faith like a child

I can’t believe how time is flying! So much to share... We left Weimar on the 5th and headed to Munich, where we were for 6 days. I’m writing this as I’m on the 7 hour train ride to Berlin. Weimar ended with two final exams and a final presentation, all in German, and a huge 4th of July party. We had a cookout and tons of decorations and invited several of our German friends. Charlotte and I made about 100 chocolate chip cookies and brownies from scratch for the occasion, and most of the Germans had no idea what those were. Explaining that in German wasn’t easy.

Side note... I’m noticing that writing in English is getting harder to do, and the grammar is simpler. Charlotte told me the other night I sleep talked in German. :/ I also just finished reading my first entire book in German! It was a book called “Heaven Is for Real,” just translated.

Here’s some photos from the end of Weimar.

We went to Buchenwald Concentration Camp. I went to Dachau last summer, and that was not an experience I wanted to repeat, but it never hurts to be humbled.

4th of July party!

And then there’s Munich. We didn’t have class there, but let me tell you... we were marathon tourists. Keep in mind there’s hundreds more than what I put on this blog! Here’s some photos and descriptions:

We toured Siemens. This would be an incredible place to work!

Random photos of Munich:

The Deutsches Museum was as awesome of all of the Smithsonians combined. I kid you not. I’ve never imagined a place with a rocket, dozens of airplanes, a submarine, and several ships (not boats, ships) all under one roof. There were about a dozen exhibits, including nautical navigation, steam engines, electrical power, German flight, printing presses, book binding, technical toys, glass making, ceramic science, paper making, and an entire floor for astronautics and the space race. I was only in there for about 3 hours, but it could’ve taken days.

Brewery tour! Can’t say having the “tasting” in the middle of the tour was a good idea... but hey, it was fun.

Alte Pinothek Art Museum. This place was unbelievably enormous.

Complete and total glutton on German food. 25 people easily ate enough for 75... when Dr. Cothran is buying, you go big or go home.

Tour of Grenzebach. 

We took a day trip to Augsburg, a city that is over 2000 years old. This is the inside of the Rathaus (Goldenen Saal- over a ton of gold in here) and the door that I think Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to. It was definitely this church, and this door was gated off.

Neue Pinothek Art Museum. I post this picture to subtly display my hate for modern art. It's a white canvas.

BMW Welt (world) is a synonym for Drool World.

The other day, I had a really awesome Jesus moment. For a long time, as I’ve mentioned, I’ve really been struggling with figuring out why so much sin is totally rampant in this world. And I see it in my own life as well, and it seemed like no matter how much I prayed and read, I couldn’t shake it off. But what changed recently was that around the time we headed to Munich, I let those things begin to shape my view of God.  One can always wonder why He allows us to be so awful and selfish, and in turn begin to question one’s salvation, but until then I think I just trusted that He had His reasons. But then I was like... how is that a God of love? And I got frustrated with myself for even asking that, because His love is more rampant than sin could ever be. At first I didn’t know that was the problem, but one morning, I woke up and had this amazing thought pop into my head as soon as I opened my eyes- “The world does not define God, but Who God is defines the world.” I can say in all honestly that that thought did not come from myself. And through a combination of reading that amazing book I mentioned above, reading Hosea and Philippians, praying, downloading some new Hillsong worship music, watching some sermons online, and the Holy Spirit, I have been blessed with so much faith. But He won’t let me forget... Ephesians 2:8-9.

And another thing is that God is definitely showing me that people and situations and the world are never, ever, ever to be looked to for satisfaction or stability. You will go hungry if you seek happiness there, although God may bless you with encouragement through them sometimes. Let me elaborate. First, everyone here is getting really tired of each other. I’ve had a couple of people snap at me a couple of times as I’m being completely kind to them. I’ve seen arguments and wrath quite enough. And on the other hand, I have found myself giving into my flesh in responding similarly. We’re all tired, and satan loves tired and lazy people. Secondly, it seems like several people back home are struggling a lot. I have heard of more people dying this summer than I have in a while, and there’s family brokenness and spiritual dryness and defeat... everywhere. It breaks my heart that I can’t be home to love on people- yeah, I’ve cried about that specifically- but at the same time, I’m learning more and more about the reasons why God sent me here for the summer. I’ll elaborate on that long list on my flight home to the States, maybe. :) Moral of the story: More sin (causing more pain) = more need for Jesus. More need for Jesus = more power of Jesus displayed. More power of Jesus displayed = more faith from His children. That’s how it should be. And we shouldn’t mess that up by missing the truth that with faith comes the overflowing desire to obey.

Speaking of faith, I had another Jesus moment a few weeks ago in Weimar that I just remembered. I came up to my room because I really needed to read my Bible before I went out and faced my group again. The big windows were open because it was a pretty day, and as I was reading in the breeze and silence, I suddenly heard a child outside laughing their head off. It was incredible- the cutest, bubbliest chuckle from probably a toddler. I couldn’t see them. And another random thought came to my head, completely Holy Spirit induced:

People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Luke 18:15-17

Children run open-armed and fearless. Once they are told who to trust, they do it with no hesitation. And children seem to know what is good. They run from evil, like the monster in the dark or giant spider under their beds, without wondering if it could be fun to play with. They also don’t abide by the rules of social hierarchy, as displayed by this verse in how the children run to Christ despite the disciples’ objection. Yes, the King is worthy of all reverence, and in His presence we are to be so humble as to put our heads to the ground in a bow, but He is not just a normal King. He is a King Who wants to embrace us and make us laugh and smile. Sometimes I become so caught up in trying to put God into my reality box (seeing how He fits into my life and the world) and confusing myself terribly in doing so, that I forget that what really happens is that the world fits into Him. Faith like a child comes with rejoicing in the fact that you are not going to know everything- not even close- not even if you get to go to Heaven- because you are so intimately wrapped up in His goodness that the world simply falls away. Children focus on one thing at a time.

And now to Berlin, which might be the death of me. I read through the whopping 11-page syllabus the other night (mind you, we only have 12 days of class), and realized that sitting and sleeping will be two non-existent words for the next two and a half weeks until home on the 28th. The class is structured around a huge project. We get into groups of 3 and choose a famous Berlin monument or location and write a 1000-word essay, make a presentation, and a 5-minute video over it. I’m pretty sure my group is doing ours on the Berlin Zoo (I picked it because we are required to take several trips to our location of choice :D ). We also have a final exam and lectures over Berlin history in the 20th century. I’m really excited to learn all of it, but I’m interested to see how we master all of that AND go see museums and take tours every day after class.

Auf jetzt, y’all!