Black Coffee in Berlin

This is Thursday morning at the "Quentin Design Hotel Berlin". Much has happened since my Monday morning post. The 9-hour drive to the city of Kamenz in East Germany turned out to be a 13- hour drive! We had two minor detours due to poor navigation -one of them on my part because of my lack of knowledge with the German signs such as "Stubenrauchstrasse". Once we found the right highway, we found ourselves in a major traffic jam. Our first stop was the "Wartburg Castle" in Eichenach where Martin Luther translated the New Testament. I am not sure about the elevation, but as soon as we reached the town it began to snow. We needed to take a van to get to the top of the mountain where the castle was which was about 5-min ute ride on narrow roads. We entered the castle through massive wooden door with metal hinges and a smaller door within the door. The sidewalks were all unique cobblestone and the whole castle compound was huge with small little houses as well.

Due to our time schedule, we had to join a tour through the castle in German speaking group. We toured the Knights Hall, the dining room, and the beautiful concert hall which is still in use today due to the amazing acoustics. The tour did not include Martin Luther's room so we snuck off to rush there before we had to get back to our van. Martin Luther's room was a small room with a wooden desk and a chair, not the originals from his time, but a later period. However, there was a large "whale bone " sitting on the floor by his desk that was the original furniture. A very old ceramic fireplace/radiator was a large fixture in the room. The attendant told us that during the 17th century many people came to take pieces of the fireplace and the wall behind it as souvenirs. We asked the attendant about Martin Luther's reported encounter with an evil spirit and the famous ink stains on the wall. She said that story was just a legend and that he simply was experiencing hallucinations caused by his loneliness. We asked further questions and she stated that there were definite encounters with the "evil one". There was a demon figure as a symbol/ornament hanging on the wall over his desk to remind visitors of those encounters. I hope the picture I took of it will turn out. To think that one man's conviction and courage was able to take the Word of God, make it available to the ordinary man, and change the world in such a profound way, is inspiring to me. May God grant me the grace and courage to influence my world in such a way.I took many pictures of the castle upon our departure. The snow already began to fall heavier and made it challenging to get back down the mountain.

The evening meeting in Kamenz (East Germany) was scheduled for 7 pm. Due to the heavy snow and two close calls with potential accidents, we arrived at the church at 9.30 pm where about 20 hungry souls were waiting patiently and praying for our safe arrival. It was a powerful evening of ministry. The people were strengthened and encouraged by the whole team and the Word of God that was spoken to the individuals. I was able to interview the pastor who, interesting enough, is a Kurd. He said God directed him to move to East Germany and plant a church there. After the meeting, the church refused to let us go without having dinner with them. They had prepared an awesome meal, even though I discovered some strange food items on the table such as some kind of raw hamburger with onions...

Finally we left the church around 1 am, heading towards Prague, where we booked our hotel rooms. The expected two and a half hour drive to the Czech Republic and Prague turned out to be a 4 hour drive. We arrived at 4:45 am at the hotel Da Vinci very exhausted and just wanting to go to bed.

I must run now. My update from Prague and what happened after that will be posted tomorrow.  Thank you for praying with me for this trip. It has been powerful, fruitful and fulfilling already, but we expect so much more for the next couple days.. Ciao !