Christmas Holidays

We Didn't Buy the Figurine

One of the greatest gifts that I've received, over the years, are the strong  friendships I have with different people. Being a missionary kid, and later a missionary myself, I've met people from all around the world and some of the  friendships I've made with some of these people have become a big part of my life. I've written before, I think, about two of my closest friends, Theo and Judith.

Theo and I did our Discipleship Training School DTS together (as some of you may know) and we were on the same outreach team (to Brazil), and a little over two years ago, he married Judith. Every once in a while, I'll come over to Rotterdam, where they live, to spend a few days together with them. A few weeks ago, we made plans that I'd come down and spend a few days in Rotterdam with them between Christmas and New Year's Eve. One of the things I love about staying with Theo and Judith is the huge amount of fun we have together. I don't know what happens but we always end up lauging and having blast together. We play loads of board games (Settlers of Katan is a favourite), and we usually going somewhere together, like spending a few hours at a theme park and swimming pool, indoor ski-ing or something along those lines. Yesterday, we went to get some discounted Christmas Balls (for the tree) as is tradition with Judith's family. We all chose different Christmas balls that we liked and the put them into the basket Theo was carrying before they were put up to be voted on (to remain in the basket or be left in the shop). We got some nice Christmas balls. From there we went ice skating. I've only done it twice before and was rather nervous, especially as we were on a ice track that went in a circle. I enjoyed it for the most part, despite feeling rather hassled by the much faster skaters on both sides of me, the children who weren't looking where they were going and people skating the wrong direction (we were supposed to skate counter-clockwise, but people were skating into the flow as well).

Earlier today, we went shopping together in Rotterdam... which was a lot of fun. I've only been to Rotterdam a couple of times since I'm moved to the Netherlands a year and a half ago (almost) as I've not really had the need to come through, unless I'm visiting Theo and Judith or when I'm with my dad (as he lived here when he was younger). For those of you who didn't know, Rotterdam is one of Europe's largest ports... and some parts of the city are really old whilst the centre of the city has been totally rebuilt in the last seventy years or so. The reason for this is that the beginning of the Second World War, Hitler's Nazi government wanted the port of Rotterdam, as Germany was heavily dependant on the imports through Rotterdam's port. The Nazis didn't respect the Dutch government's choice of neutrality in the war and invaded on 10 May 1940. It took only a matter of days after the start of the invasion (along with the bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May) for the Dutch to surrender.

Love God Greatly: The Meaning of Christmas

Christmas Day. The day when Jesus was supposedly born on. A day I don't enjoy very much (please see the post: My Thoughts On Christmas for the reasons)... a day that so often gets blown out of proportion by the world we live in. Christmas has become a day to exchange presents (millions gets spent on Christmas presents each year), a day so many children look forwards to as a day to receive the items on their wishlists, a day to eat food and to spend with family and friends. So often, the 'real' reason for Christmas, the reason why Christmas is celebrated at all, is pushed to one side and promptly forgotten. The birth of Jesus.

When I was growing up, my parents didn't tell me that Santa was real. I knew that my parents were the ones putting presents in my stocking... they didn't want my siblings and myself to loose focus on the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Over the last few years I've been thinking more and more about Christmas. I'm not really keen on celebrating Christmas for the sake of it. I'm 'celebrating' Christmas as a reminder of God's goodness.

My relationship with God is the solid in my life of traveling and change. I've moved around more times than I'd like to count in the last four years, but one of the things that haven't changed is my relationship with God. Even if my whole life keeps changing, my relationship with God will always be there. From time to time, I have the realization, anew, of what Jesus actually means to me. If he hadn't come to earth as a baby, all those years ago, he wouldn't have died and I, a sinner, wouldn't be able to have a relationship with the Holy God. It blows me away actually. Jesus is fully God, but at the same time, He's fully man. He knew why He had to come to earth, to die for the sins of all mankind (past, present and future generations), He had to take sin on himself to make a way for the sinner to be made right with God. Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law of Moses and through His death and resurrection I can walk into the courts of the King of Heaven with my head held high. This is the greatest gift I have ever been given, and I will always be grateful for it.

