Siân Hayward, from our Northgate Church in Darlington, has been working in the heart of Amsterdam since last September with Mission House - a joint project between Council for World Mission European Region, the Youth Department of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, and the Youth and Services Department of the Protestant Church of Amsterdam.
Here is an up-date given to her friends on her Facebook page for Christmas and the new year....
I know I have been utterly rubbish at updating. I could nutshell everything that’s happened since getting here for you but I want to tell you something that has really touched me.
One of the projects I work in is an inloophuis (drop-in centre) for the homeless. It’s such a great place. It’s a place for people to go to get warm, get something to eat & drink, get advice, have a shower, get warm clothes & just generally spend time. As you might be able to imagine everyone’s situation is different & there is a great mix of nationalities within the visitors, Dutch, British, Romanian, German, American, Egyptian etc.
I love working there. It can be hard work physically but more emotionally at times. It’s very humbling too. I was off sick for a few days & when I went back in a number of the visitors came up to me & asked me how I was & if I was better. A couple of them even told me they missed me. It was strange, in a nice way, someone who is in that situation want to know how you are.
Yesterday I was talking to a visitor about his accommodation. He sleeps on a boat with no heating. He had a really hard night the night before. Someone mentioned to him that he might be able to get somewhere to stay for a couple of nights. Unfortunately, it was full because it's so cold over here & everyone else wants to do the same. I said to him to have as good a night as he could, warmth & sleep wise. His reaction was along the lines of 'it could be worse, it's only going to be -7 tonight.'
Tell me, how do you react to that?
I felt guilty, humbled, blessed & so many more feelings that it would just end up being a list. Knowing that when he walked out the door he doesn’t really have anywhere to go & I was going to go home, it’s hard.
How do you say when you ask someone how they are & they reply with ‘Rubbish’ & other words to describe it? You can’t respond with the flippant ‘It could be worse’ that you might do with your friends. What do you say?
It just makes me think that’s all.
I’m spending Christmas & New Year working in the inloophuis. I can’t wait. I’m excited. It’s going to be a very different Christmas:
Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!