Cafe Jerusalem

Last Thursday I had the wonderful opportunity to take a 'ministry day' in the town of Neumünster in what could loosly be described as a soup-kitchen called Cafe Jerusalem. This little establishment serves breakfast and lunch to around 30 local people who are unable to feed themselves - but it doesn't end there. Every day before lunch the director of the cafe leads an evangelical devotion which appears to be having some effect on the patrons. In the last year 3 people have been led to the Lord through this ministry and subsequently join in a weekly bible study to nurture them in their christian infanthood and eventually link them with a local church.
I was joined by a mexican lady named Mirjam, an american named Christian and my good friend from Germany, Matt (that's the short version of his name). Miriam and Christian worked in the kitchen cooking up breakfast and lunch and Matt (being the only german speaker) helped on the counter serving coffee and tea. Each guest can have 2 free drinks.
So where was I working? I was in the storeroom sorting out boxes. Why? because just like back home, they have a person who can find just about any kind of food or drink for free in ridiculous quantities (just like John and Barbara). Whilst some of the food is sent to the Logos Hope (becuase you can't have spaghetti every day for four years), the rest is in a bunch of crates all mixed up and out of order.
So I had to sort out the returnable from the non-returnable and get everything nice and neat. This way they can get to what they need a whole lot faster.

During lunchtime devotions the director called us up so he could introduce us and I gave a short testimony (which Matt translated for me) and Christian gave his - the director told us that hearing actual people living christian lives really helps them get past the theory and decide to make a choice for themselves.

So this was a fantastic opportunity and I think I'll do it again at least once before I go.