God is the reason I'm in The Hague, serving Redeemer Church. God is the reason I'm alive and breathing. I love Him because He loved me first. That is the true meaning of Christmas: as John 3:16 says: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Another Year Gone By

Taken on December 22, 2015

Today, as I celebrate my birthday I look back on the last year. It's been a year of many changes and much personal growth. I'm not the person I was 366 days ago and I'm not where I thought I would be... and in a way I'm grateful for that. I'm glad that things don't go according to the rough plans I had when I turned 23. I had hoped that I'd be back in England but God has kept me in the Netherlands and He's given me a love for my fatherland... to the point I'm really happy to stay put.

Last year, on my birthday, I was determined to return to England after my period as a volunteer at Youth With A Mission YWAM Heidebeek. I love England, London in particular. I wanted to go back really badly, though I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, I just wanted to go back. Twelve months can do a lot to change perspectives. I still want to return to London but the desire isn't as strong. I'm in The Hague now and I'm happy here. Though the future isn't certain, I'm at peace with where I am and I know that God will open the right doors at the right time. He always has and always will.

Over the last year my relationship with God has deepened and I've learned to trust him more in my day to day life, and especially in regards to my future, but that's not the point of this post. I'm so grateful for my relationship with God. Having that certainty in my life is one of the biggest points of gratitude that I have. No matter what happens, God will never let me down. He's holding me in his hands and I can rest assured that he won't drop me, ever.

The year I was 23 has been a great year, but I'm looking towards this next year with great expectation for the great works God is going to do in me and through me!

A Big Surprise!!

On Saturday morning, I collected Caleb from Den Haag Central Station. He said that he was meeting a friend outside my place, which seemed a bit weird, but I didn't suspect anything. Looking back now Caleb's reason we needed to go to Rijswijk doesn't add up properly, but I didn't think much about it. So we went back Rijswijk. I decided to drop my sports bag  at home, whilst Caleb saw his friend. Aron (the youngest member of my host family) was having his party on that afternoon, so I assumed the preparation that Rebecca was doing during the days running up to Saturday was for that. When we arrived home I noticed that there were a few people standing in the kitchen, but I didn't think about it. When I walked into the living room, I was rather nicely surprised by a group of friends from church. Rebecca and Prisca had organised a surprise party for me and had planned it so well that I didn't suspect anything. Caleb knew about it, as did my father. When we were on the bus Caleb was in contact with Prisca about where we were. Aron's party was the perfect alibi to cover my own surprise party. I didn't get any photos of the party as no one thought to take any photos of the event.

Then on Sunday, Caleb and I went to see our grandmother after church. We left straight after the service was done... it was a family reunion of sorts. Both of my father's brothers were there, so we sat in the restaurant of the care home my grandmother lives at. Its been a few years since I saw my uncles, aunts, and my cousin. I'm planning on seeing my grandmother when my father's here in January (I'm looking forwards to him coming!) and then on a regular basis after that. I haven't seen her in months because of the moving (and the price of public transport from Epe).

Love God Greatly

My Prayer Journal

A Revelation
As Christians we all know the drill, God loves me so much and that's why He sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sins. That was the greatest gift of all; its why God promised a messiah, a savior, to come and to save us. Something I've struggled with for years is how the word 'love' has lost its meaning. We know that God loves us... but is that head knowledge or heart knowledge? Have we made the connection in our hearts that God really loved us so much that He sent His son to die a sinner's death so that the orphans could become sons and daughters? Would you give up your only child so that you could adopt? When I think of God's love for me in that light, I think I understand a bit more. God wanted a relationship with mankind from the beginning. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were forced to leave the Garden of Eden, as punishment, God has a plan in mind to restore a relationship that was lost and I've seen this thread its way through the entire bible as I've read through from cover to cover.

