Amsterdam | You Won't Relent

SIDE NOTE: I will be posting specific stories in the future...this is more of a broad post about what we did :)

Forgive me if I use a lot of the same words a lot or weird lingo...been around the same people for 6 months! Haha.

Awakening Nations

What is a Discipleship Training School?

I realized after I wrote this blog that I never explained it. Maybe it's in my other posts but I'll explain it again. It's basically missionary training for whatever you do in life. Getting to know God and making him known to others. We started off with 3 months of lectures in Kona, Hawaii. But lecture, I mean a different speaker and different topic every week. I honestly can't remember a day where I wasn't blown away and fully engaged by what the speaker had to say and I know every one of my classmates would agree with me. Mornings were lectures and afternoons were spent in the prayer room, community outreach, work duties, or hanging out in Hawaii. I absolutely loved those 3 months. 

This school that I just finished is one of many Discipleship Training Schools (DTS) in Youth with a Mission (YWAM). Mine happens to be called Awaken DTS.  It’s strange trying to explain what Awaken is. It’s more than a DTS. But the 20-something staff that make up Awaken DTS are so committed to each other and living out the gospel. They are truly a family who seeks to bring that atmosphere everywhere they go. 

(here's a little glimpse into the school staff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCXHU3FdSDg&feature=player_embedded)

Then the second part of the school is splitting up into outreach teams...3 months of going into a country and bringing the gospel and light of Jesus Christ to those people. Missionaries. Every one of the 12 outreaches were incredibly different but amazing all the same. God is so good! Our last week was spent back in Kona as we all debriefed as a school.

I remember one of our speakers said something along the lines of that “The word ‘community’ is spoken about because ‘family’ hurts too much.” We come from a world of hurt families. Broken relationships that have caused so many hardened hearts. A generation of orphans from the true, perfect Father. The theme that always kept coming up in our class was that we are a Family. We seek to speak life over each other. We do our best to love without judging. We don’t just tell people about the hope of true love and a true family in the kingdom of God, but we live it out the best we can. We are not perfect, but we all truly was to look to Christ daily and become more and more like Him. We are a group of 110-ish people coming together to seek the presence of God, lift each other up, and reach the lost and hurting world together. 2 Corinthians talks about how God has given us the ministry of reconciliation…we are seeking to reconcile the world to the Father who loves them. What a beautiful thing! 

(For more about the school go here: http://www.uofnkona.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=175&Itemid=776&lang=en)

And that applied to my team of 7 as well. We set out to bring this family atmosphere to Amsterdam. Five girls and two boys just wanting everything God has for that city and for our time there. 

Amsterdam, Netherlands

I didn’t really have any expectations going into Amsterdam. However, I did expect a lot to happen and to see a lot. I got there and realized that this city was more western than I expected. It almost reminds me of an American city at times. And when I got there I remembered that I really don’t like big cities and have never lived in one, so that was a bit challenging at times. It’s an interesting city, Amsterdam. Completely different from any other part of the country. Being in Europe, there is that history of the corruption of the Catholic church that Europeans witnessed centuries ago. The stronghold of religion is still very apparent. I remember one time I was talking to a girl and when she asked what I was doing I told her I was a missionary there. Her response was, “I didn’t know those still existed.” To me, that sort of described the atmosphere of the city and continent in itself. I really started to see that America truly was created on Godly morals…it shows.

It costs more to be a Christian there. There is a greater sacrifice, socially, to become a Christian in Amsterdam than in America…however, nothing is truly a sacrifice compared to what we receive! But you can tell that the Christians we met truly know what it means and are solid in their faith. When Europeans come to the revelation that there IS a true, living God, it really resonates with them. And that, I believe, is something God loves about that culture. They really uphold their beliefs…and many times we have seen that play out for worse. However, if they would turn their hearts to the Lord, you would see these people being the ones strongly declaring truth to the world.

Red Light District. A hard place to be. I think we were there probably every week day. Monday-Friday. It was weird going the first time. It’s not like what you would think. It’s not in this dark, hidden part of town where nobody wants to go. It’s almost in the center, surrounded by all other touristy things. The 4 streets that make it up are a hub of tourism. Usually 80% of the people I walked by were men, but in the day time you will see couples, people passing through to work, foreigners, tourists, and even people with their children. It’s awful to see something like this become so…normal…to everyone. It’s like a way of life for them. They have made it so commercial.

