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.   :)