unterwegs...

Bitte gehen Sie weiter, es gibt nichts zu sehen.

2008-05-08T12:31:00.001Z

weekend

2008-02-10T08:16:00.001Z

The days I am not at work are usually very busy with friends, at least these last two days were. I love to spend time with people, to talk, share life and dream (and eat :-) together. I feel very rich to have so many wonderful inspiring, caring and loving people around me. For the last days there were Julia and Basti from Köln who stayed with us; in the afternoon we met with friends from Hamburg to try figure out what to do think about the upcoming elections in the city; Salome and Henning came over for dinner and in the evening my brother Kristov arrived and Janna came round for a cup of late-night tea... Beautiful.
Yesterday Kristov, his woman-for-life Katharina, Janna and us took a ferry to Finkenwerder. It was one of the first sunny days after long grey rainy weeks, much needed! And here's what we found...
The arab ship doesn't want to be turned around, so you'll have to watch it like this I'm afraid.

home

2008-01-27T13:39:00.000Z

A long time since our last post... All our boxes are unpacked and it feels good to have a new home base. My dear friend Catrin gave us this picture of the Hamburg harbour with a hook to hang our keys on... Now we are ships in a harbour - ... sometimes I feel more like a piece of driftwood though. But that's only those messy emotional girl-moods I guess.

Anyway, we are really amazed by our new flat, it's really big!! You can run through the corridor to gain momentum and then slide into the living room - right into the cupboard :-). Yes. And we have done some serious painting (after long diplomatic discussions about the right type of green). And this is the picture that hung in my grandmother's living room as long as I can remember. It's now in our sleeping room. Yes, we have a living room, a sleeping room, a bathroom, a corridor, a kitchen, a small store room and a room with which we don't know what to do. It's crazy.

The Council

2007-11-05T20:57:00.000Z

Another weekend of community, prayer, discussion and seeking God is over. Another Council meeting of Jesus Freaks Germany. Every time I leave I feel such a strong love for those people. Some of them I know for almost ten years, others I got to know just some months ago, but being together in JF always makes me feel that we are bound together by some fate and that we belong together - which is actually true!! A sad fact is that some people who couldn't agree with the recent developments and the "open space"-method which was used in the process kept distance or dropped out.
The location was an old castle - getting there in fog and darkness was the first qualifying test. The aim of the meeting was to adopt a new value paper that lays down the new direction, defines the leadership style and structure of the Jesus Freaks. In general there was a broad acceptance, but since we aimed for a one-voice decision, and there were quite a number of details to discuss, we could not even vote for the first of 13 pages. Maybe that sounds like a big failure, but in my perception we accomplished something very much bigger.
The main achievement in the whole Council is the ongoing process of learning to trust, respect and create space for each other, regardless of his position, opinion or the years of membership. Admitting that Jesus is incarnate in everyone of us and has an important contribution to make. At times there are contradicting views but through mutual trust and dialogue we could find to unity again and again. I like how the "architectural" team has put it in words: "Unity in gigantic diversity - not based on compromise but on miracle!" Jesus Freaks are not a subculture, we are made up from many different subcultures that normally would not get along with each other. Again and again I am amazed by this miracle!

Hierarchy vs Anarchy

2007-10-18T08:50:00.000Z

In a couple of weeks the next unit of the FreaksLeadershipTraining will take place. This time the issue is leadership, a quite controversial one. Especially because the transition process of Jesus Freaks Germany (das Konzil) is still on the way. So there won't be any "How-to" advices but just a introduction of different extreme positions and principles and a lot of space for everyone to draw his conclusions. I like this concept.
By the way, the FLT is so cheap - incredible 99€!! - because it was sponsored by an American Foundation that wants to help our movement. A nice move! I remember an article on the leftist internet news network Indymedia.de a few years ago that spoke quite bad about the Jesus Freaks and compared it to violent right-wing fundamentalism. It was the time when one of our leaders became (for a very short time) member of the right-wing party Republikaner (hier gibt es keinen Link, ich habe es auf der Seite nicht länger als 15 Sekunden ausgehalten und will das auch niemandem zumuten! Ich zitiere nur "Mach mich nicht an Ali!") and could bring some people from there to Christ. It was a very controversial thing even in our own ranks. But I always apreciated him as a person and leader. Unfortunately he just left not only the blogosphere but also JFI. I am really sad about this. However, he did not leave the body of Christ! I wish him & his family all the best.
One of the points that was held against the Jesus Freaks in the
Indymedia-Article (German) was that we were financially supported by American Christians. That was not true at that time, but now it is a fact.
The hardcore band Preacher has a video on their myspace site where they also put in a picture of the headlines of that article. Click here to watch "when does protest turn into oppression".

Free Burma

2007-10-04T07:27:00.000Z

Today, one day after the German Unity Day, bloggers internationally join the free burma campaign to give a voice to the opresses citizens of Burma (also known as Myanmar). Our blogging friend Hufi made me aware of it and I think the new communication media can make an impact on the political situation there. The military regime of Burma would like to keep the country isolated and hide the massive human rights violations from the worlds eyes. Via internet and cellphones a lot of information has been brought out of the country, creating awareness of the suffering. I found one burmese blog in english, for sure there are a lot more out there.

my sweet little sister

2007-09-17T08:21:00.001Z

This weekend I went to Berlin to visit Elli, my younger sister. It was lovely* We bought socks, watched pride and prejudice (the long version - 4,5 hours of Mister Darcy...), and baked Zwiebelkuchen (it was nice, but didn't taste the same way we remembered it from our grandmother). A quiet weekend.

Fasting and prayer

2007-09-13T19:03:00.000Z

Today was the first day of Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer and hospitality for muslims. I was thinking about joining the fast but then decided to stick to my personal fasting routine... But the beginning of Ramadan reminded me of the time I spent with my Turkish class in Istanbul in 2005, the picture was taken there as well - a different soup for every iftar, the time in the evening when the fast is broken. The restaurants had special iftar menues on offer and we saw a public distribution of food to people on the street. The month is also a time for giving to the needy.
For me fasting is a time to remember - God, people around me and always also the ones who go hungry - not voluntarily. During our travels we visited many countries in which most of the population has a muslim background and so I want to take time during the next 30 days to remember and pray for these places and the people we met (and places that I would still like to visit :-).

Happy Döner Cow

2007-09-06T11:58:00.000Z

Apart from happy violet cows in Switzerland there are apparently some Döner Cows around... Around our corner actually.

Maybe I just wanted to tell you that I found two guys to talk Turkish to. They both study here in Hamburg and want to improve their (really good) German and are really patient with my slow primary-school-style sentences. But at least I do get to use the vocabulary I learned during the last weeks and joyjoy!! I do remeber things I learned at university almost two years ago... It's not all gone. Yeah.

Mehmet için: Burada çalısmak istiyor musun? ☺

Thanksgiving

2007-09-02T11:10:00.001Z

Yesterday we had a little barbecue session at the river Elbe. We wrote things we wanted to thank God for on leaves and sent them away with the river. It was beautiful to do this while watching big ships coming in carrying huge containers - giving thanks and receiving all the more.
When we returned home that evening we found we had received a letter with the signed contract for our future home in Hamburg!! Finally. Thanks.

Impression from Slot Art Festival

2007-08-03T16:21:00.000Z

...and an interpretation

2007-06-20T21:50:00.000Z

Like the hero in the parable, we found out during our travels that the thing we are looking for (at least for the moment) is actually back in our homeland. That means we will stay in Germany for the next couple of years, find a flat for just the two of us (actually we always lived in community through our seven years of marriage, the only exception being two months in a campervan under a bridge in Tübingen), find jobs and just live - in ONE place for a while.
So here we are in the beautiful city of Hamburg, we have the privilege to stay with Kim & Kristian while we are looking for a flat. Their support made it so much easier to decide. Actually we talked about coming to Hamburg since we met in Laos and Thailand in March. It really feels like this is the right place to be for us now and there is a lot already prepared for us. Pot of gold we are coming!

A parable...

2007-06-14T21:57:00.000Z

I read this story when I visited the old Jewish quarter of Krakau, Poland, about 8 years ago. And it came back to my mind while making the decisions about our future. The story was written on the wall of a synagogue and goes something like this:
There was a man called Eisik, the son of Jekel, who was trusting in God despite the poverty and hardship that reigned in those days. In a dream someone visited him and ordered him to go to the bridge in Prague near the palace to look for a treasure. After the same dream returned for the third time, Eisik decided to make the long journey. When he arrived after many days, he found the bridge, but it was guarded day and night by the palace guards. It was impossible to dig for the treasure. But still, everyday he came to the bridge and watched. One day the officer called him and asked what he was doing all the time. Eisik told him everything about his dreams. The officer laughed loud and said: "You poor fool travelled so many miles just to obey a dream! Don't you know that you cannot trust dreams, that they are nonsense? I once had a dream as well and was told to travel to Krakau and look for a treasure under the oven in the house of someone called Eisik, son of Jekel. I can imagine myself searching every home because one out of two has the name Eisik or Jekel." Eisik bowed and went back home. Under the oven in his own house he found a big treasure, and he used it to build a synagogue in his neighbourhood.

G8 - our contribution

2007-06-09T22:08:00.000Z

We didn't make it to Heiligen-damm, we didn't watch Bono and we didn't join the virtual demon-stration on second life. But Rebecca and me made a substitute workshop about globalization and economics on our balcony in the Blackforest. We were reading to each other from this book, which the author, an activist, gave to us the day before. And we joined a peace prayer in the village church which was prepared by Rebeccas parents. Her Dad made a little fence around the globe to symbolize the separation of the decisionmakers and the population. Finally I joined a campaign against poverty by wearing a little pin on my pants. It says: tegen armoede. This is Dutch and as far as I know means: against poverty. They gave it away for free last year on the Flevo Festival. Not that it had any impact in the little village where we live in at the moment. i don't think there are any Dutch speaking people. But anyway, I felt connected with the Freaks/Speak people who were there.

