chuga-chuga

Well,

today was nice. We visited The Forbideen City which I was happy to see, but was quite similar to all the Korean temples I visited. Across the square (Tiananmen Square), we visited a building which housed the body of Mao Zedong. He is kept preserved under glass. Eww is what I have to say to that. But I am not even sure if what I saw was real. My guess would be that by now, they have had to replace so much of him that what is there is all synthetic.
We also took a "talk walk" around the building. While doing that, I started to really get a heart for the Chinese people and began to see them in a new light. I hope this only increases as we travel to Urumqi.

For lunch, the team wanted to go to McDonald's of all places! I was not about to sacrifice one of my meals to the capitalistic conglomerate, so I (along with a few others who appreciate the Asian cuisine) went to the 7-eleven which had triangle kimbap (attention: Mandy, Angela, and Patrick--it was such a nice reminiscence--I know that's not a real word, but I like it--to the good ole Korean days!). I couln't have been more happy with my choice, but I think the others felt the same way about their McDonald's!

Yes, it is super cold here. I have been gradually learning how to bundle up enough to win the war against the wind.

I am sorry that I do not have money bags with which to buy you all goodies over here. I am planning to go back to the market tomorrow to get an i-pod for an amount which I will not mention here because you all would instantly become so jealous that you would refuse to ever speak to me again...and I like you all so I refuse to do that.

Thank you to all who sent me emails recently. It was so fun to come down to this dreary little internet cafe and have those messages to read. They will carry me through to the next time I am able to get to a computer. keep 'em coming!

Love you all.

nothing much

Just wanted to catch you up on what all I have been doing this week.

Yesterday was a day of lovely cleaning. I spent the entire day almost in the kitchen. When we finished cleaning I then had lunch clean up, so I was still not out of the kitchen!
But I can't complain too much because I didn't have to do any of the more difficult jobs in the kitchen. Emas (from Lithuania) takled both the walk-in fridge and freezer by himself. Good man. When he went in the freezer to clean it, he put on his hat and scarf-good preparation for outreach.

Today I have basically just slept. I have been staying up late talking to people on the base that I won't be able to see again until the week after outreach...it is nice to hang out w/ them, but sad to know that soon we will not be around them anymore.

Tonight, many of us are going out together as one last night in the city.
And this weekend is probably going to be purely packing and cleaning then hanging out in the evenings.

88

FYI:
THE FINNISH WORD FOR 88 IS KAHDEKSANKYMMENTAKAHDEKSAN

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? INCREDIBLE.

WHAT IT IS

I found out today what my work duties will be during outreach.
As of Monday I will work on the team journal (which is the job I wanted), be a food manager (which I did not even list as a choice that I was interested in), and jointly oversee finances with one of our staff (which I was hoping to do...we have a tight budget and she really wanted help, but stressed that she only wanted someone who could be responsible and good with money).

I also put Intercession as a choice, but too many other people also put that (which is a good thing that so many are interested), so they stuck me with food prep. instead.

I am excited about working on the journal though. Brandi (from Idaho) will also be working on it, and we want to make it quite creative and artsy. I think it will be a smashing success.
Besides working on the journal, we are also responsible for taking notes on what the contacts assign to us for work and then also writing emails to the Amsterdam base to keep them informed on our whereabouts and what all is happening.

Tomorrow is our LAST day of classes which is incredibly hard to swallow. In the evening we will have our Love Feast which I am looking forward to. It is always nice to have several people praying a commissioning prayer over you...at least in my experience anyway.

Tonight has been insteresting around the base. People have been hanging out in the hallways in small groups just talking, or having their hair put into braids, or carving pumpkins and potatoes into artistic candle holders in the kitchen, or walking around with video cameras, or teaching/learning tricks that can be done with a zippo, or teaching/learning Spanish, Dutch, and Finnish.


So yea, the night is not yet over (it is 12:11am). I think I will be up for quite some time still. It is my last week here, so I figure I need to glean what I can from those I may never see again and sleep later...on the 3 day train ride accross China.

Monday to Monday

This is it folks. One week left here in Amsterdam for me!

