Thank you all for praying for my birthday party January 10th (a week after my birthday). The entire day was spent preparing, getting items for the flat, buying food, getting recipes together, cooking, cleaning, PRAYING (a significant component in the days leading up to it and the day of), and seeing God do the rest.
Song was the first person to come. She is from China and was in my second language class. Shortly thereafter came Charlott, Vlad, and then Alfred and Filip with their 3 roommates, Fabia, and more and more.
The day before the party, I was anxious. I was fighting to NOT feel the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. I constantly had to surrender my fears to the Lord (fear that others would not have a good time, that the preparations would not be good, that I would forget something important for the party/guests).
However, the load was lightened with the help of God moving through Alicia and Evette. I am SO thankful to have wonderful teammates and friends…Alicia’s gift of service was a GREAT gift to me. She was with me the ENTIRE DAY of my party. She came with me everywhere to get what I needed, to cook, and to clean. Everything. Evette cleaned all the rest of the apartment (and no doubt prayed a lot—prayer is a gift God has given her). Having them with me to help in every step was a blessing, beyond what words could describe….they willingly offered their help and service. So thankful.
Flash-forward, back to the party: Evette and Alicia stayed in the kitchen most of the night to cook more food and take it out to the guests, wash dishes, and just hang out with people in the kitchen.
By 9:30 or 10, we had a good 30 people in our little flat. Most were in my room, which Evette and I use as a living room when we have guests because it’s larger. Everyone was enjoying themselves—just talking and eating together.
Shortly afterward, Evette and Alicia came out with a brownie cake to sing “Happy Birthday” to me. It was a surprise! And at the same time, the Spirit prepared me in saying, “This is a great time for a speech.” After the candles were blown out, I shared with everyone how thankful I was for their presence. I thanked God for His goodness, for Him leading me to Berlin, for Him bringing each person into my life, and for them coming to make our flat become a home—it is only a home when there are others to share it and enjoy it with.
The Spirit’s Working
After the last few people left around 1:30am, Alicia, Evette and I came together. We had had a great time and could not stop uttering thanksgiving! We sat down and just shared about our night. Evette and Alicia had a GREAT time getting to know and goofing off with Fabia in the kitchen. They also had a great conversation with Alfred and Pontus, who came into the kitchen earlier in the night. Their conversation with Evette and Alicia led to asking about their faith in Jesus. Evette shared about her relationship with Jesus. ”I know this sounds weird, but I talk with Him. He speaks to me each day and guides me.” It opened up into discussion about what living a life a faith looks like and why they put their faith in Jesus. Pontus reacted with disbelief whereas Alfred was more receptive and interested, asking more questions.
HOW AWESOME?! I was overjoyed—praise God for His truth: ”So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
After hearing more from Alicia and Evette about the evening, I shared with them about my night, thanking them first for all of their help!!! I shared about my conversation with Song. She opened up about personal issues going on in her life with her husband, who is being unfaithful in their marriage. She had a big weight on her shoulders with not only that, but also because of her lack of confidence in herself and not knowing who she was. We talked for a while and I prayed with her. Please be praying for her, as well. That God intervene in her marriage. Pray that she turn to the Lord for healing and guidance and not continue seeking answers in the world or herself.
I also shared about how Violeta had brought up my spiritual birthday! One of the first things Violeta had asked that night, “So…you had another birthday too, didn’t you?” I was shocked that she had remembered it from a previous conversation and excitedly answered, “Yes! I did! My spiritual birthday.” Linn, who was sitting next to us asked, “What is that?” The Lord had provided an opportunity to share the testimony of how Jesus Christ had saved my soul.
A little later that night, Linn had asked me: “So what restrictions do you have as a Christian? You cannot have sex before marriage, eat meat, or drink alcohol?” I shared with her how Christianity is not about “Dos and Don’ts”–it’s about loving God, which is made possible only through Christ. From that love, we desire to please God and to live for Him. Because He is a good God, the restrictions He has for us are for OUR good. It is wrong for us to disobey Him and for those who believe in Him, He will correct us as a good Father. For those who don’t trust in Jesus, they will receive the wrath of God they justly deserve for choosing their own destructive path rather than God’s path of life. I shared with her about God’s commandment to wait for sex until marriage and why that is for our good. For the other two things she mentioned (the meat and alcohol), I shared how they were personal preferences and convictions, and I shared the biblical basis I have for both, but how it is not commanded by God to abstain from either.
What was really cool was that since our conversation had began, Jorge came and took a seat next to Linn and I. He didn’t say anything but listened. Jorge is a friend of Violeta’s who I had met in November when he and Violeta joined me in attending a Thanksgiving dinner with CRU (a campus ministry in Berlin, like that in the States). That night in November, I got to hear a lot about Jorge’s beliefs as an atheist and his disagreements and explanation for life outside of God. So it was awesome and I was very grateful that he was listening this night. I believe a part of him wants to seek after God, but he knows that beginning that process would mean admitting there is a God to seek after, something he is not ready to admit. I could be wrong, but that’s the spirit I felt.
Reflections
After sharing this with Evette and Alicia, we began reflecting on the night as a whole. We were so thankful for the comments we received. Alfred, “You all….really took care of us”, which was no doubt in response to the selfless service of Evette and Alicia who constantly had food, drinks, and any other needs taken care of. Bojana’s husband, “Of all the partys I have attended in Berlin, this one has been the best. And believe me, I’ve been to great partys.” I was completely blown away…and joked, “How long have you been in Berlin??? A week!” Haha, he took it well and assured me of his compliment. Later I found out from Bojana that her husband was SO stoked to have met my supervisor from ReachGlobal, Katie, at that party. Katie has served with churches in the past and apparently identified herself as a pastor because Bojana told me later, “My husband couldn’t believe he had met A PRIEST!!!” Hahaha. She continued, “He was so excited. The next day he was talking with friends, and said he felt his thoughts were much clearer. That mind was made clean,” Bhahaha, she said this in a joking manner, but no doubt there was some impact made, and I praise God it was a positive one. I sincerely pray that they may crave a true commitment to Jesus Christ.
Everyone else seemed to really enjoy themselves…I was amazed. Truly God’s Holy Spirit was abiding in our flat that night, bringing peace, unity, joy, comfort, and, Lord willing, Godly sorrow (2 Cor. 7:10) and drawing souls nearer to Jesus Christ. Thank you for the prayers. And thank God for He is faithfully good. Please pray for these individuals and for my teammates and I—that we may be faithful stewards of the Gospel, that we may be wise and bold and in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:25).