Man trifft sich dreimal im Leben

Hello Readers!

Standing behind a tree sculpture in the Mountains.

I believe in having certain, special places, that can act as place of rest and a catalyst for reflection. After a while these places become such a deep a part of me, that even in my alone time I find myself going back to them. I don’t know if it is the warmth of old memories that wrap around me like a blanket, or the deep sigh once my feet step back to familiar ground that makes these places so spectacular.

View of Freiburg from the Hills

When I reflect on the path, the path that has led me to this crossroad today, I am so thankful for these places. My daily evening walk has become more than a walk in itself, rather a time to gather my thoughts and place them at God’s feet.

There is comfort in repetition. Here is an example. Comfort in repetition is the exact reason that people can drink the same coffee years on end, sit in the same place every day on the bus, or order the same sandwich every day for lunch. But the repetition I have learned, and learned to love plays a deeper role than what we eat.

A typical trip to the German grocery store!!
MMMM! Lecker. Way left you can see white asparagus,
it is extremely tedious to harvest, but taste so fine.

As I explained in my last blog, I took part in a school exchange between my home high school and a Gymnasium (high school) in Germany. Over the four day weekend I went back to visit them. As my seven hour train ride concluded and we pulled into the station, my heart was beating outrageously. Like when I take a final exam, I seemed to have forgotten all of the German I gathered in my eight month stay. Along the train ride there, I reflected how much the path I have walked on this last year, has changed me to the person I am this day. A year ago, I was an outgoing, full of laughter; go with the flow, naive in an international identity sense, and an over all happy person. I am still many of these things, but it feels as though they have been engrained into my being, more than a jacket of personality that I put on when I go out into public. The heavy clouds that covered the sky throughout the late fall and early winter season, seemed to bore my outward joy deep into my heart. Waking up, and loving Jesus, when the sky is covered for days on end, is boot camp for the soul.

Nevertheless, I submitted myself as clay to fulfill God’s purpose, and I know where I am is exactly where I am supposed to be. In boot camp, I was confronted with the most basic questions of my faith. What does God want for me? Who am I according to Him? These questions have been answered at least a hundred times in sermons that I have been to, but it seemed as though God wanted me to search them out myself. Almost every deep revelation that I have had of Christ, has taken place in my room of study. Although everything my home Pastor has preached has aligned with the Bible, Jesus wanted me to search out the answer for myself. He wanted to write the law with His finger upon my heart, rather than follow the words written on a stone.

So, back to the story. My heart was beating like a herd of horses running through a field and I’m pretty sure my hands were shaking from excitement too. We met at the entrance of the Freiburg Bahnhof (train station), packed my stuff in his car, and went into town for coffee. Freiburg is home to one of the top eight prestigious Universities in Germany. The streets are filled with young people of all backgrounds conversing whether in a Café, slowly sauntering through the shops, or laying in the park.

The sunny streets of downtown Freiburg,
hopefully I'll have the opportunity to study there!

The five days I spent with my friend and his family were an absolute dream. The reunion was full of hugs, laughs, tears of joy (me), and finally awesome food. Like the first evening we spent together in June 2011, we had a two hour dinner and shared simple conversation. All in German. In Baden Württemberg there is a slight dialect that hindered my ability to understand like I can in Northern Germany where we speak ‘High German’. They pronounce ‘st’, like ‘shhh  (like the word sheep) rather than ‘stt’ (like the word step). I stayed up late, and (tried to) wake up early so that I wouldn’t miss a moment of time being with them.

Every day we had a set schedule ahead of us, full of beautiful views, family members, pieces of hand/love made cake, small treasured moments and quiet time too. One of my favorite memories was looking for gifts for my family in Freiburg. It seemed every corner I turned there were more small shops, with little bells on the door so when you walked in someone could help right away. The morning that I went was coincidentally the fresh food market. I slowly walked through the labyrinth of fresh strawberries, hand-picked apples, fresh ground coffee, hand-made toys and clothing that all stood precisely laid out on tables. Musicians played on every corner. Once I was finally done snapping pictures of flowers and fresh fruit, I found the cheese stands.

Freiburg Market with the Church in the background.

Freiburg Market

On my way over I bought a bunch of radishes for a $1.30. For cheese I ordered fresh goat cheese, and black pepper parmesan imported from Italy. In Freiburg you can expect to exchange warm words and light conversation with the person trying to sell you something. I have found in comparison to the pressuring sellers in New York that try to hoard you into their stores, the Germans accept when you don’t want a product and don’t try to force you. After my cheese encounter, I set on a search to find some fabric for my Mom. I went into one store and asked if they had fabric with printed trees, the woman answered no and continued to draw a map of all of the fabric stores in the area. Even though she did not have what I needed, her incentive, as with most German workers, was to make sure that I was helped along to the next person that could.

The day after Freiburg up until my departure, we spent a lot of time hiking through the mountains and exploring the ideal quaint towns we all imagine when we think of Germany.

Kaiserstuhl, Germany. Absolutley Breath taking.

My time with them was absolutely wonderful, and I am so blessed, and thankful I had the opportunity to visit again. There is a saying in Germany, ‘man trifft sich dreimal im Leben’, which means you meet someone three times in your life. Without a doubt, I will be visiting them again.

It is always at the end of the journey, that we learn how much we have changed. Blinded by the reality, and sometimes the overwhelming waves that can seem to consume us, we lose sight of our progress. This last year has become essential to my character, but I would not start back at September all over again. Which also goes in hand, that my life here on this earth has also been phenomenal with Christ, but I would not start all over again. Each day, brings me closer to Christ’s second coming, and I am positive the days in between are meant for our enjoyment too. It is a balance. Enjoy the pictures, and start the journey. 

Spiderweb on a 35 year old Mammut tree.
It takes a thousand years for them to grow wide,
a thousand to grow deep, and a thousand to grow high.

Hand-made bread and curry-honey goat cheese,
on the wine hills of Baden Württemberg.

A small French town next to the border of Germany,
I bought a honey hand creme, and a walnut croissant.
Wonderful.

My exchange friend's turtle munching on strawberries!

I was allowed to use the asparagus peeling machine!!
All you do is push the piece of asparagus through,
 like a car wash it washes it, peels it so there is no skin left,
and it is ready to cook!