Sunday at a Cafe

After a long but fruitful week, it was nice to get up to a brunch.  After brunch, the soccer players visiting from England invited us to their Sunday morning service.  We met all of them as the coach introduced each of the players.  Then two young men gave their testimonies on what life is like for them now that they are Christians.  And the coach, Graham, followed with a very powerful sermon on Mark 5, where a man was possessed with legions, but when he met the power of Jesus, he was transformed.  And I talked to the coach afterwards and I learned more about their ministry called Sportsreach.

Cafe in Schladming with Nat

After service I met Nat, one of the two resident assistants, for coffee at a local cafe in town.  There are cafes open on Sundays, but no grocery stores or other stores.  It's nice really, because then everyone is more apt to relax or spent time with friends.  Nat is from Australia and first went to Tauernhof over 10 years ago, then stayed on as a nanny for the director, Hans Peter Royer.  She's been back several times since as a member of the staff.  In Austrialia, she's a school teacher.  Right now, though, she's taking a year off to be on staff at Tauernhof.  She's my age so we had a lot in common and talked for several hours.  It's so common here to spend time over a cup of tea or coffee.  In fact, in talking with my roommate Dani, she said that it is very common in her small town in Germany to meet for coffee on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon or even to spend a whole evening during the week with friends.  I could get used to this kind of fellowship.