Randoms

I jotted down some notes over the last couple weeks that I haven't written here so here is a hodge-podge of thoughts and memories with no pictures. You can skip this post if you think it's boring. It won't hurt my feelings. So one note I wrote was: "On Wednesday I had the most people smile back at me. It was great." I sometimes smile at people on the street. I know Germans don't love this and they think you're crazy if you look people in the eye or smile as you walk by someone you don't know, but I kind of don't care. I think some people just need a smile. I try to use discretion and not smile at everyone but sometimes I can't help it. I'm trying to temper it to a small smile. On this day though (whatever week that was) people smiled back. I've been encouraged to remember that the Light of Christ is in me and my job right now in this dark city is to just live and be a light. I trust God will do with that what He wills. So sometimes I smile. And sometimes people like it. And sometimes I feel at home. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The next note I wrote said "Donner Shop." That 'o' is supposed to have an umlaut (double dots) over it but I have an American keyboard so just picture it. Donner is a turkish food that is shaved meat(ish) inside bread with cabbage, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, and sauce. It's really good. There are shops all over but I started going sometimes to one on my street just a short walk away. Now, when I walk by, I smile at the men who work there and sometimes I wave. They started waving and smiling back and I just love it. They recognize me every time now. It is another thing that makes me feel like this is home. Light. Just living here trying to be light. Hoping God uses that even when I don't see it. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The last thing is that I go to class Monday through Thursday (sometimes Fridays too) to learn German. It's really great even when it's tough. Our class is ten people plus the teacher and everyone kinda likes everyone else, which is great. The teacher is nice and funny. We laugh a lot. We lost one of our fellow students today. Her name is GoGo and she is Greek. She had to go back to Greece earlier than expected so today was her last day. She is so fun and full of life. She will be missed. There is a man who is from Syria and he is funny and so friendly. And there is another girl from Bulgaria who I ride the train with now because we take the same route. We were late today. There are so many different people and cultures here and I hope this becomes a source for friendships that grow deeper and stronger.