We had a chilled morning at Corinna's, and then had a Spanish breakfast (tostadas con tomatoes) out in her little garden, which was just beautiful. We sat for a long while catching up and Corinna told us her story of the last 5 years (Jess and I told ours the previous night) before her flatmates came out and we made friends and just enjoyed the quiet morning.
I helped make the tomato sauce - tomatoes with olive oil and garlic, blitzed together.
Then after a small tour of Munster, with ice cream (the kind German man gave me extra ice cream and a cherry too.. Clearly my broken German is useful for something!) and time to wander around funny little shops, we met Pia, Ushi and Nora (Corinna's flatmates) at the Canal for a rather experiential afternoon:
Putting the slack line up.
Corinna showing us her skills.
Jumping in the canal.
Meeee!
Then, paddling up the canal came two beautiful strangers on stand up surfboards (slightly bigger than a normal surfboard, with more grip I think.. And they offered for us to have a go. So we did! Photos are on my actual camera though so can't upload those until I'm home but that was brilliant - I stood up and paddled my way round on the water for a few minutes!
We picked raspberries on the walk back to the car, saving some for the pancakes that Pia had made when we arrived home. And by this point, it was time for us to say our goodbyes and get on the road.
That's when the storm hit.
No ordinary storm (although I appreciate all storms are pretty ordinary in that there's normally thunder, lightning, rain etc..) But this time, the rain came down heavily and quickly and within minutes the street was flooding and cars were backed up down the street and people were coming out in bathing suits to play in the giant puddles! It was quite a community to be honest, but it meant that we couldn't leave yet. So we waiting for it to calm down and then made our move heading for Marburg.
45 minutes of peace and then the next storm hit. It is, admittedly, the worst conditions I have driven in. We pulled over at first thinking we could sit and wait for it to pass, but quickly realised that it wasn't passing any time soon and there weren't lights on the road side so if it got dark and we had to drive in these conditions, it would be even worse! So we prayed and drove and stayed super alert. Eventually, the rain died down and we drove in peace for a fee more kilometers. Then the next storm hit, the same again... But God was so good, and we finally made it to Marburg safely and in one piece, despite hearing from friends of the many accidents and fallen trees that had affected others. God protected us on our 3 and a half hour journey and we made it to Ruth and Waldi's.
Talking late in to the night, eating freshly baked banana bread and watching the persistent lightning over the hill from the safety of their beautiful little flat... It was a wonderful evening, to end a crazy adventurous day.
Thank you Jesus for friends, for new experiences, for leading us safely through the storm and for all that is to come.
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