Germany and Jesus Freaks...

you guys have to excuse me ´cause I don´t know how to work well with this blog thing...I don´t know what I did to post two times the same thing...and now all the things are in german and I don´t even know how to get it in english...oh well, hope you understand...
I have so much to write that I don´t know how to do it...I don´t wanna be boring, but I don´t want you to miss anything, and I also don´t want to speak about some things and not others...
I´ve been meeting so many people who impacted me since I arrived in Germany that I don´t wanna miss anyone...
Even before I stepped my foot in this country I knew God had stored great things for me here...it´s the first time now that I´m able to sit and write about it all...God just provided for me in Cologne a nice room just for myself with a computer and internet...it´s from a budist guy that is travelling with his girlfriend now, eh, eh, funny isn´t it...well, there´s 3 other guys who live in the house, all Jesus Freaks, pretty cool and sweet...a messy boy´s house :-), but homy !!!
o.k, but going back a couple of weeks ago, as I was saying, God gave me a love for the country in the first place...
I hitch-hicked from Hahn (that is far from Frankfurt, in the middle of nowhere)to the north-east, where Jesus Freak´s leadership meeting(willow freak) was going to take place, in Gotha... I got 1 car and 3 trucks and got near the place in the evening...from a little town I got a train to Gotha, where I arrived at night already...I looked for a place to sleep...I didn´t walk much far from the train station till I found some nice grass :-)...there was a building in the middle that looked like a library or so, but I didn´t care...I just wanted to take some rest and sleep...I was ready to close my eyes when I started to feel some drops of rain falling...I begged Jesus to stop it, but it didn´t work...o.k, I packed my things and went to look for a better shelter...maybe God had a better place...EXACTLY !!! I found a cool tent in a garden, in the middle of some buildings...looked perfect for me...under the shelter there was a table surrounded by long banches, some gardening stuff, and a little detail, 3 candles :-)so sweet... I just layed myself in one of the banches, put myself under my sleeping bag and had a wonderful sleep...I thanked God so much for His provision during that long day...but more was awaiting me next day...I woke up with some noise behind me...some gardeners were cutting branches from the trees..."Ups, I better wake up, maybe they need this place here" I thought, then a woman was passing by and noticed me..."Oh no God,I hope I´ll not get in trouble", I smiled and greeted...oh oh, she was coming closer...and she´s speaking deutsch...I kinda guessed, she was asking me if I slept there...I said "Yah"...she seemed worried and was asking me if I was not cold in the night...I was trying to convince her that I slept wonderfully, which I did, but she didn´t seem to accept that...then she asked if I wanted a coffe or tea..."weeeeell, Yah, tea."...I was hoping I was not totally wrong in my deutsch interpretation :-)...so I carried my bag into one of those surrounding buildings and I realized they were offices...she lead me to the kitchen (yes, she was offering me tea) where they had a big table and I set down while she was preparing tea...she called a young guy who spoke english and finally I could explain what I was doing there...and I also found out they were all tax collectors (it reminded me of something, eh,eh) more people were coming and they all end up knowing I slept outside in their garden...oh well...then, when I mentioned the "Siloah" eco-village, where I was going for "willow freak", they seemed to know the place...they seemed to know Jesus Freaks too, because the big summer festival, Freakstock, is near Gotha as well...so, Siloah was actually 20Km from Gotha...I asked them to show me in my map,but it was a small place, so the guy went to the internet and printed a map for me...I was feeling spoiled already, but those people were really glad to help me, so I asked if they knew which buses were going there...the guy called the bus station, but he found out there were none to Siloah directly...but then he remembered that he knows a guy in Siloah, to whom he collects taxes...Great! He called the guy and in few minutes he was there to pick me up...WAW !!! sorry to write all this so detailed, but isn´t God amazing ?!!
it couldn´t be better !!! Thank God for the rain :-)
so I got to Siloah tuesday morning and I would only meet with 24-7 guys on thursday arround 5p.m (24-7 and Jesus Freaks were going to meet on the same place ´cause Pete Greig was going to speak to both groups)...Siloah is just a beautiful farm and eco-village, with horses, cows, sheeps, play ground for children, clay and wood workshops, fruit trees, etc...sooooo cool...a dream for me, God was still surprising me more and more...I even got to sleep just next to the horses :-) in a nice wooden house (I could hear them in the night, so cool)...I also met the people who work as volunteers at siloah, mostly young people...really cool...and more was about to come...during breakfast, a girl called Aninha, started to speak with me and somehow told me I looked like an american indian(don´t ask me why, maybe my traveller leader pants) and mentioned the rainbow people...we imediatelly connected and I found out she was in rainbow before she became christian too, and she told me about this other guy that was there too who lived in a rainbow community for a year ...Johannes, he came too and we spoke more...that community is in Beneficio, south Spain, one of the biggest alternative communities, and I happen to know a few people who live there too...small world...they were both from a Jesus Freaks community in Friburg...I told them that one of my ideas inGgermany was to share with some Jesus Freaks about Rainbow and try to get a group to go to the european gathering in July...For my surprise and more excitement, he said that he heard about some Jesus Freaks wanting to go too... I just had one thought in my mind "- THIS MUST BE GOD!"...Yes, I was excited...next day I just fasted and rested trying to processe all this stuff...I was in awe...I had not enough words to thank God...and I was still feeling more was about to come...(for those who don´t know, rainbow people are my "heart people", "my tribe")
at the end of the day I end up meeting the 24-7 people...it was only 8 of them and I started to realize that was not exactly what I was expecting (not that I like big groups, on the contrary)...I didn´t need much to find out that was a more specific gathering of people who were already connected and I just observed trying to figure out what was my role there... (the thing is that Byron and Lisa were the ones who were supposed to be there, but Lisa said it would be cool for me to go instead)...well, the day after, I definitely realized I was not suppose to attend their meetings, I felt it was not my place,it was more a gathering of an organization or movement which I don´t feel I belong to...they were nice and so, but it was not the best timming and place to meet them...it was o.k though...
