getting advice on how to be more open. I feel like I am an open book. I guess if you have questions or concerns about me, what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, if I need assistance, please contact me. I do have a phone, email, facebook, or you can write a comment on this blog as well. Unfortunately the hard thing is to have the same conversation with 100 people every week, that's one of the reasons I take the time to write this blog, so that people know what's happening. Anyway, I'm humbly trying to do better with this brother because I respect him, so it will be better.
Well, that's it for now, thanks for checking in on me. By the way, for some reason I have not been able to give you the surprise I have been promising. I'll tell you what it was supposed to be. I was videotaping myself here in Berlin, to show all of you back in the states and in other places around the world a little bit what my life is like here. Where I live, public transportation and just showing a bit of this beautiful city as well. I am going to try to find a way to get the footage off my video recorder, but it has some kind of problem that it doesn't let me do much of anything. Anyway, I hope you understand. I'll post it if I can figure out how. Thanks, and I'll talk soon with you again!
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Prayer Works, God is amazing!!
Hey all, thanks for your prayers! Due to your prayers, our amazing God has done another miracle. The lady at the Foreigners Admin office told me today that I can continue to look for a job, but that I need to find something soon. I walked out of there in tears. Our God has been so merciful to me to give me another chance to stay here. Tomorrow begins the job search again! Amen!!!!! I am a happy dude!!!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Praying for a Miracle
Well, this certainly has been an eventful thrill-ride of emotions lately. I have to be honest, I wish I would have been a better person while I have been here. I've struggled so much, and have not been patient with God. I have been selfish, moody and downright rebellious at times. I don't deserve to stay in Germany. God has been incredibly patient with me as I have run the gamut of emotions here, but I have to say that I am not proud of the way I have handled the stress.
Last Saturday when I received word that I did not receive the job, in one sense I was relieved to finally have an answer. In another sense, I was numb, in shock. They extended my visa with the understanding that it was based on THAT position. They made an exception for my situation since I was waiting to hear back from them when my visa was running out. I asked the manager at the hotel if there were other positions available and said he would forward my information on to the reservations department. It's a slim chance, but a chance nonetheless.
I have sort of beat myself up lately. Just after I learned of the denial, I was to be on a Skype call with some brothers in the states. I was really struggling though. One of the brothers, after many years of trying, finally got his dream! I was happy for him, but at the same time sad for my situation. The brothers have been so patient with me, enduring heart-wrenching thoughts from me, and yet firmly and lovingly pointing me back the right way. In Berlin last night, even Katja encouraged me to go with her to the campus bible talk. I'm so glad I went.
Satan has really been working overtime on me. I have seen this cartoon that people have posted on facebook (numerous times and at times that I have needed to see it) of a guy digging a tunnel and he stops just short of the treasure. He gave up. I just don't want to be that guy. I have worked so hard and have sacrificed so much.... I just don't want to have to return to the US...
So, on that note, I started off last Saturday being kind of numb. That lasted for a couple days then eventually it hit me that I might actually be to blame for God not blessing my dream.... That may or may not be true, but I was definitely broken. I got mad at myself for ruining my own life. Again!!!
Then it occurred to me that it's possible. Just possible, that God will not make me go home. In the book of Genesis in the Bible, God promises Abraham he will have a son. He is 90 and his wife Sarai was 100 when she had him. God also promised him that his legacy would continue through that very son. God later told Abraham that he wanted him to kill his son. Abraham was known for his faith (this being the "big test"), and was prepared to kill his son when God told him to stop. God then knew that Abraham was "all in", that he put his relationship with God above all other things. My hope and my thought has been, "Can God bring back my dream from this apparent death?" I have to try to believe it because I just don't want to have to give it up.
