Thank you, God bless!!!!!

Well, my time has come.  Six months has been here and gone and now on my schedule it says, "Thank you, God bless!!!".  This morning I had my last shift and then cried when I said goodbye to some of the managers.  I'm not good with goodbyes.  :)

I look back on these 6 months, and it feels so short.  I have learned so much about God and myself and how the world thinks.  Now I'm seeking direction as to where/what I'm supposed to do next.  I now know that wherever God takes me I will be fine, even if it means moving across the world.  Tomorrow I'm leaving the house very early in the morning.  I feel that it's a fitting goodbye, with no one awake yet and the house being so quiet.  I'll really get to think about the wonderful memories I have made.

Lots of lasts

Yesterday was my goodbye party.  Thankfully there are 4 other girls leaving the same time as me, so I could share my party with them.  It made it so much better!  They gave me a scrapbook with goodbye notes from all the people I worked with and a cook book with traditional Dutch foods, so I can make them at home.  All the recipes have pictures with them and they all look so good.  I'm excited to try some out.

Yesterday was also my last CS shift.  It was sad to say goodbye, but it's been such a difficult job for me that I'm glad to hand it over to the new people.  Tonight we also had my last hostel night.  So many things happening.  I have a few things left to do I'm my list and then I'll be ready to come home.  I was reading in Psalms a month or so ago and read Psalm 16.  I realized that this is the Psalm for my time here.


Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge.


I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing."
As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips.


Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.


I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.


Therefore my heart is glad and my toungue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

One Week and counting...

Well I now have one week left. It is the weirdest feeling. I've been reading a Re-entry book (with the same title conveniently enough) about coming back home and what to expect. It's been very good to read about other people's experiences and tips for how to handle different situations.

When I arrived, I was part of a huge group of Americans and as I leave, there are 3 of us. I don't mind, but it's just funny how many people come and go in this ministry. One part of the book that I really liked and I think goes with this project is like this:

"The mission field is like that race. [meaning a relay race] God calls us to run a leg of the race. In running our leg, we join the ranks of a long and illustrious line of people God has called to carry the baton in reaching the lost of the world with the Gospel. There are those for whom running a leg of the relay has meant a lifetime of faithful service on the mission field. For others, it has been several years, while some were called only for the short-term. The length of time for which God has called you to serve is not important. What is important is that you serve diligently to the best of your abilities. When that period comes to a close, it is time to pass the baton on to the next person God has called."

I feel like that is what I am doing this last week. Every shift is filled with training someone else; getting them ready to take over my job. It's such an interesting feeling, handing over to someone else what I have been doing the last 6 months; but I'm so happy that I was able to be a part of this race for Jesus.

Cleaners of the last 5 & 1/2 months.....

So today I was sitting at reception with nothing to do, so I decided to look over the list of cleaners that were here since I started.  I hadn't realized how long the list was, but 36 people have come through as a cleaner in the last 5 & 1/2 months.  Some were here for the whole 28 days and some helped for only a couple of days; but I wanted to type a list out of everyone and ask if you could choose at least one and pray for them....

Marko
Ott
Leo
Mitch
Nathan
Tamas
Agnes
Kostas
Bram
Zoran
Antonio
Keith
Joseph
Louisa
Suzie
Donavan
Alex
Hyeona
Michiel
Gabriel
Tommy
Charlita
Raquel
Marcin
Jiri
Jonathan
Ziv
Megan
Natalie
Sally
Tamar
Alister
Ryan
Yanichi

Each one has a completely different story.  A few came together in pairs, but most came on their own.  Some were already Christians and enjoyed the Bible studies and devotion times, some hadn't made a decision yet but enjoyed listening, and others didn't care and didn't want to care.  But since this has been my biggest and hardest job here, I thought it would be great if we could continue to pray for all of them.

My bike is back!!!

So I told you that my bike had a flat tire, well yesterday we took it to the bike shop and they fixed the tire, but also put a guard on the gears (because my pants would always catch in the gears, but I became very good and getting them unstuck while still biking at the same time) and put a new kickstand on (because my just fell off one day while I was riding, I have no idea how). But I was so excited when I came down to leave for dinner and she was sitting in the bike garage all ready for me to take her out! I was so excited I jumped up and down and even clapped a little. I forgot how much I love that bike. Now if I could only figure out how to sneak her out of the house and take her home with me, then it would be perfect.


......And yes, my bike is a "she"..... :)

2 weeks...and counting......

Today I have 2 weeks left here in Amsterdam.  It's such a crazy thought!  Now most of my friends have left and everyone that I started with is gone.  This last month is nothing like the first month.  I had a little melt down Friday night.  I'm really not sure why, but all the emotions that I had been keeping inside me for the last 2 months of all my friends leaving and me feeling overworked and exhausted, just caught up with me and I broke.  I sat in the office with two managers talking and discussing about what I was feeling and then we prayed.  These last few days have been so much better!

Last week, one of our cleaners quit, so we only had 2 for a few days and then my bike has a flat tire, so I've had to borrow a different bike that is way to big for me.  That was just on top of everything else.  So we've been praying for a few days for God to send us a new cleaner and today I hired 2!  So one started today and the other starts on Thursday.  Thank goodness!!!!

3 Cleaners

Right now we have three cleaners, all girls, and all in different stages. One has been here the longest. She arrived a few weeks ago and only has a couple days left. One is coming back. This is her third time as a cleaner and this time she brought a friend with her. The third timer accepted Christ last year and is still in the process of giving up her old life and old habits. She really needs discipleship. The friend rejects anything and everything that has to do with Christ. She hates cleaner time and praying and anything else we do here. The longest girl is at the very edge of accepting Jesus. She has come to terms with the fact that there is a God and that Jesus is His son. She enjoys praying and reading the Bible and going to church. Every night she is in the Bible discussion.
So can you see my dilemma...........Three different girls in three different stages. I'm having a hard time coming up with a Bible Discussion that tailors to all three.
I'm really struggling with being a Bible teacher. Please just pray for these girls and for me. Please pray that one will make a decision, one will get the discipleship she needs, and the other won't be so hostile when it comes to Jesus. It's really wearing me down and I'm struggling getting through this last month.

