Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
your remembrance, O LORD, throughout all ages.
Psalm 135:13
Now may the God of peace who brought again
from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd
of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,
equip you with everything good that you may
do his will, working in you that which is pleasing
in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be
glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21
Guten Tag! My German has slowly but surely gotten better this week in Leipzig. I'm without a doubt that I could write a different blog post for each day of the past week, but I'd rather just let the pictures speak for themselves.
Montag 13. Juni
After class, the Universität Leipzig Herder Institute Program took all the American students bowling. It's not a usual "German" thing to do, but I guess we were getting a tiny taste of home.
 |
| Kathleen and I. |
Dienstag 14. Juni
After all day class, the Institute had planned another evening event for us. This time they took us to see a Summer Theatre production of Treasure Island in German.
The theatre was outside, in a small run down vintage area of Leipzig, and it looked like we were sitting under the covering of an old barn!
 |
| Kathleen, Bo, and I. |
Mittwoch 15. Juni
After all day class (again), we went on ANOTHER excursion (and at this point I was almost a zombie). This excursion, however, was incredibly special. We toured the German BMW plant and got to see each step of putting these cars together. The tour was naturally, in German, but I saw plenty to understand what was going on. They didn't allow us to take pictures inside, so I don't have anything from it. Even so, it was a special experience.
Donnerstag 16. Juni
This evening after class, I went to a Syrian dance party with my roommate, Olga. I especially love being here in Europe, because there are so many students from different countries studying at the Institute. I'm able to enjoy new cultural immersion, in many more cultures rather than simply German.
 |
| Olga! My sweet Roommate from Belarus! |
Freitag 17. Juni
Again after class I spent the evening with my roommate and her friends. We just sat around and visited. I learned how to play a new Russian card game. I feel as if I learn German better in these settings than in the classroom!
Samstag 18. Juni
Here's where I'll camp out I believe. This day we took an excursion to Eisenach, Germany. It is a quaint little city about 3 hours by bus from Leipzig.
Although they did not allow pictures in most of the castle, I was allowed to take pictures of my favorite part.
The Lord's will WILL be done. He calls his children to obedience, not to somehow obtain the ability to serve Him without His Holy Spirit's help and fellowship. I'm encouraged by this, in that I am reminded that once we are in Christ, when the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, every moment of our lives belongs to Jesus Christ, without exception (Luke7v22). So, when Paul is sent to prison multiple times, when Martin Luther goes into hiding to keep from being executed, and even when believers of this time are martyred for the sake of Christ, we belong to the Lord and He is in control. All things, all moments, all breaths, must be lived in humble obedience to the Lord's command to repent and turn from sin, and He who has begun a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil1v6). So if you are in Christ, covered by His precious blood, REJOICE in your trials! Do not be discouraged! For Christ will not simply give us salvation and cease to involve himself intimately in our daily lives. He is bringing about the Father's will and glory through our lives, by making us more like Himself, and disciplining us to trust him and follow him unwaveringly.
Alles Liebe,
Carol
 |
| Kathleen, Lexi, and I. As soon as we arrived, we hiked up this incredibly steep hill to the 900 year old Wartburg Castle.  |
 |
| The desk on which Martin Luther's German translation of the New Testament was written. |
 |
| Martin Luther (1483-1546) In the 1500s, after Martin Luther had nailed his 95 Theses to the church in Wittenburg, the authorities were searching for him to execute him. During those months, he was able to find refuge in a little nook in this castle and hide out. During that 10 month period, his obedience to the Lord led to the first translations of the New Testament other than Latin. I was blown away to stand in that room. Here was a man, just as lowly as we are without Christ, but whose obedience led to truly amazing things for the Kingdom of Christ, whose ramifications are still being felt in believers lives today, almost 500 years later!!! I was so encouraged to be in the place where a simple man, saved by the grace of our Messiah, humbled himself in the midst of trials, and obeyed the Father's command to reach unreached peoples with the Word of God. Through his actions, Luther showed that truly we are never to be ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, and to those who are being saved by it, it is the Power of God (Rom.1v16,1Corinth1v18). |
The Lord's will WILL be done. He calls his children to obedience, not to somehow obtain the ability to serve Him without His Holy Spirit's help and fellowship. I'm encouraged by this, in that I am reminded that once we are in Christ, when the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, every moment of our lives belongs to Jesus Christ, without exception (Luke7v22). So, when Paul is sent to prison multiple times, when Martin Luther goes into hiding to keep from being executed, and even when believers of this time are martyred for the sake of Christ, we belong to the Lord and He is in control. All things, all moments, all breaths, must be lived in humble obedience to the Lord's command to repent and turn from sin, and He who has begun a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil1v6). So if you are in Christ, covered by His precious blood, REJOICE in your trials! Do not be discouraged! For Christ will not simply give us salvation and cease to involve himself intimately in our daily lives. He is bringing about the Father's will and glory through our lives, by making us more like Himself, and disciplining us to trust him and follow him unwaveringly.
Carol
What a week you've had, Carol!
ReplyDeleteWhen Willie was at seminary, most of his professors were Reformed, and each fall, instead of celebrating Halloween, we would all celebrate Reformation Day (Oct 31, the day Luther nailed his Theses to the church door at Wittenburg). We dressed up as Bible or Reformation characters, played games, and ate heartily. I think it's pretty doggone cool that you got to see where Luther lived and wrote :) I am neither Reformed nor Arminian, but I consider myself blessed to have benefited from so much of our spiritual heritage from our Reformed forbears!
Thank you so much for sharing your heart, and your photos, with your readers. My prayers and thoughts are with you, dear lady. May you be daily strengthened in Christ, filled with His grace, wisdom, power, and agape. Love you!