And everything is as blunt as it can be. Windows, theaters, souvenir shops, etc. But you know what? They need to know who God is as much as anybody else. Jesus did not avoid tax collectors and prostitutes…he ate with them, conversed with them, built relationships in order to show them that there is a God. But yes, the whole place was spiritually heavy. You can feel it. Darkness is rooted there. However, one of the biggest things we learned is that we truly carry light that will cast out darkness. We felt that….we actually felt what it’s like for the light of the Holy Spirit to shift the atmosphere of a place because we constantly had to do that! Jesus’ love never fails.

And things are changing there. We were taken to a street on the first day where there used to be 100+ windows but now it is all businesses. The age limit is changing, people are trying to make prostitution illegal. People are rising up. But I realized that even if the laws change, it’s the people’s hearts that need to be changed. Laws will only make everything go underground, unseen, but people turning to Jesus will change a nation.

YWAM Amsterdam!

So while we were there, we stayed on the YWAM Amsterdam base…right in the city. The base is quite smaller than the Kona one and very different but still whole-heartedly seeking after the Lord. It was a great getting to know all the staff and the 15 students that we “ran” with for 3 months. When we got there, a DTS had just started so we were able to get to know them throughout their lecture phase. We were able to spend time with so many staff members, getting to fellowship with them. Their hospitality is so incredible…many of my favorite memories stem from dinners at the houses of some of these staff. They are so welcoming and we really appreciate every one of them.

YWAM has 4 buildings in Amsterdam. De Poort (where we lived) is their main building. But along with that, they also own 2 buildings next to each other in the heart of the Red Light District. The first one is the Tabernacle, a prayer and worship house on its way to being a 24/7 house of prayer. Everyday from around 9am-7pm there is always prayer and worship going on and it’s open to anyone who wants to join. So when we got there, our team was asked to take a 2-hour slot on Mondays to lead the prayer and worship time. This was funny because no one on my team had much musical background. Luckily, Chase played guitar so he played that most days with Amanda and Elizabeth singing as well. Mary, Ryan, Jeanette, and I usually led out the prayer and intercession times. I actually picked up the keyboard a bit and was able to play that sometimes…especially as background to the prayer set. One day I actually led an hour on the keyboard with the girls singing. That was interesting…but so fun! It just goes to show that anybody can lift up praises to the Lord. It was fun to have a team that had no real musical background because we all felt to free to step out and do it. It was stretching for me because I had never done something like that…but something I do want to grow in.

Along with leading sets, we also went there Friday mornings when the whole staff gathered to pray for Amsterdam and the YWAM campus there. Those times were fun because there were so many people in there. My favorite time was one of our last weeks when we really got a dance party going to the worship music and we were all dancing and singing along, not caring what others thought.  Flags, bongos, and all. The whole room ended up joining in and it was big breakthrough for everyone. So much joy filled that room!

But over our whole time there we were able to just bless the base with whatever we could help out with. It was good being able to encourage people there and bring refreshment to some. Lifting up full-time missionaries. So important. And we, in return, were so incredibly blessed by everything they provided for us!

Ministries:
So we were involved with a few ministries that we committed to every week. Here's a little overview about each of them.

1. Homeless ministry - a few staff on the YWAM base here started a homeless ministry in the square outside the base and it has been going on for years. Every Monday and Friday nights they go into the small square and hand out tea, coffee, cake, and bananas to whoever wants it. Simultaneously, a Salvation Army van comes and gives a meal out to them as well. It's different than other homeless ministries because we aren't inviting them into a foreign building...we are going into their territory and this opens them up much more. So our team helped 2 nights a week with it. (it was mainly us with 3 or 4 other staff members)..talking with the 50-60 regulars that come to get food. It's such a wild thing. It is 95% men and just a few women. Some people have somewhere to live but not enough money for food. Some are Americans who get sucked into drugs and the city and end up staying here. Lots of eastern Europeans from Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia, etc just wanting to get out of their country. There aren't a lot of Dutch people really. But if I walked by these guys on the street, I wouldn't think they were homeless. They don't "look" homeless. 

