Thursday, November 4, 2010

{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!

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