December in Germany (mostly)

It's been one crazy (but really great) month. Here's a quick update:

At one of our city-wide Campus meetings (Fire-Abend), we had a talk on the importance of evangelism and the simple steps students could take to start making it a lifestyle. Our speaker (a German Campus staff member who works with business leaders) told the students that if they have questions about sharing their faith, they should ask us as the STINT team. He said how we've come to do this in a different country, in a different language and do it all the time. He even said we are heroes! I was so surprised and touched to hear him say that (got a bit emotional, haha).

My homegroup at church had a big Christmas party this month. I love going to an international church for many reasons, but one of them, honestly, does have to be how many different and awesome foods I get to eat. Of course, I also love how I can feel comfortable and at home with a group of people that represent 10 different nations. But most importantly, they represent Jesus. :) We sang "Silent Night" in all the native languages we had there, which was so cool and special. It's such a once-in-a-life-time opportunity to be a part of something like this.

I also got to go to Dresden this month. Dresden was the most destroyed city in Germany from WWII so it's almost entirely rebuilt. But they rebuilt the "old city" part of it almost completely replicated. So it's absolutely beautiful, especially during Christmas time. In fact, they have the oldest Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas market) in Germany!

Believe it or not, I was also in America this month! Three of us 2nd-years went to New York for the wedding of our teammate from last year, Jon. It was just for the weekend, so it was kind of overwhelming and exhausting, but really fun and really cool to see a bunch of my teammates from last year. :)

In more random news, my heater in my room broke for the second time this year. After calling the heating people, they said they were overwhelmed with complaints with heaters breaking, because of the abnormally cold temperatures Berlin is experiencing right now. He told us just to give it a whack with a hammer - not kidding. So Katie and I picked up a hammer from the boys' apartment and did exactly that. And guess what. It worked! So I'm super thankful that I have heat in my room again. It's been below freezing for about a week now. This is definitely the coldest and snowiest I've ever seen Berlin. After four years in Syracuse, I should really be used to this...

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a good slide into the New Year! ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sometimes, it's really hilarious what we hear from the mouths of students on campus. This past Tues., Stu and I were doing surveys on the TU. One girl we talked to, Anne, was very closed to anything really having to do with spirituality, saying that she doesn't believe Jesus ever lived and that she can't even imagine what it would be like for God to exist. She said it's just not possible for her. The very next student we talked to in the very same building, Christoph, was from the Czech Republic and new to Berlin. When asked about his desire to know God personally, he said "of course, everyone wants to know God!". How ironic we would talk to these two very different students back to back. If only they could have heard each other's thoughts and see how contradictory they were!

Yesterday, of course, was Thanksgiving. We celebrated as a team and enjoyed each other's food and company. I made an apple pie (see pic), which was really fun to make, but actually a bit disappointing for me, because what I really wanted to do was make a pecan pie. But I searched far and wide, and this country does not have corn syrup. It just doesn't. It's also funny to have off on a day when the rest of the world is going on and going to work/class just like normal. I really feel my "American-ness" on such a day!

Parties and Summits

This past week was our encouragement week, when our bosses from the states come to us in Berlin and check in on us, see how we're doing and encourage us. It's good to get an outsider's perspective on how we're doing as a team and as a ministry.

I went to my language partner's birthday party on Friday and discovered quite a few things about her and about German parties in general. First of all, I didn't feel nearly cool enough to be there. It was her 21st, which of course isn't as big a deal in Europe as it is in the states, yet there were tons of people crammed into her apartment and all of them were, well, just cool. German parties also tend to start real late and therefore go into the early hours of the morning and for a while I was concerned about looking like the lame American Christian if I was the first to leave, but thankfully I had enough endurance to not be the first to leave, meaning I was out the door at 1:30 am - still was one of the first to go. But it was really fun and very enlightening to the world these students live in. So often all we see is their life on campus, but this kind of thing sheds light on things that they enjoy and look forward to. It's a much more real picture than the one you see in the mensa.

On Sat. I had a really opportunity to sit in on a Berlin Summit meeting, which is when a lot of the most important Campus staff in Germany and Europe hang out and talk about the vision and needs of Berlin. Sweet. These people are so smart, experienced and encouraging that it just makes me really excited to be here in Berlin being a part of something so much bigger than myself. Not to mention they are just really great people.

