Hallo!

Wow has it been a crazy few weeks. Sorry for not writing sooner. I have been babysitting a lot this week, even more than I normally do for extra money and so that the two missionary couples have time to go out for dinner since the opportunity doesn't come very often.

I am writing this in a little cafe right down the street from my apartment. Its a cute little place, and one of the few places you can go in and not have to pay for the wireless. I usually just buy a coffee and sit in here for a few hours, which is normal. Everything at the Church is going great, though I do miss my Church a ton. Every week after our service at the International Church we go to the Chinese Alliance Church for lunch. This past week we had pig stomach for the meat (they usually have a vegetable dish, a meat dish, and always rice) I decided not to put any of that on my plate. After lunch we usually go and play badminton. Cici (one of the Chinese girls I have been working with) and I have been able to bond, and this week a guy (whose name I can't pronounce or remember) came with his Mom. He is in 13th grade (I guess this is normal for high school here) and will hopefully be coming to Church more. One of the leaders at the Chinese Alliance Church would like us to start doing things as a group outside of Church so this could be the start of a youth ministry at CAC which is exciting for them since they haven't really had one. We will start out with only about 5-6 of us, but hey will take it.

I am not sure if I mentioned Conversation Cafe to all of you, but its a ministry at Open Door (another church in Berlin that I am kinda working with). Conversation Cafe is a place where people come if they want to learn English. Its usually the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month. The people come and Don Jones and Sarah Carey are in charge of having English lessons for beginners and advanced people. They have lessons for about 2 hours, and then we have coffee and snacks afterward and just kind of sit down and talk among ourselves and we would like to start playing games soon as well. Its been a great opportunity to witness to the people who attend and just to get involved more and more with the people pf Berlin.

One of the quirky things about Berlin is all the different haircuts and hair colors. Its not uncommon to see an woman in her 50-70's with bright red hair. In fact its more uncommon to see one without the hair. It also seems like people from all over the world come here. In the time that I have been here I have gotten to know people from Africa, Russia, Australia and Bosnia. Its been a cool experience.

I have been learning a lot about the culture and the transportation system. I am directionally challenged as many of you know, so its a surprise that I have it all down and can pretty much get anywhere without a problem. So that is a big praise.

Well, I will try not to let so much time pass between now and my next e-mail. Thank you all for your prayer and support. I could really use prayer right now in managing my time well, and just being bold with my faith. People are very quick to turn off when they find out your a Christian, so it makes it a lot harder to talk. Also Ben and Sarah Carey (the missionaries I am working close with) are part of a home group called Frieschwimmer (not quite sure how that is spelled) and on November 30th they are going to start meeting as a Church on Sundays. They have a group of about 13-15 people, so if you could just pray that everything goes smoothly with that, and that they are able to grow and expand as a church. Thank you so much for everything! I hope you all are doing well.

In the love of Christ,

Abbi