Bremen

“All believers are not called to be foreign missionaries, but they should struggle with the possibility.”

- Clifford Clark

“... if God has called you to China or any other place and you are sure in your own heart, let nothing deter you... remember it is God who has called you and it is the same as when He called Moses or Samuel.”

- Gladys Aylward

A view of Bremen's Altstadt distric

I’ve finally gotten the chance to visit Bremen! Christina Schifferdecker, an active member in the CVJM, very graciously drove me to Heidelberg’s main train station at 3:45 Monday morning. I arrived to find out my train would be seventy minutes late. (Ironically, I could have taken the train into Heidelberg had I known this train was so late.) With the help of a Deutsche Bahn employee on the train, I was re-routed and arrived in Bremen around noon. I then checked into the youth hostel I booked. It is conveniently in the old part of the city, which stays very busy and thus provides many opportunities to share the Gospel. As I was unpacking my belongings, a young Indian guy was packing up and getting ready to leave. Before he left, I was able to share the Gospel with him and give him a Bible.

After exploring the old part of the city, I went to a local park to talk to people and pass out tracts and Bibles. Alan’s told me before how critical it is to work alongside others in sharing the Gospel, but I never really understood what it’s like to do missions alone until this trip to Bremen. I felt so nervous approaching people in the park without any of my team nearby; I only spoke to those who were by themselves. I went to speak to a homeless woman living in some bushes, but she made it clear she was interested only in my money and not in the Gospel. However, she was very happy to take a Bible. Trying to be a good Samaritan, I brought the woman some water and yogurt from the grocery store. She was very grateful for this, but then she lectured me about how we all have our own ways to God. I reminded her of John 14:6, but the woman insisted that it was simply part of “my way” and that she already knew the Bible. She also told me that she is in the process of writing a book about the many paths to God and promised to mail me a copy when it gets published. (I’m still not sure if the woman had a mental illness.) With that, she turned away and went back up into the bushes.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been speaking with Wilfried Schloo, a believer in Bremen. (Lisa, a CVJM intern from northern Germany, got me in touch with him.) Wilfried was planning to show me around his church and introduces me to the church’s youth minister, who is very interested in meeting me. Last Thursday, Wilfried had called me and explained that right now is not a good time to visit, because he has fifteen children and grandchildren visiting him at the moment, and because many members of his church are on vacation. He suggested coming on the first of August. (With this news, I was very surprised that I was still allowed to go to Bremen.) I called Wilfried Monday evening, explained these few days are the only time I could be in Bremen and asked if anything had changed. He told me that he understood about my schedule and despite his being very busy this week, he would like to meet with me briefly. I was so excited to realize that I could in fact meet with someone on this trip!

Dinner Monday evening was an interesting experience. While wondering around, I had spotted a restaurant with good prices located in the cellar of the Bremen city hall building. I headed back to the restaurant. Once inside, I realized that despite the low prices, it was expected that guests dress up. Upon seeing me wearing a ball cap, a stained t-shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes, the host seemed less than happy to seat me and decided to simply point towards a table. However, I did get my food in less than ten minutes. (I guess the staff wanted me to leave as soon as possible!) The dinner was supposed to be traditional Bremen food: mashed potatoes with tiny bits of corned beef stirred into it, pickled herring, a fried egg, and a pickle. I did not know that pickled herring is raw, which I find rather disgusting. Keeping a missionary mentality, I decided to still eat the fish and swallow it with as little chewing as possible. I was not quite sure how any of these foods fit together with each other, but it was good to experience the food and also the fishing culture, which has been a large part of life in Bremen for centuries.

A statue of Bremen's famous protector,
Roland, located in the Market Square

That night, I was in the hostel lounge attempting to post to my blog when a guy appearing to be in his early twenties struck up a conversation with me. He was from Holland (which explains the chattiness, a German would never initiate a conversation with a random person) and waiting for a flight to Spain early the next morning. We talked about our cultural backgrounds, and the man mentioned how he would like to make a road trip across the United States, so I told him about the geography and attractions in Birmingham. I also told him about my team’s work in Heidelberg. Come to find out, the man was a believer, and so we discussed how man must always trust God and follow Him no matter what.

Tuesday, I started the day off with a quick breakfast at McDonald’s. This gave me an excuse to leave a few Bibles on coffee tables scattered throughout the restaurant. Afterward, I met with Wilfried for about thirty minutes. He told me how excited he was to meet someone wanting to spread the Good News in Bremen. He said that there are many churches in Bremen, but most either preach what people want to hear or have no interest whatsoever in reaching out to the city. Wilfried explained that many people had come to know Christ in his generation, but was long ago. He wanted to see another revival in the city. He then said that he found the story of my calling to Bremen very encouraging and would like to use it to motivate others in the city’s churches. Unfortunately, Wilfried and his wife had to go to a doctor’s appointment, but we did meet up briefly a few hours later. He gave me a stack of German gospel tracts and encouraged me to consider coming to a seminary in Germany where he had worked for over thirty years. We parted ways with the promise to staying in close contact.

I spent the rest of the day (trying to) talk to people in the park or on the street about Jesus. It was rather nerve-wracking how many times I would say to someone “Excuse me, may I tell you about Jesus?” and the person would respond with “Nein!” and a glare. Eventually, I just started leaving tracts with everyone, because only a few people would let me talk to them. Not so many people wanted Bibles, either. I still had about ten left, so I left them in a few phone booths, another McDonald’s, and in the hostel lounge. I actually found it rather funny to do in McDonald’s; there were not too many people there and the staff could easily tell what you were doing. I felt like a peaceful "terrorist" for Jesus, sneaking around and leaving Bibles at very well-timed moments.

I left Bremen at ten o’clock yesterday morning. I’m glad I could make this trip and get to know the city better, but part of me feels that I did not do enough missions work in my two days there. Regardless, I’ve made the contacts and learned some about the city’s layout, culture, and attitude towards the Gospel. Perhaps I can return to Bremen for a longer time next summer.