Dear Body - You're Back in Michigan

Hey Everyone!

Well, Spring Break 2011 is over. We've been home for 3 whole days ... but my body thinks it is still in the Netherlands. Sleeping is a struggle, and I'm hungry at weird times, but it is good to be home. Let's rewind to last Thursday ...

The group I was in went to Leiden on Thursday to talk with students there. We got a tour of the city, ate lunch with the Leiden staff and then headed to campus! I paired up with Kelsey and we had a couple frustrating conversations with people who simply didn't care about anything. Our last conversation of the day, we met a girl who was a Christ-follower! God is SO good. We were able to get her contact info and hopefully connect her with Agape since she didn't know many (if any) Christians on campus. It was so encouraging to end the week with a good conversation with a Dutch believer. That night we had an American party and it was great to have our team of 14 reunited again, and to be able to hang out with the Dutch staff and students one last time before heading home. Lots of funny pictures were taken and we even played a "Speed Dating" game. It was a great last night in Rotterdam. Friday morning we headed to Rotterdam Centraal - this is where we had coffee with the Dutch staff, debriefed the week, said our goodbyes and caught a train to Amsterdam. It was a sad morning but it was good, too - remembering all the great times from the week!

Friday and Saturday were spent in Amsterdam. As beautiful as the buildings and canals were, I hated being there. It is such a dark city - everything from billboards and posters to the gifts in souvenir shops revolved around sex and drugs. It was draining to constantly be trying to avoid it - and it wasn't even possible as people walked past every few minutes smoking marijuana on the street. The people of Amsterdam - residents and tourists alike - need the love of God, too. I had to keep reminding myself of that so that I didn't allow my dislike for the city to ruin my time there. That being said, there were a few things I loved! Our friend Hannah, who is an intern with Cru in France this year, joined us for our time in Amsterdam. It was great seeing her after almost 6 months and being able to catch up on life (even though 3 people in a bed wasn't so great haha). Also, sightseeing was a blast! We went to the Anne Frank Huis, on a canal tour, and to the Van Gogh Museum. I think I walked about 7 miles over the course of the 2 days, but seeing the beauty of the architecture and canals was totally worth it! My camera definitely got a workout! Sunday morning, after almost dying in a Dutch taxi (I think Curtis said we hit 150 km/h which is over 90 mph), we flew out. Travel went smoothly and we arrived in GR a little after 8:30pm. It was a LONG day.

Now that we're home, I'm still processing a lot about this trip. What did I learn? What did God do in me? What did he do through me? What does this trip mean for my future? I don't have all of the answers, but I have figured out a few things. First of all, I know that God allowed me to realize more fully just how much the world needs to hear about Him. I also came to the realization that I am perfectly capable of being a messenger. God does the hard work - I just have to be willing to go! I learned what it meant to truly rely on God. Here at home, life is so routine that I easily go through the motions of school, friendships, etc without any trouble. But overseas, being so far out of my comfort zone, I had to rely on God for patience, courage, energy, safety and peace. It was an awesome week learning how to do so. My future? Well, I still want to be a physical therapist. And I still am planning on going to PT school in the fall of 2012. But who knows? My plans of having a nice, relaxing spring break next year may just be getting tossed out - I hope and pray I will be able to go back to the Netherlands next year.

Welp, this has quickly turned into a small novel - so I should stop writing now. To sum it all up, this was an incredible, life-changing trip. I'm excited to see how God will move in the Netherlands and back here at Grand Valley. Team, it was a great week - we better all hang out again - SOON. I miss our head counts to 14 and being the loud, obnoxious mob walking down the street together! People reading this - thanks so much for your prayers over the past couple weeks. They were felt and are much appreciated. Even though we are back stateside, continue to pray for the staff in the Netherlands, and for the students as well. Pray for courage, boldness and perseverance as they work to reach the Netherlands for Christ!

Doei! (Pronounced Dew-ey ... a Dutch "slang" word for goodbye :))
-Erin

2 Timothy 4:1-8