Community (Kaiserslautern)

Now that I am in Germany, I finally know what it is like to need things translated. English is not used very much here, so that creates interesting challenges for me (good challenges). I am staying with Mike and Roberta Lotvola in Kaiserslautern, Germany. They have three girls, Anika, Naomi, and Madeline, who are wonderful and energetic! I love to listen to the the girls when they speak in German together, it amazes me.

They can be pretty silly sometimes. (And by sometimes I mean most of the time!)

Mike and Roberta work at the Elim-Zentrum (or Menno Haus). They are in charge of a discipleship program called, Freiwilliges Soziales Jahre, (FSJlers) [Voluntary Service Year] with the motto: Free to Serve Jesus. The students are volunteers involved with the church. They volunteer with kindergarteners and work with the elderly. They each come with their own baggage, so it is neat for Mike and Roberta to see the change over the year. The FSJlers sometimes eat with the Lotvola family. They help prepare the meal, and then play a game afterward.

The group of FSJs really only speak German, but they are an amazing group! The first night with them they tried hard to speak a little English. Then we went to the park the next day and almost all of them were attempting to speak English. I am only able to contribue what little German I know. Even though I do not know much German anymore, I think they appreciate that I know some German. It is encouraging to know they are trying to speak more English, and it seems as though they are enjoying the practice a lot more than the English they learned in school!

Twice a week a group goes and hands out bread to the homeless and refugees in the area. Some of the neighborhoods they go to are rough, but the homeless seem to appreciate having the bread. For the refugees, or asylum seekers, they may not need the bread, but it is a way to make contact and start relationships with them.

Kaiserslautern is at its limit in terms of the amount of people in the city. However there are still 300 refugees coming. The newspapers keeps saying, "What are we going to do with the refugees?" 997 refugees/asylum seekers have come in almost 2 years.

A chart of where the asylum seekers are coming from.

Syria: 300

Albania: 101

Afghanistan: 86

Eritrea: 79

Kosovo: 72

Serbia: 66

Macedonia: 52

Pakistan: 49

Somalia: 41

Bosnia: 34

Armenia: 33

Georgien: 24

Egypt: 13

Iran: 11

Stattenlos: 9

Origin Unknown: 8

Russia: 5

Azerbaijan: 4

Zentralafirka: 3

Ukraine: 2

Niger: 1

Iraq: 1

Site Bissau: 1

Vietnam: 1

Mali: 1

There have been movements in Germany; some people do not want the refugees; xenophobia. However there are those that do want to help them, so there is tension.

We had breakfast at the local Baptist Church, "Frühstück Dienstags," or "Breakfast on Tuesdays." They serve to anyone; the community, and refugees. It is a place to come and fellowship together. For only €1.50 you can have bread, meat, cheese, tomato, cucumber, butter, jam, egg, tea, coffee, and juice.

Another place that encourages the refugees and community to come together is, "Cafe International." They serve tea and coffe with cake. Food is always a good way to get people together.

Mike and I attended Gebet für den Frieden, or Pray for Peace, at a local church. It was a service to remember the dead, and pray for the suffering. There were 2,862 candles to represent each person who lost their life.

It was a beautiful but sad sight, knowing that each candle represents a person.

It is encouraging to see the things that the community is doing to help the refugees ease into their culture. I could not imagine what it must be like to leave everything I know and love, and live in a place foreign to me. The fact that the communities are trying to make the transition easier is a hopeful sign.