Hello from Holland!
We have actually been in Holland for only 20 days! After the first 10 we went to Brussels to speak at the Belgian Apostolic Covention. This went exceedingly well and we were blessed to have some Eastsiders present! Then we were off to the UK to connect with leaders from Next Level International, who are focussed on church planting in Europe. This was an encouraging time and we met some leaders who have had significant impact in a number of european countries. Then came Berlin - it was great to be with Jurgen & Miriam Eisen. Church was inspiring and their vision night at Dunkin Donuts was excellent! God is at work in Berlin!
Then we were back to Amsterdam...
We have been told it is summer - but alas it has not been very warm since we got here. BUT today was lovely! Sunshine does the heart & mind SO much good (especially if you are australian by birth). This has been an eventful week! We have moved into our house in Amsterdam north; we have bought a bike for Karen & a kind neighbour loaned one to Nick. So we are mobile, which is great. The bike paths are really fantastic. You can go all over Holland and not have to be on the main road.
We have been setting up house - which has taken quite some time. I never knew buying a bed could be so time consuming! We have been to the bank (a number of times); have successfully acquired a social security number, (which by the way took days) for Nick and have now been able to sort out his phone plan. Unfortunately until you have that number there are lots of "impossibles" in the way. Setting up house in a different country, with a different language is QUITE an experience... but it is all part of the journey. You can do anything (and put up with almost anything) if God gives you a dream!
We have had the pleasure of getting to know some of our neighbours a bit - all of whom live just a few meters away! They have helped us with washing, shopping, fixing bikes & blowing up airbeds!!! There is more than one way to get to know people...
We have had our first NZ visitor this week - Nic Rosser from Vision Church Eastside has been with us. It has been great to have her -she has helped us carry things to & fro and explored some more of Amsterdam with us.
There is a lot of colour around Holland at the moment - as you might be aware - the World Cup Football is on! Orange flags are everywhere. In fact in some shops EVERYTHING is ORANGE!
We have visited a couple of churches in the city; it has been great to meet up with their Pastors and hear their stories and their views on churches in Holland. We are still gaining a picture and are asking God for wisdom for the next step. Every day we are here, we walk down a new street, hear new words & meet new people.
