Another Park?!

One-Sentence Summary: I have found an encouraging group of young adults from IBC with whom I can hang out.

Blogs are surprisingly hard for me to keep updated. I’ve had a very exciting week but haven’t taken the time to write it in the blog. Then the longer I wait, the more I don’t want to blog because I know I’ll just have that much more to write about. So now I’m finally sitting down to document this past week. I might break this up into different posts since I couldn’t possibly have a one-sentence summary for the whole week.

On Tuesday evening, I attended the Young Adult Group at International Baptist Church (IBC). I was delighted to meet more people around my age and see some familiar faces. Many of the young adults keep telling me that IBC is a good church for me to attend because they’re accustomed to the quick turnover of young adults. Many of the families of the church are regularly attending members, but Hamburg has many young adults coming in and out for schooling and companies that IBC is able to welcome young adults regardless of how long they are staying. I have appreciated this aspect of IBC because I can learn more about Hamburg as well as listen to people talk about their life experiences in different countries. Already, I have had a few engaging conversations about ethnicity, nationality, race, and culture. And of course, you probably know how much I enjoy discussing those issues. I expect and look forward to continuing to have substantial conversations throughout the summer.

Again on Thursday evening, I joined an Eppendorff home group. We met at a friend’s house who lives very close by. We studied the last book of Titus to follow what the pastor was preaching on Sunday. We had a yummy dinner together, and then dove right into the text. The group was significantly smaller this week because families are on holiday. A few times now I have gotten confused by this term “holiday.” Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Americans use the term to describe a particular day/event that we have off from work, such as Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas to name a few. When we take time off of work for ourselves, we would consider that a “vacation.” Europeans use holiday to mean time off of work, so many people have been asking me if I’m on holiday and I say no. Usually someone who knows I’m American will rephrase the question and ask if I’m on summer vacation, and I respond yes. It’s a very subtle difference but one that I have to keep in mind when faced with the question of whether I’m on “holiday.”

When I returned from work on Friday evening, I did not have any plans. I went to the train station to buy a monthly pass because I figure public transportation is much more time-effective than walking. On my way back, an IBC friend called to invite me to hang out. Needless to say, I was very excited to be invited to a spontaneous gathering. I even invited my neighbor who lives across the hall from me. I met him only this past week. He is German and speaks some English. We’re able to communicate but I agreed to help him with English if he helps with German. I think I may have the better end of the deal since his English is better than my German. Even though he did not know anybody and did not know that we were a church group, I think he had fun and I hope God will spark something within him.

The Alster

Since it was a warm Friday evening, we got some eis cream before walking to a park. Sorry no eis cream pictures, but I had gummy bear flavor. Yum! We walked to a park that I had never been to before and I’m not sure what the name of the park is, but it was located on the beautiful Alster (a tributary of the Elbe River). We passed a Frisbee, played a few cards games, and just talked late into the night. Germans really know how to spend their Friday evenings at the park because we seemed to be the only group without mini lawn torches for lighting. At midnight, I heard some people cheering (for someone else’s birthday), but I wished my group (from everywhere but America) a Happy July 4th! My English friend was not amused but a South African was also present to back me up.

Playing Frisbee in the park.

I hope everyone back home had a safe July 4th weekend. I am feeling more and more comfortable here, especially now that I am hanging out with IBC friends. Thank you for keeping me in your prayers. Look at how quickly God works! Please pray that my cells will grow quickly in the lab. Unfortunately I had to throw away a flask of cells due to contamination, and it was a little painful for me. I really hope my other cells do not get contaminated as well. It’s hard for me to believe that it’s already July. Please send your summer updates to me as well!

Sunset at 10 PM

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25