More windows closing!!!

These are some of the windows that have been closed on Achterburgwal, the main drag of Amsterdam's Red Light District. It's hard to tell from this photo, but the windows now display independent designer's fashions. It's so strange to walk down that street and see all of these stark white windows interspersed among the red-hued ones. I'm so blessed to be working here while all of these changes are happening!

Tomorrow, the windows in what we call the Africa section (where the African and Spanish-speaking women are) will close. The owner sold them to the government, and tomorrow is their official closing. The sad thing is that the girls who come regularly to our Monday night Bible study are from those windows, so they are not sure how they will be affected by the changes. As a friend of mine so aptly put it, "What happens to a working girl when she can no longer work?" Hopfully, this will be the beginning of changes for the better in their lives, not for desparate measures!

From now on you will catch men...

Our Bible study on Monday nights continues to be a blessing, both to the ladies who attend and to us. We have a rotating group of about 5 who come, and two of those attend faithfully. "Eve" and "Mary" are showing so much growth in the Lord, which is beautiful to see! Last week we studied Luke 2:5-11, where Jesus calls the first disciples. The guy who was teaching us pointed out that, according to the other gospels, Jesus already had a relationship with Simon Peter at the time of His calling him to be a fisher of men. They had met, but Simon was still fishing to earn a living--he hadn't yet left everything to follow Jesus in full-time ministry. That message was so challenging to me, and I hope as well to Eve and Mary. They can both see that, in their own lives, the are afraid to trust God to take care of every need they have if they step out to obey faithfully. We're praying that they'll have the strength to do the same thing Simon did--to put down their nets, give up their jobs, and follow Jesus wherever He leads. Also, Eve continues to have dreams; last week, she dreamed that Jesus came to her with words of encouragement, and she had never felt so loved and happy. Please pray that she continues to hear God speak to her. It's been so amazing to see with my own eyes as God works in these ladies. Thank you for being involved in changing lives!

A trip to Utrecht

This past weekend I went to the city of Utrecht, about 30 minutes away from Amsterdam, with my friend Jolanda. We stayed the weekend at her family's home, and she showed me around. It was so nice to be away for awhile! Her family is really great, and it was good to meet them. I'm accumulating quite a long list of things that I want to do before I leave the country the end of May, and I'm slowly but surely working through it! Tomorrow a friend Lizzie and I are going to the Keukenhof, a flower garden/tulip fields, and it's supposed to be beautiful weather! Then Wednesday is Queen's Day, a day of mass chaos in honor of the queen and country. It should be a lot of fun!

Here's a link to the photos of my weekend in Utrecht; just copy and paste the address into your address bar. I'll update more soon!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26062918@N04/

Restore my joy

As I'm sure many of you know, I was having a really hard time with the thought of coming back to Amsterdam after Christmas. Once I got away for awhile, it made me realize how much oppression and spiritual darkness I deal with on a daily basis, and I didn't think I'd be able to make myself come back to that. I guess you just get used to dealing with it day in and day out, and being back home in the States for awhile brought that truth to light for me.

Thanks so much to each of you who lifted me up in prayer as I came back; the transition was so much easier than I was anticipating! As soon as I got to the airport, I was fine and feeling good about things. When I went back to the ladies ministry this past Monday, I was riding my bike through the District and just asking God to renew the joy that I first had in this work, and to remind me of the call I felt for these ladies in the first place. Then when I got to the Cleft, someone had written on the white board the verse Psalm 51:12--"Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." That is exactly my prayer for myself at this time--I feel like that's all that's going to sustain me through this kind of work, the willing spirit that God gives me. As you pray for me, would you also pray this verse? Thanks for being so faithful!

Ahhhh, Paris!

First off, my deepest apologies for becoming a horrible correspondent! My mom came to visit until the end of November, then I was rushing around to go home for Christmas. Not much of an excuse, but there you go!

Mom and I had such an amazing time--it was so good to be able to show her where I live and work and introduce her to my friends. I think it's easy to have a worse idea of the Red Light District than the reality, at least as far as safety is concerned. It's every bit as seedy as you'd think, but I (almost) always feel really safe there. She was able to come to the Monday night Bible study and meet the ladies who attend regularly, and that was great. It was amazing to see them open up more when a mother was present--they seemed to feel more willing to talk about their own lives and families back in the Dominican Republic. Mom also really enjoyed meeting them and kept saying how sweet and special they are. I agree!

Over Thanksgiving, Mom and I traveled to Paris, which I guess is the next best alternative to being at home with the family! We saw some amazing places and both especially enjoyed the Palace of Versailles, where many of the King Louis's and Marie Antoinette lived. Here are some pictures of that time:



In the first one, we are standing in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral; the view of the Seine River with the Eiffel Tower; a view of the full moon over the Palace of Versailles; and a panorama of Paris from the top op Notre Dame. Such good memories!

Believe it or not, Paris seemed to have more people who were "slightly off" than Amsterdam does. One guy got on the subway, toting around a karaoke machine in a wheeled cart. He'd wait til the subway started moving, leaving you no means of escape, then start singing and asking for donations. Awkward! There was also a really scary guy who stood up and started screaming at everyone, so we got off at the next stop and moved to the next car back. Apparently that's par for the course in Paris!

After Paris, we came back to Amsterdam for one more week and did lots of fun touristy things, including one of the museums that I haven't even gone to yet! It's nice to have visitors, which forces you to do things you normally don't make time for. It was hard to see her go, but I knew that I'd be flying home in three weeks for Christmas, which made it much easier for both of us! It was just so nice to have somebody around who really knows and understands me; that's a luxury I don't have much of here. All in all, it was a wonderful two weeks with lots of great memories and photos!

PACKAGE!!!

I thought I'd share with y'all the joy I had last week from TWO PACKAGES that my mom and brother sent me! They sent some of the American things I was missing the most, like Sour Patch Kids candy and bags of brownie mix and chocolate chips. For a country that has such a love affair with chocolate the way the Netherlands does, you'd think you'd be able to find chocolate chips, but noooo! That would be too much to ask. They also sent a DVD and some CD's. Now, if only they could figure out a way to send me a chocolate malt and a vanilla/cherry Dr. Pepper from Sonic... It's nice to be loved!

Girls' Night

I though I'd introduce y'all to some of my good friends here. On the left is Tracy; she and her husband are both from Little Rock (small world!), and she used to model. She's beautiful inside and out! Next to her is Becca, who has become my closest friend here, but will sadly be moving to London at the end of October. She's from South Africa/Mauritius/Belgium; I'm still confused on that! On my right is Rebeca Balderas, the lady who I first heard speak about her ministry in the Red Light District. We were out at the Hard Rock Cafe having an "American Moment" and celebrating Becca's recent graduation from YWAM's University of the Nations with a BA. Fun girls' night!