and so I join the Jesus Freaks who started their program that day in the evening...cool worship and cool people...
on saturday I had the opportunity to share with all about my trip and specially about the idea of going to the rainbow gathering...then I challenged all those who were interested to gather and speak more about it after...for my surprise we were 9 who gathered...we all shared why we were interested and it was amazing to discover that we all had the same desire, but we all felt lonely somehow... 6 years ago, when I was feeling discouraged about that vision, God told me that He was sharing the same vision with many others all over the world, He was preparing us, and that one day He would cross our ways :-)...I felt that promisse was coming to pass:-)...
it´s time...It´s God´s timming...He´s starting something...:-)...
After that meeting, I met another italian guy who heard from someone else about what I shared and told me he was also wondering when God would use him back in rainbow... I feel we all share the same love for them, it´s so cool...a girl from switzerland also came to me and told about a guy from her community who was almost becoming a budist monk till God told him clearly "NO", she says he will probably want to go too...still another girl from Berlin came to me and told me that she and her boyfriend want to go and she told me there´s a group from the USA coming to this gathering too... It seemed God had everything planned :-)...Not much work from us!!!
Waw, I have no words to describe that weekend...it was amazing to connect with so many christian freaks and hear about what they are already doing and what they are dreaming to do...
I only knew where I was going next on saturday night...A girl came to me and told me about a Huge festival where they use to go and have a stand there...she said it was a new age festival, but I found out later that is actually a Jazz Festival, but arround
the area we find many stools of many different things, food, handicraft,etc...and a lot of freaks just go to have a funny weekend...it sounded good for me...I had a ride
and a place to stay till the festival, so, why not...I went with Paulus, who is the leader of Jesus Freaks in Duisburg, Zanque(hope I´m spelling his name right) who lives next to Paulus and a couple, Thomas and Joana who are from another town one hour up north...all wonderfull people...
So I stayed in Duisburg in their community...they have 4 different flats already in the same block, and their vision is to have all the blocks :-)...Paulus live with York,in the same building there´s a couple with a beautiful baby I forgot their names
(I´m bad with that, sorry),Zanque is next to them,then there´s another sweet couple, Armin&Katharina also with a sweet little girl, Devina...they are expecting another baby soon too :-)...then they have others who live in the surroundings and they meet pretty much like a family... I really enjoyed my time with them all and had really good times speaking with Katharina who made for me a couple of times...
Then we went to The Moers Festival, just a few km from Duisburg, close to the Netherlands too...
It was fun to build up the tents and set up everything...there were a lot of people helping...one more time it felt like family !!! So, they had one stand in front with different literature in one side (which I didn´t understand ´cause it was all deutsch), then another stand on the side called "No hope in Dope" and had many information about all kind of drugs...the guy incharged of this one was a hippie from the 70´s, really sweet, with long and white hair and beard, he had a book with his own testimony and he just spend most of the time seated in his chair and talking to all those who would like to talk about drugs...then people could go inside and buy some cheap second hand close, and behind all this we had a few more tents, one with "Kika" (that table soccer game) which punks loved, other to chill out, other with tables and banches for us to eat or seat with people, other was a prayer tent for us (we had different hours for different groups to pray during the day, or just for those who would like to set apart for a while) and a big tent where they put a small stage where different bands played worship and it was there also where people could get some coffe or tea for free...there was pillows all over the floor, carpets and some low tables for people to chill out too...this was the place where we had our morning meeting before starting the day when somebody would give a message and so...in the evenings this was the place also where there was some worship and testimonies and many people would come...
well, I can´t tell all the things that happen those days...it was tiring, but totally worth it...I had the chance to get to know better some more Jesus Freaks like Franzisca, Catrin and Danika,Anja,Norbi,Kathrin and Jo,Maren and Frede (both couples would go to rainbow too),Gigi and Maria, and others (I´m bad with names, but I´m seeing the faces)...Oh, and Judith...one more special encounter...she has a heart for rainbow people too...she just came one day with other friends and left the day after...we just spoke for few hours maybe, but I felt so connected with her...I´ll meet her in rainbow for sure...she just finished her DTS (youth with a mission school) in South Africa and she´s wondering what to do next...a precious girl I can tell...
I had a special encounter with another girl called Marie, she came from Mastricht, where she study arts, and she was wondering about all the Jesus stuff...I had wonderful times with her, just listening, talking, walking arround the huge park between "stoned" and drunk people...but above all sharing hearts...maybe she left with more questions than answers, but she surely was impacted by a bunch of freaks about whom she said "they are just too nice"...
oh well, it was all great...maybe try checking www.jesusfreaks.de/duisburg to see pictures...
After that I came with the crew of Köln (Cologne), where I am right now...I spent the first nights in a caravan facing the river Rhine and the city...so nice...another dream...I had a van just for myself and I had a good time of rest after such busy days...
waw, I never thought I would be able to describe so much of these days, but I did...I´m glad..now I need to sleep...it´s almost 2a.m. here and I spent almost all day answering e.mails and so...
Love you all...
Shantii, Shantii
Baba