On the First Day in Zurich God Gave to Me...

Hoffnung Fuer Zuerich (Hope For Zurich): Reaching the Socially Marginalized, the outcasts, the unknown.

 Oh, the wonders of air travel!! After a seventeen-hour plane ride with a couple of connections in Newark and Oslo, I have finally made it to Zurich! My contact, let's call him M, met me at the airport. From there, M and I took the tram to the Strettbach stop and then went to the house where I am staying for the summer. This house is like an American townhouse but a bit tighter. I have met all four of my housemates: R, MS, D, and L. Last night, MS, L, R and I ate dinner together and got to know each other before L and MS had to go to their ministry in the RLD. After dinner, R and I cleaned the dishes and then I went to bed.

After the 12 hour sleep, I woke up and got ready for my first real day! Now, this was not to be said that I got ready on time... I was a bit late and because of that R and I had to run to the tram to make it. They have figured out how to make sure that I will not be late to the tram again: make him run, he'll learn. Needless to say, I will wake up and be on time next time. We finally made it to the Tram, and we went to the Swiss headquarters for the organization that I am going with. There, we had a prayer meeting for different countries and for different people. It was a wonderful 4 hours! After that, we had lunch: homemade garden soup with bread (oh yeah, they love their bread and all their cheeses). Next, I met DB and her, M and I went around the neighborhood where their ministry is. This was a part of my two-week orientation period. We walked from headquarters to the local coffee shop called Coffee and Deeds where I will work in June. There, we had a quick drink break and introductions to those I will work with. Most notably is B who will help me with my project throughout June (more on that in a later post). 

Finally, we went out of the coffee shop and walked around more of the neighborhood where we walked and started to have conversations with random people on the street. We would also hand out the flyers to the people we talked to for a free coffee, espresso, or tea at Coffee and Deeds. There was this one guy, Italian descent, that told us if the espresso was not the best, then he would arrest us. Then he looked at me and said, "Except you. You are my colleague." We all laughed, I laughed nervously because this was all in Swiss-German and I had to get the translation after the man walked away (I am glad that I laughed at an appropriate situation). Below are some pictures of the landscapes either outside the window of headquarters or while walking the street. 

 So, What did God give to me? He gave me a Spirit of peace. In this internship, I will have to be flexible and not always in the know of what is going on all day (even for what my plans are for the day). I have anxiety and usually when I do not have a plan or at least a here's what you're going to do, then, I begin to get anxious. Not today, though, God is giving me the peace and strength that I need for the day. That is all that I can ask for.