Another interesting thing has happened. Since all of this has happened, I have dealt with the pain, had the anger and the tears, etc. I have also sort of accepted the fact that I may have to return. I woke up this morning and my first thought was "maybe it won't be so bad." I think that might be growth. One thing I am certain of with God, is that he loves me and he's not mean-spirited toward me or anyone else. The worst thing that could come out of this time is for me to have spent approximately 3 1/2 months in a place that I absolutely love, a city I have returned to twice now, falling more and more in love with it and its people every time I come here. How's that for the "worst case scenario"? Being away for 20 years and spending 3 months here has been incredible. In the same situation, with all the heartache, pain and work that it took me to get here, I do not regret it at all, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Tonight, I was incredibly humbled by a sister posting something on facebook for me, asking for prayers for me to stay. The last couple of days I have been praying for a miracle. That's what I need now. The end seems near, but I have to remain faithful. Please God, you can do anything! If it's your will, I need a miracle to stay here in Germany and I have to go to the Foreigners Administration office tomorrow. You are a loving and just God and I confess here and now I'm not worthy to stay. Please show mercy to me despite my sin.
I also would just like to say that being here has increased my faith in the goodness of disciples a hundredfold. These men and women here have shown their love and support for me like I have never seen before. I have had many instances of deep love from disciples, but the Berlin church is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! I'm so grateful to all of you that have shown me love and helped me through rough waters. God sees your amazing hearts, and I want the world to know how much I appreciate you.
Please keep praying for my dream. I hope to have some more information soon. Whether I stay or whether I go home, I will not regret this time. I will not see myself as a failure because I have overcome incredible odds to get here. I hope to have the surprise I have teasing you with very soon. Sorry, this week has just been too much, and I haven't had the bandwidth to prepare it. I'll try to get it ready by the weekend.
Thanks all for all your support and love. I'm so encouraged by your notes to me on facebook. Please feel free to write a comment here or facebook or my email. I'm grateful for all of you. Good night.
Last Saturday when I received word that I did not receive the job, in one sense I was relieved to finally have an answer. In another sense, I was numb, in shock. They extended my visa with the understanding that it was based on THAT position. They made an exception for my situation since I was waiting to hear back from them when my visa was running out. I asked the manager at the hotel if there were other positions available and said he would forward my information on to the reservations department. It's a slim chance, but a chance nonetheless.
I have sort of beat myself up lately. Just after I learned of the denial, I was to be on a Skype call with some brothers in the states. I was really struggling though. One of the brothers, after many years of trying, finally got his dream! I was happy for him, but at the same time sad for my situation. The brothers have been so patient with me, enduring heart-wrenching thoughts from me, and yet firmly and lovingly pointing me back the right way. In Berlin last night, even Katja encouraged me to go with her to the campus bible talk. I'm so glad I went.
Satan has really been working overtime on me. I have seen this cartoon that people have posted on facebook (numerous times and at times that I have needed to see it) of a guy digging a tunnel and he stops just short of the treasure. He gave up. I just don't want to be that guy. I have worked so hard and have sacrificed so much.... I just don't want to have to return to the US...
So, on that note, I started off last Saturday being kind of numb. That lasted for a couple days then eventually it hit me that I might actually be to blame for God not blessing my dream.... That may or may not be true, but I was definitely broken. I got mad at myself for ruining my own life. Again!!!
Then it occurred to me that it's possible. Just possible, that God will not make me go home. In the book of Genesis in the Bible, God promises Abraham he will have a son. He is 90 and his wife Sarai was 100 when she had him. God also promised him that his legacy would continue through that very son. God later told Abraham that he wanted him to kill his son. Abraham was known for his faith (this being the "big test"), and was prepared to kill his son when God told him to stop. God then knew that Abraham was "all in", that he put his relationship with God above all other things. My hope and my thought has been, "Can God bring back my dream from this apparent death?" I have to try to believe it because I just don't want to have to give it up.
Another interesting thing has happened. Since all of this has happened, I have dealt with the pain, had the anger and the tears, etc. I have also sort of accepted the fact that I may have to return. I woke up this morning and my first thought was "maybe it won't be so bad." I think that might be growth. One thing I am certain of with God, is that he loves me and he's not mean-spirited toward me or anyone else. The worst thing that could come out of this time is for me to have spent approximately 3 1/2 months in a place that I absolutely love, a city I have returned to twice now, falling more and more in love with it and its people every time I come here. How's that for the "worst case scenario"? Being away for 20 years and spending 3 months here has been incredible. In the same situation, with all the heartache, pain and work that it took me to get here, I do not regret it at all, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Tonight, I was incredibly humbled by a sister posting something on facebook for me, asking for prayers for me to stay. The last couple of days I have been praying for a miracle. That's what I need now. The end seems near, but I have to remain faithful. Please God, you can do anything! If it's your will, I need a miracle to stay here in Germany and I have to go to the Foreigners Administration office tomorrow. You are a loving and just God and I confess here and now I'm not worthy to stay. Please show mercy to me despite my sin.
