Utrecht is the BOMB DIGGITY

As promised earlier, here is a longer post of what I have been experiencing here in Rotterdam. It's sad that tomorrow is our last day of planned sharing time on campus. Today, half of us traveled to the city of Utrecht. We met up with some new Dutch staff and went to the campus in the city. We got some food and then met some Dutch Christian students involved with the Agape movement in Utrecht. Dave, Brittany, and myself were led in an Action Group by Sabine (a Dutch Christian student). The Action Group here is a little different than at GV. Essentially there is a 30 min. Bible study on some focused topic, an hour of sharing, and then 30 min. of reflection and shared learning. Our Bible study was on developing and sharing your personal testimony. I've done this many times before, but it was good to think about how I could make my testimony relevant to a post-Christian culture. I went sharing with a Dutch student, Anita. She had only shared on a campus a couple of times. And she had never used Soularium before. It was a great experience sharing with another student in a country half-way across the World. We talked to a student named Daphney. She enjoyed the Soularium pictures, but saw no reason to believe in God. I was very diligent to keep going deeper, asking her more complex questions about who she thought Jesus was. Unfortunately, her response was typical of the post-Christian culture: that "following Jesus is good for you, but I want to be atheist." It's frustrating to hear this during every conversation. This culture and their post-modern attitude toward the gospel has shown me that I still have a lot to learn concerning ministry and evangelism.

After sharing we went on a tour of Utrecht. The city is a typical European city with lots of old buildings and unique architechture. Utrecht has a large canal that runs through the middle of it. What amazed me the most was the amount of bicycles that were present in the city. There were literally thousands of students riding their bikes to and fro the city.

Finally, we ended up at the house of four Dutch Christian students involved in Agape. It was an "Open Huis" (open house); essentially, this is a time where Christians and Non-Christians gather to eat, play games, and talk about spiritual things. We had this really good Dutch meal of mashed potatoes with carrots and bacon. I really enjoyed myself tonight! Myself, Dave, Brittany, Erica, Spencer and the Dutch students played the game signs for a while. It was great to hang out, laugh, and enjoy each other's company.


Tomorrow we travel to Amsterdam to be annoying tourists for a few days. I'm looking forward to enjoying the city and seeing all of the cool architecture and history. On Saturday morning we'll visit the Anne Frank House. That is going to be great to see! I am going to miss Rotterdam and all of the students and staff we met very much. But, I am looking forward to seeing all that Amsterdam has to offer.

Please pray for safe travel and that God would continue to work in the hearts of the students we talked throughout the week. Thank you.

--Curtis.