My Berlin (July 15-21)

Well, it's official- the Crown Team has arrived, and we are all getting settled in our new home, the Gnadenhaus (German for "Grace House). It's a big old house that the owners rent out to missions teams who've come to bring Jesus to Germany, specifically to Berlin. What a great place! It's big and beautiful, feels like a home, and has the biggest dining room table I've ever seen. (No kidding- it's basically a dream of mine to have a table so big someday.)

So this is the week that Karissa and I got to take the team around Berlin- our Berlin. We got many chances to walk with them through the city and show them our favorite spots, including Napoljonska's, which is our impossibly-named favorite cafe to go to for waffles and crepes. It's on Kastanienallee if you're ever in Berlin, and definitely worth checking out. Though, I'll admit, when I tried to take Katie Meyers there, I got totally turned around and it took about an hour just to find the place. Yes, I can even get lost going from one end of a street to another. (Not really. I just didn't go far enough. But still!) It was a little ridiculous.

Having the Crown Team here has been a lot more fun than I expected. We're all slowly bonding together, as we spend the days doing various projects and enjoying one another's company. One day we cleaned and painted the Salvation Army building, where we also hold our Freischwimmer services. Another day, we had a birthday party for a very special 4-year old boy (Yes, Travis Carey, I'm talking about you!) and then the team went off to play pick-up soccer and get to know some area youth while I stuck around to hang out with the family.

I've really enjoyed getting to show this city off to the team. It reminds me of the excitement of first arriving, of the passion I had even before I arrived to come and work in Germany.

This has been a quiet week, one of helping to make food for 21 people, going grocery shopping early in the morning to feed hungry mouths delicious Germany breakfast (by this I mean cereal), and of learning that God is even working during the lulls in the action. This is something that I forget easily- it doesn't have to be exciting or adventurous all the time. The Gnadenhaus is pretty quiet at night, outside of occasional back massage chains or adventures in sharing one computer betwixt all of us. Our days are filled with hanging out with each other and the missionaries, working and playing and talking about life. God is making us into a real team, just in time for English Camp to come down the chute. Ready or not...

Peace.