Inspirations from Kerstin Hack

Month: April 2014

The Resurrection of a Dream – In Progress!

Latest on the shipTwo years – in April 2014 – ago I posted this:

“Each year in preparation for Easter, I ask the Lord if there is anything I should abstain from for Lent. This year the answer that I heard in my heart after prayer came to me as a surprise: Abstain from doubting.

Not doubting Him. Not doubting His goodness towards me – in spite of obvious challenges I was facing. And in spite of disappointments and broken dreams, the challenge was: Do not allow yourself the ‘luxury’ of doubt. Doubt is an easy way out. When you doubt you do not need to dare. Dare to trust. Dare to try new things.

And boy do I need courage. For 12 years I dreamt about having a space where I could host people: (young) people who would want to learn with me and from me, who would like to stay for a few days or weeks to learn, be mentored, and share life. Twice it looked as though the dream would come true, and twice it crashed again, painfully, violently. I cried. I couldn’t understand God. Wasn’t it His dream after all?!

In the last month the dream surfaced again, but not in the form of a flat that was big enough for living, hosting, and holding seminars, but in the form of a SHIP. It is simply cheaper to buy and renovate a ship than to buy a flat and so much more fun. I found a great ship on Ebay (!!!) – an old GDR army ship/torpedo boat that was later turned into a holiday ship. I bought it, I will renovate it and make it a place for sharing life, and most likely I will name it “Heart of Berlin.”

I am really excited about this project. It will have a seminar/coaching room, guest rooms for hosting up to four people, and a place for me to work and live. Looking forward to creating a space for disciples, learners, nomads, and people who want to grow.

Update April 2014Whilst renovating.

The last two years were years of tears, toil, and miracles. The outer skin of the ship is renovated. All the rust inside and outside is removed. The ship is insulated and has floors in some rooms and many new windows.

I experienced times of frustration when things were not moving as fast as I had hoped. I have seen miracles of provision, miracles of help through people and finances coming at the right time. I cried a lot, both with frustration and joy! One of the greatest moments was when one of the professional helpers decided to start following Jesus as a result of spending a few days on the ship with us.

Now it looks as if we are moving towards the finishing line and that there are only a few months of work ahead:

  • Putting in floors and walls
  • Putting in electricity
  • Putting in bathrooms
  • Putting in new doors and windows
  • Finishing painting outside

Do you want to share the dream?

The vision is to create a space where those who need orientation can find a place to rest, reflect, be restored, and receive professional help in Berlin, the capital of Germany where lots of young people are searching for answers. You can be part of the dream. You can make it possible in three ways: prayer, giving, and practical help.

– Prayer
I know how much can go wrong in any project, but I also know that the opposite can happen: things going incredibly smoothly, God’s favor on all sides, deadlines met. So I really do appreciate prayer for wisdom and God’s favor and blessing… and yes, I don’t mind a word of encouragement now and then. I write updates about once per month; let me know if you would like to receive them.

– Gifts and loans
My friends and I work as much as we can on the ship, but to pay for the rest of the materials and the professional work, I still need about 50,000 Euros ($60,000). This is far more than I can earn as an author or publisher in a few months, and I also have to pay back loans that people have given me. I am incredibly thankful for every small or big gift or loan. The easiest way to donate is by using my paypal: Info     @     down-to-earth.de (leave out those blanks – I just put them there to avoid spam).

– Practical help

To finish the work on the ship, I do need a lot of practical help – both from people who know what they are doing like plumbers, electricians, carpenters, ship builders, and from anybody with two hands – everybody can scratch off rust and paint a ship. So if you’re up for a working holiday on the outskirts of Berlin or know of people who are, let me know.  This is also great for teams of volunteers: I have had several teams come and work on the ship for a few days, and they moved the project forward a lot!

Just contact me if you want to know more!Kerstin Hack

 

 

 

What a Year!

2014-04-18 15.25.55My birthday is a good opportunity to look back on this year. What a rollercoaster this last year was!

