Welcome to my Blog!

Hi! My name's Katarina and I'm the newest volunteer at Brot und Rosen in Hamburg, Germany. I come from a small town in Pennsylvania and I am enjoying living in a big city now. While my mom is American, my dad is German, and that's why I studied German in high school and college. After graduating in May 2011 I joined BVS (Brethren Volunteer Service). This organization is affiliated with my church, the Church of the Brethren, one of the Anabaptist or historic peace churches. The Brethren believe in service to others and that participating in war is wrong, two ideals that I strongly believe in as well. BVS places volunteers at sites, at home and abroad, which are working for peace and social justice. My first BVS placement was at a Catholic Worker House in San Antonio, Texas, where I worked with the homeless. In mid-October I began my permanent 2-year placement in Germany.  Brot und Rosen (Bread and Roses) is an 'intentional community', that is to say, we workers live in the same house as the people we serve, which are political refugees. Our job is to assist these asylum-seekers in their efforts to resettle in Germany. It is often very difficult to hear the stories of violence and oppression that our immigrant guests tell. But, it also convinces me that our work here with them is extremely valuable and important.