Skip to main content

A cold day with a simple message of hope.

I headed off quite early with the goal of going to see Corrie Ten Boom’s house in Haarlem before coming back for the 2pm intercession set at the Tabernacle of the Nations (the prayer room). I arrived in Haarlem around 10am and went looking for the house. In cold rain and wind I walked towards the centre in hope of finding this house that is famous as the house where Corrie and her family hid Jews during the Second World War from the Germans. I found the house, but I also discovered that the next English tour was not for another hour and a half (and it’s the kind of set up where you can only go in with a guide).


Cold and wet I decided to walk around in search of a cafe I could use the internet in (some cafes offer free WiFi). Not the best of ideas as I ended up walking around for a while getting colder and colder and finally a wee bit lost. But then I recognised a street and made my way towards the centre again. I found a cafe which offered coffee and homemade apple pie and sat there. It was so nice to get inside! And the cake and coffee tasted incredible.

As I was strolling around I think I must have accidentally wandered into the Red Light District of Haarlem. There were the red lights and empty “windows” in some hidden alleyways, ironically right next to a church. In Amsterdam the Red Light District is in close proximity to Oude Kerk, which is known as the oldest church in Amsterdam. A bit of an in-your-face statement if you ask me. It’s so sad. The church needs to wake up to the reality that there are women who are working as sex workers, and that many of them are not there voluntarily and many want out.


I did make it to the tour of the house and was so encouraged and inspired by the story of Corrie and Betsy and their love for God and people. The main message was: there is no pit so deep that God’s love isn’t deeper still. Simple and true! And it brings hope, no matter what situation you’re in.

Then I hopped on the train back to Amsterdam, grabbed a sausage roll at HEMA and went to the prayer room for the rest of the day.

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday children's prayer | Handing out shoes and feeding toddlers.

No day is the same here. After getting up early (which seems to be what I do here), and eating breakfast which was bread with butter (accompanied by an amazing cup of coffee given me by an American friend), I headed to the prayer room for children's prayer. This is a prayer time where the children come voluntarily to pray before school on Tuesdays and Fridays. Entering the room I was so impressed by how it was full of children eager to pray. There were probably 60 or 70 children there, and it was amazing to see one after the other choose to pray for their families and people who are sick, and other subjects on their little hearts. It was so great and an experience that I will carry with me for a long time. After prayer it was "Shoprite" time, which meant piling into a bus with other visitors and missionaries for the weekly shopping trip. I didn't quite know what to expect, but I had a few items to buy and hoped it would be a stress-free experience. As we drove along ...
Read more

It’s been one week.

A week ago we were sitting at work talking about how quickly the Corona situation was escalating. News of closed gyms and limited gatherings were there, and we were wondering what now. Only the day before we’d been open, and while taking the hygiene precautions and reminding each other to not hug or shake hands, there was a sense of support in each other, and normality was still there. Then suddenly it all changed. From being a crisis in China and Asia, then Italy, it had well and truly arrived in Norway. Friday morning we sat in our staff meeting. News of the closing of all schools and kindergartens for two weeks had come the evening before. We sat there with so many questions and few answers. The one thing we knew for sure was that this was a time to be available and present. A time to be proactive, and to make sure our people knew that we were there even if we weren’t open. That day we made many phone calls and sent messages and emails. Some were worried and needed reassurance,...
Read more

At a crossroads yet again.

This evening feelings of weariness flood my soul. Weary of not knowing. Weary of choosing to trust. Weary of waiting. Weary of walking yet not knowing what I am walking in or towards. Weary of figuring out life on my own. This past month the reality of crossroads in life has hit me yet again. I knew it was coming, but suddenly it was there and I just had to go with it. There’s not much more I can do...except waiting and trusting and choosing. Choosing to let God be the One who guides and fights and prepares the path before me. My crossroads is “do I stay or do I go”? From Kansas City and IHOP-KC. In October I’ll have been here two years, which feels like 5 years and at the same time 6 months. In December I go home for Christmas. It’ll have been a year since last time and I’ll be seeing my niece who’ll be 3 instead of 2 years old, and my little nephew who will be 1 year already, and I’ll get to meet little Julie who is only three weeks old as I write this. She’ll be 4 months when I meet...
Read more