One of my favourite books of the bible is in the Old Testament, called Leviticus. For many, its a book of rules that don't make sense in today's world, however this book wasn't written for today's world. I've read the book many times over the years. When I read it towards the end of my Discipleship Training School DTS, I asked God to tell me why He'd given the Israelites all these laws, many of which I didn't, and still don't totally understand. The answer came through straight away. God wanted a relationship with His people, however there was a problem. God is holy and the people weren't, so He made a way for the Israelites to purify themselves so they could enter His presence. However, because we all have a problem... we sin, and we don't stop when we become Christians. No one is perfect and God knows that. When He gave the laws to Moses He knew that the Israelites wouldn't be able to keep them perfectly all the time. So through the laws He gave He had an answer to the problem. He sent Jesus to fulfill the law for good, to atone for the sins of all humanity. When I heard this my love for God grew massively.

Conclusion
On a more positive note... thank you to everyone who answered my questions in my surveys . The first one will be open until Friday, 16 December 2016 and the second one will close around Saturday 31 December. If you haven't filled in one or both of the surveys, please do before they close because it'll be a great help for me to fine tune this blog space more. Click on the title of the survey form you haven't completed yet: Topics To Blog About and Blog Feedback. It'll be a huge blessing.

Official Member

An Amsterdam Canal

Official Member of Redeemer

Yesterday was also quite an important day for me. I officially became a member of Redeemer International Church, The Hague. I don't know what my plans are after the internship finishes but I felt that it was important that I make sure I put my roots down whilst I'm, in case I do stay longer (something that I'm heavily leaning towards at the moment). Over the last few years I've never bothered with becoming a member of the church I was going to because I knew I had other higher priorities... like outreaches and stuff. Redeemer is the first church I've become a member in my own right. Its a big deal for me. I feel like this is where I belong. I'm still not sure what's happening after my year with Redeemer is done but I'm talking with God about what my next step is going to be.

Work

Office work is still busy, I've been helping sort something out for the Sunday school registration and preparing the January Newsletter that gets sent to everyone in the church. I'm not going to be in the office until mid-January (once the office is closed after Christmas) due to having some time off and going to England for Impact Training. So I've been working on getting the newsletter done before Christmas in thirteen days time... it'll get sent out right before the New Year begins. I've also been doing some stuff with the church's social media websites (so posting photos and captions on Instagram, Facebook, etc). I'm enjoying my work. When there's an odd job or errand that needs to be done, I'm usually the one who ends up doing it. Though I am learning not to take every task on, otherwise I'll be overwhelmed.

Caleb

Family

About six weeks ago (roughly) I heard that my father and brother, Caleb, had booked their tickets to the Netherlands for two weeks. Caleb wanted to work and papa wanted to see both my grandmother and myself. However, soon after this, my dad had an accident, he did something to his leg and couldn't walk. He waited until right before the flight to make the decision to change his travel dates (he's coming in January; more will be announced at a later date) as his leg took ages healing. So Caleb traveled to the Netherlands on his own and arrived six days ago. We made plans and then spent some time together in Amsterdam. We met up at The Hague Central Station and then went through to Amsterdam for a few hours. Caleb really loves Amsterdam and couldn't wait a week to go. So I had to rearrange some plans so that we could do this. He's really grown up now (see the photo below) and towers over me when we're standing next to each other (I don't think he's finished growing). I felt safe with him when we were walking through the streets of Amsterdam. We're going to be spending some time this weekend and we're also planning to see our grandmother, so it's going to be a super busy few days that we're together.

Feed back!

I've written a survey to tailor my posts to what you'd like to read about. So far, I've only had one response and I'd love to have a few more from you... so if you have a few moments, please take the time to help me out, by clicking here. The reason I'm doing this is because I would like you to have the space to say what you'd like to read on my blog... its a bit tricky trying to predict what you want to read without help and if you don't write anything on the survey, I won't be able to tailor my posts.

Friday!!

Nieuwe Kerk in the Sunset

Its a case of the same old news. I don't know what to write here. My life at the moment looks like it did every week since I moved to Rijswijk. My life has become normal, too normal and to some degree, rather boring. I love working at the Redeemer Office, and I love living with my host family but my life is running in monotone right now. There's no huge drama happening beyond my forgetting things at home when I head to work, almost missing my bus, or the internet not working properly. I can't help but reflect on my life in Uganda.