Busy, Busy.....

So things around here are very busy. Almost half the staff has left, and not many new people have come to take their place. I am now the only Cleaner Supervisor; so I have been spending everyday doing that job. It's very tiring and I'm getting sick. We have a really cool cleaner team at the moment. There are three girls, two from England and one from the US. I really need some prayers for our cleaner times. In cleaner time we go through a passage of the Bible and discuss it; usually it's John, but we decided for the last month we would change things, so we're going through all 4 gospels in chronological order. I've decided I'm not a very good teacher. I can do Bible studies for people who are already Christians cause I enjoy discipleship, but to people who know nothing about Christ, I'm not so good. Which is really weird, cause those are the people that I feel really called to make sure that they know. So maybe this is training for me or something. It funny though, one day in small group we were talking about what part of the body of believers we thought we were; most said the mouth or the hands or feet...I said a backbone. I think what I enjoy most is just making sure everything is running right and we're fully supported. What part do you think you are?


This last month I think will be very busy, so I'm not sure how often I will get to update. I have 4 weeks left here at the Shelter. Time has gone by so quickly. I have made so many wonderful friends that I miss so much, and gotten to talk to a lot of really cool people who were just passing through. I'm curious to see how these last few weeks will go. I am now one of the Senior Staff members, which is a very weird feeling cause now everyone asks me how to do everything. I'm enjoying it though. You know me and my dominant personality.   :)

New Roommate

Today I have a new roommate. My old roommate left a few weeks ago and I was really enjoying living by myself, but a new girl has come and I was the only room open. She seems really nice. So far I've only been able to say hello to her cause she's been going through all the introduction stuff. It's so weird to have someone else in here.

At the end of the week most of the staff will be leaving. At the Jordan we will have about 8 people left to work and then a couple leave after the second week. So all this means that my August will be very busy. I'm the only cleaner supervisor left, so I will be doing that job about every day. I'm really scared about that cause it's so much work. So if we could just pray that God can send us more workers for the month of August, that would be great!!! We are even more short staffed than the spring when I first started.

Something that I have been thinking a lot about lately is home. More so about why do we have to associate ourselves with one denomination? I mean I do it all the time; someone asks me what church I go to and I always say Southern Baptist. And I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, but why can't we every once in a while, come together as one body of Christ and show the community that even though we are different denominations, we still have Jesus at our core, and we, together as one body, want to share Him with you. I've been thinking a lot about how to do this. There is a thing called "Serve the City" and it happens all over the world. Christians from different denominations come together for one weekend to complete projects that need to be done in the community. And these are a lot of different things, from construction, to talking, to taking care of someone or something; it all depends on what you feel your strengths are. Why couldn't we do something like that at home? Even though we're not a city, we still have a lot of things that could be done in our town/county. I just don't want us to always be so seperated by our denomination and realize that we are all children of God and God wants us to serve each other as one body. Just something to think about.

My Parents are in Amsterdam!!!!! :)

Yesterday morning at 8:30 am, my parents arrived in Amsterdam.  I showed them all around my neighborhood, the Shelter, and our house (mom has a lot of stuff figured out, but my house is a little hard for her to navigate around...haha).

Today we walked to the Rijksmuseum and saw all the Dutch master painters, had lunch, and walked around some more.  We are really tired.  For dinner tonight we ate at The Pancake Bakery.  Here are some photos of our pancakes.

World Cup

For the last month, the country has been watching the World Cup.  This year The Netherlands made it to the finals against Spain.  Neither team had ever won a World Cup before, so it was a very big game.  A group of us from the Shelter went to Museumplien to watch the match with about 100,000 people.  There were so many people dressed in Orange all around us.  We stayed for the opening and watched a few minutes of the first half, but then went back to the Shelter to finish; we knew if we went there we would actually get to see it.  The Netherlands lost and I don't think I have ever seen an entire city so upset.  I was hoping for parties in the streets, but it was just sad faces of people walking back to their homes.  I have a video of their National Anthem before the game started.  I took it from my camera, so the sound isn't as loud as it actually was there with 100,000 people, but I can't get it to load.  I'm going to keep trying cause I would really like for you to see it.  Here are some pictures instead.

Everyone walking to Museumplien

A small sample of the 100,000 people

We were off to the side cause there was no way we could get in the middle.  This is also at the very front, there were 5 more screens to the right.

.....

Well...I haven't been doing good lately. I am completely exhausted. Me and my "give 125% in everything that you do" attitude has worn me out. Especially when I have to finish other people's work along with my own. I've had to ask to not be a CS for a few weeks because I am completely burnt out. I was having to be CS every other day until last week, almost twice as much as any of the other CS people and there are three of them. Today was my only day to work in a two week period and I had a cleaner who didn't show up, so I did all 22 of his beds in 1 & 1/2 hours, then cleaned all 8 of his rooms, then cleaned his chore for stairs, and then after lunch proceeded to do all my chores for the day and finish the chores from the person yesterday cause they were to "busy" to finish their stuff. I finally left and hour and a half after I was supposed to. And tomorrow I get to feed 98 people breakfast all by myself because I am scheduled alone on a Friday morning with a full hostel.



Out of all this negativity and exhaustion there is one bright spot. Today in cleaner time we discussed John 18:1-40 & 19:1-16 and I gave a few questions to the cleaners. 1. What was the crime that was committed? 2. Was it just, for him to be crucified? Which sparked a great debate and I just kept asking more questions and one cleaner just kept answering, and then I asked, "Why didn't Jesus take the way out? He could have just had Pilate take Him away, but He didn't. Why?" And his answer was, "Because Jesus already knew what was going to happen and He had to die on the cross to die for our sins."..........Just like that. He said exactly what we have been telling them all along. Now all we can do is pray that he really understands what he said today and how he can apply it to his life. All day I have thought about his statement and it has just made me so happy. Whenever something upset me today, I've just thought about that sentence and everything is better. No matter how tired I am from working here, it's chances like this where I see that it's all worth it. Just giving people the chance to read God's word, when they never would have done it otherwise, and see how they can find the truth in it, is so amazing. I just pray that they can really understand the scriptures and it can be something that is put on their heart and they can make a decision from it.