     Our main goal, as well as providing physical needs, is talking to them about Jesus. But we build relationships. The staff women who run it know almost every person and their background. So over the last 3 months we did just that, built relationships. Some developed, some didn’t. They know what we believe and why we are in Amsterdam...but a lot of them just need someone to talk to. We are there to listen. I was talking to a guy, Gabriel, the other day who has only been on the streets a few months and he is a pretty down-to-earth guy...and he was telling me that because some of these guys have gone without proper nutrients for years that they start going crazy and their minds get messed up. And we did see that...I  talked to some guys who just study up on every religion possible and conspiracy theories and it's so hard to talk to them. All they want to do is debate and at the end of the day it's just frustrating. However, it is not on our shoulders to convince them that God is real...it's God's job. So I've been learning to not try and engage in debate but just show love to the men and women. They watch us because they know we are Christians. They've even told me that they watch us. They study our actions and they will call us out on things. So I've been learning what it means to preach Jesus by just my actions without words. The phrase "what would Jesus do?" really gets a new meaning. I was nervous for this ministry before we started it…I had never worked with the homeless. And although it was one of our hardest ministries, it was definitely the one that showed me what it meant to live out the gospel.

We did see breakthrough in this. Guys opened up. People accepted prayer. We would have times where some of us would pray over a guy for a job to open up and he would come back the next week and say he had got a job the next day. Power of prayer. Things happen when we bringing the kingdom of God into our daily conversations. We made relationships with these people. And we are so glad to have Melissa, Mirela, and Rebecca who are committed to this ministry and continuing to reach the people who come. They are the ones who will reap the fruit and see the harvest come to be!

     And some of these guys are just really fun to talk to. An old guy, Orlando, was teaching Mary and I all these words in other languages the other day and we were all laughing and just enjoying the fellowship. Another time, Elizabeth and Jeanette pointed me out to a guy who was speaking French to them because they told him I spoke French (I took 3 years in high school). So this guy came over to Mary and I and I was trying to speak to him…but my Spanish mixes with my French (that is getting worse) so I have trouble speaking and understanding. I was actually surprised by how much I remembered. But the guy also spoke Spanish which Mary and I know a little. So it was about an hour of jumbling English, French, and Spanish together and just laughing because no one was understanding each other.

2. Shelter Christian Hostel - A Christian Hostel near the Red Light District that employs Christian staff to come for a few months to volunteer as they minister to the people staying there. A lot of the staff are Americans so it was fun to meet people from home that worked outside of YWAM. It's a really cool idea. People come to stay in a cheap hostel...they usually know it's Christian and the atmosphere is really joyful. They have a cafe and everything and they give free breakfast in the mornings. They have a Bible study every evening if people want to join. Sometimes worship and prayer sets. Friday nights are open-mic nights. And most of the people staying there aren't Christians. So what we did is that the hostel invited us to come in the mornings and hang out with people during breakfast in the cafe. 2 or 3 of us will go for a few hours and just talk with people. Backpackers and people traveling love talking with new people and it is such an open door...especially since they are already in an obviously Christian environment.

     This was one of my favorite ministries just because we get to talk with people from all over the world and hang out with them. I remember one morning Jeanette and I talked with 2 girls from Mexico for an hour or two. They were Catholic and we got to encourage them in their relationship with Jesus and tell them some of the cool stories that have happened in Awaken. They even said that it was amazing to see us have such faith at such a young age. What a compliment. We even exchanged Facebook contact information to keep in touch. It was cool to see all lines blurred and for believers from around the world to come together for a moment. We were able to pray for them and bless them as they did the same for us.

I also had the opportunity to work in the café a few times. They needed someone from our team to help out at times when the hostel was full so I volunteered. So fun getting to serve people…I love just being able to help wherever needed. I really enjoy stuff like that. You really get to know the visitors that way also.

So many good conversations came out of these times at the hostel. We were really able to share with people what God has done in our lives and why we are daily missionaries. In the last month of us being there, I noticed an increasing number of people being surprised by the fact that we are missionaries. They were taken aback because we are so young and so in love with the Lord. The fact that half of us didn’t grow up in Christian homes really made them question whether it’s a religion or if it really is truth. Amsterdam is the perfect city to send groups of young Christians because the younger European generation has completely rejected any religious institution. We bring the message of reconciliation to the living God…a relationship with Jesus…not a religion…and this is what really makes them think.