I also would just like to say that being here has increased my faith in the goodness of disciples a hundredfold. These men and women here have shown their love and support for me like I have never seen before. I have had many instances of deep love from disciples, but the Berlin church is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! I'm so grateful to all of you that have shown me love and helped me through rough waters. God sees your amazing hearts, and I want the world to know how much I appreciate you.
Please keep praying for my dream. I hope to have some more information soon. Whether I stay or whether I go home, I will not regret this time. I will not see myself as a failure because I have overcome incredible odds to get here. I hope to have the surprise I have teasing you with very soon. Sorry, this week has just been too much, and I haven't had the bandwidth to prepare it. I'll try to get it ready by the weekend.
Thanks all for all your support and love. I'm so encouraged by your notes to me on facebook. Please feel free to write a comment here or facebook or my email. I'm grateful for all of you. Good night.
Friday, July 12, 2013
A Stressful but Exciting Week
Good evening all! I have had a very exciting, action-packed, encouraging and interesting roller coaster of a week. Tuesday, my visa was set to expire. Unfortunately, I thought it expired Wednesday. Oops! So I had to prepare myself quickly because time was running out!
Monday, I went to the office that handles all the paperwork for foreigners and asked what they needed from me. They asked when my visa ran out and they were shocked I had waited so long. Since I learned early on that they were closed on Fridays (and I did my trial work day until later in the evening on Thursday), my first opportunity to go in was Monday. The girl behind the counter was very helpful, but it was funny at one point, she said "Don't be mad at me, but" and then told me what I needed. I told her I was not mad at all, I just wanted to know what to have so that I could be prepared the following day. I thanked her for the information and headed home.
The office closes early on Tuesdays, at 2pm. I finally received all the documentation I needed about 12:10pm. Then I left the house, had to go print out some information, then head off to see them again. (This is the place I shared about a while back on the blog, that there is a long boring walk to get to it, remember?) Anyway, the office is pretty much on the other side of the city from where I'm at, but otherwise pretty easy to reach by train. So, I got there finally about 1pm or so and turned in my paperwork. The same girl I spoke with the day before said she couldn't promise anything and gave me a number and told me to take a seat in the waiting area.
While I waited, I prayed. In looking on their website the days before this, they mentioned they do NOT extend tourist visas. I figured I had to at least try. Worst they could do is tell me "no" and order me to leave the country (or fine me, or throw me in jail. LOL) Anyway, so just after 2pm, the girl emerged and informed me the granted the extension of my visa!!! This was such a huge miracle and such a weight off my shoulders. They technically extended the visa until October, but with some significant conditions. That's okay, because at least I could stay to find out if I got the job before I was asked to leave!! Thank you, God for blessing this extension! Thanks to all of you as well for all of your thoughts and prayers, they are definitely working!!!
This definitely took some pressure off of me, so I have been able to catch up on some stuff, working on getting my life organized a bit more here. I have also spent some time at Connections, where I have been talking with a really cool American couple who are doing some work with a church in another part of Germany. Felt like I have already become good friends with them. Too bad they were only in town for a couple weeks, would have loved to have spent more time with them. Unfortunately, they leave tomorrow.
We had bible talk tonight, which was really encouraging, got a chance to hang out with Katja and a bunch of others as well. Unfortunately I didn't get the call on the job I was hoping for today, but hopefully tomorrow.
I also was so excited tonight because I finally received my new German drivers license today that I applied for on May 8! I have really been wanting to get it, and today it was finally there!! Apparently I can drive mopeds, any 2- or 3-wheeled motorcycles, any autos, small delivery vans, cars with trailers, box vans and similar trucks, semi trucks with trailers up to a total of 12 tons (!) and even small tractors and forklifts! Wow, so I can drive semi-trucks with trailers up to 12 tons??? Trust me, I would never do that here. I may be adventurous, but I'm not that adventurous!