House Parent- Week 1

Well one week into the house parent duties and I'm not sure if I would want to do this all the time. I'm pretty good at taking out the trash, making sure someone is here when the food deliveries come, and coordinating the schedules of all the people living here; but what I don't like is when the drain clogs in the shower and water goes everywhere and the office below floods. I already have a phobia of hair and so I really don't want to have to unclog a drain. Luckily though, there was a handy man and he did it for me. :) I just had to clean up all the water. We were supposed to be getting a new staff member today and I was going to pick him up, but Monday he emailed to say he wasn't coming. Very sad. We are fully staffed for this month and next month, but August is very few. I'm getting nervous about it and I just trying to enjoy everyday we have with lots of staff.

House Parent!

Tomorrow our house parents are going on vacation for 2 1/2 weeks and I have been asked to help "fill in" as a temporary house parent. How cool is that! Another staff member and I will be in charge with making sure the food deliveries come, the garbage is taken out, the cleaning products are fully stocked (although we have a difficulty with keeping things clean in this house), and making sure that the new people who are coming and the old people who are leaving are taken care of. I'm very excited about doing this. This kind of work is where I feel like I can do my best. I like to make sure that others are taken care of and I can't wait to show the new people around the house and neighborhood.

So yesterday I was reading 1 Corinthians 13, the "love" chapter. It's one of my favorite chapters of the Bible..."Love is patient, love is kind....." and so on. When I was reading the first few verses above that section, about how you could have great gifts or powers or whatever, but if you don't have love it's meaningless. Well the part that struck me the most was in verse 2 "if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." Yes I realize that we need love, but what got to me is the "faith that can move mountains" part. I know that my faith is strong and I'm not denying that, but can I move mountains? And all I need is the faith of a mustard seed, but why not strive to have a faith so large it becomes this overwhelming force that pushes any obstacle out of its path? I thought about that all day yesterday and most of today; trying to really understand what it means and why it jumped out at me. I discussed it in my small group today, but I don't think they really understood what I was saying, so I've been thinking about it more this afternoon. I'm curious of others thoughts.

This morning I am sitting at reception and it's been a pretty busy morning.  We didn't have a lot of checkouts (or well not what a usual Sunday morning is like) but there were people everywhere.  I would answer one question and there would be someone else stepping up to ask another.  But finally now, it is quiet.

Today I'm going to church and then just relazing the rest of the evening.  Most of the week I have been Cleaner Supervisor and it has really worn me out.  I have one cleaner that I don't get alone with very well and it's very frustraiting.  He will be leaving on Tuesday, but he's been here for about 15 days.  I'm learing a lot about people from Eastern Europe.  It's very interesting how different it is.  The work structure and gender issues are very interesting.

Well my shift is almost over. 

The Beach!

So after 3 1/2 months, I finally made it to the beach!  I wore a coat and only stuck my feet in the water, because it's 64 degrees in the middle of June!  Not what you would really think of for beach weather.  We're going to go back another time when hopefully the weather is warmer, but it was still really fun.  I went with one of our new staff members who is from Germany.  It was nice to get to know her; she's leaving the same time I am, which is really nice.

We've been showing a lot of World Cup games in our Cafe at the hostel.  It's brought a lot of guests into the cafe to hang out and watch.  Tonight we're watching Germany vs. Australia, which I think should be a good game.  I'm torn for who to cheer for, but I just have to cheer for Australia.  It would feel weird if I didn't.  I missed the US vs. England game last night, but I heard it was pretty good.  It's so nice to look into the cafe and see it full of people.  I'm so glad we're showing it, cause it's better that they watch it with us, then some of the other places in town.

The times they are a changin......

Well yesterday the last person left, who was in this group to leave; and it's only been 24 hours, but I can already tell that him not being here has a weird effect on the house and the Shelter.  I'm glad that he was my last goodbye for a little while, but at the same time I miss all the ones that have gone.  I've never been good with change or goodbyes, so it's something that I guess I need to learn how to deal with.  I know that we'll all see each other again one day in Heaven, so that's something to look forward too.  It's interesting how some people are just supposed to be in your life for a moment, but yet they make a great impact on how your life is shaped.  I very much feel that the people I met here and the friendships I've made have shaped me and will continue for a while.

Today I started training one of the girls on how to be a Cleaner Supervisor.  It was so much fun!  I tried not to overwhelm her, but I'm sure I did.  I remember how crazy my first day was.  I took her around the hostel and showed her where everything is and how we use it.  Then we worked on some of the computer programs that we use.  Tomorrow I'm going to show her our reservation software and how to book beds for cleaners.  I'm really enjoying it, but I'm just a little worried cause sometimes I don't have the most patience.  I just pray that God fills me with a kind heart and the ability to repeat myself and not get annoyed.  She's a really quick learner, so I'm not too worried.  Tomorrow we work on some more things and then she is two days with another girl.  I'm currious to see how differently we train and do things in the hostel.

Cleaners

One of our cleaners that had been working here for about 6 weeks (more than what is usually allowed, but we really needed cleaners and he does a really great job), left today and it was so sad.  His name is Michel and we all got along so well.  Michel says that he is a Christian, but his faith is based more on tradition, than on a true relationship.  I think that his time at The Shelter, has opened his eyes to understanding of the relationship that God desires with us.  He is going back to his home town, and I really hope that he can find a job and a place to live.  So if we could all just pray for him, that would be wonderful!

Tonight is hostel night and so we have free dinner for all the guests and a short presentation.  We need some more ideas for hostel night cause we've been doing the same style (different topics) every other week, and I just think we need to mix things up.  I'm just not sure how yet; but I'm sure something will come.

Here are some more pictures of my trip to Ireland....

Showing the new ones around....

Today is my day off, so I slept in (which was very nice), and my roommate and I took a few of the new girls around the city to show them where different shops were and just to have a look around.  It feels really nice to be helpful to the new people and make sure they can get to where they need to go.  Today has been much better than yesterday.  I feel that everyone is starting to settle into the house and getting used to the extra amount of people who are living here.  We now have 34 people on staff that are living at our house.

