We spent our time in Germany at two YWAM bases...Hurlach and Herrnhut. And both blessed us so much. And both were huge! Hurlach base was actually was used during the Munich Olympics by YWAM.
They kept 1000 students in the building. Three levels of bunk beds because the ceilings are really high.
It was a beautiful base. And it was cool to think of the significance of the base. The team that was here during the Olympics was important in reaching people from otherwise unreachable nations at the time (because even communist countries sent olympians). Especially with what happened at the Munich Olympics (look it up for more information because its too detailed to explain here), having a Christian presence at the games was really significant to reaching people where they were at.
We also spent time at Herrnhut, which is a much newer base, they have only been around for six years or something. But they own a big old orphanage and they have almost 100 DTS students. We have 4 students in our DTS. We couldn't even comprehend the size of their DTS.
Their DTS actually left the same day we arrived, so we didn't get to meet their students. Instead we saw the wake they left behind. Especially the washroom... 40 some girls in one bathroom... Yikes.
But they use their space very efficiently. It is an arts focused DTS, so they do photography, graphic design, fine arts, music, and handicrafts all for the kingdom. Knitting for God. I love it! And I know lots of people who this would resonate with. They have state of the art equipment, I didn't try to count the number of Mac computers. They have two dark rooms. They have a cafe in the building!
I don't regret choosing the Slovak DTS, but if you like arts and can handle living in a room with up to seven other girls/guys and speak either English or German... this is an amazing option!
We also learned a bit about the town of Herrnhut. The town actually began when this nice count decided to let religious refugee people live on his land. They were fleeing persecution from the Catholics I believe... And Count Zinsendorf realized that these people were part of the Ancient Moravian Church that had been driven underground. Along the way there was a pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the believers in the town, essentially a revival took place. The modern Moravian church was essentially begun in Herrnhut, and it became a missionary sending church. They sent missionaries to Africa, Asia, North America, Central America. The stories are amazing. Moravian missionaries were significant in the spiritual growth of John Wesley (and if you don't know his story please read it! wikipedia) They ministered to slaves in the Caribbean. There were something like 200 missionaries sent out from this little town in the first 10 or 20 years of the church. I'm really not doing the story justice, but it is very inspiring. I appreciated hearing it.
This is the Moravian Church in Herrnhut that was rebuilt after world war two. It is completely white, as the congregation is considered to bring the colour and decoration to the building.
And Herrnhut is also known for these:
The Herrnhut or Moravian Star.
All I really know about those is that they are a sign of Christmas and are very very expensive. A tiny one smaller than my hand was 8 euro or something. CRAZY!
We also talked about Luther in Germany, but since people talk about Luther all the time I figured that I would just tell you to watch the movie if you don't know about him. :)
Now we are off to the Czech Republic!
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