New Friends in New Places

Team Germany

Written by Jillian — Interning in Germany with Open Door Libraries

As Team Germany arrived and settled into the city of Berlin, we were astounded by the multi-cultural presence in the city. In fact, between the three of us we are staying at accommodations offered by a Turkish and French family! More so, every person we’ve met in the library, who lives permanently in Berlin, has been from a different place! We’ve met people from the Dominican Republic, Switzerland, India, Poland, the United States, and more! 

We’ve all been enjoying completing the basic tasks around the library, such as switching the menu board over from the spring to the summer menu and cataloging books. However, our hearts soar when someone new comes into the library. This first week mainly brought in many regulars to the library, so our missionaries (Larry and Teri) were able to fill us in on their shared history and the growth they’ve witnessed in their faith. Larry and Teri have known many of these people since the start of their time in Berlin, which was 12 years ago! 

A highlight from this week for me was meeting Karen! She is a woman from the United States who has been living in Berlin for close to 25 years now! She, just like me, is a Florida State University (FSU)  alumni! She double majored in German and French and still frequently visits Tallahassee, FL (the location of FSU). We bonded over so many things — our love for Christ, FSU, and the German language! She even requested that we took a picture together, so she could send it to her friends back home! I truly felt like the Lord brought her in just for me. Our first week was very slow but meeting Karen was a reminder that the Lord knows the perfect timing! Karen and I met just as my body had officially adjusted to the time change, so our conversation was more lively and enthusiastic than it might have been if we met even a day prior. 

The Lord has been so good to us during this first week! He hasn’t given us more than we could handle, and He brings at least one person into the library everyday. We can’t wait to see who the Lord introduces us to next! 

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