Star Gazing

Last night was the first time since being in NL that I actually noticed the stars. Usually there's a blanket of clouds that covers this beautiful country, which doesn't allow the stars to shine through. Last night I was walking home from the tram stop after 'Life Group' (which is my church's name for small groups) and I noticed the stars. I smiled. I love looking up at the stars. It always reminds me of God and His power. A couple of weeks ago I was looking at Genesis 1-3 with some students and I always get blown away by the way that the Bible mentions how God made the stars.

'God made two great lights- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.' Genesis 1:16-17

He also made the stars. It's such a throw away comment. 'oh and by the way God made the stars'. As if it's such an easy thing to do!! For God it was, because of his amazing power.

I remember being at school and there was some visitors with this planetarium tent thing that was set up in the gym and we sat in it and someone talked to us about the stars, whilst showing us things on the inside roof of the tent. When I was younger I liked trying to find different constellations. I was never really good at it though. These days I can only recognise two constellations- Orion and the Southern Cross. When I looked up into the starry sky last night, I was hampered by the lights of Den Haag. Despite that I could see Orion (although it was upside down to what I'm used to), but of course there was no way I was going to see the Southern Cross. Although it made me a little sad, it made me feel like I was on an adventure. I was in uncharted territory- some place new for me. And I liked that feeling.

Honesty and Open

I've been reading a few blogs lately that are being written by friends of mine. I've been hit by their honesty and how openly they write. It made me think again about what I write and how I write it. I'm not very good at writing often in this blog, or really at doing anything consistently. I procrastinate a LOT! I spend so much time doing not a lot, that I find it hard to keep up something that consistently takes time. I'm hoping to change that...starting now.

I don't remember if I've said this before, but I usually process my thoughts and ideas whilst talking to people. Here in the Netherlands I've found it hard to talk to people. I mean I talk to people almost daily, but it usually seems so superficial and I don't feel like I'm getting the same sense of thought process that I was getting in Australia. I think writing in this blog more often and more openly might help with this. It means that what I write might not make much sense, and I might go off on little tangents and that I might repeat myself more often, but I think that's how I usually talk to people. I say things without thinking about them and whilst I'm talking I'll realise things and I'll understand things better. Some of you may have experienced this with me before, but if you haven't, I hope you can understand a bit of what I'm saying.

I want to be an open and honest person about all the things that are going on in my life, not just the physical things, but also the emotional and things that are going on in my head. Sometimes I think that there's nothing going on in my head. I don't mean that in a way that I don't think about things, but I never come to conclusions about things if they're just sitting in my head. I need to say things out loud and to try to explain things for clarity to actually hit me. So I want to try doing that here.

I apologise if this blog then becomes something that you don't want to read, but I hope that you will stay with me as I openly and honestly share with you my life, thoughts, ideas and feelings.

New ministry opportunities

Since the beginning of the year, we've began a few new ministry events/opportunities for International Students here in Den Haag. I want to tell you a bit about them now.

FAT (Fellowship and Training)
FAT is a monthly training event for students. We get togther for dinner and fellowship and then have training on a topic. The topics range from theological topics (such as looking at 'Justification') to practical training (such as personal evangelism). It's been so good to go deeper into some of these subjects and to see the enthusiasm that the students are showing for God's word. We have around 7-8 students who are coming along from different schools in Den Haag, and even a student from Eindhoven (about 2hrs travel away by public transport). We started FAT in January, which means we've only had two meetings, but it's such an encouraging start and I can't wait to see what happens for the rest of the academic year.

Dessert at FAT

iCafe Den Haag
At the start of March we had our iCafe launch. This is a monthly cafe style event for international students. Basically we just have time for tea/coffe and snacks whilst talking, then finish off with an activity for about 30-40mins. This time we had one of the Dutch helpers tell us about the Dutch national anthem, called Het Wilhelmus, and some of the history behind it. We then looked up on YouTube some national anthems from the countries that the students come from and had a listen. It was really great to see students bringing their friends along and meeting students from other schools. 

