I returned from Amsterdam on March 10th and jumped right back into real life at full speed. My ten short days in Amsterdam were a blessing beyond what words can express. I was blessed to be able to spend my spring break in Amsterdam serving alongside the Shelter Hostels Amsterdam staff, who were continuously a blessing and an encouragement to me. My trip was humbling and I was reminded of the goodness and grace of our Lord and Savior. This trip was also very different than other ministry I had done before. The majority of our time was spent cooking, cleaning, leading Bible discussion, and building relationships with the staff and guests traveling through. This week I saw people from more nations than I have in my entire life. I got to interact with people who loved Jesus with all their heart all the way to people who had never heard of Him. Quite honestly, I kind of went into this trip expecting to be disappointed but that was far from the truth. These ten short days blessed me, challenged me, and taught me. Here are a few highlights and lessons from my trip...
Top Highlights [in no particular order because it was all fabulous]:
1) Prayer walk through the 'Red Light District' (another post will be written all about that)
2) Praise and worship at the volunteer house- on Friday night we joined many of he Shelter Hostel volunteers at their house for a night of worship. This time was completely relaxed and a few hours of brothers and sisters coming together and worshiping our Maker. God definitely met us right where we were at.
3) Hostel Night- on Friday we hosted hostel night with a theme of 'change.' We had a free meal for all the guests (curry- yummmm!), played a few games, and my wonderful teammate Kelley shared her testimony. While in the kitchen preparing the meal I looked out and was overwhelmed by the sight of people of all nations, who had never met, interacting with one another, laughing, and exchanging stories.
4) The Corrie TenBoom house- On our day off we went to Harlem and biked to the coast- BEAUTIFUL! Afterwards we visited the Corrie TenBoom house. For those of you who don't know her story google it. Right now. Seriously, did you do it? She has an amazing testimony of God's grace and redemption. During our tour I was brought to tears in her bedroom where she hid eight Jews and was brought to a concentration camp for it. Her father and sister both died, but she survived. Her family helped over 800 Jews, had 8 in hiding during their capture, witnessed in concentration camps, and by the grace of God forgave the man who turned their family in. Corrie wrote this man a letter saying she forgave him and he became a believer shortly before being executed. Praise the Lord! God is good.
5) Bike crash with Bekah :) and dual encouragement- Bekah was our host during our time there and was such a blessing to me. She has a beautiful, strong soul and is committed to furthering the Kingdom. And we crashed in the middle of a tram intersection...it was great.
6) Bonding as a team- WE WERE SO BLESSED. TEAM JORDAN WAS FABULOUS.
7) Getting to know the staff. - Again, so blessed by these people. The majority are volunteers between the ages of 18-25 spending 3-9 months volunteering at the Shelters.
our team for the 10 days
now plus our leader, Derek. Heading home!
Beautiful reminders from the Lord:
1) I am nothing without God. Lots of times I can forget this and think I have a lot of the answers...but I don't. God is so much bigger than me. He loves me. And He has a glorious plan.
2) God crosses
cultural boundaries- I saw this over and over throughout the week. I often felt helpless to cross the boundaries, but the Lord did and changed hearts.
3) Giving people
hope can be as easy as saying hello and asking “How are you?”
4) God is
victorious!- God reminded me of this on my prayer walk. In the midst of darkness and sin I was overcome with a sense of victory and hope.
5) Becoming
comfortable in a routine not centered on Christ is not okay.- This is really easy for me to slip into back home and at school, but it's not okay. I was not only reminded of this, but challenged to change it. Keep me accountable, okay?
6) Prayer, the
Word, and an intentional community of believers is critical to maintaining a
walk with Jesus
7) My faith is
weak, but my Jesus is strong. - This is actually a quote from Corrie TenBoom and it stuck with me all week. My faith is weak, but my Jesus is strong. We serve a great, big, and mighty God.
pre-bike crash