20 years

Being in ministry, I think it's really easy to get caught up so much in tasks, that we miss out on what's going on around us. Lately, I've felt like there's just so much to do and I want to spend all my time getting things done. I know that's not healthy, however, I do want to spend more time relaxing and enjoying this amazing city and its surroundings. A week ago we went to the Eastside Gallery in Berlin which is a long stretch of the wall that was left standing. In the 90's they had a bunch of artists from all over the world come and paint on their own little section of the wall. Over time the paint has chipped and it was covered in graffiti. So last spring, they had the artists come back and repaint their section. So now it's a really cool display of different expressions about what the wall represents. It's especially cool that this year is the 20th anniversary of the wall coming down and the city is having all sorts of events to celebrate and remember. I'm really glad I get to experience this special anniversary. Above is a picture of me beside one painted section of the wall.

campus!

As I realize that we're already in the middle of the second week of classes, I'm amazed at how quickly time is going by. We've spent much of our time campus meeting new students and passing out flyers that have our website and the date of our first city-wide student meeting called "Fire-Abend", which we had last year as well. Normally, it will have worship and a speaker and some hang-out time afterwards. This first meeting however, will be more of an information night, introducing students to Campus für Christus, what we believe, our vision, who we are and what we do. Unbelievably, it is tomorrow already! Please pray many students will come!

I've discovered many things through passing our flyers. First of all, it's not just a task; it's an art. You need to be really dynamic, constantly walking in small circles and confidently offering people your flyer. Making eye contact and giving them a smile is also key. Every time I walk by somebody else passing out flyers and they're holding their place, meekly stretching out only a part of the arm to offer the flyer as they stare at the ground, I'm really put off. If they aren't excited by what they're "selling" or have any desire to be friendly to me, why should I care and take their flyer? Thankfully, what we're "selling" (rather, offering) should be so exciting, that it shouldn't take too much to conjure up in me. However, not every moment is perfect like when you're standing in the cold and rain or when a student tells you that there are no Christians here and that you're wasting your time. Someone even came right up to Amanda and told her God was dead. She was just handing out flyers! But these are the moments that remind us of why we're here.

Also, it's really cool to be at the same university for a second year in row. I often randomly run into students I know on campus and it's so nice to see smiling faces who are actually happy to see me! It's kind of like being a new sophomore who just realizes how awesome it is to not be a freshman.

And the more I learn German, the more I realize how ridiculous English is. Sure, there are a lot of tricky things about German and it certainly has its own quirks, but English is so bizarre and it baffles me how it has made it's way to be such an international language. I'm still struggling with German, but I believe I'm improving. I even did a survey all in German on Mon. It was a bit sad, but I did it!

Overall, I'm wonderfully encouraged by what's been happening here the past week and a half. It's certainly hard, sometimes frustrating and often awkward, but wow, it is SO worth it.

Semester Anfang

After four weeks of planning, praying and language tutoring, classes are finally starting this week. It's both exciting and scary to get back out there on campus. I'll be working at the TU again this year, which is great because I'll really be able to continue the relationships I already have with students. I'll be there with Amanda and Stu and we'll really be focusing on meeting many students, sharing the gospel, discipleship/Bible studies and sending students to conferences and summer projects. Please pray for strength, energy and boldness as we really get into ministry mode this week and that God will guide us to the right people to talk to. Thanks!

Visa Adventures

Here's a little story for you all:

