Faith Walk.

This past Wednesday the staff here at Herrnhut sent everyone out on a faith walk. We were put into groups of 4 or 5 (one German in each group) and given 1 euro each. They told us we could go anywhere in Germany or even outside Germany but we were not to stay in Herrnhut.

What a way to start off a Wednesday. So, I freaked out, of course. I was so terrified. I have no idea why, probably because I was scared to sleep outside somewhere not in Herrnhut. And I cried. Yes, I will admit to being the one person to cry. I was that scared. But, after talking with LH and the girls in my group I decided to go. I didn't have peace about staying, I knew I would miss out, so I went.

We packed any warm clothes we had, a sleeping bag, and our cameras. And we stated walking. My group and I decided to go outside of Germany because we all had our passports. We ended up getting a ride from Herrnhut to Zittau. That was our first blessing. If we had not hitchhiked there, we would have been walking for three and a half hours. In Zittau, BN and TM played on the streets for a while, trying to get money. We didn't get much and decided to keep walking so we could get into the Czech Republic before nightfall. From Zittau we walked through Poland into the Czech Republic, ending up in Hradek for the night. By the time we got there everything was closed except for the restaurants and some bars. We walked for an hour trying to find food and place to sleep. By this time it was getting darker and colder and we just wanted to sleep.

In our last ditch effort, we stopped at Camelot, a restaurant in Hradek that was still open. God then provided the best meal I've had since I got to Germany. The woman that was working there called her boss and told us that she had a soup that we could have. We sat down and she brought over sparkling orange juice and a basket FULL of bread. We were all blow away by how generous she was being. Later she brought out the soup and it was fantastic. By the time we were all finished, we were happy and full.

And then we walked outside and realized, we don’t have anywhere to sleep. That night we ended up sleeping in a playground. It was so cold. TP, JC, and I all snuggled together under our sleeping bags and it still wasn't warm enough. I personally was terrified that the police were going to come and take us to jail. (Overreaction, I know) But thankfully they didn't and that morning we woke up and started walking.

We decided not to stay in Hradek and to keep walking. The guys wanted to walk to Liberec but by this time I had the worst blisters ever that I couldn't walk any longer. We stopped by the side of the road to try to get a ride and rest for a bit. TM went off to try to find a ride. After a bit he came back and told us we had a place to stay. IN A CASTLE. No joke, it was a legit castle. It was absolutely beautiful. We were all smiling so big and so thankful that we didn't have to sleep outside. The family that works and stays at the castle said that we could stay there if we wanted to help them out with some work. He even took TP and I to the market to buy food for the two days we were staying there.

God provides in the most unsuspecting ways. He didn't need to provide a castle for us; He could have had us sleep outside. But instead, He provided us with this beautiful place to stay, some amazing food, and some wonderful people to minister to. I keep looking back at our time in the Czech Republic and I’m pretty sure it was a dream. I cannot explain how much this trip restored my faith in God. He provided so much more than any of us needed.