Hello everyone, I hope your week has gotten off to a good start! These days in Germany were full of fun experiences and many blessings.

On Friday I spent most of the day working from home, but I did have the opportunity to walk outside a little bit and appreciate the changes in nature. Here in Klotten, we have not had very much rain lately, and as a result, the water levels in the river have decreased and the algae has reproduced profusely causing the river to turn green and become unsafe to swim in.

I know this from Heide who told me about the potential dangers of swimming in the river when I first arrived. During my first months in Klotten the river had been blue and very inviting, but now, without the fresh supply of clean water, it has become murky and even potentially dangerous. The same can become of our lives without the refreshing living water that can only be found in our Savior Jesus Christ. Without the daily nourishment from His words and the daily letting in of His light into our lives, our days can become dark and murky and even dangerous. Luckily for us, we do not have to wait for rain to become refreshed, we can find refreshment now as we turn to the Lord in prayer and joyfully repent and ask for His help. Our Heavenly Father is ready to help us and through His Son our lives can become clear and clean again.

Another lesson I learned was from my friend Julie from Brasil. She shared with me a picture of a receipt that had a timely message on it.

It read as follows, translated of course, “Treasure the small victories!” These past few months I have been working on a tedious school project and I usually begin working on it with optimism thinking, today I will finish a whole chapter, but many hours later I see I was only able to get a few pages completed. It has felt daunting at times, but looking back at what I have accomplished so far, it is amazing how much the Lord has helped me to accomplish, and with each day I slowly get closer to my goal of completing it.

Saturday was full of blessings also. In the morning I had the pleasure of working alongside Heide and we were able to finish our work early.

This made it possible for me to make it to the bus station in time to meet up with Arvin and we found another sister from the church who was also waiting at the stop. With help from our bus driver, Arvin and I were able to get off at the right stop and enjoy a nice walk through nature.

We then made it to Björn and Camila’s house just in time to enjoy a lovely Bar-B-Q with them. Many of our friends like Brother and Sister Kraut and Philip were there and we had a great time.

When the Krauts started to head out, we went with them and discovered that we had left at just the right moment because the bus we caught was the last bus for that day.

On the train back home, I had a similar experience; I was working on something and then felt I should stand up to check what the next stop would be. When the train announced the next stop it said, “Next stop Klotten.” The Lord is mindful of us and watches over us at all times and in all places.

The day ended with a sweet experience. A family that had been staying in the apartment above me was getting ready to leave the next day. I stopped to talk to them and during the conversation I was able to share a pass-along card with my blog on it, and on the front of the card was a drawing of the Savior. When they received the card, they asked me if I was a Christian to which I replied that I was. This made them very happy and they shared with me that they were also Christian and that they attended an Evangelical church near their home. One of them, Hank, then proceeded to share his love for the Savior and how he had seen miracles in his life. It was sweet to feel the joy this family had in being able to grow closer to their Savior!