Hanging out at the iCafe!

I'm so excited about both of these new ministries and am keen to see how they go over the coming months. Please pray for us as we plan and organise these events.

Glasgow

6 months in NL

Well, it's been 6 months since I left Australia! I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but time is a strange thing. In some ways it feels like I've always lived here in the Netherlands, and in other ways it feels like I've just left Australia. I guess that's part of living like you have two (earthly) homes. I thought it would be good to write about some of the things that I've liked about living here for the last 6 months, as well as some of the things I miss about Australia. How about I start with the positive!

Things I like about living in NL (in no particular order):

1. My Church

I'm so blessed to have found a church that has welcomed me in the way that Redeemer has. I feel at home there and am meeting such great people. I love that the focus of the church is on God's Word and prayer. Spending time with my Life Group (read small group) has given me friends that I'm going to miss very much when I leave.

2. My Colleagues

I work with a great bunch of people. This includes those who are working with IFES in Den Haag, as well as those working with IFES around the Netherlands. It's so great to be encouraged and challenged by others and to basically be getting to know others who are working for the same goal- seeing the growth of God's Kingdom.

3. Learning another language

I wrote about this in my last post, but I really do enjoy the opportunity to learn another language. I know that I don't take full advantage of this, but hopefully I will in the coming 6 months!

4. Snow

Snow is just beautiful! The only problem is that it only comes when it's cold. Being a summer-lover, I haven't been too keen on the two winters in a row, but snow makes it that much more bearable.

5. Travelling

I know that I'm here to work, but living in Europe is so different to living in Australia. I think i'm still getting used to having so many countries at my doorstep. Last week I was in Scotland for work (I'll do a post about it soon) and it only took 1hr30mins to fly there! That's like flying to Canberra, but it's a whole new country that I'd never been to before! I hope to travel more in the coming months, but it's also been good seeing different towns within NL. I also hope to do more of this as the weather (hopefully) improves.

6. Tea

This might sound strange, as we've got tea in Australia, but for some reason it's just so great here. I've been trying different flavours of black tea, and there's some great ones out there. My favourite at the moment is 'Speculaas', which is a Dutch biscuit. 
 

Things I miss about Australia (in no particular order):

1. The people

This is pretty much a given, but it's something that must be mentioned. I miss my family and friends from around the country, but especially those in Adelaide. I miss being able to catch up with them and spending time with them. I'm really looking forward to getting back to Adelaide to see them all and to spend some quality time with some quality people!

2. Warm weather

As I said above, I've had two winters in a row now, and as a lover of summer, this has been hard. Winter really is winter here, and I miss the sun. I miss being warm and not having to wear a massive winter coat and several layers just to keep at a normal temperature. Looking forward to the two summers in a row when I head back to Australia later this year though!

3. Deep conversations with people who really know me
Having conversations with people is great, but if you've only known people for 6 months, that makes it harder to have those deeper conversations. I miss being around people who truly know who I am and know where I've come from. I'm starting to develop these types of relationships now, but it's been hard for me over the past few months to not have these.
 
4. Routine
This sounds a little silly, but I had much more routine in my life in Australia. The nature of my work here has seen me not sticking to a routine, which makes it harder for me to get things done. Self imposed routine is also hard for me to set up, but hopefully in the coming months I can establish more of a routine.

5. The beach
It's funny that I miss the beach, because I'd only just started getting used to it when I left Australia. It's also funny, because I live closer to the beach here in the Netherlands than I ever have in Australia! That said, the weather here is not conducive to going to the beach! Even in winter in Australia, I loved going and sitting at the beach and just listening to the waves. The beach for me is a place where I feel very close to God as I just sit and enjoy his beautiful creation!

6. Sunsets
Related to the above point, I miss the beautiful sunsets in Australia, especially in Adelaide. I miss the vibrant aray of colours that are splashed across the sky. Since I've been here, I've seen one or two nice sunrises and sunsets, but it's not as common.

So there you go. There's a handful of things that to help you sum up a bit of what's been going on in my head as I reflect on being here for 6 months. 

