German students celebrate Thanksgiving

The Globalscope team based in the university town of Tübingen, Germany, was just getting off the ground with its first three team members last November, but this year the five-member team was only too happy to bring an American Thanksgiving to their new German friends. A total of 70 people turned out for a special celebration meal featuring turkey, green bean casseroles, mashed potatoes and all the fixin’s at the Unterwegs house, just off the main campus of the university.

Team member Tyler Crawford shared some details of the big event: “The Frisbee team was there. Our language partners were there. Students we have met at parties were there. Students we have met at the disco were there. Students who are friends and roommates of our friends and roommates were there, too. It was the beautiful coming together of all our months of collective efforts as a group to meet students and start making an impact in their lives with our love, and it was incredibly affirming to see all of our friends and family here in Tübingen in the same house, interacting with us and interacting with each other. You can practically see the fabric of our community being woven together right in front of you. There was food. There was music. There was a skit explaining the tradition of Thanksgiving and there was laughter — not a German tradition! At the end of the big meal we invited students to stand up and share what they were thankful for. It was a risk on our part; few, if any, students had ever stood up to share something personal with a large group. But before long, everyone was eager to have their chance to stand up and say their part. Students were still sharing what they were thankful for even after the meal!”

One of the things most often mentioned by the students as something for which they are thankful was the Unterwegs ministry. As Tyler explained, “Many students have a hard time placing us; no German labels will stick. We are a Christian group, but we are not a church, and we are not a campus ministry, which traditionally in Tübingen reaches out only to students who are already Christians. On the other hand, we are a place of excitement, activity and celebration, but we care more about the people rather than the party itself. We’re not a bar or a club — we don’t serve alcohol and people come anyway. But a few students are starting to better understand us.”

Martin, one of the Frisbee players who attended the gathering, stood up during the time of thanks to share his thoughts: “I’m thankful for the friends I’ve met here. I came to Tübingen, and I’ve found a place to plug in. It’s great that people are doing this kind of thing weekly, daily here at Unterwegs. I’m thankful for the community here.”

Tyler’s fellow team members Chris and Stef Coleman were especially pleased with the event because while they have had small, private conversations with some students about Jesus and Christianity, “Thanksgiving was the first time we prayed as a community. It was very powerful! This is what we came to Germany to do: build a community of students centered around Christ!”