After BT on my way home, I was very excited to go rent a movie. Last time I was there I was told I needed to have an ID. Well, I went in there today with my brand spanking new drivers license, brought a bag of popcorn to the counter... and ready to rent my first movie! They told me they need to see my passport with my residence permit in it. I have to be honest, I was pretty frustrated. I still can't rent a movie there. Well, maybe when I get the job, my work permit and then my residence permit, I can. I walked out not in the greatest of moods, gotta be honest.
After I left the video store, traffic was just weird. People were doing really stupid stuff and especially the bikers just were acting dumb. At one point, there was a group of 4 bikers that had stopped right in the middle of the street at an intersection where the bike path crosses the side street. Two of them had stopped to hug each other with the other two bikers sitting there as well, all of them blocking the street. Then almost ran into someone riding their bike the wrong way on the sidewalk (which is breaking 2 laws), etc. etc. etc. I thought to myself, this is just Satan working on my heart now to be frustrated. I'm glad to have gotten home to relax a bit tonight. It's been a pretty emotionally-charged week for me, ending with some disappointment and frustration. Just need to continue to trust God, he's definitely pushing me to the limit to see how much I will rely on him.
Ironically today, I counselled a friend of mine to write down a list of things God has given him that he is thankful for, then I challenged him to pray through the list more than once. He thought it was a good idea and I believe he has decided to do it. He has a unique situation and things seem bad right now in his mind. I think I should also try to do that as well.
Monday night was interesting for me. I was definitely feeling the pressure to get everything accomplished on Tuesday. The hotel said they would call me Tuesday (also the day my visa ran out) so Monday night I was feeling pretty anxious about Tuesday!! I called my good friends Christiana and Katja, and we went out to enjoy a summer evening together with Katja's daughter Rebecca. We met and went to a restaurant/beer garden and sat down and had a great time just chatting, sharing scripture, praying and having fun. It was so nice to just have this time to keep my mind off the other things that were just causing me stress. Sitting at home alone that night would have been very hard, discouraging and would have undoubtedly been struggling with temptation. I'm grateful to have been able to hang out with you guys, thank you for dropping everything to come encourage me!
One final note for me tonight. I really loved the high school I went to, Zweibrücken American High School. It was only in existence from 1971 to 1993 and I was blessed to have gone there from 1985-88. It was such a great group of people. I still keep in touch with quite a few of my classmates from there and have built and kept some great friendships over the years. Well, I bring this up because some of them are currently enjoying time at what would be my 25th class reunion in Las Vegas. I love being in Berlin right now and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, but if I were not here right now, I would want to be there enjoying that time with them and recounting those great memories! Since that is not the case, I will just be happy they are all there having a great time. Take lots of pics, Zwei peeps, wish I could be there with you!
Well, that's it for tonight. I'm so grateful to all who are reading the blog and praying for me. Please continue to do both, I will take all the encouragement and prayer for my situation that I can get. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Have a good night and have a great weekend!!!
Liebe Grüße aus Deutschland!!
Monday, I went to the office that handles all the paperwork for foreigners and asked what they needed from me. They asked when my visa ran out and they were shocked I had waited so long. Since I learned early on that they were closed on Fridays (and I did my trial work day until later in the evening on Thursday), my first opportunity to go in was Monday. The girl behind the counter was very helpful, but it was funny at one point, she said "Don't be mad at me, but" and then told me what I needed. I told her I was not mad at all, I just wanted to know what to have so that I could be prepared the following day. I thanked her for the information and headed home.
The office closes early on Tuesdays, at 2pm. I finally received all the documentation I needed about 12:10pm. Then I left the house, had to go print out some information, then head off to see them again. (This is the place I shared about a while back on the blog, that there is a long boring walk to get to it, remember?) Anyway, the office is pretty much on the other side of the city from where I'm at, but otherwise pretty easy to reach by train. So, I got there finally about 1pm or so and turned in my paperwork. The same girl I spoke with the day before said she couldn't promise anything and gave me a number and told me to take a seat in the waiting area.