This week is Bafa Bafa. We played the game by that name today. It was originally used by the US Navy to prep. the soldiers (or sailors or whatever they are called) for cultural immersion. Our team was split up into two teams and then given a certain culture (made up). We then had to visit the other culture and try to survive. It was pretty interesting.
I am not sure what all we will be doing the rest of the week. I think each day will be different since it is not a traditional teaching week. Thursday is cleaning day or something...yea. The only thing I am wary of is packing up my room...I hate to pack up all my stuff. And I don't really like unpacking either. But such is life, eh? And I should probably get used to it as I may be doing it for the next several years.

this is all for now. later.

practically a Dutchy

Tonight I rode on the back of a bike for the first time. I know this really impresses all of you, so let me further explain:
The Dutch have this little flat part that sticks out over the back wheel of most of their bikes. It is to put stuff on like bags, etc...but people many times will sit back there, too. It isn't healthy for the back tire, but it is nice when not everyone has a bike to ride.
Two Dutch students were taking the train to their home towns for the weekend so Sue (Canadian) and I rode on the back of bikes to the station with them, so we could ride the bikes back. Well, for me, I had to carry a large, heavy bag of Kimberly's (Suriname/Dutch) and ride on the back for the first time EVER! You have to let the driver start riding then kind of run and hop on the back saddle style and balance there. I didn't even fall off, folks, yeah! I was so proud of myself.
On the way back, I had to hold the bike steering with one hand and hold my skirt down with the other (I also feel so Dutch by riding while wearing a skirt. They do it all the time, you just have to use one hand to make sure your skirt doesn't ride up. Well, while doing that precarious driving, I saw Sue in front of me get caught in the tram rails on the ground (it happens often if you are not riding perpendicular to the tracks. They are the "perfect" size for the bike tires to get caught in). I started laughing then the same thing happened to me! Pride before the fall right? I didn't fall, but just nearly. So Sue was then laughing at me, then it happened to her again! What fun Amsterdam is by bike!
We ended up getting back to De Poorte in one piece, and enjoying the ride back. If I just had a few more months here, I know I could master the bike riding...

I plan to spend a quiet weekend again this weekend resting before diving into all the outreach preparation. What do you all have planned? Anything special? I would love to hear, so drop a line anytime.

Nightie night. I am not actually going to bed. I am about to go watch a movie with several of the staff and students. good times!

Before I go I want to make sure I really emphasize how truly, truly grateful I am for all of your prayers. I need them so much.
God is hearing them, too. Just this morning in worship, our leader Charles (from Australia) came over to pray for me and got a really good word from God for me. Every time he gets a word, it has been DIRECTLY from the mouth of God. It was so what I needed to hear. So when you pray for God to reach me, He answers by speaking to other and me here. So please continue as the prayers will be my lifeline while I am on outreach.

Love y'all

communication details

hey you's guys:

I want to let you know what communication will be like while I am on outreach. The countries that I am traveling in and through are not all open to Christianity, so that means that this blog may not be too detailed. In fact, since there is all sorts of stuff about my ministry with YWAM and Christian words on this site, it would not be wise for me to be pulling up the site.
I may look into setting it up so I can email my blogs onto the site without ever having to pull it up. Otherwise, I will just mass email everyone my updates.

I will let you all know as I myself know more.

ok, that is all for now.
peace out

I've been shot

shot up with vaccines that is. I got three today: typhoid, DTP, and Hep A. I should be good to go for a while now. The doctor who gave us the shots was so funny. He put out one arm straight almost like he was trying to aim a dart then took the little syringe in his other hand, walked a couple steps to my arm and-BAM- in and out faster than any shot I've ever had. And completely painless, too! Nice.

My friend Elina got one of her wisdom teeth pulled this morning. She was so scared last night she didn't even want to go to sleep. Poor girl. She is fine right now though. She hardly has any swelling and she gets to eat lots of her favorite food ever=ice cream. When she gets really tired, we all love to laugh at her because her English gets all confused with Finnish. We say she is speaking Finglish. She is kind of like that today since she is all drugged up. I love when she is all Finglish.