Solidarity from Beirut

2007-05-25T09:31:00.000Z

Just got an email from our friend from Lebanon:
"I really cant express how sad i was, reading about JF crisis :(:( even if I have that familiar nudge inside of me saying that it will all be alright, because HE is building HIS church (JF).. we went through a lot of similar events (i would guess), even if it's at a much smaller scale, but i think i know how u guys feel. All the gang here in Leb have been prayin for JF and we all agreed to be one with you in the Spirit."
Their group is doing great, they meet weekly with around 15 people, and recently a whole band came to faith in Christ, and now they formed a new band that play death metal and sing about God. Some people try and prepare to visit Freakstock this coming summer, but they need financial support. We would love to have them over and pray it will work. It's almost one year since we've seen them for the first time at the global day of prayer in Beirut and talked the first time later after an the Apocalyptica concert.

statistics - one year on the road

2007-05-09T06:39:00.000Z

best fruits: Thailand
highest rice-per-day-quota: Indonesia (three times a day)
speeding tickets: one (Rebecca in NZ)
musical instruments bought: one (Tabla in India)
beds shared with bedbugs: three (Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hat Yai)
borders crossed: 26
longest stay at one place: 10 weeks in Kerala
cutest ex-drugaddicts: Laos
hours spent on buses: countless
bribes: one (Cambodia)
books bought: around 20
best food: Bedouin style rice with chicken and veg in Palmyra (Syria)
flights taken: 13
longest train ride: 2000 km in 34 hours (Goa to Delhi)
tattoes: one
shoes thrown out: 2 pairs
shoes bought: 7 pairs :-)
nights slept in tents: 22 (Freakstock, our little tent-house in our friends garden
in NZ, on the beach in Thailand)
Germans met outside Germany: 39 (apart from masses of anonymous Germans in Thailand)
worship languages heard: arabic, hebrew, english, hindi, thai, lao,
snakes encountered: 7
pets: mosquitoes, geckos, spiders (small-medium-large), snake, rats (ate T-shirt, cookies and didn't like Durian), frogs, bedbugs, ants
days sick: 5
best beaches: New Zealand
most helpful tool bought while travelling: a water heater the size of a cell-phone
haircuts: 2
boat rides: 21 (ferry from Jordan to Egypt, boats to islands in India and Thailand, ferries in Sydney, ferries in Bangkok)
car accidents and break-downs: 2 in NZ while driving ourselves, 1 in Cairo sitting in a taxi, 1 on the bus in Jordan, 1 on the bus in Cambodia (flat-tyre)
cutest punks: Jakarta
nicest approach by street vendor: Where are you from? ... Ah, Germany!! Comme ci comme ca!
nicest pisang goreng (fried banana): Jakarta
insulting host countries: once (I don't tell you which one...)
best family holidays: Mangawhai with the Sinclair family (NZ)
most frequent drug offers: Goa
nicest hang-out place: Gokarna (India)
easiest country to travel: Singapore :-)
slum-ares visited: in Cairo, Delhi, Jakarta
travel companions: Niina in Lebanon, Sam in the Netherlands, Miriam in India, Kim & Kuky in Thailand, Debora in Thailand
best metal show: Apocalyptica in Beirut
most pictures taken in one spot: the cedars of Lebanon
phone-calls to Germany: 13
cutest metalheads: Beirut
gravest medical conditions witnessed: India
hours spent in Internet cafes: countless
most frequently used electronic device carried with us: ipod
new sports tried: boogie board surfing, juggling with Pois
pictures taken: 1800
stuff stolen: zero
diaries filled: 2(Hajo), 3(Rebecca)
currencies used: 16
food I will miss most: rice & curry on a daily basis
Jesus Freaks met (apart from Freakstock...): 9
...

Little Cambodia

2007-05-03T12:31:00.000Z

Back from the Angkor Wat pilgrimage... We spent just three days in Cambodia, which is far too short to become familiar with the country, it feels like being part of a japanese group doing Europe in two weeks... But anyway we wanted to see Angkor and this we did. And it was worth it I would say - though getting there overland from Bangkok is quite an adventure. Roads in Thailand are good, so traveling by bus is no big deal. As soon as we crossed the border to Cambodia the road turned into a muddy something with enormous holes. The rainy season had started on time, so all vehicles are covered in mud - not a nice time to ride your motorbike... The bus we went from the border onwards was one of those old rattling types and provided some 6 hours of bumpy zigzag turns. After three hours we stopped - flat tyre. It was fixed in 30 minutes in a tiny garage... It was nighttime when we arrived and we where tired, so we accepted the offer to stay in "my uncle's guesthouse" the guy accompanying the bus made...

Cambodia is still a very poor country - looking out of the window I saw people working their fields with a pair of oxen and a wooden plough, there are small villages with simple huts - just some impressions that give a different view from what I saw in Thailand. From what I've read around 40% of the population live below the poverty line.
Cambodia has suffered much during five years of civil war followed by the rule of the Khmer Rouge from 1975-1979. The revolution was aimed at reshaping the country according to Marxist-Leninist principles - within weeks people were forced out of the cities to work in the fields, money was abolished, schools closed and religious activity banned. During those four years one in five died as a result of the regime, the majority died from malnutrition, overwork or mistreated diseases, thousands were executed for allegedly opposing the regime (some were killed just because they wore glasses). At least 14000 were killed in a secret prison called S-21 in Phnom Penh.

Walking around in Angkor Wat we were reminded of this dark era in Cambodia's recent history when seeing scenes of torture and killing on one of the reliefs covering the walls surrounding the temple complex. We've read about Cambodia's history in David Chandler's "Voices from S-21" - he quotes one of the tourguides linking those pictures with the cruel practice of the Khmer Rouge. It is frightening how over thousands of years not much seems to have changed. The horrors people are capable of doing are still the same...
So we walked around the vast area surrounding the main temple and found many thoughtful faces...
Reading about the Khmer Rouge has touched me, especially because David Chandler doesn't just stop at giving an analysis of what happened at S-21 - he compares it with the Holocaust and similar incidents. He tries to answer the question how these things can happen again and again with half the world watching from a safe distance. He quotes a british journalist writing about the Holocaust and writes "to achieve the murders at Treblinka, the Nazis could count on the spiritual deadness of the world at large". He continues:

"I suggest, we allowed S-21 to happen because most of us are indifferent to phenomena of this kind happening far away to other people. Evil, we like to think, occurs elsewhere."

Far away to other people... At the time of the massacre between Hutu and Tutsi in Ruanda I was 14, at the time of the killing of 8000 people at Srebrenica I was 15 years old. The same age many of the victims and perpetrators had. And today?
It's challenging to have all this information...

The next border we'll cross will be when returning to Germany. I wonder how that will feel like...

My 24hr famine

2007-04-23T05:06:00.000Z

Once a week, 24 hours... no food.
And this to me, with food being one of my major obsessions :-).
Indeed I suffer. A bit.
It started with the simple idea to include fasting in my weekly routine, to create some kind of spiritual habit I guess. Maybe to obey.
And I found it's a good thing - on other days it's a pain - that it does make me focus more on things that matter.
Sometimes communication is easier, between me and God, God and me, me and the people surrounding me... It's a lot about me.

Then I read Henri Nouwen on world hunger, thoughts written in the 70s but still highly valid today... With others he signed a petition to call on the government of the US to intervene in the areas most affected by hunger at that time. One sentence touched me:

WE ARE PREPARED TO EAT LESS IN ORDER TO FEED THE HUNGRY.

It's sometimes as simple as that...
Prepared to eat less, because I usually eat too much anyway.
Prepared to eat less meat, because where meat is "produced" to feed the rich (me!), crops could be planted to feed the local communities instead.
Prepared to eat what has been produced without exploiting labourers or the environment.
Prepared to eat what I can afford when paying a "fair" prize for it.

Now, apart from being challenged to "eat less", I asked myself how my fasting could actually help people who are starving... And I thought about the money that I am saving because I don't have to buy food for a day. I decided to give this money to a NGO working on a food programme in Sudan, a country highly vulnerable to food shortages, not because of natural disasters, but man-made tragedies.
I've found this map on bbc.com, I think it was done in 2006.

It's a small step. But I had this postcard with the old Hippie saying about the many small people and the many small steps... Right. It counts :-).

picture postcards

2007-03-21T04:37:00.000Z

...the island.

2007-03-21T03:41:00.000Z

Hey, thank you so much for praying everybody! We had a good week on the island and it was so good to know people are thinking of us and praying... We got all sorts of suggestions where we should come to as well :-). I appreciate that...
And really, I was so happy about our little hide-away thing - compared to India Thailand's beaches are very "developed", so I was kind of doubting we would find a little quiet spot for us - in my heart I was wishing for something like Gokarna again, simple huts, not too many people and a nice sort of people too, more the backpacker style type of people... And here we go, Ko Phayam - a three hour ferry ride from Ranong on the Andaman coast of Thailand is pretty close to that. The description on a poster said "like Ko Samui in the eighties" so we didn't know what to expect - strange haircuts and purple bikinis? But it turned out really nicely. Here we are, this was our hut...

We shared it with some unbidden guests, apart from the regulars - mosquitos, geckos, ants - we had frogs jumping in our bathroom; they especially seemed to enjoy sitting on the taps, to make sure to maximize the surprise effect... One even decided to stay for the day.
One day we had a snake hiding behind the refuse bin - and that quite scared me I admit. It was a little one, thin but still long. After that we had two days when we wouldn't enter the hut without beating hysterically sticks on the floor... We got back to normal on day three though. After the snake I didn't mind the frogs anymore... And I was happy sleeping under a net!

Nice place, selling chai yen, the thai iced black tea with lots of sugary condensed milk...

What we came for... We spent our days reflecting what we felt we had learned during the last years and during the time travelling, we remembered what we thought God had put into our hearts, our dreams, ideas and his words. And we kind of tried to find our own words for all that in the process.
But we didn't put it together yet, we felt we would need the time to make up our minds separately and only in a second step put both our stuff together... So it's not done yet, but it feels already good -I realized once again that God is guiding us and why should he stop doing that now?? So the story is to be continued, maybe on another island :-).

Think future on Ko Phayam

2007-03-13T05:13:00.000Z

On our own again (du kannst nachlesen bei Kim was noch war) we arrived on the island of Ko Phayam. We are taking some days off to think about our future. We hope for God to speak and to put the puzzling pieces together so that we can get a clearer picture of what we will do after our trip. Please dont ask us yet, it will take some time to ponder and also to search advice from some individuals with whom we want to share our thoughts. But we really would appreciate your prayers during this week, because our decisions will lay the foundations for the next couple of years. Thank you very much!

The struggle for Land

2007-03-08T11:54:00.000Z

Two very dear friends of ours have the same problem at the moment. They need help to be able to buy land. One piece of land is in Portugal, where Barbara already started to establish a community that is meant to be a kind of retreat for people, combined with agricultural and social work. Now she started a campaign where you can buy single sqauremetres for 7 Euro each. I feel that this is a good opportunity and the place might become a place of huge blessing. Check her blog for what is happening.