At approximately 8:20 this morning I walk onto the grounds of the visa office a little nervous, but quiet pleased to have know that I had an appointment to get my visa (memories of being there at 6:00 am in the dark and freezing cold waiting in a long line of foreigners for multiple days still haunt me) and that my appointment was not until 9:00 am. How German am I being so early? Anyway, I quickly realized I didn't exactly know where to go. I knew my waiting room number and my call number, but was unsure of the entrance. Seeing a small flock of people at a farther entrance, I attempt the first and ask the official looking lady where waiting room 20 was (every conversation mentioned is in my poor German, btw). She told me to ask another lady behind a desk inside. I ask her and (to my dismay) she tells me to go to that farther entrance. There I find this small flock of people crowding the door in no organized fashion while a German official is literally standing in the doorway holding people back. Mustering all the gusto I had, I managed to push people aside enough to make my way to the man, tell him I have an appointment and show him my letter of proof (although it wasn't perfect proof, because the date and time of my appointment had been changed through email). He muttered something, then let me in. I was quite relieved. I then found what I thought was the right waiting room. However, I soon realized the numbers that were being called in this room weren't anything like mine and I started to panic, wondering what I should do. I go to the info desks and pull a number just to talk with one of them. Finally I'm able to tell a women behind a counter that I had an appointment, but my number wasn't called. She asks me when my appointment was and I told her 9. She looks at the time and chastises me saying it is after 9. Frustrated, I said I know, I've been waiting, but my number hasn't been called. She looks me up in the system, writes down the correct room number for me, says something I didn't understand, but that should do it quickly! So I race upstairs and don't bother to go to the waiting room, but I just went straight to the correct room. Thankfully, there were two super nice ladies there who helped me anyway. However, they became a bit suspicious about my occupation. But they sent me out to wait while they worked on it. 20 minutes later, when they called me back in, everything was all set and they were just about to stick the visa in my passport! I was quite happy at that point. They gave me a little card to go pay for it downstairs in these paying machines. So of course I end up with a broken machine. Not only that, but I pushed the card in too far before I realized it was broken, and I wasn't able to get it back out. Terribly frustrated and feeling so embarrassed to have to tell my nice ladies I lost my card in the machine. So I head back upstairs and tell them what happened. One lady told me it wasn't broken (what am I supposed to say to that, umm... yes it is!). The other said no problem and quickly printed me out a new one. Again, SO thankful. So then, after actually paying for the visa, going back upstairs, getting the visa and all my papers back and was sent off with a friendly "tschussi!", I was home free with my visa.

The end.

Back in the B

It's SO great to be back! I love coming back to a place/language that's at least somewhat familiar. Last year was pretty overwhelming with everything being so brand new. As I've been ordering food and going shopping all the German in my head has been flooding back to me, which is quite a relief. Moving into my new apartment (I'm sharing an apartment with Katie in Kreuzberg) has been a little chaotic, but we're slowly settling in and getting everything we need. Of course the first night we didn't have lights (German's take EVERYTHING when they move, including lights, toilet seats and the kitchen), but now we have some floor lights and are no longer living in the dark. Next steps involve installing the kitchen, setting up the living room and getting internet. Overall, things are going very smoothly so thank you for your prayers!

STINT Briefing

August has been a crazy month for me with a friend's wedding in Syracuse, STINT briefing in Colorado and a team reunion in Michigan all the while trying to finish up my support raising! Praise God though, I am at 92% of what I need. However, I still need to be at 100% before I get on that plane for Germany on Sept. 13th. Please pray it will all come in on time!

I think I say this a lot, but of all the Crusade conferences I've been to, STINT briefing is my favorite. There's something just so exciting and encouraging about being with 250+ people who are going all over the world to reach college students for Christ. We get prepared and trained for what we're about to face this year as well as hear funny and encouraging stories from STINT teams in the past. The above picture is of all the STINTer's heading out to somewhere in western Europe. If you're interested in hearing about more prayer requests for Europe, you can go to PrayEurope.com and there's great info there. Another special thing I got to experience at this briefing was having dinner with Steve Douglas, the president of Campus Crusade for Christ. Very cool!

Sept. 13th is coming quickly and I'm super excited to be heading back to Berlin. My next post will most likely be after I get there. Bis dann!

Heat and Hope

It amazes me that today, so far the hottest day of the summer, I've seen more walkers and runners outside than any other day since I've been home. Bizarre. Why do people torture themselves like that?

Also, the heat seems to track the oddest crowd of people into the cool, artsy coffeeshop I'm typing this from. A teen plugged his electric guitar into the wall and just started jamming for the past hour, making every I-tune's song I was listening to with my ear buds sound like a re-mix.

Well, I leave for Syracuse tomorrow and I'm still not at 100% with support. But I feel at peace and I'm just really trusting God will provide in His timing. But please continue to pray that He'll provide a few miracles so I'll be about finished when I return home after briefing. Thanks!

Getting there!

Slowly but surely support is coming along. I feel like I can even see the light at the end of the tunnel! My goal is to be 100% finished in pledges by the time I head up to Syracuse for a friend's wedding. I'll probably be leaving August 11th. To be done so fast will really take a few miracles, but I want to have faith that God can do this! Please pray that this will happen. After my time in Syracuse, I fly out to Colorado where we have our STINT briefing. This was such a great conference last year and I'm so looking forward to being a part of it again. I'm especially excited to meet the new team! There are four of us returners: Katie, Amanda, Bryce and me and four new STINTers: Stu, Shannon, Jennie and Michele. Katie and Stu will be our new leaders. Thinking about the new year makes me wish I could just be in Berlin now and skip the rest of this support raising process, but obviously that's not the way it works! Again, please pray that my support will come in in big ways! Thank you!

home of the brave?

