About
New International exists to proclaim Christ and make disciples globally. Let us join with God as He continues to make all things new; He gives us new vision of new ways to reach new communities with the Good News of Christ, bringing new light to hearts that have previously been lost.
Connect
- 10/04/2017
- new international
Crystals in the Water
It is always good to ask when you see quartz and lemon in your water.
One of our missionaries in Germany shares the story of an impactful conversation with his friend Oliver.
“So are those crystals in the water?" I asked. Oliver, a small but athletic red bearded thirty-something, said “Yes! They give off positive energy." “Right on," I said. It is always good to ask when you see quartz and lemon in your water. We're sitting at the table in his narrow kitchen in an old East German blockhouse apartment building. Oliver just dropped the bombshell that he is thinking about selling everything that he can't put in a backpack and walking to India. Oliver is a German full time singer-songwriter and part time social worker with a background in psychology. He went into social work to help people like his little brother who is schizophrenic and often homeless. After working a few years in mental health he quit his job because of a burnout and walked the Camino de Santiago. While hiking the medieval pilgrimage through France and Spain he had a mystical experience and in his words became a spiritual person. He returned to our city, won a grant from the State to record his album and started playing shows all around the city. We got to know each other over the last year at the weekly open stage that I host in the cafe project in my neighborhood.
Oliver knows that I am a Christian and a missionary. We were introduced to each other as artists but over a whiskey one night he started asking questions. If I had to bet on it, we are friends because I am upfront with him about my faith in Jesus and because I don't roll my eyes when he gets all New Age about crystals.
“What … you don't think I'll find God on my way to India?" he asked. That's the moment that all missionaries have been going to Bible college for. “You know" I said, “there's this story in Mark's Gospel where this young guy asks Jesus how to get eternal life … Jesus loves this guy and tells him to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor and become one of His followers … Oliver, I think Jesus might want you to walk with Him to India."