Tomorrow is Hostel Night, so we'll get a chance to really interact with the guests and get to know them.  Just pray that it is a good night and we can really impact people for Christ.

at reception

Today I have afternoon reception and it has been really busy with people checking in (which is always good), but now it's starting to slow down.

Lately we have had trouble with getting cleaners (and good cleaners) here at the hostel.  We've been praying and praying for God to provide us with people, and as of today we have 5 cleaners!  We usually only have 3, but one is leaving at the end of the week and another isn't staying the entire 28 days.  But it's just so wonderful when God provides.  We have all been very tired doing double work of trying to finish rooms and do the chores that we have set out for the day.

The weather is starting to get really nice.  They're calling for 26 degrees Celcius (which is hot for Amsterdam!) and everyone is getting really excited.

Our house right now is very different.  Yesterday we had a large group of people from Weaton College come in to work for 2 months along with the other new people that have been coming in in the last week; our house is full (and it's a large house with lots of rooms, so it's very weird that it feels packed!)!  Two of my close friends left when I was in Ireland, so it was very hard to come back and not see them around.  I always sit next to at least one of them for small group breakfasts on Tuesday mornings, and neither of them was their.  I actually started crying because they were gone and I felt so stupid about it.  I know that I'm sad that the others have left, but I feel bad for showing that I'm sad in front of the new people cause I'm supposed to be welcoming and happy that they are here (which I am...I've been praying for them since I got here!), but it's just so different.  I'm ready for a week or two to go by when everything is comfortable and we're used to everyone.  All the old staff members are a little overwhelmed at the moment with so many new people.  We're all used to having 2 maybe 4 people coming in at one time, so 20 people is a little much.  I just pray that we all can get along and create a tight bond, like what our last group had.

Staff Changes

Well I’m back into Shelter life. I had an amazing trip in Ireland! We went all over the south and saw so many awesome things; and I just have to say that I am a pro at driving on the wrong side of the road! It’s been four years since I’ve been on that side every day, but I picked it up really quick.


Right now we’re having staff transition. A few people left when I was gone and some more are leaving throughout the next few weeks, and we have a lot coming in as well. It’s a very different atmosphere. I’m trying to be happy and supportive to the new people, but it’s hard cause I miss the old ones so much. I just hope that I can become that supportive older staff person for them. But I’m so happy that God has answered our prayers and brought more staff. Most of them are just here for a month or two, but that’s fine cause we’re so short handed.

Well I’m off to afternoon café. It’s burger night tonight, so I don’t have to cook anything hard, just burgers and fries.

Ireland

I'm taking a break from Shelter life and spending time in Ireland with my cousin and brother. We're having a great time. Here are a few photos of our trip so far. I'm doing much better at driving on the wrong side of the road than I thought I would. I still keep praying about it...lol.....

Staff Day!!!

Thursday we had a “Staff Day” and we all went canoeing. It was so much fun and I have an awesome farmers tan! It was such an odd experience because we were canoeing through canals that went through cow fields. It was so weird. We’re used to going to the river and letting the current take us slowly downstream, but this was a little bit more work, but still a good time. I picked the canoe that had two of my managers in it, one in the front and one in the back; and I’m really not sure if that was the best idea. They insisted on making “war” with all the other canoes and kayaks, which really meant going and soaking all the other people and then having them soak us back. I was so wet by the time it was over and I really wasn’t planning on getting wet. But it really was a really good day. Here is a picture of our Shelter Jordan staff and some of our managers; and almost all of us are soaked through.

Dealing with Emotions in a Godly Way (or just trying to figure out how)

Today we had class about how to deal with our emotions in a Godly way.  It was very interesting and nice to just sit back, process, and understand why we would react a certain way.  We had different examples of everyday things that happen at the Shelter and what are our first emotions that would come up.  It's funny how we already know and understand how we would react if something happened a certain way.  If someone is angry, how do we react; or if someone is nice, we react a different way.  I feel that I still need to work on how I react to others.  So many times I feed off of how other people are behaving and instead I should feed off of how God would behave.  So that's my prayer for the week; to become slow to speak and slow to become angry.  We used Psalm 131 as an example of emotions:
1 My heart is not proud, O Lord,
     my eyes are not haughty;
   I do not concern myself with great matters
     or things too wonderful for me.
2  But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
     like a weaned child with its mother,
     like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3  O Israel, put your hope in the Lord
     both now and forevermore.

I think it's so nice to read Psalms and see all the emotions behind them.

On a different note, Friday I leave for Ireland.  I'm a little nervous because the volcano keeps acting up.  So I just pray that God can get me there and I can see my brother and my cousin.  I'm ready to see a little bit of home.  :)

Just everyday stuff.....

I’ve been trying to write everyday this week, but I’ve been at a loss for words. Everyday has just been a normal day, nothing special. Tonight I’m working evening reception and it’s a little slow; not that I’m really complaining. In one week I will be picking my brother and cousin up from the airport in Shannon and we will begin our adventure through Ireland. I’m very excited!!! Other than that, it’s pretty slow. I am preparing myself for a mass exodus of staff members in the coming weeks. It’s going to be very sad around here soon. :(

:)

Well today was a very busy day….I was morning reception and we had 80 people check out. We did have 2 groups of people checking out today, which took up a large bulk, but it was still sooooo busy! Plus the manager was sick today, so I was the one in charge for the day. It wasn’t too bad, but I did make a mistake on a person’s booking and had to figure out how to fix it; but it all ended well. It made the morning go by really quickly.


This afternoon most of us just hung out in the living room until it was time for church. The service today was very good. Last week we talked about Worship; how do we worship, when do we worship, and maybe what do we worship cause it’s not always God. It was a really great lesson that made us think about the things that sometimes hold us back from God. So today we put it into practice. Our entire service was just singing songs and really coming before God with all our hearts and putting it all out there in front of Him. I love to hear preaching, but I love singing so much and sometimes I just desire to sing the whole time and really focus on that relationship with God. It was just a nice rejuvenating time for the heart.