So, I'm back in America and actually have been for almost three weeks now. I haven't had too much trouble adjusting back to the states (albeit a few cultural moments), but that may be just because I've had a task list long enough to keep me super busy and distracted. Number one on the list is, of course, support raising. For some reason, I think I had this false idea that if I did everything right and worked really hard as soon as I got home, the money would come in easily and quickly and I wouldn't have to worry about it come August. Well, support (like evangelism) doesn't work that way and I still have quite a bit of monthly support to raise. I can do everything "right" and still not control how much support I get. It's not up to me and what I do, but has everything to do with God and His provision. I realize I still need to be diligent, be bold and do what He's called me to do (no matter how uncomfortable), but I need to completely trust that He will work and He will provide what I need and not rely on myself. It's hard. It's humbling. It's good.

Wie bitte?

Un-be-liev-able that I'm going home... TOMORROW! It's really sad to be closing down this year and saying goodbye to those who aren't coming back next year. But I'm definitely excited for what God has for us when I return in the fall. We sang a song in church this morning about going to the nations and it just reminded me of how alive I feel to be a part of this ministry and how this is really something I was made for.

I would LOVE to catch up with you while I'm home for the summer. Free feel to contact me by email: Erin.Keyser@uscm.org or facebook, since my old cell number is gone.

Student Strike

I definitely had a cultural moment today as I went out into the middle of the city. I knew that today was a pretty important day for students. I've had several students and friends tell me they were going on strike today (all the universities in the city) to protest the introduction of new fees for students who are "taking too long" to complete their degree. The majority of students I have talked to about this say that it's restricting students in their course options and exploring other subjects as well as just taking away their right to free education. Well, I as I stood at Hackescher Markt, thousands upon thousands of students marched down the street, chanting and holding their protest signs. I've never seen students so passionate about something. Sign after sign said something about free education. The parade often turned political as I saw other signs that said "Capitalism is the war", "revolution" and even signs demanding anarchy. It was quite loud in both sound and color as there were people with drums, whistles, some dressed in all black or pink (what on earth?)... I was more entertained by this than the cultural festival a few weeks ago. Anyway, I feel like this experience gave me a little more insight to the state of this city. These students are the future of this city and I felt like today I got to see a glimpse of the direction things are headed. If only they could be this passionate about Jesus...

Summer Project

They're here! An amazing group of 22 students and staff from the states are now here in Berlin for 5 weeks sharing their faith and developing relationships with German students. It gets me so excited when I see a bunch of students giving up their summer by deciding to support raise, go to a foreign country and share their faith in a totally different culture. What a step of faith for so many of them - I love it! This morning I did part of the morning session by sharing with them why I went on STINT, why Berlin, something I learned this year, the state of the ministry past, present and our hopes for the future. I then led a group of them to the TU and showed them around, helping them get oriented to the campus and mensa. They're still a bit tired from the trip (they just arrived yesterday), but their attitudes are fabulous. I'm so thankful to have them here for the summer sharing the gospel at twice the rate the regular team can. And I know for me, summer projects were a huge way in which God gave me a heart for Europe and taught me much about what international ministry was like. This is definitely my hope and prayer for them - that God will meet them in a big way in the next few weeks, that they'll never be the same. :)

How is it June 13th already? Seriously...

This year has felt like it's gone by so fast, but I feel like these past few weeks have been the fastest of all. It's been a major time of transition as Dan, Krista and Avery have already left, the Sfura's and Jon leave tomorrow and Bryce, Amanda, Katie and I leave in just a couple short weeks. There are so many details to cover and things to wrap up while at the same time dealing with saying goodbye. Imagine spending almost all of your time with the same people for 9 months and then all of sudden, they're gone. So weird.

Anyway, I got the most precious phone call from a Christian student yesterday while I was on campus. I had texted her telling her that I was leaving to go home for the summer soon and that I would love to see her and her non-Christian friend (I had met with them a few times previously) before I left. So she calls me and hurridly asks me (and she doesn't speak English, mind you) when I was leaving and asks if we can met up next week. I love this girl. She so desires that her friend will come to know God personally and it is such an indescribable feeling when she asks me to help her. And this is my job? Seriously...

