Home Sweet Home!

Well, we knew it would happen at some point, but our time in Germany had finally ended. We arrived at our last destination in Neuendettelsau on Friday. Sorry to all of you who have been waiting for a new update, we didn't have internet acess in Neuendettlesau! Our last four days there were fun and pretty packed. We met a man named Horst Becker, who was very proud of his German heritage and was an excellent guide for us. We learned about Wilhelm Loehe, the man who sent missionaries to North America, a move through which Wartburg College and Wartburg Seminaries were created. It was fun to learn about Loehe, he was an amazing man. He had also established a school to teach and train girls to become deaconesses because even though Martin Luther had made it clear that schools should be established for both boys and girls, that sentiment was no longer important at that time, so girls were not allowed to be educated. Loehe thought they should be educated, so he started this deaconess school, and when the girls were done with their training, he would send them to their home congregation and then they would work there. That was the plan anyway; what actually happened was that when the girls got to their churches, the churches didn't know what to do with them and wouldn't let them do what they were trained to do. They were hesitant to believe that there was any change in the girls. They sent them back to Loehe and Loehe developed a uniform for them to wear. He then sent them back to their home congregations with their uniforms, and the churches saw that they had some authority, and they were able to do what they were trained to do. It was interesting that a uniform seperating them from everyone else is finally what enabled these girls to be able to use their skills that Loehe taught them.
The last day we had a tour of some important places in Neuendettelsau. We visited a factory that employs mentally handicapped people. This was an amazing experience. The looks on their faces when we visited were so filled with joy and love; they are looks that I will never forget. They enjoyed what they were doing and it showed in their work. They were so thankful to have a job, which most people in the work force seem to take for granted. I was so happy to see them enjoying what they were doing, as most of the time handicapped people are viewed as nothing more but helpless charity cases. These people were being provided a service in which they can serve in return. It was awesome. This was one of my favorite things on the trip. The sight of them working and having fun was very heart-warming, and it made me realize that when I start seminary, I would love to do something with disabled people for my Clinical Pastoral Education, a program all MDiv people have to go through.

Overall, I saw an overall theme of service on this trip. We learned about Luther's service in starting the Common Chest for poor people and his beliefs in education for both boys and girls, St. Elizabeth's hospital for the poor and the sick,Jakob Fugger in Augsburg started a bank and housing units for poor Catholic people, and Wilhelm Loehe with his mission work in North America (which in turn started Wartburg College and Seminary :) ) All of these people were dedicated to challenging and nurturing people for lives of leadership and service as a spirited expression of their faith and learning. Does this statement ring a bell?? For those of you Wartburgers who have been reading my blogs, you know what this statement is. For those who are not Wartburgers, this statement is Wartburg College's mission statement. I saw this mission statement in so many of the places in Germany, and relating the statement to our learning in Germany was the theme for our final paper. I definately saw this theme present in the people we learned about on this trip. They all integrated faith and learning into their work through service while encouraging others to do the same. The mission statement is a statement that is heard again and again at Wartburg, but after seeing it firsthand through the service organizations we saw there, I understand fully why it is reiterated so much. It is such an awesome statement, and defiantely one I will use as a personal mission statement when I am ordained as a minister in the ELCA.

Thank you all for keeping up with my blogs throughout my trip in Germany! I appreciate your interest! I hope you learned a little about Luther and all things I saw in Germany. It was an amazing trip and I'm so glad I got the opportunity to share it with you along the way!!
+Grace and Peace+
God Bless!!!!
~Jenna~