Tonight I’m sleeper and for some reason Morning Café. I just got to talk to my Mommy, which I love and she told me to go to sleep, but I thought I would write a short thing on here first. :) Good night and have a great Mother’s Day!

Giro d'Italia

This weekend is the start of Giro d’Italia and it starts here in Amsterdam. So yesterday a group of us went and watch the time trials. It was really cool. I’ve never been to a cycling race before, much less a professional one. I tried to take some pictures of the riders coming by, but my camera wasn’t cooperating. Here are some pictures of the starting gate.

They would call out the riders and where they were from, but it was all in Dutch, so we didn’t understand much. We just cheered for everyone. Here are some pictures of the guys warming up and the Astana bus.

I didn't get to see Contador, but the Tour d'France starts in Roterdam, so maybe I'll get a second chance.

And Mike, if you are reading this, maybe you can tell me who these guys are.  :)

Who knows when the trash will be picked up.......

This week has been an interesting week. Tuesday and Wednesday were two national holidays here in The Netherlands. Tuesday was Remembrance Day and Wednesday was Liberation Day. Each holiday is to remember World War II. On Remembrance Day the country comes together to remember all the horrible things that happened during the German occupation; the Queen comes to Amsterdam to lay wreaths in front of The National Monument at Dam Square and at 8 pm there is 2 minutes of silence. Well this year, someone screamed during the silence and it caused mass panic. People were running everywhere and 50 people were injured. Some of our staff members were in the middle of the crowd and were stepped on by people running; they are fine, but very shaken up. I was at a manager’s house across town having dinner and didn’t hear about it until late. I think there are still a few different reports of what happened, but everyone is a little shaken by it. Wednesday was a calmer day. It was a celebration day to say thank you to the forces who liberated the Dutch (American, British, Australian); there were free concerts at different places all around town and the mood was much better. It was a good day, especially with how the day before went.


Today the main topic is how all the garbage workers of the city are on strike! So now there is just rubbish all over the streets. Amsterdam is actually a very clean city; the street cleaners are out every day, but not now. It is supposed to last for a week, but I just read in the paper where they have decided to make it indefinite. Our neighbors do not like that. Our nightman last night put the trash out on the street because it was supposed to be picked up today, and then the paper comes out and the front page says there is a strike. So we had a lot of the neighbors complaining about all the rubbish bags everywhere.  I had one lady pointing and yelling at me in Dutch today, and because I couldn't understand a word that she was saying, it kind of made the whole cituation funny (which is probably really sad, but you have someone yelling at you in another language about garbage and you'll find it pretty funny too). I just want us all to pray for our neighbors. They don’t like the fact that we have a hostel there. The one that have been around since before the hostel was created, don’t mind. It’s the ones that have moved in after the hostel was started. The hostel has been there since the 70s; which is something that I don’t understand, cause they knew what they would be living next to when they bought their house. We always try to be respectful of our neighbors and we are one of the quietest hostels in the whole city. So lets just pray for our neighbors. I don’t think they understand what our ministry is and I’m pretty sure the ones who complain don’t know Christ.

Today we discussed in our ministry training program the Red Light District and prostitution around the world. One of the sister organizations with The Shelter is The Scarlet Cord. They work with getting women who are prostitutes out of that life. Most of the women there have been brought their either because they were sold by someone into slavery, or because they found a boyfriend who then abused them and brainwashed them to work for him behind a window. The prostitution industry is a Billion Dollar industry and one of the fastest ways for people to make money. Most of the women in the Red Light District are there because of 4 reasons. Either they want to be there for the money (many Eastern Europeans make in one month what they would make in a year or 2), they have be trafficked there from other parts of the world and are slaves, they have a “loverboy” who pretty much owns them and abuses them until they can’t think or do anything for themselves, or they are there to earn money for drugs. The last reason is not really prevalent here in Amsterdam. Most of the women have be sold by someone else and trafficked here or they have a “loverboy”. We watched a movie that The Scarlet Cord made with real stories of different women who have gotten out of prostitution, and the stories were horrifying. I almost got up and walked out because I thought I was going to throw up. So many women in other countries think that they are going to move to Western Europe to find a good job as a nanny or a maid, who then get sold into this slavery and it’s so hard for them to get out. Many of the women are here illegally, because they were smuggled into the country, so they can’t go to the police because they will be deported and they are too scared or ashamed to go back home. It is such a terrible injustice that is happening in the world.


I just ask that everyone can pray for The Scarlet Cord. It’s a very hard job that these people are doing; going to the red light district every day and building relationships with these women to let them know that there is a way out. Right now the ministry is being supported by the government, but that is soon going to change and they will need to find funding from somewhere else. They help these women find housing, jobs, friends, and offer counseling for all the emotional scars; but most of all they show and teach them about God. It’s an amazing work and a very difficult work. I know that this is something that I would never be able to do. Just watching the video made me sick, so I know that I couldn’t see that every day; and I refuse to go into the Red Light District because I can’t be in the presence of that much evil.

 
On a happier note (because I don't want to be a downer) on Friday we celebrated Queen's Day.  It was mass chaos.  There were people everywhere.  It was really neat to see and I'm really glad I experienced it.  Here are a few photos of the day.
 

World Press Photo Tour

On Thursday, a few of us went to see an exhibit by the World Press. It’s all pictures from 2009 and it was held in the Oude Kerk, which is one of the 4 oldest churches in the middle of Amsterdam near the red light district. We had to get to the church in a round about way because I refuse to go into the red light district. The photos were amazing and all very different, but all of them really made you think. The first groups of photos that you saw were of war and devastation happening all over the world; and after seeing those first few groups of photos, all I could do was sit and write. Here are my thoughts of the pictures and the church and just really what I had to get down on paper at that very moment:


“As I stand and walk around a 500 year old church, with horrific photos of all the devastation in the world, I can’t help but just look at the church. With the beautiful stained glass and the giant organ, the beautiful chandeliers and all the pulpits. There are holes everywhere on the ground where pews once stood and people are buried underneath, and I can’t help but think “Where’s God?” A church, a beautiful church, on the very edge of the red light district, and I think “Where’s God?” Or maybe the better question is “Where is man?”, “Where are we?” To have such a wonderful and beautiful place to worship God and instead, we turn it into a museum. The pictures in here are horrific and they make my stomach turn and I think, “Where are we?” Pictures of children dying and prostitution and I think, “Where are we?” Where are we, that we have so willingly turned our backs on a God who loves us and wants to take care of us and all we have to do is let Him. It’s not even a difficult choice or a hard task. Are we really sacrificing so much of this world to choose to be a Christian and let God take over? Is it really that difficult to give ourselves to Him? We would rather have this world of heartache and pain, of misery and deceit, because we can’t make the simple choice to follow Him.”