I bought some boots for outreach today. Sue (from Canada) and I went to the main tourist shopping street to this big sports store that is having Sinterklaus sales. We found these huge ole snow boot things. They look like the kind that you tromped around in when you were a kid=you know, tall and spongy. We were laughing so hard in the store while trying them on. Then we actually bought them! They were only 20 euros, so we couldn't pass them up. So, yea, those are my shoes for the next 3 months. I hope they are culturally sensitive because mine are bright red! I am laughing even now thinking about wearing them for 3 months. But we need to be warm! That is the most important thing.
I also bought some nice, thick ski socks to wear in them. When we are in Beijing I will buy some little Chinese slippers to wear when we are in houses and at church. I think I will also buy some house slippers to wear while in the trains. Other than that, I think I am good to go now on what I need for outreach.

have a good day amigos!

my time here is winding down

Hey all,

Well, this is the last week of teaching. Our speaker is Wilhem originally from South Africa, but has been living in Holland for quite some time now (he is married to a Dutchie). He is speaking on Missions and has so many incredible stories that you want to swear he makes half of them up. He is a no-nonsense kind of guy who gives it to us straight. I really like and respect that.
Next week is called Baffa Baffa or something like that. I have no idea what exactly that means, but I do know it will be devoted to preparing us for outreach. It is known as a fun and challenging week, so I look forward to it.

Here is some sad news:
Two of our students--Brittni and Annie (both from US, both 18, and both from Michigan...but they didn't know each other before this DTS) are not able to go on outreach for various reasons. We are so sad to lose some of our members, but it must be. Please pray that God will guide them in what He has for their futures...especially their immediate futures.

I am getting more and more excited for outreach as I learn more details about where we are going and what we will be doing.
Today during Intercession time, we learned about and prayed for the Uiger people in Urimchi, China. They will be our primary ministry focus while we are in China. They are originally from Mongolia and look very little like the ethnic Chinese. They speak Arabic and have an entirely different food and music culture from the Chinese, too.
I will let you know more about the other countries and ministries another day...this entry is geting so lengthy.

Tomorrow is my last day of ministry in the Red Light District. Please pray that God would use me as He wills and that I would be open to what He is speaking to me.

LOve you all. Hey, and thanks to all who sent me birthday greetings in forms of emails, packages, and letters. I think I have received everything that people told me they would send...my birthday was so wonderful and special!
~Michelle/moosh/Hannah

Here comes Sinterklaus...

This will be a most entertaining post, I promise.
I am going to tell you all about the lovely holiday of Sinterklaus (like Christmas but not at all) on the 5th of December. But the parade for the holiday was today...so it was kind of today.

Here is what it is:

Sinterklaus "arrives from Spain" on a boat riding a white horse, dressed as the pope but in red, and accompanied by a band of small black men who the children all call "Pete" for some reason. The boat docked at the museum across from De Poorte, so I had a great view from my window. After the boat docks, he stays there for awhile while people sing silly songs and stuff. Then he leaves the boat on parade around the city while the children yell "Pete, Pete!" to get the attention of the black men (Dutchies paint themselves to look black) who take letters to Sinterklaus from the children and hand out or throw papernoten (little gingerbread cookies...quite yummy actually) at the kids. If the children are bad, they will be taken by the black men back to Spain.

Such a stange, strange holiday. One I cannot quite figure out...seems a bit racist, too, but the true black people come out to celebrate also, so I guess it is all ok with everyone. It is quite entertaining to hear about it and see it all. Thought you all would enjoy hearing about it.

Alright. All of you enjoy your day now. Later gators.

Update on Me

Here is some random updates for me:

The week on Sin, Repentance, and the Cross went better than I had ever imagined. God took some things out of me that I never even thought would be taken so quickly and readily. You can pray for my continued obedience in handing over to Him all that He asks b/c what I have given so far, I have not regretted although it has not been easy. I actually got up in front of my entire DTS peers and confessed some things in my life. In fact, most of us did. It was a truly healing time in many of us. Openess to those who are trustworthy is so special and therapuetic. God heals through openess as I am now acutely aware of.

