or Germany Unity Day. For all of you who think that I had a lot of holidays as a State Government employee, try coming to Germany where everybody gets many holidays. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_holidays. Hamburg (HH) has 9 while Bavaria (BY), which observes more of the Roman Catholic holidays, has 13. The spring ones worked out really well for Ken and me because we could travel more. Then you tack on the minimum 5 weeks of vacation and life is very good.
So what does Germany Unity mean to me? Two things come to mind. The first was Berlin. We visited there in June. I purchased more postcards there than in almost any other city. They had some incredible black and white photos of the Cold War years. These pictures really make you feel the temperature of communism. The photo link above shows Potsdamer Platz. This is the most stark before and after. Then it was a desolate plain with military vehicles and barbed wire. Potsdamer Platz today is filled with skyscrapers- all built since the 90's.
The second thought was my friend Steffen. He grew up in East Germany. The Communist government would not allow religion, so he grew up either an atheist or an agnostic. He went to school and opened a physiotherapy/rehabilitation sports equipment business. Later, he moved to Hamburg and married Judith. She had been raised in a Christian family in the West. She and her brother Tobias invited him to visit the IBC (our church). Steffen was surprised to meet such nice people and to learn of a God that wasn't some dictator in space but was a Father that wanted a personal relationship with him. He gave Jesus his life about a year ago. I've been in a small group with him since last spring. It has been so wonderful to see the changes in his life and in their marriage. None of which would have happened without unification.
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