That was just the jumble of thoughts that was going through my head as I was looking at all the pictures of war and people dying. I just think, that if we could (as a whole world) just give ourselves to God and let Him actually lead, guide, and direct us, then how much more enjoyable would this life be.

Here is the link to the World Press and you can go look at some of the images yourself. Some of them are pretty and fun, but some will turn your stomach inside out. http://www.worldpressphoto.org/

Visa Update.....

Yesterday I had a meeting at the IND office (the official government place) for my Visa and everything went well. Pretty much all I had to do was give her my passport and a letter and show my birth certificate. It was easy; which I was very thankful for. I went with another girl here at the Shelter, and to celebrate, we went and had chicken tacos. They were delicious!


After my shift today, we had class and our discussion today was about our Spiritual Gifts and using those gifts to work as a team. It was a great time and I really enjoying bringing out the best in everyone. It got me thinking about what God has been teaching me lately with my gifts. I think the biggest one is with Leadership. I’ve always stepped up and assumed the leader role in everything; but lately, I’ve been really trying hard to just be a follower. I think to be a good leader, you really need to know how to be a good follower and with that you understand how others feel. I’ve had a few situations where other people are supposed to be leading the group and they aren’t doing a very good job, and I’ve had to check myself to not step in and take over. It’s been a very good lesson for me and I also think it’s a lesson in leadership for them as well. It’s so interesting how we’re always learning things about ourselves.

On a different note….Friday is a national holiday called Queen’s Day. It was the birthday of the old Queen. But apparently it is just crazyness here in Amsterdam. It’s one big town yard sale and people are all over the streets. They told us that we won’t be able to ride our bikes to work and all public transportation here in the heart of the city will be shut down. It will take us 45 minutes to get to The Jordan (which walking takes about 15). So I’m thinking it’s like the hour after the parade has gone though for Turkey Trot, but instead of one street, it’s every street in the city. We’ll see how it goes. I have to find an orange shirt for the day, so I can blend in with the crowd. Everywhere you look with be seas of orange people.

Keukenhof

Today was my day off, and we went to the Keukenhof, which is one of the largest flower gardens in the world. 

Everyone and their brother was there today.  Here is a small sample of the amount of people around.

I took 85 pictures today of flowers.  I didn't realize at the time that I had taken so many; but everything was so pretty, I just really wanted to remember it all.  So here are a very few pictures of all the beautiful flowers that I saw today.

It was such a beautiful day!!!!!

Reception and Volcanos!

Yesterday morning was my first reception shift by myself, and I survived!  No, it's wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I'm still not sure about how to do everything, but I know I'll pick it up as I go.  I'm also at reception for the afternoon.

So I'm sure that everyone has heard all about the Volcano and about how most flights in Europe have been stopped.  It has been very difficult for everyone here.  We've had lots of people coming to see if we have any beds available.  At Schipol airport here in Amsterdam, they have beds set up for all the people who are stuck at the airport.  It's really a big mess.  One of our staff members was supposed to be flying home to the States after serving here for 6 months, but she is stuck with us a little longer.  :)  Not that she really minds, but I can understand wanting to go home and not being able to.  What's really strange is there is nothing different with the sky.  It's bright blue and the sun is out!  We have been having very great weather these last few days.  I'm even wearing skirts (which I'm sure is a strange concept for my mom, lol).  But it's still cool, only around 60 degrees, but I don't mind.  :)

The over-all theme here lately has been Prayer.  At church, in our Bible studies, and in our small group times, we have been talking a lot about prayer and just how, when, and why we talk to God.  It's refreshing to go back over the fundamentals of our faith.

Day of Rest

Today was my day off and I spent it going to church twice. :) This morning I went to a church that was south of Amsterdam called Crossroads. I’ve never been there before and I really wanted to experience it. It took us an hour to get there by bike (which I really wasn’t sure if we would ever make it); but it was a nice experience. I’ve been going to a really small house church of about 50 people (which I went to this afternoon), so it was nice to go to a large church for a change. I’m not sure I picked the best day to attend the church for the first time because they had a Gospel Choir, that didn’t really sing gospel music, they just really got into the songs through dancing; but the preaching was really good. He talked about Jonah and about following God’s will. It’s funny cause it went alongside the message for the afternoon, which was about having a deeper prayer life. I felt it was great because with a deeper prayer life, you can better fulfill God’s will. Prayer is kind of the theme here in a lot of aspects of The Shelter. We’ve started having 12 hour prayer every day; and each of the staff signs up for 1 hour to pray for The Shelter and the guests and the staff. It’s a way for us to help decide where God is leading us.

Saturday!!!

I think that my favorite day of the week here is Saturday, not because it the weekend (cause weekends mean nothing here at the Shelter), but because it’s “Market Day”! The greatest of all days. Lol…. This morning I had my last day for training on reception. I will now be put out on my own….what a scary thought! I feel like I have mastered the basics, checking people in & out, the credit card machine, and the till (aka…the cash register), so that is fine. I know I can do it, it just takes practice. And then I came home and went to the market a street behind our house. I love the market; I really think we need one at home. But today is a beautiful day outside, so everyone in the neighborhood was there. It took me forever to get from one side of the street to the other. Usually I only buy a couple of things or maybe nothing, the best part is just going and looking at all the stuff and watching all the people. And everyone is speaking Dutch, so I have no idea what they are saying and it makes it even more fun. Tomorrow is my day off, so I think I will go to church and just hang out all day. It’s just so nice to get a break every now and then.