April: Information that the dry dock costs would be 3 times higher !!! than expected. Lots of friends helped with loans and donations – and miraculously the dramatic bill was able to be paid!

June/July: Mediation to solve conflicts with the ship builder I worked with and then – as differences and different expectations could not be resolved – the sad ending of our working relationship. Still sad – without him I would probably never have dared to start the project.

August: Moving the ship from Hamburg to Berlin – what a journey! The new birth of Bernd number 2 who entrusted his life to Jesus. Continuing renovation on the ship with a steady stream of friends helping me to move things forward and assisting the professionals. Challenging interpersonal relationship with the Berlin dry dock owner. Phew.

August/December: Professional training in a well-founded technique to reach goals and an extremely good trauma-relief therapy method. I’m very happy that I could increase my skills and am more equipped to handle tough stuff.

November: Bernd number 1 – a friend who helped me a lot with the ship and gave me lots of good advice – suffered a severe stroke and is still recovering. Last minute new windows for the ship – what a miracle that I could find the right professionals!
December: Discovering rust in places that should have been renovated. What a frustration! 
January: Winter renovations – tough work with tough guys – my cousin and a great team from Portugal. Starting to coach a businessman in the Stuttgart area.
Dec – March: Writing 5 new titles in 5 months – quite a lot.
March: Starting to coach a man who wants to lose 40 kilograms of weight.

April: A stupid law suit – someone suing me for something I did not even do – forgetting to mention a photographer on a picture we published. We had mentioned her, she had just not looked properly. A little break at the baltic sea for gaining new strength.

Hopes for the next year of my life:

– Finishing the ship – praying for more helpers and finances to complete the project. Thankful for everyone who is helping – may it be small or big!

– Staying in peace – letting my soul be stilled by God.

Stumbling Strategically

2013-11-04 16.27.16What is the difference between a successful person and a less successful one? Successful people stumble strategically. When they fall down, which is unavoidable, they look to see if there’s perhaps a dust particle or seed on the floor. One of my goals in life is to become a person who stumbles strategically. Or in other words, I would like to be a person who makes fertilizer out of the crap that sometimes happens in life.

– See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/erfolg/strategisch-stolpern/#sthash.ntGEaBDi.dpuf

Beauty for the Soul

2014-02-27 16.41.49Never pass by the opportunity to see something beautiful – because beauty is God”s handwriting. – Unknown

For the last few days, I”ve been tired and discouraged. As I prayed this morning and talked with God about it, it became clear to me: in the last few months, I have planned and organized a lot and worked very hard on the ship. This is good, but it does not make me come alive. My soul blooms when it sees beauty.

It will still be a while before the beautiful things on the ship will be visible – even when it”s nice that the roof is now painted and the floor is in. But the really pretty, artistic things usually don”t come until the end – so that will still take a while. But when my soul needs to create beauty Aber keine Sorge, denn der online slot Gladiators ist nicht ganz so lebensgefahrlich wie die thematische Vorlage. and there is nothing beautiful to create, I feel drained.

John Raux2014

I wouldn”t be me if I didn”t do anything once something became clear to me.

  • Right before the market closed, I bought 30 colorful tulips to bring beauty into my apartment.
  • I”m going to put plants on my balcony soon.
  • I spent a couple of hours just cleaning up on the ship – this is also beauty.
  • I gave a few containers of trash to my friends who were there with their car…
  • Over Easter, I want to go for 4 days with a friend to the sea – to take a break and to refuel on beauty.
  • I”m going to listen to and enjoy beautiful music.
  • Here and there, I want to do a little beauty-care… even when my ship-builder hands are not restorable.
  • I hung up this picture that my artist friend, John Raux, lent me and that I like a lot. Unknown title or tides unknown?
  • I hope that I can continue to sell more things on Ebay and Amazon . Having more free space is also beautiful to me.

– See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/besser-leben/schoenheit-fuer-die-seele/#sthash.NN3LHAhS.dpuf

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