While I waited, I prayed. In looking on their website the days before this, they mentioned they do NOT extend tourist visas. I figured I had to at least try. Worst they could do is tell me "no" and order me to leave the country (or fine me, or throw me in jail. LOL) Anyway, so just after 2pm, the girl emerged and informed me the granted the extension of my visa!!! This was such a huge miracle and such a weight off my shoulders. They technically extended the visa until October, but with some significant conditions. That's okay, because at least I could stay to find out if I got the job before I was asked to leave!! Thank you, God for blessing this extension! Thanks to all of you as well for all of your thoughts and prayers, they are definitely working!!!
This definitely took some pressure off of me, so I have been able to catch up on some stuff, working on getting my life organized a bit more here. I have also spent some time at Connections, where I have been talking with a really cool American couple who are doing some work with a church in another part of Germany. Felt like I have already become good friends with them. Too bad they were only in town for a couple weeks, would have loved to have spent more time with them. Unfortunately, they leave tomorrow.
We had bible talk tonight, which was really encouraging, got a chance to hang out with Katja and a bunch of others as well. Unfortunately I didn't get the call on the job I was hoping for today, but hopefully tomorrow.
I also was so excited tonight because I finally received my new German drivers license today that I applied for on May 8! I have really been wanting to get it, and today it was finally there!! Apparently I can drive mopeds, any 2- or 3-wheeled motorcycles, any autos, small delivery vans, cars with trailers, box vans and similar trucks, semi trucks with trailers up to a total of 12 tons (!) and even small tractors and forklifts! Wow, so I can drive semi-trucks with trailers up to 12 tons??? Trust me, I would never do that here. I may be adventurous, but I'm not that adventurous!
After BT on my way home, I was very excited to go rent a movie. Last time I was there I was told I needed to have an ID. Well, I went in there today with my brand spanking new drivers license, brought a bag of popcorn to the counter... and ready to rent my first movie! They told me they need to see my passport with my residence permit in it. I have to be honest, I was pretty frustrated. I still can't rent a movie there. Well, maybe when I get the job, my work permit and then my residence permit, I can. I walked out not in the greatest of moods, gotta be honest.
After I left the video store, traffic was just weird. People were doing really stupid stuff and especially the bikers just were acting dumb. At one point, there was a group of 4 bikers that had stopped right in the middle of the street at an intersection where the bike path crosses the side street. Two of them had stopped to hug each other with the other two bikers sitting there as well, all of them blocking the street. Then almost ran into someone riding their bike the wrong way on the sidewalk (which is breaking 2 laws), etc. etc. etc. I thought to myself, this is just Satan working on my heart now to be frustrated. I'm glad to have gotten home to relax a bit tonight. It's been a pretty emotionally-charged week for me, ending with some disappointment and frustration. Just need to continue to trust God, he's definitely pushing me to the limit to see how much I will rely on him.
Ironically today, I counselled a friend of mine to write down a list of things God has given him that he is thankful for, then I challenged him to pray through the list more than once. He thought it was a good idea and I believe he has decided to do it. He has a unique situation and things seem bad right now in his mind. I think I should also try to do that as well.
Monday night was interesting for me. I was definitely feeling the pressure to get everything accomplished on Tuesday. The hotel said they would call me Tuesday (also the day my visa ran out) so Monday night I was feeling pretty anxious about Tuesday!! I called my good friends Christiana and Katja, and we went out to enjoy a summer evening together with Katja's daughter Rebecca. We met and went to a restaurant/beer garden and sat down and had a great time just chatting, sharing scripture, praying and having fun. It was so nice to just have this time to keep my mind off the other things that were just causing me stress. Sitting at home alone that night would have been very hard, discouraging and would have undoubtedly been struggling with temptation. I'm grateful to have been able to hang out with you guys, thank you for dropping everything to come encourage me!