Of course, there's never a time I don't need prayer, but I feel like it's especially important right now. There's so much to do and I'm starting to feel stressed and a bit overwhelmed. Also, I need much prayer as I'm re-raising my financial support. There's a lot I need to trust God for right now and it isn't always easy, especially when you can't see how it's all going to come together. I'm clinging to this verse right now:

"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." - Luke 12:27

Why do I worry? Won't my God whose taken care of me this far continue to keep his promises to me?

Standing in the Breach

So he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him
to keep his wrath from destroying them.
-Psalm 106: 23

I want to care for the German students like this, standing in the breach between them and God. Praying on behalf of them and loving them enough to not let our relationship be superficial, but to continually be bold and clear about the truth of the gospel. Amanda and I cooked dinner for some of our TU students a couple of nights ago and it went so well. It was great to see them get to know each other and laugh and talk and bond over being TU girls. I am very thankful for the evening, but I recognize this was just the next step of going even further with them. Please pray our relationships with the students will continue to build and that I'll be bold and clear about why I'm here.

Debrief

This past weekend we had our debrief time on the island of Rügen which is on the German Baltic coast between Denmark and Poland. We talked about thankfulness for this past year, faith for the future and the challenges of re-entry into America. It was a good time of refection, team bonding and planning out our schedules for the rest of our time here in Germany and (for us returners especially) what this summer home will look like. It's hard to believe this STINT year is almost up. The weather wasn't the best, but the town we were in (called Sellin) was very beautiful and I loved being at the beach. :)

"Your accent is so American. It's just like in the movies..."

This is what a German student told me last night at Fire-Abend. Never will I cease to be amazed at what Germans have to say about my "accent". Anyway, our 2nd Fire-Abend of the semester was last night and although there were not as many students as last time, many of them stayed to hang out afterwords in an Italian restaurant across the street. It reminded me a lot of going out to eat after Cru at Syracuse and had the feeling of fun and community - cool.

But what I actually wanted to update you on was our TU outreach last Wednesday (the picture above). We had about 27 people come and some of them were people we didn't even know. The speaker had a wonderfully creative way of talking about his life, priorities and success while weaving in the importance of his relationship with God. Many people had questions during the Q&A time at the end and we were able to chat with a few of the students afterwords. I think we (as the TU team) were just excited that people came and it all went so smoothly. It was definitely an experiment since we've never done an outreach on our own before. But we have definitely learned a lot about what it takes and hopefully we have established ourselves as a student group that is active and doing things here at the TU.

Outreach Adventures

The outreach we're having at the TU next week is fast approaching. So, this past Monday Amanda, Dave and I had an appointment with our speaker to meet him and discuss a little bit about what he will be talking about. He gave Dave the address of what our speaker called the "Christian Ship". Well, we joked the whole way there, wondering about and laughing about what this place could possibly be. And low and behold, the "Christian Ship" is indeed a ship. It sits right on a river by a beautiful Schloss in Orienburg (north Berlin). Our speaker (who happens to be a business man who runs a chain of bakeries in Berlin) treated us to kuchen on board. The boat is actually a museum, cafe and an auditorium-type facility to hold services/conferences etc. Um, cool!

The picture above is Dave, Amanda, me and our speaker (Karl-Dietmar) on the Christian ship!

On Wednesday, we advertised all over campus with our lovely flyers (designed by our fabulous graphic designer, Amanda). As Amanda and I were hanging flyers outside on a temporary construction wall, there was a huge gust of wind and the "wall" proceeds to push us back on a pivot. The wind was blowing so hard, one of the large concrete blockes that was supposed to be holding down the wall was definitely being moved across the walkway. There were some pallets standing up against this wall that kind of fell on me and scratched my leg. Thankfully the wall stopped moving and Amanda and I (and some students who also got caught in the fray) got out of the way. I wish I could explain this incident better, but it's just one of those things that's unexplainable. Although it was scary in the moment, we definitely had a good laugh about it.

Anyway, our outreach talk is titled "Was ist Erfolg?" (What is Success?). It will be about what it means to have a successful life in your career, relationships and (most importantly) in your spiritual life. Please pray many students will come. Thanks!

One More Year!

