September has arrived, and with the changing of the month, so too my plans have changed. For a variety of reasons, I have decided not to stay in Germany and have instead returned to where my family lives in New Jersey. As I write this, I am keeping busy working at my family’s business and planning next steps. I finished my year in Germany working at the Willkommens Gemeinde, the local church, and the Notübernachtung, a homeless shelter.
The Church: Willkommens Gemeinde and Sprachcafé
The Willkommens Gemeinde, the church I have been a part of for the last year, was a difficult place to say goodbye to. My friends, Kevin and Anastasiya, and I all came to Berlin with Resonate Global Mission for this church. Every Sunday, we helped prepare for the service, and we became part of the community.
We hosted Sprachecafé here in the summer
On Fridays, the church hosted a Sprachecafé, which is where people learning German will go to practice speaking. The tables were divided by language levels, so as you progressed in German you would move to different tables. As Anastasia and I were both beginning to learn German when we had arrived in Berlin, it was here we were able to really practice speaking.
The Homeless Shelter: Notübernachtung
A blurry photo I took of the NÜ as I left it after my shift
I worked in the Notübernachtung, which is in a tent, since May. In a previous newsletter, I mentioned the tent is pressurized, meaning we have to be careful about opening doors. One day, we heard a generator turn on, and the ceiling lights started getting closer and closer to us on the ground. The supervisors ran to the emergency door, where a guest had opened it, looking for the bathroom, inadvertently beginning to collapse the tent.
As I was there for three evenings a week, I grew to know both the volunteers and the different guests well. When I walked up to the shelter, many of the guests waiting outside would wave when they saw me. There was one who would show up sporadically, but when she did, she would run up and hug me.
There was one guest who would point to the food he wanted, since we both spoke different languages. When he tried speaking his native language, I would smile and shrug to show I had no idea what he was saying. Once, I had accidentally put pasta on his plate, he came back and pointed to his teeth, to show he was missing so many that he could not chew the food that had been served.
The other volunteers I worked with were incredible. They worked to make the shelter the best it could be. One told me how he had purchased socks in bulk for the clothing bin for the guests. He was shocked when they were gone within the week. Another put on their music playlist, and throughout the evening, we saw multiple guests dancing to it. She told me, "I'm so glad people like my music."
I was sad to say goodbye.
Where have I seen God?
In my previous newsletter, I left you all with the question, "Where have you seen God in the last year?" and I promised to answer the question in this newsletter.
Last June, before I left for Germany, I was listening to someone speak, and they asked the question, "If Jesus were sitting across from you, how would he see you?" I looked at myself and saw a mental image of myself, broken. When I envisioned how Jesus saw me, it was like light was pouring from the cracks where I felt broken. It felt like Jesus, regardless of how broken I saw myself, made me whole.
I talked with someone after I had written the question, “Where have you seen God in the last year?” They responded that they did not like the question, as “God is all around us at all times, so where is God not?” The person I was speaking to is an artist, so they talked about how, for them, they see God in art and in beauty. The beauty in art of Creation for them was in how God created order out of chaos, and they strove to do the same in their own creations.
Sometime in February, I was working in the shelter, helping to check the guests in, and I looked up and every guest that had entered the room either had a black eye, or a nose facing the wrong direction. It struck me in that moment how I was surrounded by pain. And as I began answering the question, “Where have I seen God this year?” it led me to ask the question: “Where is God in pain?”
I know this is a question asked by philosophers. It is a question that leads people away from the church. I am aware that I will never be able to answer this question completely or stop wrestling with it.
I don't have an answer to this question. I don't know where God is when pain feels like it's too much. Often, I find God in the times when someone can speak through pain and give comfort. I watched my colleagues this year go out of their way to make the guests feel comfortable and safe. I watched volunteers give their time every week to work in a shelter. While I may not know where precisely God is in pain, I believe that when we comfort those in pain, we are showing God's love to them. I believe that as we live our lives, we show God to others through our actions and through our words.
In my last week in Europe, I went to an art museum. In the first room I walked into, there was a statue of Jesus on the cross. I was struck in that moment by something I had heard once. Our God understands our suffering, as He also suffered. We pray to a God who has experienced pain. When we cry out in pain, he feels our pain.
I walked into the next room, and there was an art piece consisting of seven paintings, in which Jesus stood among the crowd. Jesus stood among those waiting for food as they begged. Jesus among the sick. Jesus in prison. Jesus among us.
Feeding the Hungry
Comforting the Sick
Ransoming the Captive
So, in conclusion, throughout the year, I saw God within the grace and kindness shown in the words and actions of others, and I, too, saw God within the artwork.
Lastly,
Thank you to everyone who has reached out throughout this year. I am incredibly grateful for all your prayers and support, as well as for all the people who responded to the emails. It was pretty cool knowing people read them.
Back in August, DoJustice, a blog within the CRC, published an article I wrote on missions, which you can check out here: https://www.
As I sign off from my last newsletter, may God bless you and lead you to unexpected people and places. When pain comes to you, may you find comfort in a God who understands our suffering. May you see God's hands working in your life.
A. Kuperus
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