Fresh Start

Liebe Freunde und Familie,

We arrived in Berlin yesterday. Out of all the place we have been, Berlin definitely seems the most like home. I feel kind of like I am visiting an American city to which I have never before been, and everyone just happens to speak German.

I will say, we fit in much better here than we did in Greece or Rome. Almost everyone we talk to starts off talking to us in German until they see the confused looks on our faces. I have tried a couple of times to speak or ask for something in German, but soon as they notice my accent and poor grammar, they just switch to English. I guess I better start saying, "No English, please" if I want to learn anything. 

Dad and I were supposed to do a bike tour today, but he woke up sick so I am doing a little exploring on my own. So far I have figured out how to buy a public transportation ticket (it took a while, but I eventually got it), seen the Brandenburg Gate, and I am currently sitting in the Tiergarten (Berlin's version of Central Park). My computer is still not working, so I cannot upload pictures to the blog. However, I will try to upload a couple to facebook through my iPad. 

A few fun facts about Berlin so far:

- last night it did not get dark until 10:30

- Everyone bikes. I think I have seen more bicycles than cars.

- As far as stereotypes go, I have not encountered any more rude or angry people than I normally would in any other city. 

It is a bummer that Dad was sick, but I have not had a good opportunity to spend some alone time with Jesus, so I took advantage of the time to myself. I was reading in Genesis 1 (as I start fresh here in Berlin, where better to read than at the beginning?), and I just could not stop reading verse 16. It goes like this:

"God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night..." 

Yes, he is literally speaking of the sun and moon here. But thats not all. I love the way God expresses himself and reflects his personality through nature. Each year, flowers are reborn to their original beauty in the spring. The ocean is vast, strong, and not entirely capable of being understood-much like our Heavenly Father. Similar to these analogies, I find it significant that during the creation story, since the very beginning, God has chosen to never leave us in darkness. Even what we call "darkness" is not completely dark. There is a lesser light, yes. But the night is meant to refresh us. The "darkness" is for our good, and even then, we are never left alone.