June 11th, 2008
To those we love,
I write from the roof of our hostel, where a balcony overlooks the city of Prague - a sea of red clay roofs, forested foothills, and rain tarnished history (Its pretty dang awesome).
It's been a solid chunk of time since I last wrote, and unfortunately life doesn't seem to stop for one to write an email. In all this, I am finding that words are increasingly less capable of describing those that we have come to know and care for here in Europe, which seems sad, but very true to how impossibly large a person is, and how one-dimensional a word can be (some english majors might disagree).
In my previous post, I alluded to a German business man who had gone out of his way to help our team get to the hostel. He had given us his business card saying that if we had any other questions about the city, give him a call. Upon examining the business card of this enigmatic character known as Dirk, we found familiar language like "ecumenical" and "Evangelischen." Well, we met up with him over ice cream, and after hearing more about Dirk (how he is involved with an internation Christian ecumenical organization that works with something like 28 different countries, and in which he leads Youth organizations, how he hangs out with the Pope from time to time, and speaks five different languages), he asked if we would be interested in seeing the Turkish quarter. To this, Jen and I were like, "Uhh... Yeah!" As it turns out, before coming to find himself in his current position, Dirk was also a history professor. This being the case, what started out as a trip to the Turkish quarter, quickly became a grass-roots tour of Berlin, fully flavored by dialogue about our mutual faith. I cannot tell you how surreal our experience was... while some of our peers were working their caddy shift at the local country club, we sipped strong Turkish tea in a virtually untourested quarter of Berlin and listened to the perspective of an articulate and cultured leader in the European church. I think what has struck me the most since that night is how he served us, a couple of college kids from America, in complete humility and love.
I also wrote of our English friend, Kellie, who had traveled with us from Brussels to Berlin. In three days, this five-foot-two accountant became a surrogate member of our team -willingly joining in our meager meals and treks across the city (because we couldn't afford the metro), and all the while spreading among us her contagious laugher and accent. We had numerous conversations on everything from Faith to relationships, and by the time we parted, there was no question what we believed. She said when she gets back to London, she is going to start joining her family friend, Ruth, for Bible study, as our time with her lead her to believe that there are, in fact, still people with morals in the world, she was just looking in the wrong places.
In my previous post, I alluded to a German business man who had gone out of his way to help our team get to the hostel. He had given us his business card saying that if we had any other questions about the city, give him a call. Upon examining the business card of this enigmatic character known as Dirk, we found familiar language like "ecumenical" and "Evangelischen." Well, we met up with him over ice cream, and after hearing more about Dirk (how he is involved with an internation Christian ecumenical organization that works with something like 28 different countries, and in which he leads Youth organizations, how he hangs out with the Pope from time to time, and speaks five different languages), he asked if we would be interested in seeing the Turkish quarter. To this, Jen and I were like, "Uhh... Yeah!" As it turns out, before coming to find himself in his current position, Dirk was also a history professor. This being the case, what started out as a trip to the Turkish quarter, quickly became a grass-roots tour of Berlin, fully flavored by dialogue about our mutual faith. I cannot tell you how surreal our experience was... while some of our peers were working their caddy shift at the local country club, we sipped strong Turkish tea in a virtually untourested quarter of Berlin and listened to the perspective of an articulate and cultured leader in the European church. I think what has struck me the most since that night is how he served us, a couple of college kids from America, in complete humility and love.
I also wrote of our English friend, Kellie, who had traveled with us from Brussels to Berlin. In three days, this five-foot-two accountant became a surrogate member of our team -willingly joining in our meager meals and treks across the city (because we couldn't afford the metro), and all the while spreading among us her contagious laugher and accent. We had numerous conversations on everything from Faith to relationships, and by the time we parted, there was no question what we believed. She said when she gets back to London, she is going to start joining her family friend, Ruth, for Bible study, as our time with her lead her to believe that there are, in fact, still people with morals in the world, she was just looking in the wrong places.
Berlin itself was a beautifully historic city, and we were sad to leave the place we had come to love.
Prague on the other hand has taken its time to grow on us. Stepping off the train, one is immediately struck the forrowed brow communism has left both on the city and the people. In the less tourested parts, Prague has a cement presence that gives one a strong sense of forboding, and one does not come to find that they like the city until they have seen the castle, witnessed the hidden smile of the people, and hiked the hillside.
We have had a hard time meeting people while we've been here. There have been times when we are the only ones in the hostel, and when relationships are formed, our new friends have often had to leave the following day. This has been hard, and has manifested itself, among other things, in difficult group interactions. Our second night here was marked by a long and painful discussion about "feelings," which was necessary, but still hurt. I guess we have matured since birth, but this community is still a preteen, and everyone knows that puberty is accompanied by growing pains.
Tomorrow, we head off to Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic, on our traveler's retreat, which is meant to give us a breath from our two weeks of traveling, and I imagine working through group dynamics will be on the docket. Please pray that we learn how to better love and serve one another.
Having written about the difficulties, its easy to forget how God has provided. Today, because we had not met any one with whom to minister, the rest of the team and I traveled to the top of a mountain where we found trees full of cheries. There, shared lunch looking out upon the sea of buildings that is Prague, and the solitude and splendor of the moment fell. We found ourselves laughing together... and free.
In Peace and Love,
Jeff
Also,
Grace's blog at http://sharingcharis.blogspot.com gives another person's perspective on this whole adventure. Worth checking out, I would say.
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