The other piece of land that needs to be bought is in India, where Ton Baba is forced to move his christ-centred community of the poor to another place. It is pretty serious and about 100 former homeless and partially very sick people are concerned, as well as the co-workers: "Sewa Ashram is currently under threat of demolition by the Delhi Development Authority, which is acquiring our land for city development. We urgently need your help and support so that we can move our community to a new, secure piece of land." They already had the bulldozers aroud the corner. Jake and Jessica, who are volunteering for the ashram at the moment, blogged about the situation here.

2007-03-02T05:42:00.000Z

We are back from our 5 days in Laos. It is much too short to get an impression of the country, I guess it will be mixed up with our Thailand-impressions. But it was a good starting point for mainland southeast asia. Laos doesn't have big cities, the capital is just above half a million inhabitants, so it feels a bit like a village. It is mostly dominated by communism and buddhism. Glitzy temples, monks in orange and communist flags became a familiar sight for us. And more tourists than we expected. Kristian picked us up from the bus station and later we met the other guys form the German group. It was so good being welcomed and able to talk in German, sharing experieces and just be together! Especially as I started to think that I have travelled enough during the days before.

Kristian visited Laos last year and met a bunch of people who are believers and ex-addicts, andthey live together in one place where they rehabilitate other people who stopped taking drugs. They are doing a cool job, their place has a really nice atmosphere and it was great to see how everyone takes care for the others. We had good times encouraging and inspiring each other. We especially enjoyed our worship and prayer times. On our last day we went to swim in a big lake with many small islands. It was a pity that we couldn't talk to much to the individuals because of the language barrier. But still many of them asked us to come back next year.
Now we are in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and try to plan our vacation with Kim and Kristian, maybe we will just end up on one of the islands in the South.

Lift-off to Laos

2007-02-23T15:54:00.000Z

In some hours we will board the plane to Udon Thani, from where we will get the Bus to Laos. We will meet Kristian and Kim and a bunch of Ex-Junkies there. Well I don't really know a lot of what we will be doing so far, but you can read from their experiences in Thailand over the last few days (if you know German, but also some cool pictures). Also Wolf wrote a bit about meeting with us.
We just spent 4 days in Singapur, met with some people from Sonic Edge and were reminded of the old and glorious Steiger days: Some of the people we talked to have been involved with Steiger and were in Germany at the Steiger Conference in 1998. This is where I first found the flyer of Delhi House (now Sewa Ashram)in India, where I went later on. Okay, five links are enough for one post. Hope we will get Web Acess in Laos.

The flood experience...

2007-02-21T09:07:00.000Z

We had a really good, full and intense week in Jakarta. On Sunday we were able to distribute rice, noodles and oil to the families living in one of the poorer areas of the city. I will just add some pictures, we wrote a more detailed "report" :-) about the whole thing that we will send by email... Sorry, you have to view the pictures upside-down, because I couldn't save them on this computer...

The community lives by a canal that carries the water coming down from the higher parts of the surrounding areas. Flooding happens regularly during the rainy season, but this year the water rose as high as 2 metres and stayed for a whole week, so the families had to vacate their homes.

Most homes are just sheds built out of bits and pieces of wood. Some were literally moved by the water, so a lot of fixing needs to be done. Household goods have been carried away or damaged. Unemployment is a serious problem in the community so the loss is a heavy burden for the families.

When we came for the first time to talk about what the needs of the people were, the water had already receded. But then it started raining again and immediately the water rose again, so when we came back we had to wade through it. The children were having fun...

Due to the flood the price of rice has increased by 10-15% which means a lot for poor families. We were told that food would be most helpful, so we decided to get rice, noodles and oil which are staple foods in Indonesia.

Volunteers of the community helped to measure the goods...

...and to distribute them to the families.

It was a happy day for the families and we heard many times "terima kasih", the beautiful indonesian way of saying "thank you" - the literal translation is "I appreciate your love"...

our family in jakarta...

2007-02-14T07:54:00.000Z

rocks!!!

the guys here are great, everybody has a wild story to tell about how jesus changed their lives. now they are living together and are doing crazy stuff all over the place. some are involved in hiv prevention work, caring for the sick, educating the young, hanging out with the people in the most vulnerable communities. others run a sort of education center for children of families that are too poor to afford education, and lots more.
at the heart there is the community, sharing lives together, living together and by this learning from each other, encouraging each other to live what god has put on everybody's heart to do. it's all very simple, very passionate and very natural.
and they invited us right into it all. showed us around, let us take part of their every day life.

yesterday night we visited some of their friends from the local punk scene, and i faced the challenge of riding on a motorbike through jakartas streets. i was really nervous but it got better, i guess the prayers i kept muttering helped :-).

I have a lot to learn from the guys here. I remember Ton in India saying "church is irrelevant without the poor" and here it is again, the poor people right at the heart of the community of believers. and although there are many projects, many things to be done, it is all very relational. they are not building some other type of denomination. instead a network of friends has been established all over indonesia. and there is freedom for all sorts of things, friendships with junkies on the streets, business ideas to enable the communities of the rural poor to earn a living, creative ways of communicating the good news and educating children about drugs and hiv... it's very broad and it's totally about living and enabling others to find real life as well.

hey thank you so much everybody for the generous gifts for jakarta!!!
we have some things planned and will let you know how the money is used.

leaving new zealand...

2007-02-11T07:57:00.000Z

the land of endless nature has a name for the enrolling fernleaf: "koru", which became a symbol for new beginnings. new life... hope.
enjoying creation reminded me of the one who constantly offers new beginnings, second chances... and with that - hope. how i need jesus!

- and friends. it was so cool to meet Nora and JP

for some lovely hours of talking and eating together...
good to know and feel we are walking the same road.

Jakarta unter Wasser

2007-02-07T21:18:00.000Z

Hallo liebe Freunde!

Eigentlich sollte heute unser erster Tag in Jakarta sein. Aufgrund verschiedener Empfehlungen haben wir unsere Plaene geaendert. Jakarta steht unter Wasser, und ein paar der Leute, die wir dort besuchen wollten haben die Stadt verlassen weil die Zustaende so chaotisch sind. Wir wissen nicht, wieviel in Deutschland in den Medien berichtet wurde. Laut BBC haben mindestens 50 Menschen nach den schweren Regenfaellen ihr Leben verloren und ueber 300.000 ihre Behausung. Es wird befuerchtet dass sich Krankheiten epidemieartig verbreiten, und viele Bewohner haben ein Trinkwasserproblem.

Wir werden trotzdem am 12.02. nach Jakarta fliegen, bis dahin sollte die Situation wieder stabiler sein. Unser Freund Wolfgang, den wir letztes Jahr in Deutschland kennengelernt haben, wird uns vom Flughafen abholen und hat eine Unterkunft bei Bekannten fuer uns organisiert. Es ist eine Art Community von jungen Leuten, die in Gemeinschaft ihren Glauben leben und verschiedene Projekte machen wie z. B. HIV-Aufklaerungsarbeit an Schulen. Wolfgang selbst war vor Ort sehr aktiv beteiligt bei den Hilfsarbeiten nach der Tsunami-Katastrophe, hat also Erfahrung mit solchen Sachen. Er hat uns gefragt, ob wir moeglicherweise helfen koennen, Medikamente fuer Betroffene der Ueberschwemmung in Jakarta zu besorgen. Der einfachste Weg ist, das was benoetigt wird vor Ort zu kaufen und strategisch sinnvoll zu verteilen. Dafuer braucht man Geld.

Wir haben uns ueberlegt, wie wir am besten helfen koennen und haben beschlossen, Dich zu fragen, ob Du bereit bist, auf etwas zu verzichten (vielleicht ein Doener fuer 4 Euro oder eine CD fuer 15, vielleicht auch eine neue Wohnzimmereinrichtung ;-)), um dafuer den Notleidenden in Jakarta zu helfen. Wir koennen dafuer keinen offiziellen Rahmen bieten und keine Spendenquittung, nur ein herzliches Danke und unser Versprechen, dass wir vertrauenswuerdig mit Deiner Hilfeleistung umgehen. Falls Du Teil einer Gemeinde oder etwas Aehnlichem bist, kannst Du vielleicht initiieren, dass fuer diesen Zweck beim naechsten Treffen gesammelt wird. Das Ganze hat eine Deadline, und zwar Samstag, den 17.02.07, weil wir Jakarta dann bald wieder verlassen. Schreib uns eine email wenn Du dich beteiligen willst, und wir schicken Dir Details.

Wir sind noch dieses Wochenende in Neuseeland bevor unser Flug geht, und es geht uns gut. Vielen Dank fuers Lesen, fuer Eure Anteilnahme und fuers mitmachen.
Alles Liebe und Gottes Segen!
Hajo & Rebecca

Goodbye India

2007-01-14T01:29:00.000Z

Two days ago we arrived tired but safely on another continent, Australia. We have some days in Sydney before we move on to New Zealand. Everythings much more easy and relaxed here, though the streets are not crowded I still sometimes expect to bump into people because I am still used to the masses of people and the chaotic traffic in India. Well, this is over now. We are taking a lot with us, the memory of beautiful places and amazing colours. Travelling in India was much easier than I expected...
We met so many great people being light in their places. Old and new friends.
Although the country changes and is rising to become a nation of strong economic power India is still a country that draws people from all over the world on their search for meaning and spiritual experiences. Let's not hide our light from them and offer it where it is looked for!

girls in Varanasi

2007-01-09T14:12:00.000Z

Varanasi, probably the holiest city in India... The river Ganges "the mother" is impressive, with people washing their clothes and themselves in the most dirty and polluted water ever. And we went to the burning ghats - not a very nice place to be, should not be a "tourist" place at all, but not as groase as I expected. It just shows that life and death belong together, and in the west we don't see much of sickness and death. In India it's all very close together. Sometimes not in a helpful way either, but still it's at least visible.

Besides the "serious" stuff we spend some nice days with Ute, whom we met at Freakstock last summer and who has been living in Varanasi for the last couple of years. We talked a lot, cooked together and... went shopping. I was glad to find out that Ute really enjoys shopping - Hajo had a free afternoon while we went to the many Bangle shops in town. Bangles are worn by nearly every indian woman, they come in all sorts of colours, glittery or plain. The shops are truly overwhelming. We spent a long time watching the guys putting together different colours, making up our individual patterns, stayed long (and bought) enough to be served some tea and felt really girly.

