Name Change... & The Reasons Why

Journeys Together With My Papa

My dad arrived last week, and I've had the chance to spend a lot of time with him this last week. He's the one who inspired this post and as time goes by, I'll continue to share as things progress over the next few months.

As many of you know, I officially became a member of Redeemer International Church, The Hague, just a few weeks ago. It was a journey to get to that point. Since I left England in July 2015 with the dream of returning to London. If God had told me he wanted me to stay in the Netherlands this long, I wouldn't have gotten on that ferry in the first place. When I joined the Redeemer Office, I wasn't sure what my plans were after my internship finished. I was a bit confused about what I wanted. Part of me wanted to return to England, but part of me just wanted to stop traveling and find somewhere to call my home... which is a concept I've struggled with a lot since I left Uganda in September 2012. I've never lived anywhere longer than a year and a half since then and I began to believe I never would. It was hard as it meant that I stopped bothering making friends as I knew I would be leaving soon anyway. When I arrived in The Hague, Tjitze (my line manger) suggested I become a member of the church, despite the fact I probably wasn't going to stay after my internship. However, that suggestion triggered a thought process. I decided that no matter how long I'm in Redeemer, be it for a few months or for a few years, I need to start calling Redeemer home, and thus I began the process of applying to become a member, which was an important part of the process to calling Redeemer home.

I then began to earnestly began to pray into the plans after my internship finishes and that led me to decide to stay on in The Hague. I've lived in the Netherlands for about a year and a half now, though I've still been traveling around the country a lot and I've started to get that feeling that it's time for me to put my roots down and to start calling the Netherlands and, especially The Hague, home. This is why I've decided to change the name of my blog. I'm no longer traveling from place to place like a nomad (though I still live to travel). I'm putting my roots down here, and even though I miss London, I know that this is where God wants me to be. I'm happy here.

Now, you're wondering what I'm going to do next... after my internship finishes. I still have about six months to go and I'm still praying about what the future holds. I'm looking into getting an apartment and a job (though the type of job I'll be getting is still a work in progress between God and me). I'm focusing on the last few months of my internship. God is going to direct me into the next step at the right time... why should I focus on what comes next when I've still got next about six months of my internship that needs my attention?

As it looks like I'm going to settle here in The Hague, my dad pointed out that my blog's name isn't totally accurate anymore... I'm no longer a nomad, I'm a settler. I've settled here in The Hague for the foreseeable future.