Yes i'm back!
so alot happened since November... i want to be honest with all of you the reason i stoped blogging is because i felt restricted just to talk about ministry things. Now i'm going to be writing with the freedom of whats up with life weather good or bad.
So here it goes, wow i can probly say pridy securly that i know God has done alot in our ministry but i don't remember it all in chronological order.
I know that December was a hard month for me i kinda came to my burn out phase where I lost sight of God and his vision for my time here. Also during that month we had an older Italian man as a cleaner who was also a cook. He would continually coment on my cooking. it was kewl i foud alot of freedom in the kitchen good times of prayer and reflection as i would spend the entire afternoon by my self in the kitchen.
April whoes my prayer partner and co-small group leader has been a really great support. Her and I planned out Christmas dinner for our hostel. We spent a crazy day cooking away. Sam our night man poped by with his sister so we enlisted their help.
I was really blessed by the many helping hands that made that great three course meal happen. 40 guests came to our dinner and most of them stayed to watch 'the Nativity story' - by the way i really enjoyed that movie it really spoke to me of the truth of the bible made me relize once again that it actually happened.
This is on our Ice excursion when the ice was just hard enough to walk on we went and found it! i just missed Canada so i wanted to stand on ice for a bit...
This was at our night man Maros birthday party he asked us to come dressed up. He also lives in a christian comunity in the middle of the red light district so that was intresting walking like hippies with taurian the TV through the red light district.
New years eve was crazy, the whole city was packed with to many people for the about of hotels and hostels. At Dam Square (city centre) they set up a stage and the whole area was one huge mosh pit with people drinking and smoking (pot) all around. I went there with about 10 shelter people and we stayed for the countdown. Later when i got our of the crowd i found my coat and camera case smelling of alcohol and pot.
We eventually went to the shelter city (where Marika works) and prayed in the new year. later i walked home with some girls trying not to laugh at the random people sitting in windowsils and walking the streets almost naked.
The streets were trashed and it took the city at least 2 weeks to clean up all the remnants of the festivities away. The next morning i had Morning Reception, the first guest that came for breakfast came at 8 am they just came in from partying and had breakfast before sleeping the day away.
In January April, Taurian and I went to Coens home in Alblaserdam close to the kinderdijk where we walked it was beautiful!
In January God really got to me. I had a mini revival in my life that consitsted of sitting in Gods presence hours on end each day. It was very refreshing to be in His presence. Also one evening when I stayed up late talking with a fellow staff member about my God and prayer life we both got inspired to spend some time in prayer. Remembering that one of the churches we were involved in had their 24/7 prayer week we headed there at 1am to pray. the door was locked so we prayed outside... i guess we got a little loud and carried away in prayer because the people in the prayer room herd us and let us in, we stayed there praying until 3:30 am.
Imi was a cleaner with us from Hungary he has a wife and child (who are now here) they have a crazy situation that they could potentially find themselves on the street. God has been so good to them but they still don't acknowledge Him. My prayer is that they find Him in these crazy times.
At the end of January and the beginning of Feburary my whole family came to holland for my grandparents 50th wedding aniversary. My oldest brother Hobbe flew from Scotland, Art and Eritia flew from Canada and my partend from China. It was good to be reunited and see everyone face to face.
I was showing my family around amsterdam the day art n' eritia arived.
Marika, Art, Eritia and I spent two days traveling to Antwerp Belgium and around The Netherlands (spent alot of tims on trains)
The community at the Shelter Jordan hostel was really cool for about 2 weeks. We had 2 archtecture students, a graphic design guy, guy from england and a gurl from australia and a few more random guests. they were all tight with us staff we would hang out a bunch i even brought them to the YWAM cafe for their live jazz night it was good times. I love the life that is happening at the Jordan latly i'm really encouraged by just living side by side with the people there.
On the 18th of February i had an interview with Eindhoven Design Acadamy one of the most prestigus design schools in the world. I was excited about my interview not really living in expectation of weather i'd get in or not more just wanting to know where i was at for my future. Wether it would look like 4 years of school in Holland or something completly diffrent. Well i didn't get it so its going to look diffrent.
I'm really at peace at the moment knowing that i can fill my life up with all kinds of enjoyable jazz but i just want to walk in Gods plan.
So in January i was reading the book Red Moon Rising - about the 24/7 prayer movement and how it started ect... after praying in the churches prayer room that night i felt like i couldn't wait to have a place of my own and set up my own prayer room. Then i felt like God was telling me not to look to the future but the now. Looking at the comunity house i thought of diffrent ideas where we could have a prayer room. Marika and I both had a vision to change our care closet (room with random cloths and items for staff in need) into a prayer room. But knowing that i would have to talk to those in authority i got lazy and didn't push it. This last week on out once every three months community meeting they came up with having a prayer room in the exact same location. I was so amazed. God is so faithful in his promises. So we are going to make it happen. Our house dad Dennis is 100% on board.
wow i just wrote alot, I know that its not all there is to share.
I want to thank you all for your continued prayer and support and to remember the Freedom we have in Christ Jesus our Savior.
In Christ,
Heather