Even a step further in the girl's programme was our visit to one of the beauty places... My goodness, I've never been to such a place in my whole life - and then we ended up sitting one hour talking and having our feet being treated. I didn't even know how many things you can do with your feet... But turned out nicely... how lovely are the feet... :-).

Maybe all a bit too much for Hajo - "Magisches Entenhausen" (magical duckburg?) was his lecture during the following days. And see what it did to him.

christmas days in Sewa Ashram

2006-12-31T12:10:00.000Z

It's more than a week now since we arrived in Sewa Ashram (sewa means "divine service", ashram is a centre or community usually gathered around some kind of spiritual leader) just outside Delhi. Hajo spent some months here helping out as a volunteer 7 years ago. For him it was kind of coming home whereas for me it is the first time and I am really glad to finally being able to see for myself. I remember the first flyers that said "Do you want to be part of a wonder...?" And full of wonders the history of this place and it's people truly is. Ton started 10 years ago by simply going to the places where the destitute people are, the junkies, the homeless, the sick, the poor. He and the people working alogside him are picking people up from the roadside, some are brought to hospital and cared for while being there, some are taken to places like Mother Theresa where they receive help and some are brought to the Ashram to find a new home, care and community.

It was special to spend christmas here, in a community with the poor and needy at its core, the people Jesus especially cared and spoke out for. On Christmas Eve it was "Bhandara" time, a big feast all the people from the neighbouring slum areas where invited to. On Christmas Day everybody gathered for a meeting with bhajan singing - indian style of worship, a play the children prepared and presents for the kids.

The picture shows Salim, a guy found in front of a temple, blind, mute and nearly deaf. I was taking walks with him and loved how his face lit up when he touched people's heads to find out who it was. When he came to Hajo there was a bit of confusion going on, the long hair and the beard didn't seem to get together...
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light... The verse kept coming to my mind, especially when looking at the people surrounding me - in many faces I can see a reflection of the light they have seen - in how they came to the Ashram, how they experienced being loved and cared for, how they met Jesus through this.

Yesterday Ton took us to the streets, to the riverside and under the bridges where the homeless and stranded people gather. We found a boy sick with TB, half-naked, wrapped in blankets, sitting alone in the cold weather. We took him and four other guys with us to the Ashram. One of the guys, when told he could come to an Ashram didn't look very excited, but then his eyes brightened and he asked "Sewa Ashram?" and so he came. The people know Ton and the Ashram very well. On every corner we met old friends, greeting, showing their appreciation. We sat down to have chai at the improvised kiosk of a family living at the side of the street in a little hut made of loose bricks and a plane. They manage to make a living by selling chai and snacks while producing flower garlands.

I feel this is another station in our travelling where I gather stones - impressions and ideas of community life, of the words of Jesus being acted out... - stones that I hope will come together to form our new "home", the place where we want to be light...

The Israel-India Connection

2006-12-19T05:22:00.000Z

Israel and India are probably the two most spiritual countries in the world. Both are centres of at least two world religions: Judaism & Christianity and Hinduism & Buddhism. After many years of European political influence on India through the English, Portuguese and French the tide has turned and today there is no denying the spiritual and philosophical influence of India. Also interesting is that many aspects of hinduistic thinking can be discovered in postmodernity, for example the possibility of many parallel existing truths that by western logics would exclude each other. Since the Sixties multitudes of people travel to India in search of spirituality. Among the young Israelis India has also become a very popular travel destination. Most come after their 2-3 year long service in the IDF (Israel Defense Force) to party hard or to do yoga and meditation. We have met many of them on our trip.
When we visited Israel earlier this year, one guy talked to Rebecca and asked her, if she has been to India. She said yes and the guy went on to say that visiting India changes one's spirit, and he can see that in her. New Age is on the rise in Israel (and slowly in the other Middle Eastern countries). That was also quite obvious on the European Rainbow Gathering last year, where one of he biggest groups (countrywise) were the Israelis, although they are not even Europeans!
On Goa's beaches almost every restaurant serves Israeli food and sometimes you can spot signs and posters written in Hevrit. However, because of their party attitude and being together in large groups they are disliked by many Indians. I heard of places that have signs at the entrance saying "No Israelis"! And also another group expresses their dislike: In the Newspaper three days ago was an article that Israel advises their citizens not to travel to India, because the Al Qaida made concrete threats for an assault in Goa, where most Israelis gather. We didn't expect this conflict to follow us until here. Let's hope that no actions will follow the threat.

Still in India - back in the web

2006-12-13T10:18:00.000Z

Hello beautiful people out there! The silence is br\oken again! At times it was a bit isolated without you all, but we used the time to invest in the flesh-and-blood, face-to-face relationships with the people around us. So our time at the christian community was rich and very good, but now we also enjoy to travel on our own again.
Right now we are in Hampi / Karnataka and tonight we leave to Goa. We will try to get used again to blogging regularly, but it may take some time.
However, just as a proof that Rebecca and me really juggled with fire I upload this picture (it takes about 15 minutes...)
Take care, and feel free to email us again!
Love & Shanti!

Minor update

2006-10-31T19:30:00.000Z

Last week I had a short phone call with Rebecca (sorry, you can't call them, because they can only make calls on public phones, so you have to wait to be called by them..), they are getting the hang of living in their community and spend a lot of time talking to people at the beach, inviting them for dinner in the community and so on. But they also have time for themselves, so among other things they are getting really good at juggling with pois (one of Rebecca's secret dreams: to juggle with burning ones..).

The weather finally changed from hot to hot and rain, the rainy season in India started. So now all their stuff is wet and starts to molder, but that was to be expected.

That's all the news for the moment, just a little update today.

Finally, some news

2006-10-10T16:50:00.000Z

This is it, my first entry as co-author of this blog. As a short introduction, I'm Rebecca's brother Kristov and I'm studying in the nice city of Karlsruhe, Germany.

There hasn't been much news during the last weeks (as you probably noticed..) due to technical problems: Rebecca and Hajo's mobile phone doesn't work in India. So it's somewhat difficult to give me infos via the phone.. But there are also letters, one of which I received today. So here are some news:

"We just finished a one week trip around South India, where we visited several Ashrams and other spiritual places that are attracting seekers from all over the world. We went there with the leader of the christian community which we are about to join for the next couple of weeks. It was very helpful for us to be together with someone who could explain a lot of the background of those places and as well knew nice places to stay and to eat.

Our first stop was at Pondycherry which has been under french rule and might be the only place where you can observe Indians playing Boules... Close by is the town of Auroville, founded in 1968 to become a place of peaceful living that doesn't belong to any nation, but to "humanity itself". The people (from around 40 nations) who live there are dedicated to eco-friendly, coexisting living and research and one aim of the whole project ist to hasten the evolution and become the breeding place of a new kind of human being, a superhuman so to speak, with extraordinary spritual powers. Kind of scary when seen in relation to the biblical book of revelation, also speeking about a man of extraordinary power who will become the world leader and will guide humanity in a global disaster. The philosophy of this future city is based on the writings of an indian guru, Sri Aurobindo, who was also the namegiver of Auroville. The "soul" of the city is a big meditation room inside of a huge gold-plated golfball-shaped temple. But despite its vision of life in harmony, stuggles, conflicts and even murder happened in this place during the last years.

Later this week we met a temple elefant who touched the heads of people with its trunk as a blessing when they gave him a Rupee. We had nice food in a german bakery and had a look at the modern Bangalore, the indian Silicon Valley. I guess the weirdest place we visited was the Ashram of Sai Baba, an 80 years old guru that is worshipped as a god by thousands of devotees. In his teachings he tries to place himself as the essence of all religions. In his public appearance he looked quite old and weak, reminding us of the last pope. But his influence is still huge and many people we talked to credited their spiritual experiences to his person. He is said to be omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent, having raised 30 people from the dead, whereas Christ has only resurrected three people (this is what the Sai Baba museum tells...). However, for sure I prefer Jesus! His twelve disciples changed the world; the Sai-devotees spend sometimes years in the Ashram, develop a deep dependance and seem to loose contact with reality. To them, reality is just maya (=an illusion) and they are ready to do strange things if they feel it is the will of their master. One guy we met had all his teeth pulled out because he thought they polluted his body...

So far some glimpses of our last week. Tomorrow morning we will arrive at the community - our home for the next time, and hopefully a place of good experiences, a place of learning and of restoration. "

Rainbow and Convoy

2006-08-25T21:55:00.000Z

Yesterday was new moon, and thus the closing day of this year's European Rainbow Gathering which took place in England. The Rainbow people are a faszinating subculture that take alternative living seriously. The gatherings happen in the natural landscapes, without electricity, without bathrooms and are regulated by an anarchic structure. There are few christians in touch with these people, sometimes out of fear because of all the strong new age and pagan stuff that is going on, sometimes because of ignorance. Last year we decided with a couple of friends that the gathering in Germany cannot happen without some Jesus Freaks being part of it, so we went there, set up a camp, worshipped, talked, cooked, prayed and just shared life with the others. We have been around 40 people, mostly Jesus Freaks from all over Germany, but also individuals from Portugal and the USA. Though we had an amazing time there with our Jesus Tribe I don't know of anyone who went this year. Perhaps because some of the core people are on their Middle East Convoy right now; Barbara, Maren and friends being in Jerusalem, while others are still on their way through Syria and Jordan to meet up with them. Check Barbaras Blog as well as Joni's Blog to find out about their really cool experiences. And of course, pray for them and the people they are in touch with. They are in fascinating, but also very tough places, as we can tell.

Freaks united at Flevo

2006-08-23T13:04:00.000Z

Just returned from the Flevo Festival in Holland, a huge open-air with lots of bands, seminars and what they call cabarets (never been to a performance, so I don't know what happened there). It is more expensive (extra charges for program booklets, parking and the apocalyptic Flevo card without which noone can buy food and drinks) and less foreigner-friendly (rarely programs in english and no translations) than Freakstock, but we (here: Sam and Hajo because Rebecca didn't come along) had a really cool time. Enjoyed nice gigs with Blindside (pic), Sacrificium, TSTGU and alikes.