3. The Lighthouse – So the other building that YWAM owns in the Red Light District is called The Lighthouse. This serves as a homeless and prostitution ministry. We worked with Kim and Annamieke who run the ministry to reach out to the ladies behind the windows. They picked 3 of us girls (Elizabeth, Mary, and Jeanette) to actually go behind the windows with them. The rest of us (me, Amanda, Chase, and Ryan) would stay back and pray/intercede for them while they were out delivering coffee, tea, and cookies to the ladies.

Kim and Annamieke have been working in this ministry for years so they have built relationships with some of these women. They have seen some results come from this but it is an ongoing process of developing trust with the women. So they would go out in twos to different areas of the district once a week. Walk by windows and some girls would open the windows to welcome them in and some would shake their head. They ended up going into windows every time and have conversations. Many times the girls would talk about “work” a lot and how slow business was going, sometimes there would be no lasting conversations, and other times conversations would last up to an hour about God and we would get to pray with them. As I never went behind the windows, many of the stories come from what Elizabeth, Mary, and Jeanette have shared. (I will be posting more of these stories later)

But what we and Kim and Annamieke noticed was, again, the power of prayer. The staff said that once we had a prayer team going, the windows would be more open that day and the conversations more fruitful. It had an impact on the ministry. We bring light. We bring the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us as believers and that defeats all darkness. That is what we saw and felt.

4. Street Evangelism – WOOOO! What we did most often…go out on the streets and just talk to people.  Seriously. We just want people to know that there is a God who loves them and wants to show them what he has planned for them! A God who SAVES us from darkness! If you know the truth, don’t you want to tell everyone so that they know? Do it! It’s so simple.

With so many tourists, foreigners, markets, universities, etc. going out and talking to people was the best thing to do in this city. There is always a lot going on. One place we were a lot was Dam Square…basically a huge square where all the big shopping streets are around and people just hang out around. There are street performers, musicians, every type of person you can think of. Sometimes we would bring out guitars out and play worship and sing…something we would do back on base as well but taking it to the streets. We weren’t performing; we were just praising the Lord around people who don’t know him. This brought people to us. Some would slow down as they walked by, some would inch closer to listen, others would even come right up to us to see what was going on. This was an open door to tell people about Jesus and why we were so joyfully singing about him. Other times we would have signs, or hand out roses, or read the Bible. You gotta be bold in Amsterdam. Break through.

I think my favorite time was when we invited some of the students from the campus to join us in playing songs on a bridge in the Red Light District at night. There were about 15 of us on this bridge and from the moment we started playing music, people stopped to listen. A lot of times it was people by themselves. But it was so cool to bring the joy of the Lord into that place for a night. We had good conversations with people really seeking to fill their emptiness. And just people walking by were taken aback to see these young kids singing in such a broken, dark place.

I remember one day when we were playing on that same bridge in the day time, Elizabeth and I started talking to a man about 60-years old who was standing a ways off just listening to us. We introduced ourselves and got into a conversation about his life and his story. As He told us we couldn’t help but hear about all the ways his heart of a father came out in his story. But he was still searching for fulfillment. I told him that he had been taking care of all these people but that God wants to take care of him. He wants him to rest in the fact that God is the perfect Father seeking after his heart. The conversation about this went on and you could see that God was tugging on his heart. His eyes welled with tears. As we asked if we could pray with him, he quickly said he had to go before he started crying. But in this moment, I could see how God is truly after our hearts...he loves us and wants us to know that. I have no doubt that that conversation resonated with that man.

I could say a lot about stories out in the city, but I'll save those for another time.

GRONINGEN!

One last part to talk about. In November, we took a 10-day trip to another city in the Netherlands called Groningen. After a 2-hour train ride we arrived in this city of 190,000 people mostly made up of university students. Much smaller than Amsterdam and way more...chill. Peaceful, yet alive. Our friend Richard at the YWAM Amsterdam campus was connected with a church called the HelperKerk in this city who takes in YWAM outreach teams at the church. So for 10 days we were to stay in the church building and do ministry with them while also serving the church. This was definitely one of my favorite weeks.