Internet's been down, so I'll try to get back on pace......

The internet has been down for the last couple of days, which is very frustrating. But it’s working now, so that’s great!!!


Tuesday I went on a 4 hour bike ride to a small town called Zaanse Schans. It took us 2 hours there and 2 hours back. I’m getting very good at riding my bike everywhere. I think when I get back home, I’m going to keep up with ride my bike places because I really enjoy it. I probably won’t go on the highway, but I can go on the back roads. But anyways….the place we went to was more of a tourist town, so I still need to go to a small Dutch town, but this place had a few windmills and a place for making cheese and wooden shoes. I didn’t buy anything cause I didn’t want to have to bike back to town with a bunch of stuff. It was a really good day though. Here are some pictures of the place we went to.

On a different note…today I found out that I’m approved for my visa!!!! Praise Jesus!! Hahaha….I was getting so worried about it and now it’s fine. So thanks to everyone for praying for me!!

Sitting at reception.....

Today, I am working Evening Reception and it is very slow.  I have about 1 hour and 45 minutes left.  I'm still training, but I had my very first check-in tonight.  They spoke some English but I really need to brush-up on my German.  I was bothering the German staff members to try and remember what words were, but I feel bad asking them all the time.  This experience has really made me what to get back to studying German and then hopefully learn another language.  I'm really jealous of the people that come through and can speak 3 or 4 languages.  Maybe one day I will get that good, although I do have trouble sometimes with the 1 language I already speak, so we'll just have to see.

Since I don't really have a lot to do tonight, I think I'll just ramble on for a little while.  One thing I'm still not used to is getting online and seeing all adds in Dutch or using Excel (or any other program) and it being in Dutch.  I'm so glad I've used Excel, Word, and Adobe so much, because most of the time I'm just trying to remember what it's supposed to say in English; and then it gets difficult when I try and help other people.  It's just a really weird feeling.

Tomorrow is my day off and I have no idea what I want to do.  I really want to go somewhere, but I'm not sure where.  I would like to get out of the city.  Last week on my day off, a group of us went to Utrecht; which is another city south of Amsterdam.  It was such a pretty place and the atmosphere is just so much different from Amsterdam.  It looked like such a cute European town.  So I'm hoping to do something cool like that again tomorrow; I just have to figure out where.

Well I guess that was a lot.  Hopefully time will go by quickly.  :)

We live, we love, we forgive, and never give up…….cause the days we’ve been given are gifts from above, and today we remember to live and to love…..

That’s the song in my head at the moment. :)


So this weekend has been pretty good. Yesterday I was CS and we had 75 beds to change. I did 20. This time we had 5 people working on rooms, so it made it a lot easier; and the rooms weren’t trashed like last time, so things went much faster. We have 3 cleaners right now and they are all very different. One guy, Zoran, is a new Christian and loves the Shelter and the Bible studies. I’m so glad he is here because it such a great place for him to receive discipleship. Antonio is a young guy who believes in many different ideas; but mostly he believes in being a good person and having good Karma. He has lots of questions and likes to debate the Bible, which is nice, but I hope that he isn’t asking questions just to ask, but to ask questions to really seek answers. And our third cleaner is Alex. He is new, so he hasn’t said a lot yet. He’s ran away from a job that wasn’t lawful and he doesn’t really want to talk about it. But today he and Zoran was at church today and that just filled my heart. Alex is very open to Christ and is on the verge of surrendering his life. So lets just pray for him. And well for all 3; they each are at different stages in their lives and I just pray that we can help to meet some of those needs.

Today I started training for reception. My roommate Hannah is my trainer and she isn’t very confident, but I think she did a great day today. I mostly just watched today, but tomorrow and this whole week I will start doing the check-ins and outs. So pray that I can understand and remember all this stuff, cause it’s a lot.

Tonight I made pizza and it was delicious! I just wanted to throw that in for a final thought. :) I hope everyone has a great week!!!

Better day....

Today has been a much better day.  I'm not feeling the best, but it's a million times better than yesterday.  One thing I REALLY need prayer for is I'm having trouble with getting my Visa.  I didn't think it was going to be very difficult, but you know how governments are.  So if everyone could pray for that it would be great.  Thanks!!  :)

Spiritual Warfare

It’s been a long time since I have been attached for my faith and even during those times it wasn’t really anything that really affected my emotions; but today I experienced something that I have never felt before.

We hired a new cleaner for a few days, but he has had a hard time focusing on his work and doing what is asked of him. Today I was having him clean the dumpster and he said that he wasn’t doing it, if I wanted it done then I would have to do it. Of course that didn’t go well for me, so I told him that it is the task for today and it has to be done; and again he says that I can do it, but he was not going to. So I told him that he could do it, or he could leave. I felt bad about it and my blood pressure was up, so I went to my manager and we discussed and prayed about it. I pulled the cleaner aside to discuss what had happened to try and start fresh for the day, but then he starts yelling at me, telling me I’m a liar, and I don’t have a Christian heart or attitude. He kept interrupting me to tell me these things, so finally I let him talk and told him that we would just have to disagree and got up and left.

I’ve never been yelled at like that before and never been told that I’m such a terrible person and I don’t act like a Christian. It really affected me. I can’t even remember all the words that he used and I can’t express the way that he spoke to me, but I was so upset that I just went to the office and started crying. One of the other staff members took over for me for our Bible Discussion time while I recomposed myself.

After the discussion, she and I took him aside to talk to him some more and give him another chance, but he would barely let us speak. He called me a liar and that my crying was fake and I wasn’t upset or hurt at all. He also said we were satanic and other things of that nature. The other staff member did most of the talking, but all of his negative and hurtful words were directed at me. So finally I told him that he needed to stop and he had one hour to collect his things and leave.

This job is so hard because you want to help people; you want to help meet their both physical and spiritual needs, but sometimes it’s very difficult. I just think we need to pray for him. He said that he has a degree in Theology, but he is definitely not a Christian. The scriptures are written in his head, but not in his heart.

