Belgium down, Prague to go!

This screen is blank right now and I'm not sure how to go about filling it up with words that express what has taken place the past few weeks.

Belgium, summercamp, 160 Dutch students, prayers for healing, words of prophecy, tears and tears, a cute baby to hold, talks on authority, power, sex, and discipleship, a chef who chose to cook all middle-eastern food, and lots and lots of Dutch words I could not understand.

My favorite song throughout the week was "Pris Hem"...praise Him. It still plays in my head. It basically is the only song I kind of understood in Dutch:

Pris Hem, Pris Hem,
Heer aan de Vader,
Pris Hem, Pris Hem,
Heer aan God.

I believe it says, "praise Him, praise Him, to the Father(?) praise Him, praise Him, to God..." actually i really only know the praise Him part. HA! But I can still hear it in my head.

Maybe one word to explain how I felt this past week would be "outsider". A lot of the week was spent with thoughts in my head. There was Dutch being spoken all around me so many times I couldn't understand anything - and after a while it just numbed my mind so I had lots of time to think to myself. Its weird having another language around you you don't understand. To feel like a minority - CRAZY! There were 5 Americans that week to 160 Dutch people. It was actually really a cool experience. It gives me a heart for all the foreign students who come to America to study at our campuses. Its easy to feel lonely when you can only communicate to a few people easily, and the rest you really have to try and work at understanding. Granted most of the students speak English (very well considering), but it is still work to communicate with them because you have to watch each word you say to see if it is received in the way you are sending it.



A photo of us at lunch talking with the Netherlands National Nav Director, Jelle. He was really helpful with teaching us about the culture.

Our role was cooking in the kitchen. Each day we cooked dinner for the 160 students. Lots of cutting vegetables (our hands grew sore!), lots and lots of garlic, and lots of black olives. Like I said, the chef, Harmen (great guy) wanted to have a middle-eastern theme (not sure why) so we ate lots of rice, raisins, curry, black olives, garlic, and vegetables. Smelling garlic now is a little overwhelming. = )



Nick and I in the kitchen - do not be fooled - I still have all my fingers.

I had a few really good conversations with some of the staff people while I was there. We talked about the roles of men and women and the dynamic of marriages in Holland. We talked about how they struggle as a culture to submit to authority figures. How women struggle to let men help them with things - they feel they need to do it themselves. We talked about their education system, how they view religion, relationships, and their approach to God's Word. All really interesting stuff. I won't go in to details now but hopefully when I'm home I can sit down and compile my thoughts more.



Here is Liz, Tirza, and myself. Tirza is on staff with the Navs here and was one of my roommates. I had some really good talks with her and got to go with her and her group of girls to the city. We went shopping one day and had coffee out on the terrace, discussing their Nav program.



Here is Theo and me. I met Theo back in Pennsylvania when him and Laurence visited the US and toured New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. It was good to catch up with him at summercamp again.



This is Liz and I with our headphones on. Laurence and Hanneke so kindly translated each talk for us and we sat in the back, looking so cool, with these headphones on to hear it translated.



This is Hanneke and I in the kitchen cooking together - she was our translator and sooo sweet.

The things I really appreciated seeing - they BELIEVE in God and his work NOW! After the talks (they would have worship at the beginning of the meeting, then a speaker would talk, then worship at the end - almost identical to our services in America) but at the end they always offered prayer. Lots of students stayed around after each meeting to have some staff people pray for them. They prayed for healing from back pain, headaches, MS, etc...and they actually believed God would heal them. They turn to prayer BEFORE they turn to medicine. I had like 5 headaches while I was there and immediately popped ibuprofen without thinking twice. They immediately thought to pray about it, expecting God to heal them - and He did!!! We heard lots of stories about how people were healed that week - physically and emotionally. I really want to expect God to heal people - why would He not want to? Why do I expect Him not to - or am so surprised if someone is healed? They kept saying "if its in the Word, we want to try it and do it."

I loved how they were open for risks and mistakes. I feel in America we are so cautious. What if God doesn't heal them? We don't want to risk it - lets just not ask for it, then we won't risk being disappointed. They felt like it was well worth the risks of being disappointed if it meant that sometimes God would choose to heal. They approach the Word like children - it was really neat to watch. Like they would see something in the Bible and would hunger after it and ask for it - they would say things like, "we're not sure how this works or what to do, but if its written, we'll try it."

I loved that!!

Belgium itself was a little more run-down than Holland. The roads weren't as well maintained and the buildings were decaying and the city was not as beautiful I feel as Amsterdam is.



Mike and I walking with John on the streets of Belgium.

We stayed in a theology school - they had lots of empty offices or rooms so we dragged dirty mattresses from the basement and put them on the dusty ground and put our sleeping bags on them. There were 5 girls in my room. I usually went to bed right after the nighttime meeting because I was so tired each day. Being an introvert, I have to have my time alone, and by the end of the day I was worn out! We'd wake up, go have breakfast (and coffee, yay!) and then we'd have an hour or so to spend time with God, then we would have our morning meeting, then we would have lunch, then we'd go and cook, then we'd have dinner, then the nighttime meeting, and then I'd go to bed.

The last night was SO MUCH FUN. We had a dance to end the week. They played European music (techno stuff) and everyone just jumped up and down - it was so much fun! They also had wine and beer...at a Nav event...haha. That is definitely Europe and post-modern. Drinking with the staff and the students at the same time - it was hilarious to me because at the last meeting they took time to thank each group that served that week. The people who were on the service team, or the technology team or the people who led groups or were on staff. As they thanked them they went up front and gave a small "acceptance" speech (really funny) and then they got to choose their choice of beer for the night. That is for sure something I would not see in America. Distributing beer at a church meeting?? I loved it <3 So unconventional.

And last but not least, meet Lois.



Lois was one of the staff person's baby girl. She turned 2 while we were at summercamp. I eyed her all week, and finally on the last day I got to hold her for at least an hour. IT WAS SO GREAT and I think about her everyday which is kind of weird. I miss her... = (

Now we have been taking it slow and just resting these past couple days. Two of my friends from 2 summers ago visited me here! Otto and Nynke I met when I worked at the Glen Eyrie bookstore - they were doing a Navigator summer program. They came to the States for the summer from Holland, and when they heard I was here, they traveled by train to have dinner with me! So great to see them and catch up.



This is Nynke and me.

We will leave for Prague on Thursday. This is basically the end of my time in Holland. When we leave for Prague on Thursday it is "off the Navigator clock" and becomes just our personal vacation (how cool is that). So it no longer will be a mission-trip ministry expense, but becomes just our own personal trip. It will be nice just to reflect on the weeks and to try and gather my thoughts and rest before I head home.

Thursday is Prague - Thursday to Thursday, and then I'll fly back to the STATES! I cannot wait. I have missed America. I do love our country ; ) Holland is great. But I am definitely an American - I have figured that out.

Then I will be home for just a couple days and fly back to PA for the new year. The next weekend I get to go to the Maryland beach with Nate and his family so that will be really fun and really really good to see him again ; ) I can't wait to see all my friends in Pennsylvania and to start the school year again. I have so many thoughts and ideas I can't wait to implement this year!

Thank you all for your prayers and for your emails - I have loved hearing how you're doing. Even if I can't write back, keep em' coming! <3