One final note for me tonight. I really loved the high school I went to, Zweibrücken American High School. It was only in existence from 1971 to 1993 and I was blessed to have gone there from 1985-88. It was such a great group of people. I still keep in touch with quite a few of my classmates from there and have built and kept some great friendships over the years. Well, I bring this up because some of them are currently enjoying time at what would be my 25th class reunion in Las Vegas. I love being in Berlin right now and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, but if I were not here right now, I would want to be there enjoying that time with them and recounting those great memories! Since that is not the case, I will just be happy they are all there having a great time. Take lots of pics, Zwei peeps, wish I could be there with you!
Well, that's it for tonight. I'm so grateful to all who are reading the blog and praying for me. Please continue to do both, I will take all the encouragement and prayer for my situation that I can get. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Have a good night and have a great weekend!!!
Liebe Grüße aus Deutschland!!
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Trial work day
For those of you not on facebook, the trial work day went well. I enjoyed the job immensely, but it was very quiet most of the day. It was fun when the groups arrived at the hotel, at least I had something to keep me busy. There is one more person who will do a trial work day on Monday, and I was told that I should hear back from them on Tuesday as to their decision. In the meantime, I'm pretty physically tired, but very encouraged from the day! The manager said he thought I was very good with the guests and very nice and didn't have anything negative to say, other than he said it was apparent that I hadn't done front desk before (which didn't sound too negative coming from him.) He said I asked good questions, too.
So, I got on the train coming home and got to talking with a guy on there who had a really sweet orange bike with purple rims (you had to see it, it was nice, I promise) and he was a really cool guy. We talked about going for a bike ride sometime and so we exchanged numbers. I am very encouraged to meet new people here, and not just people in the church (who are AWESOME, by the way). But I've been praying just to build new friendships, so I'm super encouraged. His name is Kevin (By the way, I have never known any Germans named Kevin, now I know two. When did Kevin become a German name?)
So Monday, I have to go to the office that deals with us foreigners and try to request an extension on my 90 day "visa". Please pray for me to get at least a short extension (a month would be nice). Thanks everyone for your support and prayers, I'm very grateful for all of you.
On that note, I'm pretty wiped out physically and am going to chill out for the night. Happy 4th everyone, enjoy, stay safe and make sure to wear lots of sunscreen! Bye for now from the land of beer and bratwurst. There are certainly worse things than that!
So, I got on the train coming home and got to talking with a guy on there who had a really sweet orange bike with purple rims (you had to see it, it was nice, I promise) and he was a really cool guy. We talked about going for a bike ride sometime and so we exchanged numbers. I am very encouraged to meet new people here, and not just people in the church (who are AWESOME, by the way). But I've been praying just to build new friendships, so I'm super encouraged. His name is Kevin (By the way, I have never known any Germans named Kevin, now I know two. When did Kevin become a German name?)
So Monday, I have to go to the office that deals with us foreigners and try to request an extension on my 90 day "visa". Please pray for me to get at least a short extension (a month would be nice). Thanks everyone for your support and prayers, I'm very grateful for all of you.
On that note, I'm pretty wiped out physically and am going to chill out for the night. Happy 4th everyone, enjoy, stay safe and make sure to wear lots of sunscreen! Bye for now from the land of beer and bratwurst. There are certainly worse things than that!
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Stress Relief
Hallo Freunde! Welcome to my 55th blog entry (28th since I landed in Berlin) on this very beautiful 3rd day of July. Coming to you from Alt Treptow, Berlin, Germany. Today was an absolutely perfect day, temps about 75, with a breeze at times, and despite the forecast, no thunderstorms. :) It was a perfect day for another bike ride.
So you may remember that a friend lent me his bike about a month ago and have been absolutely LOVING it ever since. My first ride was about 5 miles and I was really feeling it afterward. Since then I have been going for longer and longer rides and enjoying them immensely... On Monday night I wanted to ride up to Alexanderplatz, which is only about 3 miles away, but thought it might be a little too far, so I drove to my old neighborhood where I lived in 1992, Prinzenstraße for those of you who know Berlin. So I rode around there for a bit and then decided that I wanted to do some more riding, so I thought I would go ahead and ride up to "Alex" after all. Got up there and decided to go further, so I rode to the Nikolai Quarter (google Nikolaiviertel, photo below) and the Berlin Cathedral and Unter den Linden to the Brandenburg Gate.
