Easter Weekend

After spring break we only had four days of class and then Easter break. Our break here included Friday and the following Monday, which is longer than the break we get back in College Station. For this weekend I got to go to a campus ministry retreat in Berlin. I was very excited to meet and spend time with my brothers and sisters in another part of the world. 

This was the first trip that I traveled alone for and thankfully it went smoothly. I was able to get on the train and meet Alisa at the Berlin station. If you've ever been to the Berlin Central Station then you know that it's similar to the maze in the tri-wizard tournament, minus the witchcraft. From there we took another train to meet everyone at the retreat, which was in the southern part of Berlin. 

While there, it was a time to relax, get to know each other and play lots of ping pong. There was actually a few students from the US there. Nick was an exchange student from Connecticut, Amanda had moved to Berlin from Seattle, Collin had also moved to Berlin from the US, and Rebecca has lived in both the US and Germany. Saturday morning we all went hiking in this forested area that was near a lake of sorts. We had lots of fun just talking, playing music, and eating our homemade cuscus for lunch. 

Saturday and Sunday night we had a campfire, made s'mores, and sang songs with the acoustics of guitar strings. It was really cool getting to sing songs I knew but with the German lyrics. Sunday, we all made our way to church where I got to meet more of my brothers and sisters and also practice my German by trying to understand the sermon; however, I had English translation to help me understand most of it. Our tram ride back was filled with a series of what are the odds, which ended in Nick and Dan playing the harmonica and dancing for money on the tram and Dan and I having to jump in the lake when we got back to our retreat site. Which was incredibly unfortunate because my odds were one in 50 and Amanda and I both said 12. When Dan I went, we both dragged Simone in with us, so it made jumping into what felt like subzero water much more enjoyable. 

After our lake-jumping extravaganza, we came back to take part in Easter festivities. Johanna prepared carrot and rabbit shaped cookies and frosting for us to decorate. Then Dan and Hannah prepared an easter scavenger race of sorts where each team had to find all of their hidden chocolates the fastest. That night Rebecca, Hannah, Alisa and I stayed up late talking about our life stories and how we came to know God. 

It was a very refreshing weekend, which I already mentioned in an earlier Facebook post, but it still rings true. I had a great time just fellowshipping with my Berlin family and it's something I'll hold on to for years to come.