Family

One of the coolest things about doing ministry in Amsterdam has been having the opportunity to be with family members as well! Finally I have the chance to reconnect with my relatives - it's not always so fun to live so far from them throughout the year. Here is a picture that I will use to represent the times I have had with family:

Why a toilet? Because it's my Oma's (grandma's) and it's green of course! It's these little things that I enjoy. Because I cannot visit often I notice small things that are easy to overlook because I come there with "new eyes" - wanting to soak things up in my memory. Also, it is so comforting to be with family - God is good because most of the times that I have traveled out of the city to visit aunts and cousins the weather has been yucky - there is nothing like sitting comfortably at my aunt's kitchen table when things are so grey outside! On my sporadic days off I have had the time to visit cousins whose babies I have not seen before, Omas who cook me yummy traditional Dutch meals, my Tante Gree who is addicted to Sudoku (yes it is all the craze here as well!), my Tante Juus and cousins who have such active and spontaneous lives, and the list goes on. I am also very grateful to God for the many cool conversations I have been able to have with my family - about them, about me, about spiritual things - about anything that helps me feel more connected to them. There are also times where it is hard for me to be with family because when you only see them every couple of years it can feel a little bit difficult to fit in. At times I feel as if I am being sized up and put on display. . .what does that girl from America look like, act like, talk like?? I guess that's all the product of being the daughter of immigrant parents - and I would never change that! After all, I love being a Dutch American who knows and loves her family, and it has been such a blessing to step into their lives here. . .I look forward to doing more of that in the coming weeks!