Update!

Hello Followers!

I am now entering week 3 of my time in Berlin, and it has been truly amazing how I have seen God move in my life and the life of many others. My first full week on campus was filled with wonderful conversations where we were able to share the gospel to people who were interested in the hope and joy that it has to offer. I had some really encouraging conversations that brought me joy and excitement that there are people that want to hear what we have to say. However, I also experienced some really difficult conversations that really put my faith to the test and forced me to explain why I believe what I believe. One conversation was with a pretty hardcore atheist who not only disagreed with just about everything we had to say, but was also determined to disprove our beliefs. It was a really challenging conversation, but I really think God was using it to strengthen my faith in Him and challenge me to grow in my reliance on the Holy Spirit. So many times I wanted to pack up and go back to the hostel, but it is amazing how the Holy Spirit has been working through me and just giving me strength and wisdom.

Today, I had a really encouraging conversation with a woman from the Netherlands. She was not a Christian, but it was truly amazing the way she encouraged us to continue having these conversations with students and continue to pursue what we believe. She seemed to truly be interested in how Christianity has affected our lives, and she asked about our testimonies and whether or not we felt persecuted for being Christian. I was astounded by her desire to learn more, and we hope to meet up with her again.

This weekend we went to Wittenberg and visited the town where Martin Luther posted his 95 theses and the church where he preached. It was cool to get to see a piece of history that has had an immense impact on the world over the past 500 years.

I have been reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan while on the trip, and this book has been convicting me in regards to my view of God. God loves me so strongly, so unconditionally, and so passionately, yet I struggle to truly love Him back. I want to be in a place where I am willing to stay up late talking to God, where I am willing to sacrifice my needs for Him, and where I am willing to give up my plans for God, and do all of these things completely out of love, not guilt or shame.

Please pray:
-For patience
-That I will continue to grow in my love of God
-Conversations on campus will always point to Christ and the work He did on the cross for everyone.
-That I will continue to rely on the Holy Spirit, and that He will work through me in powerful and mighty ways.

Freie Universität

Today we were assigned to the universities that we will be devoting our time and prayers to. I, along with 9 other people, was assigned to Freie Universität, and I am really excited about it. I had my first day on campus today and was able to begin to get a feel for the campus.

Last week, on Thursday, I went to Humboldt University and had some really encouraging conversations with students that didn't know much about Christianity or Jesus. On Friday, I went to the Tech University and had some difficulty finding people, but had a lengthy conversation towards the end of the day.

On Saturday, we went on a long walking tour of Berlin and saw some of the really cool historical sites, such as the Berlin Wall, where Hitler's bunker was, and an American checkpoint into former West Berlin.

On Sunday, we went to a church service at the Berliner Dome, a very historic Lutheran Church. The whole service was in German so I couldn't understand anything being said, but it was a truly amazing church and it was definitely cool to experience another culture.

This week should be a pretty normal week of just going to campus, but I am excited to finally have a campus to really invest in.

Please pray for:
-Pure motivation in getting into spiritual conversations, and not motivated by checking something off my to do list
-Courage to step out in faith and initiate conversations even when I am not feeling up for it
-That I will remember that it is not me that is doing any of this, but is God that is working through me with the Holy Spirit

On a side note, I bought a very deep, yellow v-neck at H and M today, and I am very excited to wear it along with some rolled up jeans.

Thank you so much for following along with my journey and praying for me.

First Day on Campus

Today was the first day that we traveled to campus. Our goal today was to just get used to talking to students and developing connections with them. We really hope that we can meet with students more than once and develop relationships with them. I went to Freie University with some teammates and I had a great conversation with a man named Robert. Ir was really interesting to hear about how he views the church, and how it is so deep engrained in culture, yet many don't know what how faith can really have an impact on their lives. Their view of Christianity seems to be misconstrued. However, it was really great talking to Robert, and he was really really nice. It was really encouraging how friendly the students are to Americans and how much they are willing to speak in english.

We will be assigned to go to the same university each day, but before we are assigned, we are going to each university and familiarizing ourselves with the campuses.

We begin each morning with debriefing and learning good ways to initiate conversations, and prayer for our day and for the students. Then we go to campus to eat lunch in the menzas, or cafeterias, with students. After that, we will go around for a couple hours telling people about Jesus through conversations and surveys. It is really something that scares me and something that makes me nervous, but I know that God is really working through me during this time. Also, I'm not here to force anyone into anything or to make anyone believe something, so by no means are we street preaching or coercing people into believing. We genuinely want to hear what they believe and tell them what we believe. My hope is that I will be able to develop a couple of relationships over these 5 weeks and really just guide them down the path to love and joy.

Also, today we found out who will be in our bible studies, which was really exciting. I'm really enjoying getting to know the team, and I really think that God has blessed me with an amazing group of people.

Please pray that I will have great conversations over the next weeks, that I God will give me the courage to step out in faith, and that I will not be motivated by the sense of accomplishing something, but by wanting to share the same joy that I have in Christ.

(also, the y's and z's are in different spots on the german keyboard, along with a couple other keys, so I apologize if i missed any typos)

Arrived!

All of us arrived safe and sound in Berlin! We are staying at the Amstel House Hostel in Berlin. We are all very tired and jet lagged, but we are excited to be going out to dinner in about 20 minutes.

Before leaving Chicago, we had a couple of days of debriefing where we learned more about what exactly our typical days will entail.

I can't believe that I am in Germany right now and I am getting really excited and nervous to move forward!

We have a great team of 30 students (15 guys and 15 girls) and it was great to meet them and I have really enjoyed getting to know them.

Hopefully my posts won't have to be so short in the future, but I wanted to let everyone know I'm alive!

TWO DAYS

On Saturday afternoon, I will be meeting up with the team that I will be going with to Berlin. We are flying out of O'Hare on Sunday.

As it gets closer and closer, I can't help but get more excited. I AM GOING TO BERLIN FOR FIVE WEEKS?!?! It seems so crazy.

I am also getting nervous. This is definitely out of my comfort zone, and I am going to need to really trust that God is in control.

I hope that I will be able to update my blog at least once a week while in Berlin, but I have no idea what it will be like, so I can't guarantee anything.

Thanks for joining me in my journey!