We were invited to have our tents in the camp of the dutch Jesus Freaks and enjoyed many conversations and food together. They really made us feel as a part of the bigger Jesus Freaks family, and we could prolong the "You are not alone" feeling that has been so crucial at Freakstock. The group in Ede exists for about one year now, and it looks as if there are more to come. Excited to see this happen! Many thanks and greetings to Benjamin ("I can arrange something"), Jan Willem (see you in Thailand!) and all the other dutch Jesus Freaks. We love you!

Very special was the possibility to meet Rana, another friend we made back in Beirut. We met her together with the other people from Youth on Fire and found out that we have a number of things in common. She came to Holland to prepare the production of a childrens' TV programm that has been broadcasted in Holland and is being adapted into arabic. Really cool stuff! She presented some of the scenes in a seminar about Lebanon and ended with an arabic song.
On monday Sara and me brought Sam to the airport. After two and a half weeks together we became close as brothers and I feel that we will meet again, perhaps on the "Cedarstock" that he is starting to prepare (not sure about the name, the place and the time yet...).

remember me

2006-08-15T08:50:00.000Z

The war in Lebanon is over!? The ceasefire certainly is good news. It's one step ahead for all those displaced and eagerly waiting to go back to their country, to their homes and families.
But war is never over once a ceasefire has been agreed upon. It will take many months more until the traces of fighting will have been removed. When we visited Lebanon Beirut still bore scars of the civil war that lay 16 years back. The scars of people are even deeper. It is hard to keep up hope, harder even to resist the temptation of hatred and revenge that leads to nothing. Let's keep praying for the people of Lebanon and beyond...
Please remember Lebanon even when newspapers decide it's no longer top news.

On the road...

2006-08-11T11:13:00.000Z

The mud on our trousers being hardly dry we left Freakstock to spend some days in Frankfurt with old and new friends from the local Jesus Freaks church. It was really nice to have some extra time with friends whom we won't see now for another couple of month.

It was such a blessing just to hang out and relax together. Thank you Sara for your amazing hospitality!

Sam enjoyed his time in Germany so much that he decided to spend another 10 days with us before going back to Cyprus waiting for the war to end. Don't be mislead by the picture... It was his own free decision to clean all our shoes in that way :-)

Ma'a as-salaama Middle East

2006-07-28T08:46:00.000Z

We are leaving Cairo and by that the Middle East... Travelling here has been a good experience for us. We tried to count the kilometres we travelled by bus it must be around 4000 in total.
We have seen much of the beauty of this region, in people, monuments and nature. And we got an idea as well of the struggles and difficulties - and our hearts are with our friends who are affected by the war right now.
I am happy to go home now but I know it was not our last time coming here.

There's some things we will surely miss as they made up a big part of our everyday experience... :-)

Koshary... The best and cheapest streetfood Cairo has to offer. Pasta, lentils, onions, chickpeas and tomatosauce. We had it nearly everyday...

"Welcome to Egypt\Cairo\Alaska?\..." The tone varies from wellmeaning and friendly to harsh and almost threatening :-).

The call to prayer. And to hear the microphone check right before it goes on...

That oriental feeling... Shesha and a cup of mint tea... (Don't stone me for that).

The grinning faces of camels. I love camels.

The adventure of riding in taxis - will we get the normal or the tourist price?

Our australian friends farting through a fan.

Hearing arabic - I really enjoyed getting used to the sound of it. Maybe someday I will be able to talk as well.

The picture shows St Catherines monastery - allegedly the place on Mount Sinai where Moses met God who talked to him out of a burning bush. We dind't have that one "burning bush" experience. But we felt God was with us during all this time and showed us his heart for this region.

There is HOPE

2006-07-26T14:06:00.000Z

Just got news that both, Rana and Sam from Lebanon might still be able to come to Freakstock... That would be so cool!!!
Rana was just offered a flight on the 29th, and since Sam is in Cyprus now it might be possible for him to come from there...

It's weird how the situation changes in just a couple of hours.
Thanks for praying everybody...

***

Tonight we will be on the nightbus to Cairo again, having two more days in the city to do everything we didn't manage to do before and then we are flying home...

Happy.

Cairo

2006-07-23T12:39:00.000Z

Thanks for all your prayers for our friends in Lebanon. As far as we know they are fine - some have left the country, the others are trying to keep up with normal life... It seems that none of them will be able to come to Freakstock, but they are in our hearts anyway.

Now. Cairo. I must confess I have been quite tired during the last week and half staying here in Cairo, some extra temperature and smog has not helped much... BUT we had very nice company. We met Hannes (Jesus Freaks Stuttgart) totally unexpected and spent the whole week hanging out with him and some friends!! That gave us a nice break of being "only" tourists which we enjoyed a lot.

Cairo is an overwhelming city with 17 million people living very closely together. Rich and poor, educated and illiterate all side by side. It reminds me much of India, the little backstreets, lots of children playing, fruit stalls, tea houses, men sucking their sheesha - as well as highly educated business students hanging out in western style coffee places and bars.
On our first night we sat by the Nile watching the people passing by and I felt I like this city. Maybe it's the water :-).

Salaam aleikum - PEACE BE WITH YOU

2006-07-14T19:22:00.000Z

I can't believe the news. The countries we've just been to and that got close to our hearts are turned upside down once more in the terrible mess that's going on at the moment.
Beirut a city that had not yet become fully alive again is being pressed down once more. The last thing this country needs now is yet another war in which civilians will again suffer the most. We crossed those borders that are blocked now, travelled the roads that are being bombed - the one to Damascus as well as the ones in the south of the country. Our friends are living in those places. This conflict suddenly is a very "personal" one.
And by this I am not only thinking about Lebanon. Israel has become dear to us, as well as Syria has. Friends have served or are serving in the Israeli Army; we have seen attempts to find ways out of the riddle, saw a generation completely frustrated with the whole situation...
I want to see change happening. I want to see Gods plans of hope and future for this region and its people lived out. I know that the arms of Jesus are long and strong enough to embrace the whole area. And I know that only his love will overcome hatred and violence. That is what I am hoping and believing for, maybe you can join in...

We just received an email from our friend in Beirut - he wants to come to Freakstock this summer but with all ways in and out blocked this might not be possible - as well as applying for visa etc. I actually wanted to ask if anyone might want to support him with funds for the flight but it has turned to something more essential
now...
If you are into PRAYER then please remember our friends in Beirut - it would mean much for them and us if we could welcome them on Freakstock! (Next thing would be the funds then... let us know if you want to support their coming financially :-) rockthecasbah(a)web.de)

Nothing is impossible...

And hey, we are fine in the everyday chaos of Cairo :-)

love
Rebecca*

In the desert...

2006-07-10T17:23:00.000Z

We spent some wonderful days in Petra and Wadi Rum in the south of Jordan, hiking, playing around in the desert and riding on camels (fulfilling some dreams...). Just some pictures*

My Camel's name is Sabhan, Hajo's is called Samhan. Felt like Lawrence of Arabia, but our backs hurt afterwards :-).

Selim was our guide in the desert, during break we cooked tea over a small fire. I like the bedouin ways, the idea is to take just as much of nature as you need. And passing strangers are allowed to do the same. I don't know if that still works today, I guess most of us have lost the feel for "just as much as I need".

Life in Tel Aviv

2006-07-03T11:19:00.000Z

If we don't blog it usually has one of three main reasons:
1.We don't have internet access
2.Nothing is happening
3.A lot is happening
This time the later one was the case. During the last week we met some nice people in Israel. The first one was Christian from the Jesus Freaks Goerlitz, whom we met in Paris during the most unorganized and chaotic outreach we have experienced so far... Then we met a guy from Jerusalem Street Productions, who is doing a lot with music and media. They also were running a club until recently when they had to leave the building. It was one of the only alternative music spots in mostly conservative Jerusalem, and they helped a lot of youngbands getting started, for example the now internationally famous punk bandUseless ID. Now they are looking for a new location. We had a great time together until we were interrupted. Beeing part of the army our friend received an order that called him to an military operation. The incident included the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier which has still some dramatic consequences. We won't go into politics here.

The next couple of days we spent in Tel Aviv, mostly on the beach and shopping. It was a nice and enjoyable contrast programme to the serious and spiritually charged up atmosphere in Jerusalem. We bought some nice clothes with skulls on them as well as Crocs...
We happened to be at the White Night, an annual event wich combines music shows, museums open all night long, flee markets and street art. We were hanging out on the street with some drinks, just watching the crowds of young people pass by and feeling comfortable. We always have to tink about how cool it would be to have some Jesus Freaks over here who are willing to invest in the people. Tel Aviv is the most modern place in the middle east I guess, and lots of alternative people are living here in communities. Actually some people are getting prepared to make a convoy to Israel, I am really looking forward to find out about their experiences. This is an impression of the flea market by night.

And one more thing that is funny and sad at the same time: Todays local newspaper writes that Jewish, Muslim and Christian residents wer able to unite to oppose a planned international homosexual parade in Jerusalem. One of the speakers was saying: This is the holy land, not homo-land. Well I think there are more important things to aim at and unite for than blaming people that are different. And I am convinced that Jesus would act much more graceful with them than todays religious people.

and crossing the bridge.

2006-06-20T18:01:00.000Z

Travelling days are always quite adventurous (and if some stomach problems are involved even more). Putting our trust in Immodium akut and you know whom... we hit the road to cross the Jordan (the tiny want-to-be-river that's left of it).
Most of the day we spent at the border (considering our travel route not very surprisingly). The "we just need to do some security checks" turned out to last for 4 hours, enough time to study the stylish girls working at the counters, proudly wearing their uniforms like some kind of latest hang-out fashion. I voted for the one with the blonded afro... What a culture shock it must be for all those jordanian men crossing!
Everything went alright (immodium inclusive) and we found a new home for the coming days, a hostel right at the edge of the old city - the view from the rooftop is great...
Let's hope we won't catch the "Jerusalem Syndrome" as it happened to other travellers before; Although Hajo would make a quite nice new Elijah or Moses, wouldn't he?

Being late today for the Temple Mount we decided to go and see Yad VaShem, the huge Holocaust commemoration complex. Being german does feel awkward in such a place especially being able to understand the video speaches of the weird guy does not add to feeling comfortable. The museum is really well done, with lots of interviews of survivors giving the victims back their faces and individual stories.
What left the biggest impression on me was walking around the trees planted for the "Righteous Among The Nations", those who risked their own life in order to help jewish people during the Holocaust.
In the end it doesn't matter which nationality or background I have - it's the everyday decisions I face that count... There's enough insanity going on of which "we didn't know of" to be blamed for. And enough occasions where we can really make a difference without even risking our lives. And some lesser situations where the cost might be higher.