Last week's teaching was on Destiny and Calling taught by our base leader Armando. He has a passionate heart for the nations that is so contagious. I got really stirred up inside for outreach and who all we will be in contact with during that time. Armando is a great man who speaks like 5 bazillion languages and knows all these random little ethnic groups. He teaches in stories, but they are all like little sermons. It's like nothing I've ever heard before...I hope to hear more.

I am not sure what this week's teachings will be on. I will get back to you on that.
Today was YWAM Revisited which is a reunion for all Netherland YWAMers. The DTS is hosting it, so that means we did all the meal planning, clean up, etc... yeah, us!

Next Friday we are having a fundraiser for outreach. We will have a Pirate theme party w/ pizza and pop for sale. We are going to have dancing and like a talent show or something so please pray that we rake in a lot of money!

Also, two girls on our team may not be able to go on outreach. I will not go into detail, but just pray that God's desire would be what is done in their situation.

Love you all!

red light Salvation

wow, do I have something to report.

Last Wednesday (sorry I have not blogged this sooner...I haven't been in the mood) during outreach one of the ladies in the windows prayed for salvation!
It was truly amazing. I went out with Hepka (not sure if that is how it's spelled) to an area I had visited twice before. We saw Angelina who I have always thought was such a sweet girl. I am not sure where she is from (language barrier...she speaks only Spanish, so I usually cannot understand most of what is being said) or many other details about her. That day God must have opened my ears or called my Spanish to remembrance b/c I could understand most everything she and Hepka talked about. I was not aware of what exactly she asked for prayer for, but when Hepka started the prayer I heard Jesus and come into my heart and stuff like that all in Spanish. I was so excited and wanted to start balling my eyes out. I was able to give Angelina a big hug and communicate that I loved her and was so happy for her.
I know that she is working in the windows only for money and hates to be there. She is married and has three children (the rest of her family does not live in Amsterdam). Please pray for her b/c salvation does not always mean leaving the windows for these ladies. Some believe they are ok and can continue living like they are. I think Angelina is different though. I am praying that her husband will accept Christ also and refuse to have her be in the windows any longer.

I thought you all would love to hear this since you have been praying in support of my ministry here. You are a part of this and have affected her life, too. Thank you for the prayers. We need them so desperately here.

In My Face

This is to let you all know how you can pray for me this week.

Our classes are on Sin, Repentance, and the Cross. Just the title makes me "scared" by what all God may ask of me. I want to be COMPLETELY obedient to Him and receive exactly what He wants for me this week, so please pray for that. Also, I want my fellow students to get what they need. This week is known as a difficult week among past DTS students, but they all say it is so good and necessary to go through. I know I will feel vulnerable to say the absolute least.
Today's teachings have been very, very good. Our speaker is Fiona from the base in Switzerland. She has a very untraditional style of teaching and is very deep in the Spirit. I can tell she is wanting us to search deep into ourselves and not discount what we experience this week.

I appreciate your prayers this week especially. And I am praying for you all as well.
God Bless!

rembrandt

I went to the Rijks Museum today. I have been trying to get there for the past 5 weekends, but something has always delayed it.
I wasn't too interested in seeing anything other than Rembrandt's works, but the museum is absolutely huge so it is inevitable to look at other things. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the other artists. Particularly Jan Steen and some of Vermeer.
Me and 3 others went by bike, and, as usual, one of the bikes broke down. Leo and I ended up walking back to his bike after we left the museum and then walking the bike back to De Poorte (building where I live). It was a very lovely day, so I didn't mind the walk at all. In fact, it quite reminded me of why I love this city so much.

Last night was Armondo's (our base director) wife's birthday party at Dwazezaken Cafe (the cafe owned by YWAM). I had a good time just hanging out w/ some people from the base that I normally don't get to see too often. Tribal Roots (the guys from Barbados) band played and they are so entertaining. Not only do they have good stage presence, but the music is like this islandy raggae rock fusion stuff that is a lot of fun to listen to.

I will go to Zolder 50 (or Attic 50) tonight for church. I have been going there since I got here. They have evening services and the praise and woship is incredible. I usually ride a bike so we will see if we can actually get there w/o someone breaking down on the way!

hmm...this is all for now. I am off to my potato bar dinner. Love you!