And also please pray for me. Today has really shaken me emotionally, but I’m so happy that God is holding me in His arms. After my attack today, I really feel that I am doing something right.

Easter Hostel Night

Tonight was a special Easter Hostel night. We have two small groups within our Jordan Hostel Staff and tonight was the other groups turn to make a presentation. It was amazing. One of the girls did a monologue as Mary Magdalene, then we had dinner, there was another musical drama, testimony, and then dessert. It was so great! The place was packed!!! My job today was Afternoon Café, so it was my job to prepare all the food and it was a little over whelming, but I think everyone in my family who can cook would be really proud of me.  Our meal included rice, mixed veggies, and pork tenderloin; the veggies were already cooked so I just heated them up, but I made the rice and baked the pork. It was soooo good. I even sliced the meat! I was proud of myself for doing that part so well. I know that my Dad would be so proud of my cooking skills tonight. But the biggest thing was I made Grandma’s Chocolate Meringue Pie and everyone loved it! When I took it out of the oven it looked like it was supposed to, so I thought that was a good sign. Lol…. Tonight was just so good and so wonderful to get to celebrate such a wonderful day with everyone here and with our guests. I just pray that they took something away for this night; that it affected them and they’ll remember what was said.


Here are some pictures of my giant pie (I had to triple the recipe) and our food. It was all soooooo good! Happy Easter!!!!

Happy Easter

This weekend is Easter weekend and tomorrow is the action that is the complete basis of our faith. How amazing it is to have a God that isn’t in the ground and that we don’t have to go to a place to see Him and experience Him. I love the freedom we have with being “Followers of Christ”!


This weekend, at the hostel we are having different events to share the death and the resurrection with our guests. Last night we had what we call Hostel Night, where we offer a free dinner and have a presentation that shares a little bit about Jesus to get people thinking and to start asking questions. Last night went well with a short video clip about what Easter meant to some people our group met on the streets and then it ended with a kind of a modern day video of what it would have been like to Barabbas to be released and Jesus crucified. It was a very good video. And tonight we had a movie that we watched and tomorrow is another Hostel Night with a drama and a monologue. We really hope to get people thinking about why this holiday is celebrated and that it isn’t just a day to get off.

The thing that I’ve been thinking about the most is what would it have been like on this Sabbath day over 2000 years ago. To have found a man and followed him for 3 years, to then see him die on a cross and then today just to be in this sort of limbo. How great it is that we have hindsight to understand and see what was to take place, but the disciples didn’t have that. All they had was grief because Christ was gone. It so strange for us to think about now, but I also think it would have been very strange to have live through. What a difference tomorrow makes.





On a much different note, today was World Pillow Fight Day.  So a group of us went to Dam Square to see the action.  I hope you can see the pillows.  There were feathers everywhere in the end.
 

Interesting Day....That's all I can think to say.....

Today was my first day back at CS in about a week and it was a very busy day. The group of kids left today (which was nice, but at the same time sad cause they were really opening up to the gospel, but in a way I’m kind of glad to see them go) and so with the other guests checking out we had 75 beds to make. I took our largest 18 bed room by myself and my other 2 bed cleaners did the rest. I am very proud of myself for doing the whole room, but it was so difficult. It was full of all the kids, so when I looked in for the first time there was just trash everywhere!!!!! I grabbed the vacuum cleaner and vacuumed the middle between the beds and then lay on my belly and scoop the trash out from under the beds. I think I said “Eeww!” about a million times today. But it took me what felt like 30 minutes just to vacuum one room. I told everyone that I felt like Grandma on the last day of church camp, sweeping under all the beds and asking who belonged to what. It was definitely a good experience, even though I’m completely exhausted.


Today we also went walking around/shopping and the best part was we walked by a US & British Food Shop. So of course we had to walk in. There are that many things that I miss from home yet, but the biggest thing is syrup! The syrup here is terrible and we have pancakes all the time. So today I bought 2 mountain dews and a bottle of aunt jemima. It was kind of expensive, but I didn’t care. Now I’m going to act like my brother and carry a bottle of syrup with me wherever I go, and get it out when people aren’t looking. LOL!!!!! Love you Kail!!!!!

But I was so excited about my purchase that I took a picture of it.  :)
 

Also here is a picture of our "Finner Things Club"....and yes it's like the Office.  :)

It's been raining the last few days, which has made it cold here, so we have parties and drink fancy tea.  It's so nice.  :)

Amazing!!!

I got to share my faith!!!


We have a group of 50 people here for a few days that are mostly 12 year old students and 2 teachers, so it’s a little crazy at the hostel at the moment. I do have to complain because they will not eat any of the food that we provide for them; it all just goes into the trash! I always thought that it was just an American thing of people not liking the food in other countries, but I have quickly realized that it is now also an Eastern European concept as well, since that is where all the students are from. But anyways, as much as they have driven us crazy and demanding strange things, they ask their teacher why we are so nice and what makes us so happy. All she could tell them was that we have an inner peace about us.

The other night, me and another work spent 3 hours talking to the teacher about God and Jesus and how He has affected our lives and why He is the only way to having a relationship with God. She asked questions as to how it’s different from other religions and especially Islam. It was amazing! And last night she sat down for another 3 hours and talked to one of our other staff members about our faith. It’s amazing how God is working through us in the little things, to have the guests ask about the major things.

Taking a breath.....

This weekend the hostel is fully booked (go us!!) but that means that today for my Morning Café shift, that everyone was down for breakfast. It was going ok (I was a little tired this morning) but then I broke two of the cereal bowls, leaned over the grill after I cleaned it and got a huge grease spot on my favorite shirt, and had to try and decipher what people were saying to me even though they were speaking English, although I’m not a mind reader. And it’s only 2:20pm. I think I accidentally prayed for patience this morning, and God has given me lots of opportunities this morning to practice. I think I am now going to take a little nap and hope that the afternoon and night is a lot better than the morning. :)

But I thought I would put up a couple pictures from Dam Square.

And to think that in the 1970s, people were sleeping in the middle of the square, because there were no hostels in Amsterdam at that time.  That's why The Shelter was created.  To provide them with a safe place to spend the night.