Jordan...

2006-06-20T17:11:00.000Z

Travelling from Beirut via Damascus to Amman brought us back into a more conservative society, again totally different from the neighbouring countries. We stayed in Amman, which doesn't have much to offer culturally - what makes it a very laidback city for tourists :-). Somehow I liked it.
We realized that we needed to take some effort to be again open for a new situation and to be willing to get to know a new city in a new culture, without just being in some standby modus... We slowed down our rhythm, had more time to pray, just walked around, spent a day at the university watching students and another day in the internet cafe - reading mails and blogs of friends...

On a daytrip we went to Mount Nebo, the place where Moses was told to go and die after God showed him the land. The site is beautiful, very quiet (in between two busloads of tourists) and we stayed for a while, watching the land.
It doesn't seem very attractive to me. I wonder if I would get excited about being shown some desertlike mountains when asking to see "my promised land" (and that is what we are looking for on this journey)...
But I guess it's like a friend put it some weeks ago. When Ahsa, the daughter of Caleb got her share of land (which was only desert) she asked her father to give her another piece of land with some springs of water as well and was granted that wish. (story told somewhere in the old testament :-)

In the evening of the same day we found a really nice oasis in one of the richer parts of Amman. The motto of the Blue Fig Cafe is printed on the napkins "against the ruin of the world there is only one defense... the creative act". We could name several people who would have instantly liked the place... It's altogether very much emerging :-). On Sunday evenings they have livemusic "turning the Old into New" - electric guitar and the traditional oud mixed together - could be easily turned into some alt worship session I guess.
On our way out one of the managers (?) cooled our enthusiasm a bit by telling us that most jordanians only come to "watch boys or girls" and don't really care for the concept and program of the place... At least WE had a nice evening*

Goodbye Lebanon

2006-06-14T14:00:00.000Z

Sunday with friends...
We felt part of the community and enjoyed hanging out together a lot. Just being friends, doing friendship stuff (here dunkin donuts is the place to do that). Felt like home...

It took some time until we finally found the perfect picnic place (just felt like being together with jesus freaks...) but that was just part of the process.
Those guys are truly amazing,
they do rock! Love you.

On Monday, our last day another friend took us to the mountains to see some of the few remaining famous "cedars of Lebanon". Cedars grow so high up in the mountains as no other trees are able to grow. Some of them are 2000 years old! They start looking like other needle trees but then they become really massive, hugging would take several people. The bible speaks so much about God revealing himself in the beauty of Lebanon and the cedars are a symbol of that - so sitting under those impressive trees we had to read the song of songs together!

the righteous will flourish like a palm tree
they will grow like a cedar of lebanon
planted in the house of the lord
they will flourish in the courts of our god
they will still bear fruit in old age
they will stay fresh and green
proclaiming the lord is upright
he is my rock and there is no wickedness in him
psalm 92, 12-15

We are glad that we met some of the cedars of lebanon in the people we got to know and new friends we found - makes leaving a sad business... But we know that we are travelling the same road - as well as with our friends back in Germany and elsewhere. Good to travel together***

The beauty of Lebanon

2006-06-09T06:39:00.000Z

Wow, these last days have been intense, packed with meeting people, listening to their stories, learning about their struggles and starting to become friends with them and Lebanon... It all started with googeling to find a church where we could go to on Sunday and ended up with spending the whole Sunday and most of the following days just hanging out with those great people we met there... GOD IS GOOD...
We were invited to stay with a family living in a small town by the beach and enjoyed so much being able to play around in the water, cook some spaghetties and watch a movie in the evening in a peacefull atmosphere.

A day trip brought us back to some more less enjoyable history lessons. We visited a former detention camp that was run by Israeli troops and the SLA who occupied the whole region until their withdrawal in 2000. Walking through the remaining buildings it becomes clear why the people cannot easily let go of hatred and a strong sense of injustice. The wounds are deep and the road to reconcilitaion seems impossible to take. Driving through that area reminded me once more of Belfast. Portraits of victims and martyrs, flags everywhere and the same tone of propaganda in the way things are documented...
People we talked to expressed their sense of hopelessness and frustration. Talks about a new war etc. don't help much with that. It takes a lot to keep hope alive. And yet there lies so much hope in just the beauty of the country that leaves no doubt about the creator that is still watching over this place. Travelling to the mountains both in the south and the north we were easily convinced of that.

So we are definitely enjoying our time here which makes the remaining days quite precious.
And tonight... Apocalyptica in Beirut... Yeah!

Beirut Blues

2006-06-03T08:19:00.000Z

Crossing the border to Lebanon felt so good...
We found a nice hostel to stay and met with Niina, a friend from Finland we will be travelling with during our time in Lebanon. It's nice to have some company and to have a third perspective of things as well. In the picture it's us (yes) standing under a tree on the campus of the AmericanUniversityofBeirut - they have like a park there, everything looks really nice, new and american...

Beirut is a strange place to be. There's hardly anything left of the historic part of town, instead there's lots of new (nice and american looking) buildings, skyscrapers and luxury hotels. The reconstruction is still going on, lots of cranes, Syrians working on building sites... But it seems that life has not yet completely returned to the place, feels deserted somehow. And bulletholes in the few old houses left are a present reminder of the war. And on almost every street corner there are soldiers with machine guns. Don't feel so comfortable with all those weapons...

The more recent killing of former Prime Minister Hariri in a car bomb has also left marks on the city. There are boards counting the days since his death and demanding THE TRUTH - so lets hope that the inquiries are successfull and will bring light into all the chaos. As far as I understand Hariri became just another martyr (with a "shrine" set up to remember him and others that have been killed) dying for independence? and progress?. The demonstrations etc. following his death have lead to the withdrawal of the syrian troops and an anti-syrian government was established.
...

Although Beirut is an open and quite western city we haven't found really nice places to hangout so far. Most Pubs and Cafes are exclusively for the "wealthy, the glitzy and the ritzy" (LonelyPlanet style :-).
It's about beeing seen... But we haven't tried everything yet, so there is hope. And Apocalyptica will have a signing session next Thursday. Maybe there's some guys our style...

being a tourist

2006-05-29T17:54:00.000Z

it's our last evening in syria. looking back i am not sure what to think... syria is a nice country, beautiful landscape (first time to the desert!), history everywhere you go, people being really kind... damascus has been really relaxed.
at the same time i felt so much like a tourist here while travelling, more than in other countries i have been to before. it was quite frustrating at times and reminded us often of what it means to be a stranger, feeling lonely, lost...
it made me think about hebrews 11-13 a lot. what it means to have no earthly home, no rights, no citizenship except the heavenly one. bonhoeffer put it in a poem, only know the german words... "sie wandeln auf erden und leben im himmel"...
having my home completely in god. it is a challenge i want to explore.
"put the church back on the camel" was the headline in a magazine i read some years ago... maybe it's for us (generational thing?) - being nomads again. with all the flexibility and adventure it has, but also the insecurity and loneliness it means.

it didn't work to upload the smiling camel. sorry...
rebecca***

flying abraham to end of turkey

2006-05-17T16:42:00.000Z

Urfa in the southeast is said to be Abrahams birthplace and the legend goes that when challenging king Nemrud young Abraham was catapulted from the castle to the pyre to be burnt. But God saved him by turning the fire into a lake and the pieces of coal into fishes - which are till today swimming in the pool and growing bigger and bigger - and who would dare to eat them turns blind instantly :-).

Our next stop was the world heritage site Mount Nemrut, where a certain king Nemrut (the same guy??) created his impressive burial place. It is a heap of stones (in turkish tümülüsü - my new favourite word) right on top of the highest mountain, surrounded by big giant heads. We went there to watch an awesome sunrise and to be amazed by the natural beauty God created. See the ecstatic expressions on our faces??

Galatasaray is şampiyon!!!!
And Hajo became a local hero by joining the celebrations (including dancing...). We kind of had to pretend that we like futbol and are well informed about german teams -can somebody keep us updated???

And finally we arrived at the last turkish city on our way to Syria: Antakya, which maybe sounds more familiar as Antiochia how it was called earlier. It was in that place where Paul started his legendary mission trips. That also means that the church of Antiochia was the first sending church in history and this very successfully. I guess we still need more of that kind...
We made our pilgrimage to St Peters Church, said to be the first meeting place of the church there. It is a natural cave - honestly much nicer than the one in Rome...

r u h

Ankara - Diyarbakır

2006-05-13T08:28:00.000Z

That's a bunch of rose products outside a shop at the busstation at İsparta, said to be the rose capital of Turkey. İ wanted to see the rose fields but my romantic idea failed, because we couldn't find any... They are deeper in the countryside.
There's a tale about a poor young girl (gülila) who would always hide in a rose bush when feeling alone and being ill-treated by her stepmother - and a rich rose merchant that only wanted to marry a girl who would smell like a rose... İt ends with him digging up the rose bush and moving it to his place and as soon as it touched the ground gülila walked out and they lived happily ever after... :-)

We travelled to Ankara, to meet with a guy we already got to know last year. He's keen on working with young people and will be at Freakstock this year... Looking forward.
Ankara is Turkey's official capital, center of the country's economic life, modern, secular... Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic is buried here, with his mausoleum looking like a temple. İt's due to him that in Turkey the latin alphabet is used, women are not allowed to wear headscarves at universities etc.

Ankara has a lot of young people, students from everywhere in the country. And a broad mixture of styles. İt's a crowded place, I got quite confused from time to time. And İ feel it would take a while to really get to know the city's heart.
Plenty of nice cafés...

From Ankara we travelled in an overnight bus to Diyarbakır, in the southeastern part of Turkey. Here mostly people belonging to the kurdish minority are living, the whole city feels more "oriental". While walking around the ancient city walls - THE (only) sight, we met lots of children playing on the streets ("money money"), a group of women sitting on the grass invited us to have çay with them (unfortunately couldn't talk much). And we took a look at the river Tigris (wow, Tigris - must be far away then .-).
so long then. İn an hour we will be in the bus again.
rebecca***

Türkiye

2006-05-11T16:36:00.000Z

hey, we are back in turkey!
it's strange, but it feels so familiar.

the buyurun buyurun simit simit of the street vendors
the clickclack of the prayerbead in the hands of men passing by on the street
the i have a brotherunclefriend in Germany - of everybody we get to talk to
the inevitable çay at any time of the day
the invitation of the müezzin to prayer

and it is an invitation to prayer for us.
while changing cities nearly every day the places where we are praying vary from shabby hotel beds to nice park benches. but that doesn't matter. now our church is the two of us. feels good.

rebecca***

risen

2006-05-03T00:24:00.000Z

We are spending this week with my parents in South Germany... In the middle of organising and getting things ready tonight we went to a prayer meeting in the old church building in our village and I was reminded of the wonder of the risen christ - and of words by Padraig Pearse, one of the visionaries of the irish easter rising 1916...

