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, 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. After all – wasn't it his dream, too?!

In the last month the dream surfaced again. But not in the form of a flat that was big enough for living as well as hosting as well as holding seminars, but a SHIP. It is simply cheaper to buy and renovate a ship than to buy a flat. And so much more fun. So I found a great ship on Ebay (!!!). I had a look at it with professionals who understand more about ships than me. And now I am going to buy it in the next twelve months.

I will renovate it. And make it a

place for sharing life. And most likely I will name it “Heart of Berlin”.

Do you want to share the dream?

You can. You can make it possible in three ways: Prayer, p, and practical help.

– Prayer:
I know how much can go wrong in any project. I've had my share of painful lessons. Things going wrong that cannot possibly go wrong. But I also know that the opposite can happen. Things going incredibly smoothly. God's favour on all sides. Deadlines met. So I really do appreciate prayer for wisdom, God's favour and blessing…and I don't mind a word of encouragement now and then.

– Gifts and loans:
In spite of the ship being relatively cheap I still need more than 40,000 Euros by the end of April 2012 for buying the ship, transport and building materials. From May onwards I have regular payments in installments for the work that needs to be done. So any one time gift – no matter how big or small, regular gifts and loans will help. For gifts you can use paypal: Kerstin (AT) down-to-earth.de

Practical help: Do you need some good exercise and want to grow some strong muscles? I do need a lot of practical help – both from people who know what they are doing (plumbers, electricians) and those who don´t (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. And sooner or later I will need flower pots, cushions, curtain materials and lots of other practical things.

I am really excited about this project. Looking forward to creating a space for disciples, learners, nomads, and people who want to grow.

I will keep you updated.

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