One of the things I miss the most about my life in Uganda is the unexpected, unpredictability of day to day life. I never knew how things would play out over the course of the day. I would never know how exactly my day would play out. I never knew how long it would take me to get a reasonable price for the boda boda (motorbike taxi) to wherever I was going. I always knew that people would want to talk me, about a couple of things, but I never knew who, when or what about. I miss Uganda, I miss the life I had there, though at the time I didn't want to be there. I've thought about going back to Uganda, many times over the years since I left. Maybe one day I will but at the moment I don't know what I'd do there. Maybe when my parents return there I'll visit them there. Uganda will always be in my heart and a part of me will always want to return there.

Maybe, hopefully, the next post will be a little bit more interesting than this one.

My News

December, the last month of the year and one of the busiest (in my eyes). With Christmas around the corner and the church office has kinda into overdrive to finish off the last minute jobs of 2016 as well as prepare for the new year.

Various Christmas activities are being prepared, like a ladies tea morning on December 10, and present wrapping on the same day for a charity that works in Amsterdam. The service on Christmas Day is also in the works. I'm not going to be with my family this year so I'm glad that we're going to be busy on December 25. It's the second Christmas I won't be with my family... I was in Brazil over Christmas of 2012 and flew out just days beforehand... (last year I was with Hannah in Paris; she's in South Africa now). Thankfully there's such a thing as Whatsapp and Skype, so at least I'll get to talk to my awesome family over the holidays. Since I'm not going to be in South Africa, I've got nothing planned for my time off... except packing for the January impact training block and a visit to the hairdresser's (don't fear; I won't do anything crazy).

The Weekend

On Saturday, we had a workshop for the people who have been working with the Sunday School groups. It was really good, but very long (it started at midday and ended just before 6pm). It was great meeting a number of people who are involved in the various Sunday School groups). Then on Sunday, after church, we had the youth group's Sinterklaas game. Everyone brought presents and then we used a dice to dictate what action needed to be taken. In the end everyone had at least one if not two presents, which had were unwrapped during the process of the game... it was a lot of fun. We've got one more meeting before the end of the year.

My brother, Caleb, is arriving this evening for two weeks in the Netherlands. He's going to be working for most of the two weeks but we're planning to meet a few times whilst he's in the country. It's going to be a lot of fun. It's been a long time since the two of us were able to do stuff together. We're very alike, Caleb and me. He's eighteen now and is a good foot taller. I'll be sure to put a few photos up here as well as on Instagram whilst we're together (if I remember to take any photos whilst he's here).

New Year's Challenge

As we approach the end of 2016 (believe it or not, we've got less than a month to go!), I would like to take this opportunty to suggest a New Year's Resolution to you. If you love photography and want to challenge yourself during 2017, why not create an account with Blipfoto? I've written quite a lot about Blipfoto  and my love for this amazing community over the last few months. Since I joined in January 2014 my photography skills have improved a lot, despite mainly using a smartphone to capture and upload my daily photos, and these skills continue to improve. I really hope that you'd join me by taking up this 365 challenge. It won't hurt to give it a try. If you decide to take up the challenge, you can find me by searching for the_nomadic_one. Once you've created an account Blipfoto has designed Android and IOS compatible apps to provide easy uploading straight from your smart phone. I hope to see you there!

Survey

I must say a huge thank you to the people who filled in the survey I made last week (you know who you are). I'm going to leave it open for responses for another week or two, so if you'd still like to help me out by quickly filling it out, just click here and you'll be redirected to the survey. It shouldn't take more than between five or ten minutes of your time.

I'm planning to write the next post over the next week or so... stay tuned for more news on how life as an Intern. Its hard to believe I've been at Redeemer for about three months now! Time is flying past!

As I sign off, I wanted to just say thanks for taking the time to read this post and I want to wish you a happy holiday season. May God really bless you in this time!