Brandi.de: Faith, Hope, and Love

I took the stairs two at a time, hoping to reach the train stop in less than five minutes. If Ramona and I missed our train, we would have to wait another half-hour for the next connection. It was still possible, so as I breathlessly explained what I had planned for the Sunday School lesson, I kept our pace fast. As we rounded the corner the crossing gates lowered and our hearts sank just as fast. We could see Thomas already in the train and waved to him forlornly as he passed us by.

Even walking briskly, we would likely be late to church. As we started to walk in the direction of the Goerings, I explained to Ramona how I had occasionally hitched a ride in the States. In the back of my mind I began to pray that somehow, someone would offer us a ride to church in this instance. What I had in mind was that one of the families from church would see us and stop to pick us up. Instead, without our having done anything, a car pulled over in front of us and a child jumped out and ran to the grass embankment (he had a bloody nose). His father than stepped out behind him and turned to us to ask for some Kleenex. As Ramona dug in her purse, I took the initiative and asked if he might be going in the direction of our church. He was. As a result we were actually there before almost anyone else. As the others began to trickle in, I gathered things together for my Sunday School lesson on the "narrow path" and how we need Christ to walk it. Soon we began an especially nice worship time thanks to Florian, who, although he was visiting us for the first time, had brought a guitar with him. He joined Charlie and Martin like a pro.

After church we had a movie night with the English Conversation group. Everyone was asked to bring a movie and we would then vote on what we would like to watch. I was pleasantly surprised that The Hiding Place, a movie about a Christian woman who hid Jews during the Second World War, was chosen over films like the Matrix, the English Patient, Fried Green Tomatoes, and A Beautiful Mind. Corrie Ten Boom, her sister Betsy and their father illustrate the challenges and rewards that come with trying to love our enemies (even from within the confines of Auschwitz) and trust in God's love for us and control over the situations we find ourselves in. Afterwards Daniel tried to lead a conversation about the movie, but unfortunately it did not get very far. Please pray that there might be opportunities to talk about the themes presented in the movie some other time.