I've already mentioned this to some of you, but I wanted to make it official and let you all know that I have decided to STINT here in Germany for one more year. I love being a part of what God is doing here in Europe and especially this fledgling movement in Berlin. I will be coming home on June 29th and will return to Germany in mid-September. If you're on my mailing list, you will be receiving a support letter from me very soon. If not, you can go to give.ccci.org/give/610377 to set up giving and then please let me know your address so I can send you my newslettter. Obviously your financial giving is a crucial part in what is happening here in Berlin. I couldn't be here without you. I can't thank you all enough for your prayers and support. My desire is definitely to be able to see many of you when I'm home this summer, so I'll be hosting an "open house" to share stories and show pictures etc. More details to come later! I hope you share in my excitement to be returning to this city in the fall to continue God's work!

Anfangs Party and Fire-Abend

Last week we had our Semester Anfangs Party, kicking off the semester with a casual party at our apartments. It was a good atmosphere for conversations and relationship building. The students seemed to have a great time and the ones I knew kept thanking me for inviting them.

Last night was our first Fire-Abend of the semester. We'll be having this meeting every other week this semester instead of just once a month in order to build some momentum. Also, instead of having the meeting at our apartments, we now have a room in a different building nearby (kind of looks like a classroom). Overall, it was just a more polished and prepared atmosphere, but still fun, welcoming and casual. It is so awesome to see how the group is slowly starting to solidfy into a real movement. Two students even came last night, just because they found our website online! Please pray for the momentum of this meeting, that more students will come and invite their friends and that we will be able to plan it in a way that meets the needs of the students.

Not Always Rainbows and Butterflys

We just finished up with the first week of classes of this new semester. And honestly, it's been a good, but tough week. At the TU, we are planning a outreach in the beginning of May so we're in the midst of figuring out details for that (which has been bit stressful) and this past Thursday we passed out flyers that had our website and schedule of events for the semester. This has never been one of my favorite things to do, but what made it worse that day was a student who took the flyer, looked at it, came back to me and told me it was an insult to have a group like ours at the university. As I slowly processed the German he turned around and walked away. I guess I'll never know exactly what he meant or if he even understood what our group or Christianity is all about, but I know it didn't give me a good feeling.

Thankfully happenings like this are the exception and don't define what is happening here in Berlin. In fact, last night we had a big party in our apartments to kick off the semster. Many students came and I was able to have good conversations with some of my friends I had met last semester. Very cool. Also, the amazingly beautiful weather makes all the difference in the world when we go sharing on campus. Students lay about everywhere in the TU courtyard and they're more open, friendly and willing to talk. We've already had some good conversations this week.

Please pray that God will really open up students' hearts this semester. I'm realizing more and more how in our own efforts, we can do absolutely nothing, but with God, anything is possible. :)

Springtime in Berlin

I've been absolutely amazed by the change in the city in the past week. It seems the newly found sun and warm temps bring the people out of the holes they've been hiding in all winter. There are people everywhere! And everyone seems to be in a good mood (that's saying a lot for Berlin!). This is definitely the best way to start the new semester. This week is our planning days, spending all day figuring out strategy, outreaches and making goals for the next semester that starts next week. Please pray for our first week of classes, that the team will be motivated and energized to get back out there on campus and that God will be already working in the hearts of students we meet and that we already know.

Also, thank you all so much for all the birthday wishes - all the cards, emails and messages were very sweet of you.

Have a very happy Easter!

Spring Break in Milan

Some of you may remember my trip to Milan, Italy in the summer of 2007. I was there as part of the first summer project there, pioneering a way to start up a campus movement for the students of Milan. For the past few days I returned to Milan to help out with a spring break trip of 7 Dartmouth students to continue the exploration of Milan and bring the gospel to the very friendly Italian students. It was a great experience for me to be back in the city and be reminded of the huge need there. I was also really stretched from my comfort zone as Italian culture is very different from both American and German culture. It was a joy to meet and minister to these students, even if only for a short time.

I've met many American students in the past 3 weeks and I've been extremely encouraged by how they have all taken steps of faith to go and bring Jesus to people who have never really heard or don't really understand. I'm reminded of Romans 10: 14-15,

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" "

Whew...

