March In Berlin

 March

    March was quite a busy month for me. I finished a German course and spent time working in the church and the shelter. I also spent a week in Rome at a Resonate Retreat, where the Cohort group met CRC missionaries from all over Europe. 

The Shelter

    When I look out the window of my room, I see a stark contrast between two worlds. For context, I live directly across from the homeless shelter where I work. Every morning and evening, the shelter's guests sit crowded on a bench, waiting for the shelter to open. On the other hand, kids in my building run around carefree, playing soccer, climbing on playground equipment, and playing hide and seek, whereas with the guests one can see the weight of the world on their shoulders. They will often carry around bags containing all of their worldly possessions. They will layer multiple jackets because they are out in the cold all day. I suppose there is a harshness to the world that those who are homeless understand, that I hope those kids will never experience. 

    Sometimes, the contrast strikes me in my own life. Every evening after a shift at the shelter,  I come home to a group of my friends rather than sleeping in a room with people I haven't met before. I come home to the privacy of my own room after having given men or women at the shelter a bed in a room with up to fourteen other people. I don't worry about where I will sleep, how cold the weather is, or if I will eat. I’m grateful that I get to be a part of their lives, and am also grateful they get to be a part of mine. 

 Resonate Retreat 

    March was a month of rest. I traveled with Cohort to a retreat in Rome for Resonate’s European missionaries. For four days, we debriefed our time in our respective countries. Meeting the Resonate (or CRC) missionaries from around Europe was incredible. Listening to their hearts for the countries that they serve was inspiring. The effort they put into learning the language and the culture was incredibly moving. We listened to a speaker (in English, which I greatly appreciated) and took time to soak in the sunshine (which I also greatly appreciated since Berlin is still quite grey). 

    The day I returned to the shelter after the week off, I was standing at the door of the shelter. A woman who is a frequent guest of the shelter looked at me and said, "Ich weiß dich" – “I know you.” Since I spend three to four nights a week at the shelter, for someone to say "I know you" when I came back was, I suppose, a way to acknowledge I had been gone and come back. 

    I was glad to be back. 

Photos from Rome 

As we celebrate Jesus' resurrection, may we be aware of the blessings around us. 

A. Kuperus