I'm a photographer now

Today was the first day of class, and if I had to think of a theme that fit the entire day it would be something about stepping out and making yourself vulnerable. I woke up very early this morning to make DTS breakfast. They always ask me why I wake up to eat with them, but they don’t realize that they are the people I like to hang out with, even at 7 in the morning. So we ate weird nuts and berries instead of cereal again this morning, and then worship was after. I forget how magical YWAM worship is. If you ever get the chance to participate in singing songs and dancing at a YWAM base, take it because it will change your life. It’s just amazing how great you feel while standing next to 80 people you’ve known for 5 days and they’re all singing there hearts out. Just try it some time. After a short break, I joined the DTS on their first class. I made sure to check with the school leaders before coming in because I still don’t want them to feel like I’m trying to join the school. They are so nice and understanding though, and they were excited when I asked if I could sit in. Class was great. We spent an hour on introductions, and then we got to learn the history of Herrnhut and the YWAM Watercastle where we are living. Turns out that Herrnhut is a historically rich city, especially when it comes to missionaries. You should read about it because I’m sure that I won’t get everything right, but I will try to explain to you everything I heard. The little village began centuries ago when a powerful Count S. allowed all kinds of youth, Jews, thieves, and poor people to come live in the village that was his. He opened the doors for people who normally got doors slammed in their faces, and for that act of kindness, the people loved him. With the help of Somebody else, all of the outcasts now living in the village became Christians, and eventually the village sent out one of the first known European missionaries. They told us more about the history of the town, but I must’ve forgotten it already. I do know, though, that one of the major steps in the beginning of this YWAM base occurred at the grave of that man who was the famous first missionary. Some people from Stuttgart were visiting the small village a couple years ago because they had gotten a word from God saying that Herrnhut might be important in the future for YWAM. So they came, and they went on a tour. They ended up at one point in a missionary graveyard on the other side of town, and they all were feeling a little negative about the idea of moving to the small village. Just then, Jan the base leader here, looked down and realized that he was standing next to the gravestone of his hero, the first missionary from Herrnhut. He realized then that this was supposed to be the place for the base, so they started looking for a building. They ended up finding the castle here and found out that it was going to cost 2.1 Euro. They prayed again, and they offered the owner 250,000 Euro. In the end, the final price was settled at 270,000 Euro. Only problem was, they were all missionaries without any money. So they prayed again, and they split up to visit Dallas and a mega church in Korea to ask for money. Neither opportunity turned out to be a monetary success, but not long after the teams got back, an offer came in the mail to loan the money without interest. That offer didn’t give them peace, so they waited and received another offer to pay fully for the castle out of an old missionary’s inheritance. Again, no peace, so they turned down the money. Two days before the money was due, the man who offered to loan the money learned that he was supposed to actually donate the money, so he did. The castle was bought, and the first DTS began only a couple weeks later. It was an amazing story, and if you ever get the chance to talk to Jan Schlegel, take it. He’s an amazing speaker with an awesome story.

So we learned about the history, and then we ate lunch. After lunch, work duties were assigned to the students, but I thought it was necessary to be a part of the work duties too. I got assigned the guest/staff toilets. Luckily, nobody pooped before that part of the day. I offered to clean the girls’ toilets because they always tell me that they don’t poop, even though Megan and Lindsey have shown me that they do. So I cleaned the toilets, and spent the rest of the afternoon in the café. A little before dinner, the students gathered in the dining hall to start making their pinhole cameras. Oh yeah, I don’t know if I’ve explained that this is a photo DTS. They are all photographers; artists. They are all pierced, tattooed, dreaded, crazily dressed people from all over the world. They seem to be very creative and know everything about photography. I try not to let them see me taking pictures, and I try not to let them ask me questions about my camera. I also try to stay out of their photography classes, but this one was unavoidable. They were supposed to find a box around the castle in order to make a camera tonight before dinner. I explained that I couldn’t find a box, but one of them said they had one for me so I was bound to make a camera too. It was a pinhole camera, which is kind of old school. It’s just a box with a small hole in it that allows light in to make an impression on light sensitive paper. I take my first picture tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it goes. After making the camera and eating dinner, we came upstairs to have more coffee and cakes. I spent most of the night talking to some of the German students who don’t get the chance to talk to many of the other students because they don’t speak very good English. We spoke about the German education system. It’s confusing. I’m confused. I’m tired. I’m going to bed. See you tomorrow.