Reunion!

Amsterdam. The city of weed, tulips, bikes and prostitutes. A harsh reality. Ironically, it is one of my new favorite cities! Beautiful canals run through the city adding a unique vibrant flair to the elegant dutch buildings that line the cobblestone streets. More recent buildings give off a slight modern look and remind me that I am still living in the 21st century. It is quite humorous to walk and notice there are more bike paths than walking paths, not to mention how chic the people dress on the bikes! Life in Amsterdam is very fast paced and business-like, if you are a local. Tourists come for other reasons. Located 15 minutes from the main square is the YWAM base we are staying in and have all been brought together after a two-month outreach. Just to give you a glimpse of how the first meeting went: The Africa team arrived first, with their hiking backpacks securely tied to their backs, their tan skin and wild hair making them unrecognizable. A rush of screams and hellos came out as we embraced for the first time in two months. The guys of the Italy team arrived shortly after, sporting their new turkish hats and fashionable suits. Why suits? I have no idea and apparently, neither do they. Amidst the chaos of us reuniting, the Romania team slipped quietly in the background but couldn’t stay down forever, they joined in with hugs and greetings as well! The foyer became full of backpacks, jackets, sleeping bags and people until finally Julie announced rooms and everyone shuffled off to their room. That night we had a school meeting and afterwards the France team arrived covered in rain, we were finally complete! The Africa team had one goal: a shower. Amen, because they got one! It is so nice to be altogether again, and while it will be hard to readjust to being with everyone I know God has some awesome things planned for the next six weeks. Next week we will be split into three teams and travel to different areas in Holland for a “mini outreach/Dutch Trumpet Tour,” where we will work in churches, in the streets and doing various ministries. The week after that will be spent in different areas in Germany for the German Trumpet Tour. Luckily I will be in a town near Hamburg, woohoo!! I really enjoyed Hamburg. And this week we are debriefing, so I am preparing to really process through my outreach and see truly how God worked. I think it will be very tough and tedious but it is good to take the time to look back and see what God has been doing. Often times we skip over what is really important and exalt things that don’t matter too much. I want to dig deeper, go beyond the obvious and uncover what great things actually too place. Ask God to reveal the things that we couldn’t see right away. Who knows what was happening behind the scenes! God does, and I am excited to find out! Please be in prayer for my team this week as we dive into this together, that it will bring us together in unity and we can just reflect on the amazing outreach God gave us!

Goodbye Outreach

Flying from Istanbul to Amsterdam is something I never thought I would do, but nonetheless, it is happening! I am currently somewhere over Budapest! My time in Turkey has sadly come to an end and it is time to move on, not just from Turkey but from outreach! It officially ended on the 14th when Sebastian solemnly handed out the debriefing papers to glum faces. I have so many mixed feelings, but I am grateful to have this experience behind me. It is now a part of my life and it always will be! Whenever anyone talks about “outreach” this will be what I contribute to the conversation; this was my experience and I loved it! 

Our time in Turkey was very successful, we arrived at the border with a few problems but God is faithful and He safely delivered us through. And typically, as ywamer’s, something unexpected happened and we had no place to stay until morning (it was already 4 a.m.) so we slept in the van! That sounds a bit desperate, I know. But it was quite the experience. At one point, after everyone pulled out their sleeping bag and somehow found a “comfortable position” there was a moment of silence, and reality hit us and laughter erupted through the van! Were we really going to sleep in a freezing van, right outside of a hotel? Yes we were. And when we woke up, there were snowflakes falling lightly all around, it was beautiful. We met some on-fire people for God in the prayer house, and we were able to join with them in prayer and worship everyday, at one point attending an all night long prayer meeting! They believe we are a prophetic act since our base is in Herrnhut (where the Moravians began the 100 year prayer and revivals broke out) so I am looking forward to how God blesses/uses the house. God was also really moving in our personal lives, this was when we were challenged to really go deeper in our personal quite times and like any relationship, when time is spent together, growth appears! I am soo grateful for what God showed me during this time. He also really brought our team together, we achieved unity that I didn’t think was possible. That was a shame on my part, nothing is too small for God to take control of! There was no internet so that really contributed to the unification. We also had a kitchen so we each took turns cooking a variety of meals (american, german, indian and chinese food!) and ate like a family, all around a big table. Those are some of my favorite outreach memories! I hope and pray this is just the beginning of many deep, lasting relationships.

For the next two weeks we will be in Amsterdam debriefing from outreach and after that we will spread out across Germany on a “trumpet tour” ministering to and encouraging different churches. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers, they have such an impact on what is happening :)