I have been blessed way beyond anything I deserve. God has allowed me to travel and minister in over 50 nations and to meet some wonderful people along the way. But, of all the many fabulous experiences I have had, this annual trip to Amsterdam is right at the top of my list of the things I enjoy the most. I love this city and the friends I have made over the years. More than anything, though, I love seeing people light up as the profound nature and significance of God’s mission begins to sink in.
This same material is something I have taught many times in other places and circumstances, but there is just something very special that happens when I teach this to someone who is outside their normal environment and a bit out of their comfort zone. The discussions, the interaction and just hanging out together in the context of learning more about the people who make up God’s world is a powerfully enriching experience.
Kasteel de Haar
Today, we began to work our way through a brief history of missions from 1500 to the present. We will finish this up tomrorow. In the afternoon we took the train to Utrecht, rode a bus and walked to a beautiful castle called Kasteel de Haar. The castle is still open even though it is undergoing major renovation. Most of us seemed to be dragging a bit by the time we got back early this evening, but no one wants to miss a single moment of this shared experience. It’s been great to see new friendships blossom among the six churches represented in this little group.
Email this post
Join me each day as I share what's bouncing around in my head and heart. I wish I had time to sit down with each of you over a good cup of coffee, but at least we can thank God for blogs! Oh! I'll take the coffee, too, whenever I can!
Entries (RSS)
Jeff Adams, how do you do it? I know Cathy is there to ensure that schedules are met, and Cheryl is there too, and the group is pretty much self-motivated and self-managed, but I don’t see how you do the teaching, running around, going to meetings last week and this week, making contacts and recontacting, tromping around with the group, AND doing blog posts! And I’ll bet you are preparing a sermon or two as well and a bunch of other things.
You are amazing! I was exhausted after catching up on the posts for the last two weeks! Don’t respond to this! I don’t want you to do one more thing! T.
Wow! That picture of the castle is amazing! That is one of the things I wish I could have seen when I was there, but I had to leave something to see for when I go back!
Mel
P.S. I second the above comment. You’re awesome!