We have had a busy week. Just when I think things will start slowing down to get us into a "normal" routine, something unique and fun pops up to blog about!
First, we are thrilled that we believe we have found a church we can call home in Amsterdam. It is called Crossroads and is actually located in a suburb of Amsterdam called Amstelveen. Our travel is about an hour one way, by foot and metro, but we are hoping that the bus will prove to be a faster mode of transport tomorrow. (By the way, Ben is doing really well with all of the public transportation and his stroller has become his second home - he eats, drinks, reads books, naps, etc. in there.)
They have a children's program, all Dutch and English speaking children are together at this age. I think Ben was ready for some interaction with people his own size, no matter what language they were jabbering in. He didn't fuss at all when we left him (although I got a little teary - that came out of nowhere!) - and he was happily playing away when we picked him up. Phew!
Worship time was great and all of the songs were familiar to us. We sang in both English and Dutch (very cool!), so I've found another way to learn some Dutch! The message was powerful and hit very close to home for me - speaking on the Holy Spirit filled life, using Psalm 84. Verse 1 begins 'How lovely is your dwelling place...'. I really felt God speaking to me directly that it does not matter where we are physically living right now, but that I need to be spiritually dwelling in Him, and what a lovely place to be. Thanks God! The entire time just felt very comfortable. After the service, we stopped by their welcome team for coffee and to introduce ourselves. We chatted with a nice woman for a little while, and I sent an email yesterday about connecting to a Life group (small group) here in the city that meets on the weekends (weeknights would be too hard). If you would, please pray for connection!
To liven up my Tuesday, Matt Lauer came to visit us!! :) Actually, the "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" segment that is on the Today Show really did come to Amsterdam on Tuesday. Robin sent me an email to tell me the good news, and as soon as Ben woke up from his nap, we were on pursuit. Alas, no Matt sightings, but we did enjoy his recap of the city we found on the Today show website. And, based on what we saw in the video, he was literally right down the canal from us! So close... :( Here is a link to some great info and videos from my friend, Matt:
Wednesday (April 30th) was Queen's Day, a national holiday for the Netherlands. This will be my "Getting to Know Amsterdam" segment for this blog, as there is so much to tell! The best we can describe is that this holiday is a cross between St. Patty's Day and the 4th of July - but better! Typically, the holiday is the birthday of the Queen. But, Queen Beatrix's birthday is in January, so she kept the holiday as April 30th when she took the throne, which is her mother's birthday, so the outdoor festivities could still be enjoyed.
First and most important, you must wear orange (referring to the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange). Orange is everywhere: store fronts, banners, balloons, etc. See our family in orange below, as we had to get into the spirit of things. :)
Secondly, the entire city becomes a gigantic flea market. Anyone is free to sell anything they wish, pretty much wherever they wish. However, a few days before, we were starting to see the word "BEZET" written in tape and/or chalk on the sidewalks. ?? Well folks, Dutch grammar lesson for the day is that bezet means occupy. So, people were basically reserving prime locations to sell their junk. Vondelpark (similar to Central Park in NY) is officially reserved for children to sell their goodies. Ben got a book for 50 cent euro. My favorite part of walking around Vondelpark was all of the children performing. Loved this little girl playing violin (yes, her hair is sprayed orange), and we saw a fabulous concert of "Beat It" (Michael Jackson) by this brave little Dutch boy, who comically was wearing an orange White Sox sweatshirt.
Lastly, but not least, is the PARTY that takes place! Everyone is eating, drinking, and being merry - in the streets and in the canals! This party boat below was really rocking when it sailed past. It even shot confetti into the air. So fun! (Included the photo of the Elton John looking man below - he was really in the spirit of the holiday! Hilarious!) We enjoyed our first taste of Dutch patat (fries) with ketchup and mayo..."typical Dutch" as they say and very yummy. Ben liked them a lot! We were careful as to where we bought them from though. Greg's colleagues from work had told him that you need to be wary of the street vendors if they are new (there are some established vendors that always have their stands in place) or if they are not associated with a restaurant. These holiday vendors set up their stands, food included, the night before. They hope for a cool evening to keep the food from spoiling. If not, well...you get the picture. Apparently, there are quite a few sick folks on May 1. :(
Thursday was another holiday, so back to work on Friday for Greg. That evening, he got his first Dutch haircut at home. That's right - the man (who also has cut the hair of Paul Anka and Ivanka Trump) comes to our home to cut hair! No pictures, I didn't want to put this man on the spot just yet. But, he is coming back in 3 weeks to cut my hair and Ben's hair (his first official haircut), so I'll be sure to grab some photos then.We went for a run this morning, and then visited the Noordermarket right down the street from our building. All sorts of flowers, fresh produce, meats, seafood, clothes, toiletries...the works! Ben hasn't been feeling well (we think he's cutting new teeth) and konked out in the stroller before we could make it through the entire marketplace, so we cut our adventure short and headed home. There is always so much to see and do here!
As always, we miss you all and love getting news from home! Until next time...
1 comment:
It makes my day to see a new story on your blog. Thanks for keeping us posted on everything!
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