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?