Wow! So far, this month has been quite the ride. First of all, Campus Meets Berlin went really well. One day last week Amanda and I went to TU to go sharing and we saw them there and I was just so encouraged to see German students sharing their faith on my campus - awesome!!! At the last evening session of CMB, the students shared a little of what God taught them that week. I was amazed as I heard students say how their hearts have grown for evangelism and how they wanted to take what they learned this week back to their universities and also share their faith with their friends. It doesn't get much cooler than that. Praise God!

Part way through CMB, five students and two staff arrived from Illinois catalytic Crusade back in the states. The picture is of Andy, me and their team. This great group of people chose to invest their Spring Break in eternity and come to Berlin to reach German students as well as gain a vision for international university ministry. Andy and I lead them this past week in navigating the city, culture/evangelism training and taking them sharing on the campuses. I had a blast getting to know them and was so encouraged by their fresh perspective, willing hearts and boldness. I saw God do a lot in their lives this week and it was definitely sad to say goodbye. This week we have about 35 people from IU, Bradely and Purdue doing the same thing over their Spring Break. How exciting to have so many people reaching out to the students of Berlin this week - please pray for God to do big things.

Kreuzbaby!

At 11:59 pm last night, Krista had her baby! Her name is Avery Elizabeth and she weighed 7 lb. 13 oz. I just got back from visiting them in the hospital and she is so precious! They're all doing well and everyone is excited to have this new addition to our team!

Freiburg

A bunch of us just returned from a short visions trip in Freiburg (southwest Germany). It's a really nice little city in the mountains and it happened to be covered in snow while we were there making it extra pretty. It also happens to be the home of one of the biggest student movements in Europe. The International Campus Staff in Freiburg were kind enough to let us stay with them. We got to experience the University of Freiburg's weekly meeting (also called "Fire-Abend") - it was their last one of the semester. It was really encouraging to see so many students not only attending the meeting, but leading it as well. They were so friendly and we had a good time chatting with them and seeing their passion for their movement and for their university - so cool. Talking to the ICS girls was also really helpful, just to learn about what has worked for them and what hasn't. The biggest encouragment was imagining that some day Berlin will have a movement of students as great as Freiburg's. Just keep praying! :) It was also really awesome just to explore and enjoy the city. I think it was a great ending to the semester.

Speaking of the end of the semester, I have some special prayer requests for this "break" between semesters:

- I will be doing a lot of traveling in the next two months for various reasons and I would love prayer for smooth and safe traveling.

- Krista's due date is Feb. 25th so this baby is ready to come any day now! Please pray for her and Dan as they wait for the big day and for a good delivery.

- Campus Meets Berlin begins in early March. Pray many students all over Germany will register to come.

- Also, Andy and I are leading the ISU spring break trip in the beginning of March. They'll be sharing their faith on the Berlin campuses and seeing what international college ministry looks like. Please pray it would be an awesome trip for the students and that they may even obtain a heart for coming on Summer Project or STINT in the future.

- Pray for wisdom and direction as we plan for the next semester (starts in April).

A Few Observations

I just returned from seeing my first movie in the theaters since living in Berlin and there a couple things I have noted:

1) I have never been one to watch a whole lot of TV, movies and be really into pop culture, but since living here, I realized tonight that I have been rather isolated from mainstream media. It was actually weird for me to watch the previews for coming movies and see amazing special effects as well as the trailer storylines that just seemed really bizarre to me. What have I missed since being in America? I guess a lot. Apparently the movie world evolves at a fast rate.

2) The movie we saw tonight was Valkyrie (which is about the closest assignation attempt of Hitler) and it was rather striking. First of all, it's a good movie that (even though you already know the ending) makes you desperately want the plan to work and your heart drops during the last third of it. Second of all, it had a special meaning for me to watch it here in Berlin where most of the movie takes place. Of course it was cool to recognize buildings, but it was just realizing the incredible history of this place and these people that was really moving for me. These things happened here, right here, where I live and work everyday! I've definitely been inspired to relearn the history of Berlin. There have been many brave and honorable people who sacrificed everything to do the right thing in this city and we need to remember them.

I don't know if it's out of theaters in America yet, but if you haven't seen Valkyrie, see it!

By the way, I love your accent...

