Week 8 (The Dresden Files)

Hey folks,
I've been in Dresden the last week. To give the week a little more gravity, I read Slaughterhouse 5 the day after I arrived. Not a bad book, but sad. I liked being able to give myself very real reference points to see what he was writing about. The city of Dresden is beautiful now, but I can't imagine what it must have looked like in February 1945. Parts of it are actually still be rebuilt.

Obviously, it has been a deep week. More so, considering some of the people I have met at this hostel. I shared a room with a guy who is originally from the KC area. He started life as a christian, then became an athiest, and then finally settled on hinduism. He was a very interesting guy and I had several really good conversations with him. They were somewhat marred by a sneaky suspicion that he wasn't going to change his beliefs, but that's what prayer is for.

I haven't really done too many "touristy" things while I've been here in Dresden. I think it could be that Dresden, while being beautiful, is also just a homey place. I was content to just find a nice spot under some blossoming cherry trees (so pretty!) and be still. That's something I've somewhat missed on this trip. I get so caught up on "experiencing Europe", that I sometimes lose sight of the things that are important to experience, no matter where I am physically.

God has been teaching me a lot this week through Isaiah 25. I found it particularly interesting, again being in Dresden:
¹ O LORD, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done marvelous things,
things planned long ago.

² You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners' stronghold a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.

³ Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
cities of ruthless nations will revere you.

⁴ You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall

⁵ and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

⁶ On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.

⁷ On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;

⁸ he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove the disgrace of his people
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.

⁹ In that day they will say,
"Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

It must have been hard to go through that horrific time, but the passage reminded me that God does what he sees fit. The promise in the later part of the chapter, that God will "swallow up death forever and wipe away the tears from ALL faces" is so wonderful. I'm slowly learning things about my Father. He reveals bits there, and bits here. Its like looking at a mountainside in a thick fog, I begin to see a bigger picture.

Thanks again for your prayers, I find them very encouraging! I'll be heading to Leipzig on the 1st and staying there until heading for Berlin on the 8th. I love all you guys and hope that you're enjoying this great weather!

-Samwise Greenhill