Learning the Dutch Language

So now that I've been here for over 5 months, I thought it was about time to talk about how I'm going learning the Dutch language. It's not easy, let me tell you that! Learning a second language isn't easy, especially if you're from a country that doesn't put much emphasis on it. That said, I've always wanted to fluently know another language. To be able to make sense of something that sounds like 'gobble de gook' to others. I think it's amazing.

I've taken one 7 week course already, and today I started another. One of the best things about these courses are that the common language that the participants have is Dutch, so Dutch is spoken for 2 hours straight. Everyone's pretty much at the same level as well, which means that the language is easier to understand than conversations with Dutch people. Another great thing is that I'm actually starting to learn some of the grammar and the sentence structure. Today we looked at asking questions and although that sounds simple enough, the structure is important, and in my case, different to the structure of a question in English. Let me try to give an example:

The question- Weet je of ik deze computer mag gebruiken?
Literally- Know you if I this computer may use?
Not literally- Do you know if I can use this computer?

Can you see the difference? I mean it's not really that hard, but I have to think about what I want to say before I say it, and that takes time. And that's only one aspect of the language. Another is pronunciation of words. Some combinations of letters just stump me! The worst being 'schr' as in schrijven.

My biggest problem at the moment is that I'm shy. Other than in class, I don't really speak Dutch. I listen to Dutch when I'm working with the Dutch students, but I don't really speak it much. My Dutch housemate and I are working on talking in Dutch more, so that should help. Tonight I'm going to dinner at a Dutch couple's house, one of which doesn't speak much English, so that should also be a good chance for me to practice. Another problem is that the Dutch people are so nice! When I say things sometimes they automatically switch to English because they notice my accent. This is happening less, so maybe that means my pronunciation is improving- at least I can think that!

To finish off this post, I want to leave you with some of my favourite Dutch words so far. If you have any questions about the language (or corrections if you're Dutch), feel free to comment!

Gezelig!- There's not really a translation that really fits this word. It's kind of like 'comfy' or 'nice' but it's so much more than that. I think that's the reason why I like this word (despite it being hard for me to say!)
Ongelofelijk/Ongelooflijk- 'Unbelievable'/'incredible'. I love saying this word
Slaap lekker- literally means 'sleep yummy'. Means sleep well, but makes me laugh
Pannenkoeken- 'pancakes'. Not only tasty, but fun to say!

Becoming who you want to be

Let me pose a question to you all. How do we become the person that we want to be? As the new year has started, it's the time to think about what's ahead, to think about the changes that are coming, and also the changes that you want to make in your life. This usually leads to a list of 'resolutions'. Resolutions in this sense is defined (by dictionary.com) as 'the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action'. It's usually about what you want to change in your life for the coming year. I've never made a New Year's Resolution. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I don't think you need a new year to make you want to change something. Maybe it's because I know that I don't have the will power to stick to it. Maybe it's because it's a tradition and I really don't want to be stuck doing something that I don't want to do, just because everyone else is doing it. Maybe it's a combination of all of these things.

But my question is still relevent. How do we become the person that we want to be? We all have ideas about who that person is. Some of the things we want might be unrealistic, but what about those things that are realistic? I have this feeling that I'm not currently growing at all into this 'envisioned' person. But who is this 'person'- this 'ideal Hayley'? She's someone who puts Jesus at the centre of her life. That focuses on Him and who He is, what He's done and lives her life according to those things. I don't feel like I'm that person. I feel like I'm actually growing away. How do I change this?

There's so much talk these days about change coming from within. Flinding your own power to change. I think this is a load of crock. If I'm relying on my own power to change, I'm never going to change- at least not into the person I should be. Our human desires are to rebel against God- to grow away from Him and to put ourselves at the centre of our lives. This is the opposite to what I want. I want Him at the centre. I want to be the person He wants me to be. If I rely on my own strength to do this, it won't work. I can only do this through His power. This change is an important one, and something that needs to happen daily in my life.

What person do you see when you envision the 'ideal' you?