To be really real, yesterday was a hard day. I think it hit me that the training phase is over and the summer is officially here. This city is beautiful, but it has not been exactly what I expected. It is hard to go from staying with friends to staying in a hostel. It is hard to go from being with people who know the way to having to figure everything out on your own. We gotten lost more than a few times in the roughly three days we have been here.
Amsterdam is very much a biking kind of place, so we have spent most of our time pedaling around. It is fun but it can be stressful too. Yesterday, while trying to squeeze past a car on a crowded street, I knocked a bike over and almost fell into a canal. By Father's grace, there just happened to be a boat docked in just the right place to keep the bike from falling in. I'm not going to lie, it was probably one of the horrendous moments of my life. I was completely helpless as the bike clattered to the edge of the water. I had my own bike between me and it and there was nothing I could do but watch. My heart sank and rose as I watched it land perfect only the edge of the boat and stay on land. I put my own bike down, picked it back up and leaned it against the tree it had been resting on. And that was the perfect picture of my day.
Being in AMS has been harder for me than the ME. It's not at all what I expected, but it's true. I think a lot of that has to do with familiarity. Even thought the culture was more foreign, we were always with people we knew well who knew the culture well. That was the whole reason we were there, get us out of our everyday lives to fully focus on the summer. And y'all, it was wonderful. My time there really did prepare me for the role I am here to do. I am so excited for the job I've been given and what I get to do. What it did not prepare me for was the moment where it shifted from the time of training to the time of doing. I woke up one morning in Holland and the summer had officially begun. The JSIs arrive the day after tomorrow. Sarah, Hunter and I have spending all our time prepping for them, all the time we aren't trying to find where we are. Yesterday, as we rode around I felt like bike. I was helpless and wasn't exactly sure how things were going to turn out. I was basically on the verge of tears most of the day.
But Father is faithful. He reminded me that all of the time we are riding around is perfect to pr for the city around me. He reminded me to be thankful instead of upset or worried. And it changed everything. He was able to change my perspective, my outlook, and my attitude. I have spent pretty much all of my time overseas in the book of Col in the NT. Man, everyday those same words have rocked my world differently. It's definitely living and active. In Col, everywhere it talks about how to live, it is followed with something about thanksgiving. Every time he mentions pr, he says to be thankful in it. Col 4:2 is my theme for the summer.
Because Father is constant, only good, and sovereign, he was like the boat that kept me from falling into the canal. And not matter what's going on, he will always be there to keep me from falling in the canal of despair, selfishness, or whatever I'm on the edge of. He's good like that. And I couldn't be more thankful.
Please pr for the three of us as we try to get everything ready for the JSIs. Please pr we are able to learn our way around completely and are confident in where we are. And that we are safe on our bikes. Seriously, there are so many ways to get hurt here. Please pr for the JSIs as they travel here. Pr that soak everything up at base camp and are able to hit the ground running.
Thank y'all for everything. I honestly, really, and truly couldn't do this without you.
PS, looking back now, almost knowing a stranger's bike into the canal is pretty funny and definitely a typical Kelley story. So you're welcome for the story and the analogy.
Amsterdam is very much a biking kind of place, so we have spent most of our time pedaling around. It is fun but it can be stressful too. Yesterday, while trying to squeeze past a car on a crowded street, I knocked a bike over and almost fell into a canal. By Father's grace, there just happened to be a boat docked in just the right place to keep the bike from falling in. I'm not going to lie, it was probably one of the horrendous moments of my life. I was completely helpless as the bike clattered to the edge of the water. I had my own bike between me and it and there was nothing I could do but watch. My heart sank and rose as I watched it land perfect only the edge of the boat and stay on land. I put my own bike down, picked it back up and leaned it against the tree it had been resting on. And that was the perfect picture of my day.
Being in AMS has been harder for me than the ME. It's not at all what I expected, but it's true. I think a lot of that has to do with familiarity. Even thought the culture was more foreign, we were always with people we knew well who knew the culture well. That was the whole reason we were there, get us out of our everyday lives to fully focus on the summer. And y'all, it was wonderful. My time there really did prepare me for the role I am here to do. I am so excited for the job I've been given and what I get to do. What it did not prepare me for was the moment where it shifted from the time of training to the time of doing. I woke up one morning in Holland and the summer had officially begun. The JSIs arrive the day after tomorrow. Sarah, Hunter and I have spending all our time prepping for them, all the time we aren't trying to find where we are. Yesterday, as we rode around I felt like bike. I was helpless and wasn't exactly sure how things were going to turn out. I was basically on the verge of tears most of the day.
But Father is faithful. He reminded me that all of the time we are riding around is perfect to pr for the city around me. He reminded me to be thankful instead of upset or worried. And it changed everything. He was able to change my perspective, my outlook, and my attitude. I have spent pretty much all of my time overseas in the book of Col in the NT. Man, everyday those same words have rocked my world differently. It's definitely living and active. In Col, everywhere it talks about how to live, it is followed with something about thanksgiving. Every time he mentions pr, he says to be thankful in it. Col 4:2 is my theme for the summer.
Because Father is constant, only good, and sovereign, he was like the boat that kept me from falling into the canal. And not matter what's going on, he will always be there to keep me from falling in the canal of despair, selfishness, or whatever I'm on the edge of. He's good like that. And I couldn't be more thankful.
Please pr for the three of us as we try to get everything ready for the JSIs. Please pr we are able to learn our way around completely and are confident in where we are. And that we are safe on our bikes. Seriously, there are so many ways to get hurt here. Please pr for the JSIs as they travel here. Pr that soak everything up at base camp and are able to hit the ground running.
Thank y'all for everything. I honestly, really, and truly couldn't do this without you.
PS, looking back now, almost knowing a stranger's bike into the canal is pretty funny and definitely a typical Kelley story. So you're welcome for the story and the analogy.
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