(KRISTA) Buddy often walks or runs around the Alster (which is the lake in the center of Hamburg which is a 5 minute walk from where we live). This morning he got home and said that he really wanted me to go over and take a walk because he knew I would love it because it’s just so pretty out today, with a nice breeze…so I did. As I was walking and taking in the beauty, I thought, “I am forever falling in love with this city.” Funny. I certainly never felt any type of love for L.A.; I mean, LOVE for a CITY? Strange. Maybe not. I’ve never been to New York but I’ve heard of those who absolutely LOVE the city. So maybe some can relate.
Ah, the feeling of falling in love. Do you remember it?
Love at First Flight
The first time we visited Hamburg was in February of 2006, a few months after Buddy was woken up in the middle of the night about it. It was the dead of winter, freezing cold, it snowed all 7 days we were here and we stayed in the seediest motel on the Reeperbahn—and you know what, we fell in love. We were sad the day we had to leave—we felt like “These are our people; this is our home.” We were shocked at the feelings ourselves—how could that just happen to us? But love catches us by surprise sometimes in the best of ways.
The first time we visited Hamburg was in February of 2006, a few months after Buddy was woken up in the middle of the night about it. It was the dead of winter, freezing cold, it snowed all 7 days we were here and we stayed in the seediest motel on the Reeperbahn—and you know what, we fell in love. We were sad the day we had to leave—we felt like “These are our people; this is our home.” We were shocked at the feelings ourselves—how could that just happen to us? But love catches us by surprise sometimes in the best of ways.
The “I forget what you look like”
Second Date
Have you ever been so excited about how a first date went that all week you can’t stop thinking about the other person but at the same time you kind of forget what they look like? And you can’t wait to see them again just to ‘make sure’ this amazingness is really for real? I do…
We came back for a 2nd time in September 2006. We were asked to come and speak at a church and we would finally see the city without its winter coat of white. What I didn’t realize was how much of the city we had never actually SEEN during our first trip. It’s like the first time we were blinded by the snow falling at our feet. In September we were in awe of the beauty—the city had come to life for us: the lakes, rivers, bridges, the endless green, the old, historic buildings and cobblestoned streets. And the people. The lovely people. THIS is where God is sending us? Here? WOW. Yes, we were still most definitely in love.
Second Date
Have you ever been so excited about how a first date went that all week you can’t stop thinking about the other person but at the same time you kind of forget what they look like? And you can’t wait to see them again just to ‘make sure’ this amazingness is really for real? I do…
We came back for a 2nd time in September 2006. We were asked to come and speak at a church and we would finally see the city without its winter coat of white. What I didn’t realize was how much of the city we had never actually SEEN during our first trip. It’s like the first time we were blinded by the snow falling at our feet. In September we were in awe of the beauty—the city had come to life for us: the lakes, rivers, bridges, the endless green, the old, historic buildings and cobblestoned streets. And the people. The lovely people. THIS is where God is sending us? Here? WOW. Yes, we were still most definitely in love.
Lovesick
Have you ever been forced to be separated from the one you love? It can be really hard sometimes. During our first year dating we lived in different cities…and after a while it got really old. You just want to BE with the other person. After our trips in 2006 we were a tad bit busy with our jobs and then with welcoming Jose and Grace into our hearts. But it was really strange—we lived in Los Angeles and yet we felt like our hearts were in Hamburg. We knew we would call it home one day, but we never knew when.
Have you ever been forced to be separated from the one you love? It can be really hard sometimes. During our first year dating we lived in different cities…and after a while it got really old. You just want to BE with the other person. After our trips in 2006 we were a tad bit busy with our jobs and then with welcoming Jose and Grace into our hearts. But it was really strange—we lived in Los Angeles and yet we felt like our hearts were in Hamburg. We knew we would call it home one day, but we never knew when.
The Big Day
You can imagine how excited we were in August of 2008 when we both told each other that we felt like NOW was the time to move to Germany...and as soon as we could pack our bags and say our goodbyes, we were here.
Married Life
Now that we’ve been here six months you might wonder if we still feel as excited about it, and you know, that’s where I began this story…I feel like I am forever falling in love with this city. I walk along the streets and want to pinch myself—is this for real? God sends missionaries to the jungles of South America or to the remote villages of Thailand and He sends us HERE? To this city of beauty that I just can’t get enough of? It is crazy and I am so grateful that He chose to send us somewhere that He knew would capture our hearts.
Love Isn’t Always Pretty
And it’s not just the ‘pretty parts’ of Hamburg that we love so much—as easy as that can be—as some of you have seen from the pictures I’ve posted. As we all know, something beautiful on the outside isn’t always so lovely on the inside. You know our hearts burn for the Reeperbahn. Walking by the shops with lewd murals painted all over the outside isn’t pretty—it is vulgar and repulsive--but there is no other place where we would rather walk (we have now learned to avert our eyes). Seeing the women chase after men in hopes of a little money is not pretty—it is appalling and yet these young women are someone’s sister…daughter…and we cannot just walk by and not care about them. And seeing men actually stop and talk to these women and then walk off with them just about sends us into orbit—it is not pretty in any way. It is one of the ugliest sights on this earth to see. But this is when our hearts are fanned into flame with His great love for His hurting people. And we see this city and these people with His eyes and His love and His hope for a better way…and it is awesome.
And it’s not just the ‘pretty parts’ of Hamburg that we love so much—as easy as that can be—as some of you have seen from the pictures I’ve posted. As we all know, something beautiful on the outside isn’t always so lovely on the inside. You know our hearts burn for the Reeperbahn. Walking by the shops with lewd murals painted all over the outside isn’t pretty—it is vulgar and repulsive--but there is no other place where we would rather walk (we have now learned to avert our eyes). Seeing the women chase after men in hopes of a little money is not pretty—it is appalling and yet these young women are someone’s sister…daughter…and we cannot just walk by and not care about them. And seeing men actually stop and talk to these women and then walk off with them just about sends us into orbit—it is not pretty in any way. It is one of the ugliest sights on this earth to see. But this is when our hearts are fanned into flame with His great love for His hurting people. And we see this city and these people with His eyes and His love and His hope for a better way…and it is awesome.
It’s like…falling in love, living here…each day we get to discover a new reason why we love this city and these people so much. This love is overflowing out of our hearts and all we can say is Thank you, Lord, for sending us here; we are honored.
Thanks for taking a walk with me,
Krista
Krista
4 comments:
thank you, Krista, for sharing your family's beautiful journey with us. Your prose and photographs are awe inspiring! I'm going to bed tonight with happy dreams of you. xxx, judy
Beautifully written from your heart. I loved walking through this post with you.
Wait -- Buddy runs?!?
-- bb, us
Krista, I have tears in my eyes...that was a beautiful analogy, thank you for sharing your heart, your thoughts and your walk of love for Hamburg...I know what you mean, in my heart I have this secret ache for Hamburg now after visiting. Thank you for sharing, just beautiful. Your a poet if you didn't know that, and an eloquent writer. I feel as if I've been on a date :-) Thanks... Rachie
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