So at the BBG Gate I decided to take a picture for a good friend of mine back in Spokane, Maria, who, back in December, had knitted me a great scarf in the colors of the German flag. I took a picture with the scarf on (actually I was assisted by a very nice Indian man who saw me struggling to take the picture myself) in front of the gate and posted it on facebook for Maria. I hope she enjoyed seeing her creation here.
So then I went on, down 17th of June Street, past another Russian war memorial, down to the Kongresshalle, also known as the pregnant oyster. Picture is below, you'll see why it was given that name.
So, my phone rang while I was there, so I spent some time there talking to a brother. About 20 minutes into the call, a very ominous looking storm was beginning to approach very quickly. I excused myself from the call and figured I had better get someplace dry and I had better do it very soon. So I rode to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) and decided instead of riding 8 miles home in the pouring rain, that I would take my bike back on the train with me. Just as I arrived at the station, it began to rain very hard, lightning, thunder, the whole deal...
So, I have to be honest, I was a little bummed that I had to take the train back. First of all, I didn't know I could do a 9-mile bike ride since my first ride of 5 miles seemed like a lot. This time, even after I rode 9 miles, I had no doubt that I could have made it home again. I was extremely encouraged by this, because I just didn't know I could do it.
Today, I had to go find a white dress shirt for my trial work day at the hotel tomorrow. I went a few places and the only place I could locate one in my size was at a big and tall shop near "Alex". Unfortunately, they only had one style available and it cost $60. *gasp* I was hoping for half that or less. Oh well, if I get the job, it will absolutely be worth EVERY cent. If I get the job I may have to buy a few more of those and maybe a pair of pants as well.
So I was only gone for a couple hours today shopping for the shirt, but when I got home, I was really tired. I rarely do this anymore, but I laid down to take a nap and was out for TWO hours!! I only take naps that long on a very rare occasion, but I guess I needed it.
So after I got up and got my paperwork finished for my work thing tomorrow and was just feeling a bit anxious about everything, so I decided to go take another bike ride out to my favorite spot at the Russian memorial nearby. It was so beautiful tonight, I just loved sitting there and praying. I was alone, but some people did walk nearby a few times, but I still felt pretty alone with my thoughts and God and it was really great. I definitely feel so much more at peace about tomorrow. After a while there, I decided that I wanted to explore the rest of the park that surrounds the memorial which has it's east border on the Spree River. What a great place to ride. I wish I would have gone a bit further down because there's a large forested area at the south end of the park. I then went back up to the top of the park, crossed the river and explored the other side of the river as well. It was very nice, very relaxing and peaceful.
After I left that area, I decided to go further north, into
Kreuzberg, which is the very hip and popular part of town where there are a ton of cool restaurants, clubs, shops, coffee shops, and where funky people hang out. I was surprised how close I live to all that, it's only about 5 minutes by bike from where I live currently. Even closer than when I lived here before, and I thought I lived closed to those places in that area!
On my way home, I was surprised by a bit of a treat. Many of you know that I'm a car guy. I bought my first car in June 1990 in Munich and it was a brown 1980 Civic 4-door hatchback. They never sold that body style in the US, so I haven't seen one in over 20 years. Well, while I was driving through this hip part of Kreuzberg, there was a car nearly identical to the one I owned 23 years ago! I tend to be a bit nostalgic about such things, so I took a few pics of it, despite a lot of people wondering what the heck I was photographing this old car for! Oh well, I don't care, it was kind of cool for me. I started having some problems with my camera, so I ended up taking like 12 pictures of the car because of my camera issues, most of which didn't come out. These did at least.
Another 9 mile ride today!
Tomorrow is a big day for me, possibly the turning point of my future, whether I stay in Germany or have to return to the U.S. Please continue to pray for me not to mess it up! LOL. In actuality, either way I believe God's will will be done, no matter what the outcome. Thanks for checking in on me, and I hope to report good news very soon. By the way, I've had a slight hitch in my surprise I've been teasing all of you with, but it should be soon either way. Have a great 4th of July everyone!!
Tim. Out.