GOOD FAMILY NEWS

well, I just got an email from my sister saying that BJ (my brother) will not be deployed to Iraq now until May.
That was so, so, so good to hear! I was already feeling peace w/ the whole situation, but that news really was good to hear.


Classes this week have been on Biblical Worldview and taught by Bill Payne (from Canada). It has been good stuff...I just have had to be careful that I don't zone out since I have had such similar classes in high school and university...today's lesson was especially good though. He is a smart man and has good insight on how to teach this subject. I found that also especially today that during class God would use something he (the teacher) said and then He (God) would use it to show me something specific in how it applies to what I have been feeling/dealing with.
I really love that=being shown how to change and understanding more how God is involved directly in my life.

Yesterday, I took a bike ride w/ a friend to one of the markets and Amsterdam decided to be like Amsterdam and rain-then stop raining-then rain-then stop raining-then rain again. Coming back it was quite cold...but I did find some good blueberries so that makes it all worth it. Today is dreary but dry...I think it is actually going to start being cold here now. It has been so warm up til now.


Please feel free to make comments on my posts. It can be anything...doesnt have to be a response to my posts. I just want to hear from you all.

"The Dance"

I forgot to let you all know how are dance went!

It went really well. The crowd cheered like crazy when we were done, and I think they really understood the message behind it...how we wanted to convey unity among the nations.
Someone got it on their camcorder or camera or something, so I hope to actually be able to see how I did. I know I had a lot of fun and am glad that I made myself do it. Thanks for the prayers from you all.

We finished our classes on relationships today. Serena was a really beautiful lady who had some good things to teach about. She is a social worker in England and really understands what people need to hear. I had some one-on-one time w/ her yesterday and she just really spoke some things to me that I needed to hear. God just keeps amazing me by giving me exactly what I need at the exact moment I need it.
I mean, I know He always gives us what we need, but it never ceases to astound me in the way that He does it. How it is not in the way I am looking for, but rather so perfectly delivered for what I need personally. I love that! It's so encouraging. So you be encouraged, too. God is waiting for you to give Him opportunity to give to you. It is only when I open myself up and am vulnerable before Him that He is able to do His most amazing work in me...yeah, I'm scared, but it is so worth it!

the Berlin wall is still coming down...

My stay in Berlin was good. The conference had some good speakers and the praise and worship time was really annointed. That (the praise and worship) was actually my favorite. I also liked when Armando (our base leader) spoke because he really addressed the Germans and how they should no longer need to feel shame over their past.
I never even realized that Germans still felt so much guilt even over seeing their flag...Armando is Jewish and he presented the Berlin base leader w/ his Jewish mantle. It was so great to see how much it meant to the Berlin leader.

The bus ride was less than lovely. It took about 11 hours and pretty much everyone was feeling a bit sick by the time we got back. Things are better today, and we started our teaching for the week on relationships. I like the speaker a lot so far. She is from the largest base in England, but is originally from South Africa. It should be a good week of learning.

Thanks for keeping in contact w/ me so well everyone. I truly love the feedback and personal emails, so never hesitate to drop me a line.

love you all!

The Results Are In...

Alright. We FINALLY found out where we are going on outreach! And the destination...well, it several! Yes, we are actually traveling all together which is unique and we will be traveling The Silk Road. This is the historic path that traders followed in Asia into Europe. We will be starting in China and ending in Jerusalem. We are not sure what all other countries will be involved but almost definitely Iran and Iraq (the safer, northern regions) will be included.

Please pray that we will be able to quickly work out visa and vaccination details. Also, we need prayer for research of these countries and unity for the team. Our main focus will be prayer for these countries. Of course, we will be doing more practical ministry also, but the focus will be to cover them in prayer, asking God to pour out His Spirit and break the strongholds that are there.

I will give you more details as I have them.
Love you all!

weekend in a nutshell

Well, the race has been run. I ran it in 1 hr 52 mins. I didn't end up finishing w/ Will (my running pal) because he was a human bullet... I was fine the entire race, but the last 5k was killer...the longest 5k of my life perhaps. It was a lot of fun, though, and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to run it.