"I speak to my people, and I speak in my people's name to the masters of my people. I say to my people that they are holy, that they are august, despite their chains, That they are greater than those that hold them, and stronger and purer,
That they have but need of courage, and to call on the name of their God,
God the unforgetting, the dear God that loves the peoples
For whom He died naked, suffering shame.
And I say to my people's masters:
Beware, Beware of the thing that is coming, beware of the risen people,
Who shall take what ye would not give.
Did ye think to conquer the people,
Or that Law is stronger than life and than men's desire to be free?
We will try it out with you, ye that have harried and held,
Ye that have bullied and bribed, tyrants, hypocrites, liars!"

just some late easter thoughts - and don't we all need an easter rising just every new day?

hope. for my friends. my church. my world.
rebecca

Punkrock in the holy land

2006-04-08T14:21:00.000Z

We had a good time watching the docu of the punk scene in Israel. The guy introducing the film mentioned a christian music club in Jerusalem we heard of earlier for several times. On the last Freakstock we had a girl who is working there in one of our workshops. Because Israel is so small, the people know each other across the country. We didn't expect to hear about that club in in a small alternative cinema in Hamburg, this confirms that they are doing a great job. The place was packed with people and the filmmaker Liz Nord said it was the biggest audience so far. We bought the DVD so we can show it to other people. For the two of us it was a great encouragement to see all those young alternative people, their passions and their needs. We hope to find similar scenes in all the neighbour countries we will visit soon. And another very cool thing:Niina, a girl from Finland we befriended on the Connect Europe, plans to go to Lebanon exactly the same time as we, so we will be able to be there together. This is gonna be great...

rythm is it

2006-03-30T08:40:00.000Z

Rythm, creation, seasons... I am trying to find out what my particular rythm of life is - in every day life, seasons of life ... Spiritually, physically, whatever.
I still find it difficult to stick to a certain routine - trying to find out which routine would help me and which one bores me, has destructive effects on me. The routine of falling asleep while reading doesn't seem helpful...
It becomes still more important when there's not much routine left that structures my day from outside - at the moment I live in a very tight routine. But a challenge of travelling is to adapt to ever new ways of life, daily routines that lie within culture, mentality - and at the same time live my life, find my routine within that all. Looking forward.

Hm. All that really was to tell the world that it's now the second week I go jogging regularly... Revolution... (and rythm :-)
Rebecca***

Japan rocks

2006-03-23T08:10:00.000Z

A friend of ours, JP is in Japan at the moment, visiting different people and ministries. Check out his webpage to see whats going on there. He and his wife want to plant a Jesus Freaks Church on the opposite side of the planet. In July he is doing an outreachto Taiwan. They found out about some hardcore kids who wanted to do a christian music festival and about emerging churches in shopping malls.
Japan must be a crazy place. A former flatmate of ours, who is half Japanese told us that in the streets of Tokyo they have vending machines where you can buy worn underwear. Must be some kind of fetish cult..

flowers missing

2006-03-20T14:45:00.000Z

Yeah, the first flights are booked and really cheap ones! We decided to start in the beginning of march in Turkey, then travel overland to Syria etc. and return to Germany for Freakstock from Cairo...
I am reading T.E. Lawrence`s pillars of humanity - about the First World War and the role of the arabian revolt and Lawrences view about arabian culture, thoughts on life in the desert and all. Looking forward to the desert. and camels. and all that. you know.

Our time here in comparison is - snowy - and intense. Lots of information; requires a lot of thinking. Last week it was about religions - hinduism including all the new age stuff that is related, buddhism and islam... I feel it's good to try and understand the underlying worldviews, concepts of life and all. But in the end I just love to hear from people what it means for their lives - how they answer the big questions about life, ... and the universe - what else was it? And don't tell me it's 42...
And for me... turning back and looking at Jesus... always is the answer.
***rebecca***

Nehren - Hamburg

2006-03-07T15:54:00.000Z

Sunday night we arrived in Hamburg. In a Polo packed with backpacks, books, Hajo's mobile office and Julia...
It feels good to be here. The flat we are living in for the next 7 weeks is right above a pub that turned out to be the meeting place of St. Paulis fanclub. Yeah.
We are doing a kind of seminary for the time we will be in India in autumn this year. It contains cultural training, practical stuff and a lot of God-stuff. I feel this will be a very intense, challenging and enriching time.
For me leaving Nehren on Sunday really felt like closing a chapter of my life and stepping into something new. Hajo still has to finish his diploma and there's other things to organise, but already it is a new level. Or track or road. Whatever. It feels good.
I started a new journal.
(Well, after watching Bridget Jones I+II with my friend catrin)

kurtlar vadisi irak

2006-03-05T00:15:00.000Z

Na einigermaßen platt war ich schon nach dem Film - bei so einer geballten Ladung von Klischees... böse böse... Aber dann... war es halt auch OmU... und Türkisch ist halt cok güzel... Wie natürlich auch die Helden und die schöne Leyla. Vor allem fühlt es sich aber komisch an, wenn die Amis Türkisch sprechen und die, die sonst immer die Welt retten plötzlich die Bösen sind. Ob das Trara gerechtfertigt ist? Manches tut schon weh.
Hab nur mal wieder gemerkt: Türkiye cok seviyorum - freu mich schon mega, bald wieder dort zu sein. Und erst recht darauf, mal auch den Osten kennenzulernen...

im storchen

2006-02-26T22:25:00.000Z

Jesus Freaks Tübingen... our family for the last 5 years... now we are leaving good friends and still carry them with us. they just become a part of our global family.
in former times travelling often meant to pack ones coffin, leave everything and everyone without expecting to ever return. now it's "until Freakstock" for most of us... in a way i still like the older version though. free to go... that's what i always want to be.

happily ever after

2006-02-24T17:50:00.000Z

Yeah, they really did it. So proud to be a witness to this great couple's marriage. May God who brought you this far lead you on. Love. R&H

last things and very last things...

2006-02-23T15:59:00.000Z

we just signed for our travel insurance... box no 5 is packed and it seems I will be right with 10 boxes all inclusive. that meant to throw out Hajos self-sown hippie trousers...
i discharged my students copy card and that is now step one from three to become a no-more-student.
i will make a cake today evening - donauwellen - alex's favourite cake because her and sascha are getting married tomorrow. yippee.
ok and I urgently need to write some thing like a "really everything on it to do list" immediately. otherwise I will drown, get swept away by meaningless silly little things...
rebecca's world news.

Freakship Training School in Geithain?

2006-02-23T14:30:00.000Z

Hab gerade eine mail gekriegt von Marco, dem Manager unseres Stammhotels im geilen Geithain. Sie hatten dort gerade das Wintertraining, eine Woche mit Lehre, Gemeinschaft und solchen Sachen. Dabei ist die Idee aufgetaucht, das Hotel in Zusammenarbeit mit Ywam für die Lehrphase einer Discipleship Training School (DTS) speziell für Jesus Freaks zu nutzen, die sich für ihren Outreach dann auch auf die Subkulturen oder freaksmäßige Gemeinden im Ausland spezialisieren . Das wäre ein lohnenswertes und vielversprechendes Modellprojekt. Es gibt ja schon einige Berührungspunkte zwischen JFI & YWAM, wir haben Leute und sie haben Kohle, ähem, ich meine Infrastruktur. Wir wünschen uns schon lange mehr eine Bewegung von JFI nach außen in andere Länder, es kommen zwar viele Ausländer auf Freakstock, aber langsam wird es Zeit, das auch von uns Leute rausgehen. Ich denke da beginnt ein neues Kapitel für die Freaks, und ich bin davon überzeugt, das das auch Teil unserer Berufung ist. Ich mein ja nur, Deutschland liegt recht zentral, ist auch ein ziemlich reiches Land (Exportweltmeister!), hat schon mit vielen Denkern und Pionieren die Welt beeinflußt, und kein anderes Volk reist so viel wie die Deutschen. Ich finde das passt irgendwie zusammen damit, das die Jesus Freaks in Deutschland entstanden sind. Es wird Zeit, das wir das Beste was wir haben an soviele wie möglich exportieren! Rock'n'Roll!

P.S. Leider funktioniert das mit den Links setzen von diesem Rechner aus nicht, aber es gibt ja noch Google...

I have called you friends

2006-02-15T20:47:00.000Z

Hey, das Wochenende war so cool! Und das beste daran war halt echt Freunde zu treffen. Nicht irgendein Arbeitstreffen sondern mit Freunden rumhängen, beten, einander besser kennenlernen... Und trotzdem - es gibt ein Ziel, Vision und Leidenschaft. Davon mitzukriegen war mindestens ebenso cool. Schmetterlinge im Bauch.
Die besten Fotos gibts bei Morten und das obligatorische Gruppenfoto bei Mirko. Links kann man irgendwie von diesem Computer aus keine machen und selber Bilder hochladen auch nicht.
Und echt krass - das Hotel in Geithain. Das war das zweite Mal und die Crew dort hat sich echt alle Beine ausgerissen um uns gut zu versorgen. Das war echt hammer!
Und die Frage nach der Sprache... Should we switch to english as a tribute to our international family? Wenn wir reisen fühlt sich das vielleicht ohnehin natürlicher an. Hm. Ist aber auch bisschen spackig? Spätestens nach Willow ist eh alles egal - Jesus Freaks goes INTERNATIONAL.

Europäische Spezialitäten...

