What now?

So I’ve lived in a foreign country for three and a half months. Add that to the belt, I suppose. Naturally, reflection is due for this huge experience in my life.

I think I am most proud of traveling alone. My classmates here all had different ideas and places they wanted to see, and so did I, and after I did a group trip with a few guys, I quickly realized that I can’t keep doing this every weekend or else I would never get to see things that I was interested in, so I planned a bunch of solo trips and pretty much traveled by myself. It was difficult at first to get used to all of this time on my own, but it was worth it because I did succeed in meeting the people I wanted to meet and saw the sights I was most interested in. I read a lot. For fun, not for school. I mean, I did that too, but traveling is the perfect time to read in my opinion, and I have finished about ten books in this semester.

Traveling alone was a challenge, and if I would do anything differently, it would be to bring someone from MLC along. The school here is something that I am not used to, and it would help if I had someone from my other school to connect with and to vent with sometimes. I was able to visit another MLC student twice this semester, and that was huge in terms of my metal health, you know, to be able to share our thoughts about life outside the U.S. with each other. He also is a good friend, so I appreciated being able to have someone with the same sense of humor as me. Sorry to get off track, but I really enjoy making people laugh and I could never really figure out how to do that here, so like I said, I appreciated being able to see my friend greatly and have a few laughs.

Something that I would incorporate into my life back home is showing appreciation for my family and friends. I am sure that I did an okay job at that already, but I would like to overflow, so to speak, with gratitude for the faculty at MLC, my family and friends who encouraged me to go through with this. I missed all of them, and they probably miss me. Attending a public university really showed me just how much of an impact MLC had on my life, and I don’t ever want to take that for granted again. I must admit, I have been quite horrible at staying in contact with my family in college and high school, and I have been trying to do a better job at that here in Berlin. I would like to also take that back with me, since my family is pretty far apart as is, a phone call every now and then would go a long way to maintain my relationship with my family.

I am grateful for my parents. They made sure I began working pretty early, all through high school and that I didn’t have a whole lot of ways to spend my money the first few years I started working, and I was able to save a lot of money because of my parents. It really helped me enjoy my semester here, since I never had to worry about money. Granted it was my own money, so I was careful not to just throw it away, but in terms of traveling I could pick a nicer, more comfortable option and I could also try lots of different foods, all without too much concern for my wallet.

God has given me a very laid back temperament, which has come in handy when I talk to my fellow American students as well as the locals of the places I have gone. I ended up making some unlikely friends and actually enjoyed my relationship with them. I also was made aware of the lack of meaning in the world. I could tell a lot of people that I met needed something more, something meaningful in their life. It’s clear to Christians, of course, since it’s written out for us in the Bible. It’s really difficult to see this, especially when you know the One who gives our lives meaning, and others don’t. I guess, in a sense, it is actually nice to see this crisis because I know my work is cut out for me and I know I will have lots to do after the seminary. But still, it was sad to meet people, who I could tell were very troubled. This is also something that supersedes any sort of cultural barrier or political boundary. I guess that I have seen God’s hand in abundance of work that needs to be done, either by me or whatever means He chooses. This also is something I want to take back with me: the news that people everywhere need to be told the Good News. Of course, we hear this every day at MLC, but it is something completely different when you actually experience the true size of the harvest field. It’s more massive than I ever could have imagined, and I’d like to let my classmates know too.

There are so many tips and lessons I could give to other students which would be relevant and important. Just do it. Don’t worry. Denke nicht, tue es einfach. I had my doubts and fears too, but I have never felt more alive than when I first set foot on German soil. I was tired, hungry and probably smelly, but absolutely in love with life. I have been working hard toward this goal for the last few years, and it was awesome to see it come to fruition.

Now I will have to deal with a new question: What now? This was a huge project of mine, and now that it is coming to an end, I am not sure what will come next for me besides five more years of school.

Me on the wall of a Roman Fort, Joe and I eating beans for breakfast, Philosophe Joe, and Neuschwanstein Castle.