Jesus Blut für dich vergossen.

Jesus' blood poured out for you.

I could really leave my day at just that. No further explanation needed. It was just one of those days when the only way to be closer to Him would be to sit at the table the night before He died.

Some of you may already know this but there is a missionary here in Berlin from my church in Winston-Salem. We were introduced to one another via e-mail earlier this week and I ended up going to her church this afternoon. She met me at the U-Bahn station and we had an incredible time getting to know each other. The service itself was wonderful. I got to praise God in German, listen to the teaching of His word in German, and then take communion in German. The preacher (also a missionary) spoke on the power of spending time in the Word and likened our quiet times to food, drawing the final conclusion that we need to spend more intentional time in the Word. It was a wonderful thing to be reminded of as things start to get more and more busy here in Berlin. After the sermon they "grilled out" (Bratwurst, obviously) and we had a little party. It was wonderful to get to know some real Berliners and to talk to them about my life in America and my relationship back home with my family. I'm going to join one of their small groups this Tuesday which is going to be incredible both for my German and for my faith.

It's amazing what the Lord can do when you step out of the way. I've been here just shy of 2 weeks and I feel as if I am still stuck in the middle of this awful small talk with the majority of the people in the program. Until today I haven't found anyone who understands my life or the choices I make. And after a 5 minute walk from the train station I am having a deep, meaningful, and God-centered conversation with a woman from Winston and then later with a handful of people from Berlin. And that's when you know its Jesus and only Jesus.

[And just so I don't forget, before going to church this afternoon I went to a flea market in Mauerpark which gets its name because it backs into a chunk of the wall. I bought the most wonderful purse ever and a cute pair of sunglasses. and bargained for them both in German. how cool am I?]