Exploring the City

So, my goal for the past two days was to "explore Berlin." I was struck the other day by how it's already February and I have a lot planned between now and the end of April. And a lot of those plans involved traveling away from Berlin. So, I made a list of things I wanted to see and do in Berlin and tried to do some of those things Thursday and Friday. I already wrote about Thursday, so this post will only be yesterday. :)

I have to do a 10 minute presentation on a housing development built in the 1920s during the Housing Revolution (basically, better quality yet still affordable housing for the working class). It's called the Horseshoe Building because it's in the shape of a horseshoe around a pond and grassy area. I went to visit it yesterday, and it was pretty cool.

Then, we met some friends and went to a Turkish Market that happens every Thursday and Friday. We got lunch there and looked through the stands selling fruit, vegetables, sweets, clothes, jewelry, scarves, and random other things.

After the Turkish Market, we went to a castle located in a really nice neighborhood called Charlottenberg. The castle was really pretty, but unfortunately by then the sun was setting and it was pretty much dark. But, we still walked in the woods/garden behind the castle. And we decided to come back when it was light outside. It was cool that it didn't feel like we were in a city at all. There was lots of grass and trees and a little brook that ran behind the castle. That's something I like about Berlin - it covers such a huge area that there are like suburbs within the city. Each neighborhood has a different feel and plenty of green space and just space in general, it seems. It's nice not to feel like I'm living in a crowded, busy, and concrete big city.

Something that I have really enjoyed these past two days has been how we have randomly stumbled upon these cool things we didn't know were happening - the Film Festival Red Carpet and the Turkish Market. It's cool to live in a big city where a lot is going on and if you just go out for the day, you'll probably find something to do.

Last night I went to a bible study through the church I went to last Sunday (called Reset) and I really enjoyed it. It was mostly Germans, but there were a couple of Americans (and one British girl!) and we ended up doing most of it in English, which was really helpful for me. We discussed what it means practically to live as a Christian. We talked about whether we should give money to the beggars you see all the time in the U- and S-Bahn stations. And one guy talked about how Jesus said when someone asks for your coat, to give him your tunic as well and when the Roman soldier asks you to walk a mile with him, to go two. And how he always keeps 50 cents in his pocket to give. And I was struck by how generous God desires us to be! He is so generous with me and I am so not generous with others! And we talked about how we all want to live big lives that make a difference, but that can't happen unless we take the little steps, like being generous in giving our finances, love, time, energy, and grace. And it occurred to me that I try to determine which little steps I can take that will make the most difference so I don't have to take the little steps that I deem won't make that much of a difference, like giving a guy on the street 50 cents. But if I gave that 50 cents, how much would that remind me of all that God has given me and give me a mindset of being generous with not only my money, but also my time, energy, love, grace, forgiveness, patience, kindness, etc? Maybe being obedient even in the little steps we don't think mature us or make a difference at all is actually what God wants from us. Maybe that's a little more of what it means to obey the Bible and follow Jesus and his teaching. So much of his teaching involves radical grace and generosity. The kind that can be abused. And I know there is a fine line here and that there are people that will just exploit you and your generosity, but I think, for me, I lean much more on the side of not giving than giving. And I think that Jesus wants that to change.