Trying to put this trip into words is very daunting. A nearly impossible feat. But I will give it my best attempt.
If you don't know, for the past eight days I've been in Waren-Muritz, a town in the state of Mecklinburg, Germany two hours outside of Berlin for my school missions trip.
There, myself and seven other people from Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry (BASSM) served, developed relationships with, healed, trained, and activated the Leucht Feuer church, the youth and staff at Joo Youth Center, and refugees from Bulgaria.
Waren, which is non-coincidentally my last name, is a very small and quaint town with
old, magnificent architecture, rolling hills (mostly covered with snow at this time of year), and very few people I can identify with. In fact, the population is mostly elderly white people with no grid for God whatsoever. Upon first arriving it was not promising that I would have much more to say about the trip than the typical religious jargon of "It was
powerful", or "God really moved". But before leaving America for Germany, I spoke with a good friend who has been to many different countries about how I could get the most out of my trip. Her advice was simple: "Pray for God's heart for the region and people. Remember who He says you are. And open your heart to get to know them and let them get to know you." (Those weren't her exact words, but I paraphrased.) And so, I decided I was going to fully give myself to the experience.
I decided to trust people with who I am- the crazy and the sane, and trust that God had something for me from each one of them, a mindset heavily due to the culture of honor Bethel has cultivated in me over the past several months. I trusted that this was an opportunity to learn as well as teach. And my expectations were more than exceeded! The culture, the food, the people, the sights, the fun, the moments with God and each other... I will literally never be the same!
Led by the ever laid back, and impressively balanced supernatural "guru" Blake Healy (my thoughts of him), I was stretched to give all of the simplicity, depth, freedom, training, hope, joy, love, and peace I have been receiving from being in first year at BASSM. And
stretched to go beyond my comfort zone and see God move through me and towards me through perfect strangers. This is not easy for me as I have a hard time trusting people with all of me in the states. Very often, the fear of being misunderstood vies for space in my thought process. So, this was a true leap of faith.
Yet every day was an unfolding and knitting of hearts. They welcomed my uniqueness
with open arms, deep hugs, and loads and loads of food. (Someone must have given them a heads up as to the way to my heart.) I watched these people have encounters with God who have never walked in this level of supernatural interaction before with ease. After being trained in seeing in the spirit and prophesying, they then turned and prophesied over us. Each word I received was very encouraging or confirming. And it just got better and better.
Aside from our time with the church, my heart was so deeply impacted by the refugee home we visited on Tuesday. They were some of the kindest and most hospitable people
I have ever met, a difficult feat when you've experienced as much heartache and loss as they. Having very little to give, they gave their all to feed every one of us that came to their home, about fifteen persons. Their home a small, two bedroom home where about 15 of them lived. We simply spent time dining with and enjoying them as they sang to us. They
sang songs to God in their native language and then we in English, finding common ground in the song "You Deserve the Glory". There were Germans, Bulgarians, and Americans dancing and singing together for over an hour, and it was the most beautiful thing!
FInally, we prayed for and embraced them to break off the spirit of rejection. As we prayed, their eyes filled as they wept over the feeling of unwantedness in the two lands they have lived in and been expelled from. These endless streams of tears were not the normal tears we cry in America when we lose a job or a car. It was the deep pain of absolute hopelessness and sadness from the constant rejection and hatred of an entire nation by an entire government. I felt compelled to console each one and release God's father heart. Moments after we shared with them in their sadness, we shared in Heaven's joy as we sang and danced and just partied in good spirits. Certainly a day etched in my memory.
Also, the beautiful times spent in the home of our host family will never be forgotten!
Every morning we gathered around the table for breakfast to fellowship and get to know one another. The breads, spreads, jams, cheeses, and meats all immaculately prepared and subsequently devoured. And every night we would regroup back at home to debrief over wine, chocolate, spirited Uno games, and pretty much anything else we might want.
Very rarely were we on our phones, and except for the youngest son Mattes watching the Olympics the night before our departure, there was never a television on while we were together. We decided to connect beyond the trip via text app and some even plan to visit Atlanta, GA this summer.
Experiencing this intimate culture with a high value for relationships, tasting food without chemically adjusted ingredients, seeing people with nothing be more generous, and pleasant than those with everything- these experiences have been imprinted on my heart in ways I still can't fully process. I feel more grateful, more carefree, more hopeful, more purposeful, more alive than I have ever felt! I can only hope that I won't soon forget all that I have seen from these beautifully- inspiring people in this picturesque town called Waren (pronounced with a 'V' sound). And I pray that when I do forget, a small reminder will be the only catalyst needed to re-center.
A huge thank you to everyone who donated. You will be receiving a special gift from me within the next two weeks! ;) Click this link to see all the pictures from my trip: https://flic.kr/s/aHskw7a2Zj