We were set up to stay in 2 of the children’s ministry rooms. Air mattresses, sleeping bags and, for the first time, all the girls in one room. It really brought us closer and bonded us. But we pretty had the whole church to ourself. There was a youth group loft upstairs with a coffee bar and tons of food that was for us to use. We were so blessed. But anyways, our host at the church had a schedule planned for us as well.

First off, university ministry. This town was known for its university right down town and there were building for it everywhere. So we would go into the cafeterias and have lunch and talk to people in there. The people at the church had been doing this for a while. Going back into a university was strange because we didn’t go there, but it was totally fine. My favorite story of this comes from Amanda and Chase. One day they ended up talking to a couple names Rebecca and Jens. Rebecca was a Christian but Jens wasn’t. So Rebecca was excited to talk to Chase and Amanda and hang out with them. Chase had the opportunity to tell Jens his testimony and the gospel. They were able to pray with them as well and for Jens to feel the power of God. But Jens acted like it didn’t really affect him at all. So Amanda and Chase left after an hour of chatting, a little disappointed. And Rebecca had invited them to come to a Bible study she had in her dorm room the next night. The next day, Chase, Elizabeth, and Amanda went to the Bible study and Rebecca came up to them so excited. She said that the night before, Jens had called her from the train he was on to tell her that he couldn’t get the conversation with Chase out of his mind. He told her that it really got him thinking about who God is, if there is a god. And he had been really touched when Chase prayed with him. Man…that was the most encouraging thing ever because it goes to show that there is so much more that we don’t see. Yeah we may talk to a person for 20 minutes about Jesus and their views, but we don’t always see the outcome and that is okay. But God gave us a glimpse, in that moment, of how his Word really affects people. Never discount the ministry you do because you never know how God works through your words.

Next up, nights with David Hamilton. The church had planned two special event nights weeks prior. The speaker was a man named David Hamilton who was an ex-terrorist in the Irish Republican Army of Northern Ireland. While in prison for murder, he had encountered the Lord and got saved, completely changing his life. His story is incredible and he is now a pastor in Manchester. So these nights were dedicated to worship, him giving his testimony, and sharing the gospel. The first night was at the church where a lot of people came and we were able to pray with some people after. But the second night was my favorite. It was downtown at a hall rented from a bar. The whole crown ended up being mostly college kids and it was awesome. The presence of God was truly felt in that room. And after, we were able to pray with some people who had come. Such a cool night.

One more story. So this church, the Helper Kerk, is amazing. The people, the pastors, the congregation, truly incredible. It is the church most dedicated to loving God, loving each other, and reaching the lost that I have ever been to. The church had planned a “Holy Spirit presence” night that happened to fall on our last night in Groningen. And they wanted us to give a message or a testimony of sorts. So me, Amanda, Chase, and Elizabeth were each to speak. I was stoked, getting a chance to speak in a church…not something I had really done before. Felt like the Lord wanted me to speak on identity in Christ so that’s what I planned. Testimony along with God’s Word. Speaking with a translator was strange but it went really well, I loved it. I don’t even really remember what I said but I know that God spoke through me because I couldn’t have done that on my own. At the end, we told the crowd (of about 40-50) that we wanted to pray for everyone. As the worship band played, we were able to pray for probably everyone and it was incredible. Probably the best night of prayer ministry I had ever been a part of. There was so much joy afterwards. A night that stands out to me the most from my whole trip. God is SO FAITHFUL to show up when you ask him to meet you where you are. My goodness, I can’t make that more clear. It is true!

 That was a long blog post, I know. There is so much more I want to tell but I'm going to save stories for the blog posts to come. Sorry that I wasn't able to write much, but now that I am back home, I will be writing a lot about Amsterdam. It helps me process too.

It was quite the trip, I wouldn't trade it for anything. People keep asking me "How was your trip?" I really don't know how to answer that. My answer is always different. It was hard at times and it was amazing at other times. But God is victorious no matter my emotions and feelings. He is still God through everything and I have a reason to be joyful at all times! To see God move in that city over the 3 months was incredible and eye-opening. I learned a lot. It was just as much personal growth as it was ministry growth.

More to come...

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, etc. PLEASE DON'T HESTIATE TO CONTACT ME :) Shoot me a comment, message, or e-mail!!

Alyssa