A Journey in German

 One of my prayer requests since moving to Germany is to gain more understanding of the German language and for God to bring opportunities my way to continue in my journey of learning more and more of the language. 

These past few weeks, God has been doing just that! I have connected with a mom of a BFA student, M and we have had some conversations in English. She is from a Eastern European country. She has befriended a local gentleman in Kandern, G. I was taking my kitty, Messerschmitt for a walk in the nearby Catholic cemetery (he loves his walks!) and M was helping G care for his wife's grave. G's parents and his brother are also buried in this cemetery. We had a conversation mostly in German and I walked away feeling good. 

A few days later, M shared she would be leaving town and asked if I could leave small notes and Bible verses on G's wife's grave for G and possibly go for walks with him. So far, I have left two notes and we have gone on three walks with another scheduled for next weekend. 

My German understanding is still very low yet I continue to practice small lessons most days and have successful mini conversations with locals every once in a while. When walking together, G and I have very simple conversations. He has lived here in Kandern his whole life; went to the local school in town, raised a family here and his son lives right next door with his family. We have talked about cats (He enjoys Messerschmitt), books, food, teaching at BFA and shopping for school supplies in France among a few other topics. Part of German culture is to shake hands yet because of Corona, many Germans have chosen to not shake hands unless it is someone they know really well. G has shaken my hand after each of our walks while saying good-bye. 

Learning a new language can be really hard; particularly for adults. I studied French in high school at Hillcrest Lutheran Academy but most has been forgotten and covered up by German. Learning a second language as a young child has been proven over and over to be much more successful than learning as an adult. Yet, I have so many family, friends and colleagues that have learned another language as an adult which is so encouraging to me! So, I keep working at my German and grow a little more everyday. 

Thank you for your continued prayers as I continue this journey! And become more proficient in my understanding of German!