Day 08 - Trachselwald Castle, Bern Cathedral

This morning we woke up to a crisp day as we headed out to Bern, Switzerland. Pastor Justin gave us a beautiful encouragement  from Romans 8:16-17 about what it means to have union with Christ, not only as God's children, but also as fellow suffers with Him. This was a timely word, because our first stop today was at the Trachsewald Castle, where many Anabaptist reformers (Mennonites) were imprisoned, and then later exiled, or even executed, for their faith. Pastor Rodney walked us through several stories of Reformers who died for their faith between the 15th and 17th centuries. Each of these men and women had to look to their union with Christ in order to endure the sufferings they would face. We considered what the reformation would have looked like, if each of these Reformers had surrendered to their fears, rather than their faith in Jesus. This gave us an opportunity to look to our own union with Christ, and ask the sobering question: "Do I love Jesus enough, that I could die for Him?" We left the castle humbled, and even more motivated to press on through suffering in order to see God glorified, and the gospel of Jesus Christ spread! 

From there, we went down to the historic town of Bern (which means "Bear"--- and yes, we did see one!). We had two local guides who walked us through the town and took in some of the sites that were significant in the Bernese Reformation, under Pastor's like Berchtold Haller). It was this town that produced one of the earliest statements of faith reaffirming the five Sola's. After a good two-hour walk of the city, we settled in for a team dinner together. 

Tomorrow, we finish the last day of our tour in Geneva, where we will learn about one of the most significant Reformers of them all: John Calvin.