After the next eager 6^th grader asked me their question, I answered by telling the class about my house in Clearwater and the townhouse in Auburn explaining what we call them and how it’s a little different than here. When I finished, the teacher said, “I think he meant flight, not flat.” Ohhh! Getting used to the accents I guess you could say, while laughing at myself. Well, my flight was in one word, perfect. Thanks to “my good friend Dave,” I received the special treatment. While everyone else was boarding, I was talking to the pilots in the cockpit, getting to see all the crazy instruments they use, and hearing our flight plan. After seeing all of it, it amazes me even more that anyone knows how to fly a plane. After everyone had boarded, the flight attendant pointed me to my first row seat where a packaged pillow, blanket, headphones, and travel kit complete with lotion and toothpaste were waiting for me. Almost as soon as we were in the air, dinner was being served. I was in shock, and comfort, the entire flight! Almost too excited to sleep, even in the over-sized reclining chairs…almost. To top it off, I woke up in the morning to “would you like some breakfast?” As I was reveling in the flight experience and feeling giddy about starting my first overseas experience, I hardly noticed that we had landed. Thank you, Jesus and thank you, Captain Dave! Hallo, Deutschland.
I’m not really sure how to explain the feeling. For years, I’ve imagined being overseas, and since October, I’ve known that I was going to get to come here. Now, I’m living it. Little unexpected tears swam in my eyes as I walked through the airport. I guess that’s what happens when amazement, gratitude, nervousness, excitement, anticipation, and even a little sadness all come together. The airport was fairly empty so I walked right up to a booth at customs. I have to laugh thinking about it, because it was the most nonchalant way to enter a new country; the man looked at my passport for about 2 seconds, stamped it, and handed it back with hardly any expression on his face. I wanted to jump up and down with glee and ask him, “Didn’t you notice that was my first stamp?!” Instead, I envisioned it in my mind smiling to myself and walked on past the little booth toward baggage claim and what I pray to be a purposeful adventure.

The first two days were both exhausting and exhilarating, which is one of the main things I’ve learned about this city, it is full of contrasts (more about that later). I truly believe I could have skipped everywhere we went. Walking through the airport and around the city the next two days, I felt like the little squares in the delicious German cereal I’m eating. The nougat squares soak up all the milk they can until it’s oozing out to the surface, making them quite a tasty treat! Immediately, I started noticing things that were different. Many things were similar as well, but the differences stand out as if you were looking at two of the same picture trying to pick out what’s different. But the things that are different are in bright colors while the rest of the picture is faded. Even in three weeks, the colors in the background have started getting brighter, blending the picture together, but occasionally, something still stands out like it was painted brighter than the rest.

In the first two days, I had my first tour of the Cathedral, first peek at the school, first smell of the bakeries, first ride on the auto-ban, first cultural experience of afternoon coffee and cake (definitely taking this home with me!), first walk on a Roman road, first walk along the Rhein, and in my roommate’s words, the first “spritz of Cologne,” which we did actually get to smell in the 4711 orginial cologne store. Thankfully some Florida Sunshine somehow squeezed its way into my overweight, stuffed suitcase, because the weather was beautiful for seeing the city! Plus, I got to experience my first full day overseas with a treasured family member and new friends. Definitely a blessing! But I guess I’ve gotten a little ahead of myself. No question Germans are assertive, but that definitely doesn’t mean they aren’t helpful. After wandering my way up and down the airport in Dusseldorf, still in a state of amazement, yet unable to find the train station, I asked a lady working at a bakery inside. By the look on her face, she didn’t speak English, but a very friendly customer did. No doubt it was God’s grace, because he led me to the train station, helped me get my ticket, got my overweight luggage on the train, and told me where I needed to go. Hallelujah! Of course with all the warnings from my family and reminders from my brother about the movie Taken, I was hesitant to follow him at first, and yes, he was young and cute, but without his help, who knows how long it would have taken me to make it to Cologne! Don’t worry, Pops, he doesn’t have my number or my address. At the station in Cologne, again, by God’s grace, I found the meeting spot, which just happened to be in the shadows of the Cathedral, not a bad welcoming sight. No more than a few minutes after arriving, I saw a girl rolling two suitcases and carrying more bags walking toward me. Rachel! What seemed like hardly a minute later, our coordinator, Evelin, popped up from around the corner. The timing could not have been better! What a blessing to get to start this adventure with both of them. A great start to a perfect weekend.


A few things I’ve learned while living in Cologne so far…
1. The smell of the bakeries will never get old.
2. Bananas with nutella is my new favorite snack. Not sure if I’ll ever eat a banana without it again.
3. I’m gaining a stronger grasp on the significance of the Tower of Babel and the power in communication.
4. After being surrounded by new people every day, many of whom I would not be able to talk to if even if I tried, I am more amazed at the way God places people together and allows us to build relationships. Only the work of a purposeful Creator.
5. I’m seeing how important expressions are. Since I don’t understand what people are saying most of the time, I watch them. Expression speaks volumes. Thankfully most expressions seem to be universal.
6. Being willing to take a risk sometimes and try something new can completely change your experience. For the better!
7. It’s amazing to me how quickly you can assimilate into a new routine and culture, which is both a blessing and a warning.
8. Cologne has a little bit of everything, and I love that! Germany is second only to the US in its number of immigrants (thank you, Rachel, for teaching me this).
9. The Cathedral here is the most visited site in Germany…

Oh, the Cathedral! One of the most important things I’ve learned so far comes from this fascinating and stunningly ornate building. Truly, I could stare at it all day long. The Cathedral, or the Dom, was built on the site of what are believed to be the remains of the three Magi, and it took over 600 years to build. Six hundred years! When you see the detail on the inside and the outside, it starts to make sense how it could take that long, but that is a long time. Each little statue and curve covering the doorways and the lining the stained glass is vivid and beautiful. I hope my thoughts come out clearly here, but what truly amazes me when I think about it is how the vast majority of people who worked to construct this building never got to see it completed. Maybe some of them even worked most of their lives on it, but that would still only be a fraction of the time it took to build the entire thing. But it took each one of those people faithfully working on their small section to form the magnificent structure that people from all over the world come to see today. If they looked at the section on its own, it may have seemed insignificant, but when everyone’s piece is fitted together, it’s breathtaking. And this is only what mere man has done. Imagine what the Body of Christ will look like when it is built up into unity as each part does its work! Those men, and possibly women, worked to construct a building that, even though, it has survived multiple bombings and wars, will one day be destroyed. I still greatly admire that they worked faithfully without being able to see the result. When I look at my little piece of life, it seems extremely insignificant. In some ways that is very true. But when God places all of our pieces together, imagine the beauty! If people are drawn to a beautiful man-made building, I can hardly imagine how people will be drawn to God’s design. Thinking about it fills me with joy and pure wonder. God knew that I would need this lesson when I arrived, and I pray that not only will I remember it, but it will change the way I work for Him. What He asks me to do may sound crazy or unimportant, but His ways are flawless and His perspective is eternal.