University students (I think) are seriously some of the coolest and most interesting people you can meet, no matter where in the world you are. They all have their own stories from their past, most are in super-smart thinking mode, and they live more in the moment more than anyone other people group I know. Dave and I met a student yesterday from Spain and he was quite the character. Spaniards of course are quite different than the average German, but this one was to the extreme. I seriously don't know if I've met a happier person in all my life. As we approached him in the TU cafeteria, he had the biggest brightest eyes and a huge smile. He invited us to sit down and we chatted for quite a while. As he talked about his thoughts on the differences between Spanish, German and Americans cultures as well as his thoughts on spiritual things, out of nowhere, he pipes up and says to me, "By the way, I love your accent". I could hardly control my laughter.

The TU outreach we had on Thursday night went really well. About 80 people attended and we obtained a few contacts of students who are interested in learning more about the TU Christian groups or starting a discussion group about faith and science - really cool. Please pray for the students who heard the talk and that we'll have wisdom on figuring out what to do with this potential discussion group. Thanks!

Back from Spain

Mid-year in Nerja, Spain was sooo great! It was wonderful atmosphere to relax and get recharged for coming back to campus ministry. I had a lot of fun hanging out with my team and other STINTers from different locations and hearing their encouraging stories about how God is working in their cities. On our free day, I got to take a day trip to Gibralter. It was probably one of the most bizarre places I've ever been, but it was a really cool trip. We explored the Rock of Gilbrater's caves and tunnels and I even had a monkey (well, actually an ape) jump on my head. Crazy!

But anyway, we're back in Berlin now and ready to hit our universites strong until the end of the semester in February. Please pray for an outreach we're doing at the TU this Thursday, that many students will come and that they'll have interest in learning more about God and spiritual things.

about halfway through - really?

It's been nice to be back on campus since Christmas break and get back into the lives of students. I've been amazed as I met several students last week who are either interested in Campus or in meeting up again to talk about spiritual things. I guess I shouldn't be, but it's easy to start expecting little when that's what we often experience. But God's working and guiding and it encourages me to trust for even bigger things! Matt spoke at Fire-Abend last week and for the first time, we had two students involved in the meeting. One spoke about how the Silvester Conference went and the other translated for Matt - so that was very exciting. This week, my campus team and I are doing some planning for an outreach we're having at the TU at the end of Januray. A Christian professor from a different university will be speaking on why you can believe when it seems like science explains everything - perfect for our Technical University! Please pray that students will notice the flyers and come. Please also pray for Kurz Film & Keks this Thurs., that many students will come.

Time is flying by and I'll already be leaving for Spain this Saturday for our mid-year conference. All the STINTers in Europe, North Africa, Middle-east and Russia come here for a time of encouragement and refreshment. For the past five months I've heard nothing but good things about it from our second year STINTers on the team, so needless to say, I'm very excited. :)

alles Deutsch!

Classes resumed today so we're back on campus. For the first time, I had a conversation that was purely in German - for a whole hour! I was in the mensa and asked to sit down with a girl sitting alone. At first I asked her if she spoke English and when she said no, I was ready to throw in the towel for this conversation, but she was curious and very patient with me and we fought through what ended up being a really great conversation. For my poor German skills, this is a big deal and I felt it was worthy of recording here. :)

Silvester

We just got back to Berlin from Limbach for our Silvester Conference. And it was such a blast! There were about 42 students from the north/east of Germany including our one student from Berlin. It was so great to meet the students - they are so friendly, so much fun and so in love with God! I was so encouraged to see so many German students worshiping, growing in their faith and deepening their relationships with one another. Each university that was represented at the conference was given a chance to talk a little about the ministry on their campus and present a mascot symbolizing their movement. Our student held a tiny spider plant and explained how the Berlin ministry is like this plant, because it's very small, but it's alive and growing. And like spider plants, it will eventually reproduce itself so that new little buds can be planted on its own. I couldn't think of a better way to explain it. :)

We celebrated Silvester (New Year's) with games, a hilarious talent show, worship, reflection, walking through forest and fields with torches, and a dance party - awesome. I feel like our vision for Berlin was refreshed with real examples of thriving movements that are happening in other places in Germany.

In other news, today is probably the snowest day in Berlin this season, but sadly that only means about half an inch of snow on the ground. But as I went to Bauhaus this morning (equilivant to a Home Depot) I saw person after person buying sledes. And out on the streets, people were dragging their sledes along. And I don't mean those plastic disks that just barely might work on this amount of snow, but I mean those big wodden sledes that you didn't know actually existed, but only see in Christmas cards and decorations. Yes, people were buying them. There aren't even any hills in Berlin. What on earth?