2006-02-07T23:00:00.000Z

gibt es am Wochenende in Geithain. Einige unserer rechts verlinkten Freunde werden sich dort für den ersten internationale JFI Roundtable treffen. Jesus Freaks gibt es nicht nur in den deutschsprachigen Ländern, sondern auch in Dänemark, in der Tschechischen Republik, in Luxemburg und in Holland. Ausserdem dabei sind Freunde die mit der gleichen Vision unterwegs sind aus London (Glorious Undead), Oslo (Subchurch) und Lissabon (Lisboamatrix). Bin gespannt wie wir mit der Sprache klarkommen, lustigerweise können die Tschechen besser deutsch als englisch, für sie ist es also eher ein handicap...
Wir hoffen, das ein freundschaftliches Netzwerk entsteht, durch das man sich austauschen und unterstützen kann.
Beispiele: JP und Nora, die in Japan Jesus Freaks gründen wollen, haben Kontakt gekriegt zu einem Mädel aus der Subchurch, die vor kurzem nach Japan gezogen ist. Barbara aus Lissabon hat sich in die Herzen einiger Jesus Freaks geschmuggelt und war eine der Initiatoren des Einsatzes auf dem European Rainbow Gathering letzten Sommer. Und inzwischen spielen regelmäßig deutsche Bands aus dem Umfeld der Jesus Freaks auf dem jährlichen Destruction Fest der Glorious Undead. Ist das nicht geil? Wir wollen noch mehr zusammen machen und gemeinsam unseren Kontinent und die Welt rocken!! Yeah!

DSL @ home

2006-02-06T22:59:00.000Z

Yes, wir haben jetzt zu Hause Internetzugang!!! Hm, allerdings ist es nicht mehr lang unser Zuhause, aber trotzdem cool.

der Dachboden

2006-01-31T12:53:00.000Z

Unser riesen WG Dachboden hat die Angewohnheit sich immer von selber mit allem möglichen Scheiss zu füllen. Gestern war das dritte Mal, dass wir ihn komplett ausgeräumt haben und jetzt die ganze Hofeinfahrt mit Sperrmüll bestücken können. Und Elektromüll und Metallschrott.
Sammelfreudige Mitbewohner.
Tommy hat damals den Sperrmüll bestellt und "Bauschaumhühner" draufgeschrieben. Ein Überbleibsel von der Vor WG von dem sich irgendwie niemand so richtig trennen konnte. Es hat drei Jahre gedauert bis die Teile weg waren.
Ach ja, und der Treppenaufgang zum Dachboden ist neu gestrichen: Suizidlila.
Schöner wohnen.

weniger Sachen

2006-01-27T14:41:00.000Z

Die ersten Kisten sind gepackt und warten darauf zu meinen Eltern auf den Dachboden zu kommen. Mal sehen wieviele Kisten das werden, hoffentlich nicht mehr als 10 ??? Hm - das ist eigentlich auch schon viel. Gestern abend waren das die Fotosachen. Einkleben, sortieren... Cool alte Freunde "wiederzusehen". Ein paar dürfen mit.
Na und heute treffe ich mich mit Freunden von der FH - bevors dann weitergeht nach KA zu Kubik. Von den Mönchen lernen - und den Nonnen - freu mich schon, für unsere Pilgerreise ein paar Pilgertipps...

Around the world

2006-01-20T08:51:00.000Z

In der Tübinger Mensa war gestern ein Infoabend zum Round the world Ticket. War ganz nett und einige coole Infos dabei. Wir werden vermutlich unsere weiteren Reiseziele damit abdecken können. Es gibt eine Route mit zwei Stops in Asien und einem in Australien. So kriegen wir Indien und Jakarta, Bangkok, Yangon und Auckland damit unter einen Hut. Vorfreu!!

Arabisch ohne Mühe

2006-01-17T09:58:00.000Z

Das wär doch was für mich, dachte ich und hab mir den Wundersprachkurs aus der Bib besorgt. Ob's hilft? Ich fang jetzt wieder bei Lektion 1 an, freu mich, dass ich noch lesen und schreiben und sogar ein paar Wörter kann. Werd wohl versuchen in Hamburg einen ägyptischen native zu finden und mal ein bisschen reden üben... Jaja, in Hamburg...
Ich hoffe wirklich, dass ich da wieder reinkomme; als ich den Reiseführer von Cairo angeschaut hab, wurde mir schon ein bisschen mulmig - in dem Massenchaos wäre es sicher hilfreich zumindest die Zahlen auf den Busschildern lesen zu können. Und bei der Lektion über die arabischen Zahlen hat es mich bei meinem letzten Sprachkurs rausgehauen. Das ist aber auch ein Scheiss... Aber inshallah...
Allahu Akbar.

Schlangen für leichten Schlaf

2006-01-09T12:51:00.000Z

Am Mittwoch waren wir in Gießen zu Besuch bei JP & Nora wo wir fürs Wochenende noch gemeinsam einen Workshop vorbereitet haben. Es war richtig gemütlich, bis wir dann mit ihren Haustieren = 2 Kornnattern allein waren. Sie sind zwar ungiftig, aber immerhin je über einen Meter lang und können auch zubeißen. Kaum waren ihre "Eltern" im Bett, war richtig Leben im Terrarium, die Schlangen haben uns genau beobachtet und es sah so aus, als ob sie nach einem Ausgang suchen würden. Vorm Schlafengehen habe ich noch ganz penibel nach irgendwelchen Öffnungen im Terrarium geschaut-natürlich war keine da. Und gleich sahen die Schlangen wieder viel natter, äh, netter aus.
Unser Workshop auf der Jahrestagung des AfeM (Arbeitskreis für evangelikale Missiologie) war auch gut, wir haben viel Zuspruch und Ermutigung bekommen. Thema war Jugend in der Großstadt und wir haben mehr oder weniger die Geschichte, Vision und Aktionen von JFI vorgestellt. Besonders spannend war die anschließende Diskussionsrunde mit den ganzen Theologen und Missionsleitern, und ich war sehr froh, das wir mit JP auch einen Theologen an Bord hatten.

Eisblumen im Schwarzwald

2006-01-03T16:33:00.000Z

Wir haben uns über Silvester in einem Bauernhäusle im Schwarzwald einschneien lassen. Mit Kachelofen, schlittenfahren, viel zu essen und Zeit zum lesen. War schön - zu zweit, weit weg...
Jetzt gehts wieder los. Noch 8 1/2 Wochen in Nehren. Wir müssen noch Sachen verschenken, Flüge buchen, Diplomarbeit schreiben, den Karzer in Tü anschauen, Kisten stapeln, Impfungen überstehen, Freunde besuchen, alle unsere Lieblingsfilme nochmal schauen, Zeitschriften abbestellen, Telefonrechnungen bezahlen, Nachmieter finden...

Farsi können

2005-12-16T16:27:00.000Z

Als ich neulich durch den Buchladen gestolpert bin (mit neuer Brille), ist mir ein Buch über die iranische Blogger Szene in die Hände gefallen. Cool wäre, das auch wirklich lesen zu können :-). Oder aber doch das Buch kaufen... In dem Buch stand, dass es mehr Farsi-Blogs gibt als deutsch-, italienisch und französischsprachige zusammen - wenn ich mich richtig erinnere.
Iran ist auch eines dieser super vielschichtigen Länder, bei denen ich nie wirklich durchsteige. Allein die Geschichte ist total verspult - voller tragischer Missverständnisse. Persepolis erzählt die neuere Geschichte (ab der Revolution) aus der Sicht eines kleinen Mädchens - ganz schön krass stellenweise.
Auch wenn der arme Irre grade nicht besonders dazu beiträgt, Werbung für sein Land zu machen, mich würde das schon reizen da mal hinzufahren und mich ein bisschen umzuschauen... Meine Stiefschwiegermutter ist damals nach Isfahan getrampt. Yeah. Radikal.

global denken- Geithain 2

2005-12-03T14:03:00.000Z

Ich liebe es total so Reisestories zu hören, überlegen wie es wohl wäre Metalgemeinde in Jakarta zu haben... Man merkt, dass hier die Herzen höher schlagen wenns ums Ausland geht. Ich hab echt Lust noch viel mehr zu sehen, Städte kennenzulernen.
Das ist auch der Punkt, die Städte, die ganz großen. Machen mir auch ein bisschen Angst - wenn ich an die Rush-Hour Berichte aus Mumbai denke. Shit. Aber dann halt auch wieder dieser krass spannende Mix - die protzig Reichen, die Allerärmsten, Aktivisten, Gammler, Studenten, Künstler. Überlebenstraining für den Großstadtdschungel.
Ich lese grade einen Wälzer "The Kingdom, the City & the People of God. Urban Ministry", mit Geschichte, Zahlen zu Megastädten, allerlei soziologischem Kram über das Leben in Städten usw. Liest sich nicht sehr flüssig, ist eher ein Studierbuch, aber interessant. Mal sehen was davon hängenbleibt.

Schokoäpfel

2005-12-02T13:03:00.000Z

Wir waren gestern in Leipzig auf dem Weihnachts - markt und in der Mensa essen. Dort haben wir zufällig Resi von den Leipziger Jesus Freaks getroffen. Ne Stunde später kam uns Sascha von der selbigen Vereinigung entgegen und wusste von ihr schon, das wir in der Stadt sind. Tags darauf ruft mich Alex an, jemand hatte ihm erzählt wir sind in Leipzig und ob wir ihn am Freitag zum WWPS-Treffen nach Geithain mitnehmen können. Dort sind wir übers Wochenende mit einem neuen Team und wollen zusammen überlegen, was die nächste Zeit mit Jesus Freaks im Ausland gehen könnte. Ich freu mich schon drauf, es kommen sehr coole Leute. Aus Stuttgart, aus Giessen, aus Bremen, aus Görlitz, ... Und alles Leute, die schon ein bischen gereist sind. Ich freu mich auch auf das Hotel, es gibt sogar einen Konferenzraum mit Beamer, das heisst wir werden abends wohl noch einen netten Film anschauen. Und zusammen kochen.

Pioniere im Schnee

2005-11-21T16:54:00.000Z

Der erste Schnee liegt. Schön war es am Wochenende - waren in Unterhausen auf dem Pionier-Wochenende von Frontiers. 12 Kennzeichen eines Apostels etc. Extrem coole Leute...
Und eine fast autonome Struktur mit Team-Coaching.
Besonders gefallen hat mir die Geschichte von einer Familie, die in einem armen Land in ihrem Haus beschossen wurden. Eine Kugel traf die teure Nähmaschine in den Motor - also ins Herz - tot. Kurz darauf kamen die Banditen rein um die Familie auszurauben, und was nehmen sie mit? Die schwere Nähmaschine!!

startklar

2005-11-15T16:51:00.000Z

wir sind unterwegs. schon immer. bald für länger. vielleicht möchtest du uns begleiten.