Siloah

Well, I switched service locations after only being in Bad Sulza for a week. The reasons for me leaving are something I do not wish to share on here. It was a lot of miscommunication with me and the clinic that led to me crying and giving a phone call to Joe and me on the next train to Jena the next day. I stayed with my host family for the weekend and was on the Monday morning train to Neufrankenroda, my new service location.

Neufrankenroda is an extremely small town with 70 people but its main attraction is the absolutely wonderful Siloah. I work at Siloah with Nick and Matt from my group as well as other German volunteers and workers all in our age group. Siloah is a christian family community place in a barn setting. Different schools bring their kids for day trips or over night stays with a plethora of activities going on during the day. There are animals including horses (which I have had the pleasure of riding) rabbits, and kittens, archery, fruit picking, a theaterstücke in one of the barns, guest rooms, a spielplatz with an incredibly long slide, and acres and acres of farm land. I adore it here because it is so different from my home life. I probably won't ever get a chance to live like this again so I am enjoying every minute of it.

A typical day starts with breakfast at 7:00 a.m. At 7:30 a.m. we have a prayer service in the Crypta. It's a really cool place because it is semi-underground and its original purpose was for wine...I think. It is a small stone cave with cool dim lighting and benches facing a small alter. We sing songs and share prayers before starting work at 8:00. We work from 8:00 to 11:40 a.m. until the next service (we have two in one day) and then have lunch at 12:00 p.m.-ish. After lunch we work again from 12:45 to 4:30 p.m. I work in the kitchen and I wash the dishes or sometimes get to make the random vegetable platter or cake. I really love washing dishes because it's such a mindless activity so I can let my mind wander or sing along with the Christian music that plays in the main kitchen. Dinner is at 6:30 so we usually have a couple of hours to shower, read, or relax. There's so much to explore at Siloah and I feel like I discover something new everyday. I have been trying to go to bed at 10:00 because I get so tired after lunch. It's worth it.

My room is pretty awesome. I live at the very top of the one of the guest buildings but not in a guest room. You have to walk through a costume shop attic to get to my room which is at the very end. It sits above a creepy cafe (well, only creepy at night) and is normally used as a storage room. A week ago they were installing solar panels on the roof so I would sometimes wake up to drills or a man standing over my window working. It was pretty entertaining.

It's hard to believe that week three of service is almost over. We will be coming home this month. I love the time that I am spending with Nick and Matt but I look forward to being reunited with the rest of the group. Tom Meyers is currently in Jena helping Joe and Jo-Ann close up Germany SST. It has been going on for 24 years with over 350 students, including us. Goshen College is donating two park benches to thank JenaKolleg for all they have done for us and to show our respect to Jena for being such an awesome SST location. We plan to visit where the park benches will be placed before heading to Frankfurt to fly back to the states.

As much as I can't wait to be home, it's sad to think about leaving Germany knowing that we will be the last ever SST group to study here.