{Hiking Trip}

Saturday, November 6, we went hiking with a group of university students we know from English Club, Connexxion, and other means. We went to a nearby National Park that provided a pretty good hike, but wasn't necessarily the most beautiful place I have ever hiked. It was still really fun though and did offer some great views and amazing fellowship!! We had some great discussions about the Lord and his beautiful creation and how He uses creation to reveal Himself to us. Nature is something I love so much, and every time I am outdoors, I am so filled with joy and love for God! I can't help much worshipping Him and thanking Him endlessly for all He has done and continues to do for me!

Our entire hiking group!
The only fall looking trees I've seen in Spain.

Me, Lauren, and Maggie are loving it!!

Beautiful waterfall and cave we went to!
The waterfall.
The gorgeous pond at the bottom of the waterfall.

The cave!!

{Germany}

I recently got the opportunity to go to Germany for a week. We went for a Connexxion conference in Braunschweig, Germany. Connexxion is the Christian university group that I work with. It was started in Jena, Germany, and since spread to other campuses in Germany and to Sevilla, Spain. This conference was for Christian students and student workers to come and gain more insight into student ministry ideas, evangelism, and discipleship! This week was an absolute blast and a needed time of refreshment. Although I had only been in Spain for a month before going to Germany, I really needed this time to get away and be with other believers! It was a great time of encouragement for me personally! I got the opportunity to meet so many Germany students who became Christians during their university years and hear their testimonies. It was a very encouraging time to see that the ministry in Germany had not always been full of Christians, but that God had worked and saved many and He can and will do the same here in Spain!

This trip was also just fun to experience Germany! I really loved it a lot because of the history, beautiful architecture, people, food, cold weather, and fall!!! The fall in Germany is beautiful and reminds me so much of home! I was really missing fall because in Sevilla, we don't really have one. Fall is my favorite time of year, so I was grateful to have a week to experience it in Germany. It was also so cool to see everyone riding bikes everywhere and definitely made me want to get a bike in Spain to start riding around. The food was also INCREDIBLE!!!! Seriously, everything I ate I loved and I would totally go back to Germany just for the food! It was also just nice to be around people who look like me! Here in Spain, sometimes I feel so out of place and awkward because I don't look Spanish. Sometimes I just want to go somewhere and not look foreign and not have people staring at me! So it was wonderful to be in Germany and not draw any attention to myself by the way I look...because I'm extremely white and could totally be German. I even had a lot of people start speaking to me in German because they thought I was!

Me and Lauren with our headphones on listening to the translators at the conference.
My teammates, Lauren, Hendrik, Maggie, and our beautiful piece of Connexxion artwork.Beautiful architecture in Braunschweig, Germany.
One of the best meals I've ever had! Schnitzel!!
Me and Lauren exploring Braunschweig.
German students who I met at the Connexxion conference...such great people!

Beautiful Germany fall.

{Berlin Adventures}

The adventure in Berlin actually began in Malaga, Spain, as Lauren and I sprinted through the Malaga airport to get to our gate before the plane left. We kept hearing "last call" over the intercom for our flight even though it was still 30 minutes before the flight left. We sprinted about 100 yards or more to get to our gate in time, and of course when we arrived there was still a long line to board. But this madness was just the beginning of a very interesting and fun night in Berlin.

We arrived in Berlin at 5:30pm and only had 10 hours to spend in the city because our train to Braunschweig (our ultimate destination in Germany) left at 4am. We went to the train station to put our suitcase in a locker then attempted to figure out what to do in Berlin. We were asking for help but all the Germans we asked hardly spoke English yet they still thought they could help us. We said we didn't speak any Germany but they continued to tell us everything in German. It was very humorous and frustrating, but somehow we managed to get a metro ticket and get on a metro headed to the city.

While on the metro, we were still trying to figure out where we were headed and what metro stop we needed to get off at. We talked for about 10 minutes before we asked the two men sitting beside us if either of them spoke english. Of course they were both fluent in English and had been listening to us the whole time, but not offered to help until we asked. After meeting them we just prayed that God would continue to give us people in Berlin to help us see the city. But his idea of help was much bigger than we had imagined!

While running from one metro to catch another, I passed this guy who heard me say to Lauren "I hope this metro is right." Lauren and I jumped on the metro right before the doors closed and the guy running beside me was on it too. He began talking to us (in English...PTL) and asked us what we were doing. We said we were just in Berlin for the night and trying to figure out where to go and what to do. His name is Gustavo and he was very friendly! He was from Brazil but had lived in Germany for a year and a half. He offered to show us around the whole city, so we said yes because we thought he was our answered prayer from God [below].

Gustavo showed us everything we wanted to see in Berlin!! And he told us so much history behind the city and the war. Gustavo even showed us monuments and buildings in Berlin we had no idea were there. He said that it had always been his dream to give tours to people around Berlin, but he had never met anyone to give them to until he met us. And we told him that he was an answered prayer from God. We told him that earlier in the night we prayed for God to give us someone in Berlin to help us, and that God answered our prayer by allowing us to meet him. This definitely caught his attention and opened up many opportunities to talk about God with him. Later in the night, we got the opportunity to share the gospel with him, and we had a very good discussion about how what we believe is different from what most "religious" Christians believe.

This is the Brandenburg Gate that was an entry point between East and West Berlin.

This is part of the Berlin wall that still stands today.

Gustavo took us to this really cool abandoned building that had been occupied by artists and musicians. Every floor of the building had a different art exhibit, and some floors had musicians or merchants selling jewelry. The outside was also really cool because there was a huge sculpture garden [below] and fire pits and tents and tables.

Gustavo was such a blessing to have that night, and he even came with us to get our luggage then took us to the train station we were going to leave from at 4am. Without his help, we probably would not have seen half as much of Berlin as we did. He was absolutely an answered prayer, and Lauren and I were blown out of the water at how amazingly God provided for us that night! Please continue to pray for Gustavo and his salvation!