Well as I write this I am beyond exhaustion at midnight Friday night, our fifth day, but I may not have access to the computer again for awhile so I’ll press on. (But just before the stroke of 12……HAPPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID!!!! Can’t believe we are not with you on your 19th birthday but hey, you were invited! Lol! I hope you had a very fun day!)
I LOVE Berlin!. I have never felt so excited about a city before. I told Ramona, our Christian intern, guide and now friend, that it’s like people just gave a box of crayons to some kids and said, color me a city!!!!
There are random murals next to 13th century gothic cathedrals. Crazy colors and designs on every building and on every person!!!
As we were meeting people on our secong day at Alexander Platz, I was very drawn to a young man with pink and blue hair named Sebastian. My husband and I were witnessing to him and to our amazement he was open to talking. He told us he was “spiritual” but not into anything but Buddhism. After much discussion, we were about to get into the “well if you are right, no problem, but if we are right…..there is a major problem”. But at this point Sebastian’s “friend” threw a beer on our friend Steve and that was the end of that (although Steve handled it with much compassion and love) our window of opportunity was closed.
So the next day, at the “hippie park” Boxhaganer, I painted a portrait of Sebastian while others were witnessing. I painted him on his knees with his hand on his heart and chains broken off of his ankle. I guess I was just sad that this boy who was so obviously “worldly” was in reality just a broken 13 year old boy inside. I met a man named Mario who asked for prayer, after discussing my portrait, for his friend Peter. Apparently Mario was mixed up in drugs and his friend had an overdose and Mario did not. After that, he got involved in Narcotics Anonymous and found God.
What really surprised me was that on our way to eat the following day, I spotted Bastion! He was miles away from where we had originally seen him. In front of a church that dates to the 1200s, this punk kid saw his portrait! I was able to pull the portrait out and show him.
He was so psyched! The boy who was with him was delighted to pose for a picture (this was the same boy who had thrown a beer on my friend Steve as he preached!) There was no anger, just excitement, as he looked at the portrait. I think he was touched that I had thought enough of him to paint him and when I told him that “God Loved Him”! I know he heard me. The rest is up to God!
That's so cool!
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