I will leave Thursday morning for Berlin. We will return Monday evening, so I will not be posting until after I get back (well, I might have a blurb or two to spit out before we take off).

Classes this week are on hearing the voice of God. They are being taught by Yannika who is a lady that prayed for me a week or two ago. During the prayer, she got a word from God for me and literally EVERY word she spoke was exactly a confirmation of what God had been speaking to me. I have never had it so exactly spoken to me before. It was all so encouraging and amazing, so I am looking forward to what she will speak in the coming days.

later gators!

finally able to get this thing going...

hey everyone,

Sorry about the loooong delay in getting this up and running. For those of you who did not receive my emails, the computers on base were not working until this week.

It is Saturday morning here (well 10:56am anyway). I have been up awhile already b/c I have weekend breakfast duty which means I prepare and clean-up.

Here is a quick rendition of what has happened while I have been in Amsterdam so far (for those of you who have gotten my emails, you can skip the next few paragraphs):
After coming, we had a three day camping trip that was quite intense. The days consisted mostly of either walking in the fields (looong walks!) or playing sports together. It was a good time to just talk and get to know each other. The evenings were even better b/c we shared our testimonies around the campfire. I think we always secretly know that amazing people have come from hard situations, but when you actually hear the details, it always astounds me. Out team is amazing truly and I feel we are like family already.
The next week we started classes. The first week was Identity in Christ (which was so incredibly stretching for me...really put me out of my comfort zone, but I feel such a difference by opening up and letting people know what's deep inside) and our speaker was from the other Netherland base in Heidebeek.
This week was The Nature, Character, and Father Heart of God. Our speaker was originally from Australia but has been working at the YWAM base in Denver, CO for over 10 years now. He was so deep spiritually and had a solid foundation in the Word (by which I mean he gave references for literally everything except when questions that pertained to relatives came up. Then he gave his opinion which I respected since it seems that so many times teachers try to avoid a direct answer and just say to decide by yourself).
I absolutely love the city of Amsterdam. It is so culturally diverse that you would never know you were in the Netherlands except that everything is in Dutch! (almost everyone speaks English though). It is a safe city to walk around and most everyone has a bike. There are bike lanes everywhere and they have the right of way, so if you are walking or driving you'd better watch out! I have almost been malled over by a bike several times!
We were given an opportunity to choose our weekly outreach option. I chose to work with the ladies behind the windows (prostitutes) in the red light district. I will work every Wednesday from 2p-5:30p so please pray for that when you think of it...I can never convey what you feel when you walk around the areas w/ the windows...there are no words. But I have great anticipation for how God will use me to reach the ladies. The ministry time is so well organized. We start out w/ a time of prayer and worship, go out to minister in twos (women only of course), and then end w/ an hour of prayer, worship, and debriefing (or talking about what we saw/felt to be sure not to carry away unwanted emotions). The women who live and work full-time w/ the ladies behind the windows are beautiful people who have such a heart for the ladies. I feel privileged to be here and able to learn to love like they do.

Next weekend the base will travel to Berlin for a YWAM conference. There will be several ministers from all over the world (including Pastor Cho from Korea). Our base will be performing a dance (which I will be a part of...please pray for that, too! I have not dance background!) and also the band Tribal Roots (which is a part of our base) will be performing.

This weekend I will be running in a half-marathon. Some of you know that I have a goal to run some type of race in each country I stay in. So here comes number three! I run tomorrow and am a bit nervous since I havent really trained. A guy here on staff talked me into running it with him, so ready or not...I will give it my best.

Ok, I know this is getting quite lengthy. In the future I hope to just dash out a quick little blurb and then email you all to let you know that I made a new post...

Thanks for the interest in my life. Thanks for the support in my life's mission. Thanks for all the future messages you will be sending me, and most importantly thanks for the support through prayer! I am surviving on those!
I am praying for you all as well. This time here is so special already. I cant wait to see what the coming weeks have in store for me. I will be sure to share as they go along.

Love you dearly,
Michelle/moosh/Hannah

test email

please let me know if you get this email.
I am testing as to whether my mail list works for this blog for missions updates.
Thank you!
Michelle

under construction

please be patient...I am working on getting this up and running quite soon!