So you may remember that a friend lent me his bike about a month ago and have been absolutely LOVING it ever since. My first ride was about 5 miles and I was really feeling it afterward. Since then I have been going for longer and longer rides and enjoying them immensely... On Monday night I wanted to ride up to Alexanderplatz, which is only about 3 miles away, but thought it might be a little too far, so I drove to my old neighborhood where I lived in 1992, Prinzenstraße for those of you who know Berlin. So I rode around there for a bit and then decided that I wanted to do some more riding, so I thought I would go ahead and ride up to "Alex" after all. Got up there and decided to go further, so I rode to the Nikolai Quarter (google Nikolaiviertel, photo below) and the Berlin Cathedral and Unter den Linden to the Brandenburg Gate.
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| Nikolaikirche (Nikolaiviertal) |
So at the BBG Gate I decided to take a picture for a good friend of mine back in Spokane, Maria, who, back in December, had knitted me a great scarf in the colors of the German flag. I took a picture with the scarf on (actually I was assisted by a very nice Indian man who saw me struggling to take the picture myself) in front of the gate and posted it on facebook for Maria. I hope she enjoyed seeing her creation here.
So then I went on, down 17th of June Street, past another Russian war memorial, down to the Kongresshalle, also known as the pregnant oyster. Picture is below, you'll see why it was given that name.
So, my phone rang while I was there, so I spent some time there talking to a brother. About 20 minutes into the call, a very ominous looking storm was beginning to approach very quickly. I excused myself from the call and figured I had better get someplace dry and I had better do it very soon. So I rode to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) and decided instead of riding 8 miles home in the pouring rain, that I would take my bike back on the train with me. Just as I arrived at the station, it began to rain very hard, lightning, thunder, the whole deal...
So, I have to be honest, I was a little bummed that I had to take the train back. First of all, I didn't know I could do a 9-mile bike ride since my first ride of 5 miles seemed like a lot. This time, even after I rode 9 miles, I had no doubt that I could have made it home again. I was extremely encouraged by this, because I just didn't know I could do it.
Today, I had to go find a white dress shirt for my trial work day at the hotel tomorrow. I went a few places and the only place I could locate one in my size was at a big and tall shop near "Alex". Unfortunately, they only had one style available and it cost $60. *gasp* I was hoping for half that or less. Oh well, if I get the job, it will absolutely be worth EVERY cent. If I get the job I may have to buy a few more of those and maybe a pair of pants as well.
So I was only gone for a couple hours today shopping for the shirt, but when I got home, I was really tired. I rarely do this anymore, but I laid down to take a nap and was out for TWO hours!! I only take naps that long on a very rare occasion, but I guess I needed it.
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| Spree River |
After I left that area, I decided to go further north, into
Kreuzberg, which is the very hip and popular part of town where there are a ton of cool restaurants, clubs, shops, coffee shops, and where funky people hang out. I was surprised how close I live to all that, it's only about 5 minutes by bike from where I live currently. Even closer than when I lived here before, and I thought I lived closed to those places in that area!
On my way home, I was surprised by a bit of a treat. Many of you know that I'm a car guy. I bought my first car in June 1990 in Munich and it was a brown 1980 Civic 4-door hatchback. They never sold that body style in the US, so I haven't seen one in over 20 years. Well, while I was driving through this hip part of Kreuzberg, there was a car nearly identical to the one I owned 23 years ago! I tend to be a bit nostalgic about such things, so I took a few pics of it, despite a lot of people wondering what the heck I was photographing this old car for! Oh well, I don't care, it was kind of cool for me. I started having some problems with my camera, so I ended up taking like 12 pictures of the car because of my camera issues, most of which didn't come out. These did at least.
Another 9 mile ride today!
Tomorrow is a big day for me, possibly the turning point of my future, whether I stay in Germany or have to return to the U.S. Please continue to pray for me not to mess it up! LOL. In actuality, either way I believe God's will will be done, no matter what the outcome. Thanks for checking in on me, and I hope to report good news very soon. By the way, I've had a slight hitch in my surprise I've been teasing all of you with, but it should be soon either way. Have a great 4th of July everyone!!
Tim. Out.