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!