Second "Annual"?

Can you call something the second annual if it happened for the 2nd time in three years? I'm going to. As I write this, I'm in Newark, NJ, on my way back to the DR after the second annual Volunteer Coordinators Conference, an "annual" (when there's not a pandemic) gathering of missionaries who work to engage the Church in God's mission around the world, including through short-term volunteer service. As in 2019, we met in Eurasia, the region with the fewest jetlag extremes when you take each of our home bases into account - specifically, Wittenberg, Germany, the city perhaps most connected with the great reformer Martin Luther. 

Wittenberg has been on my bucket list since way back when I didn't make it there during my study abroad experience in 2008; I tacked on a week of post-conference vacation to enjoy even more of what Germany has to offer, too. Over the next series of posts, I'll share my experience and try not to make you scroll through photos for days. This first one will focus on getting there and the meat of our time together. 

The three LAC reps (L to R: me, Ashley, and Courtney) arrived into Frankfurt around the same time on a Tuesday morning and traveled by train to Wittenberg together. Collective brainpower after 24+ hours of travel is a good thing when navigating a fahrkarten (ticket) machine for the first time and finding the correct gleis (platform) buuuuuuut we still missed our one transfer and had to go an hour out of our way to turn around!

No harm, no foul. We made it in time for our first agenda item, dinner together at the Wittenberg Kartoffelhaus. Nobody was disappointed in what they ordered based on the Google Translate app's loose interpretation of the all-German menu.

It got dark around 4:00 pm every day (all the better for viewing the Christmas market)...

...and was still dark as we walked the few blocks from the Old Latin School, our lodging/meeting facility, to breakfast at the Colleg Wittenberg, but we were treated to sunrises on the way back.

Our days started and ended in the Word. 

In between we bounced back and forth between informational and interactive session, and between the couches and the table. I moderated a discussion on "Troubleshooting Tricky Situations," analyzing the same set of questions for each of four mission trip horror stories - real or Googled. 

Snooooowwwww! Just flurries, but we live(d) in the Caribbean. It was magical, but also very, VERY cold.

Dinner on Wednesday was at the aforementioned Christmas market. If you're not familiar with the Weinachtsmarkt tradition, Advent = holiday-themed outdoor fairs in plazas across central and eastern Europe. Stalls sell typical Christmas decorations, winter wear, toys, and food/beverages: bratwurst, currywurst, pretzels, lebkuchen (gingerbread), flammkuchen (woodfired pizzas), spiced nuts, chocolate covered fruit, crepes, waffles, and more. Perhaps most notable is the glühwein - hot, mulled red wine served in mugs that you pay a deposit for and can choose to return for a full refund or keep as a souvenir. Each market has its own design. Of the four Christmas markets I'll visit over the next two weeks, I kept only one mug - Wittenberg's. 

Most markets also feature a prominent Christmas tree and other oversized Christmas decorations. Some also have rides, like Wittenberg's Ferris wheel, that set them apart. One in Berlin had a skating rink, but that's getting ahead of myself. 

Thursday afternoon, our group took an outing to nearby Leipzig to learn about Deac. Kim Bueltmann's and Rachel Krause's outreach efforts among the city's sizeable Persian immigrant population.

We started with coffee, cake (stollen, which I thought was going to be dry but wasn't at all), and a ministry overview from Pastor Hugo, a Selk (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany) missionary.

Later on, he led us in worship at St. Lukaskirche, across the street from Die Brücke ("The Bridge"), the mercy house where we'd first gathered.

It was cold in church, but they had blankets. Blankets!

I take food pictures when traveling abroad and trying new things. Don't judge me. Most I won't share, but Persian food merits a visual. I practically licked the bowl of my tomato-based okra stew, served with saffron rice. 

And all of a sudden, by early afternoon on Friday, we were celebrating a closing worship service in the Old Latin School's beautifully adorned chapel, followed by an impromptu sing-a-long headlined by, what else, Martin Luther hymns. 

These people make stuff happen, especially when we're in the same room instead of on the same screen, and I love it. Matt and Krista, if you're reading this, we missed you!

Up next: shifting into vacation mode. 

Until next time (quite possibly from the very chair I'm sitting in now given that my flight was just delayed an hour and a half...), blessings!