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The Shelter Youth Hostel Ministry Amsterdam
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1. Open before Christmas Back_to_content
Just one week before Christmas we could open the front door of The Shelter City again and welcome travellers into the hostel. (See the pictures in the e-mail itself) After being closed for renovation for two and a half months this was an exciting moment for the staff and managers. After weeks of carrying bricks, cleaning, putting dividing walls into place, painting walls and lockers, and doing some more cleaning, the staff returned to serving guests and working the usual shifts at the reception and snackbar. The daily Bible studies for the guests started again as well as the one-on-one conversations in the snackbar or elsewhere in the hostel.
During the building period we had been able to stay in touch with some previous guests. Every Wednesday we had an open dinner and Bible study for anyone who would like to come. Quite a lot of previous guests, who were still staying in Amsterdam, would come to these evenings. We were happily surprised that as the weeks passed by even more people came.
Finally, at the end of December, we had guests actually staying in the hostel again. We were curious how many of them would come to our special Christmas program because the hostel was far from full during the Christmas weekend. Nevertheless, we could welcome many people at the start of our program. At the end of the program, during the Christmas dinner, the snackbar was packed. With all the chairs taken it was just like old times. It made us very grateful to see that the Lord gave us the opportunity to share the gospel of Christmas with so many people again. Evangelist Johan Schep spoke and some staff members played a drama. We also sang Christmas Carols together with the travellers of course. It was a real Holy day.
In the week after Christmas quite a few ex-staff members from outside of the Netherlands came to visit the hostel. Clare Cantwell, Martin Mueller and Karin Samuelsson came over for the wedding of another friend, Sarina Haas. Tim Pfeiffer and Jens Staudle passed by the hostel as well and Jonnie Shumate visited with a small outreach team from Tennessee. It is always good to see you guys! (Or hear from you via e-mail or so).
AA
2. Prayer support Back_to_content
We would appreciate your prayers for some of our (previous) guests:
Ron from Scotland became a Christian in The Shelter City and is still frequently visiting us. He struggles with finding a permanent job and place to stay in Amsterdam. Please also pray for his spiritual growth.
A few months ago we received a letter from a Dutch guy who had been staying in The Shelter City via Stiza (a street work organisation). He wrote from a prison cell in the USA (!). Although he had been very sceptical regarding Christianity when he stayed in the hostel, he started reading the Bible in jail. Thanking us for our kindness and remembering our witness to him, he asked us to send him Bible study tools in the Dutch language and to pray for him as well. We thank the Lord for the work He is doing in this young man. Please join us in our prayers for him.
We rejoice in the commitment to Christ made by Gavin, a guest in The Shelter Jordan. While following Budism training sessions in town he stayed in our hostel. One night in the dorm he felt God’ s calling and gave his life to Christ. Isn’ t this remarkable? Please pray with us for his first steps into Christianity.
3. Shelter promotion in the USA Back_to_content
" I started at Wheaton College (near Chicago). Every year during the summer months they send a team of students to both The Shelter City and The Shelter Jordan. It was great to see many familiar faces and to talk with students who were on last year’ s team. While I was at the school this summer student-team shared about their experiences in Europe during the chapel service. I got the opportunity to talk about working in The Shelter as well. This was an impressive experience to me because there were 2,400 students in the audience.
The next school on the list was North Western college, again a familiar name. Almost every year in the spring we welcome a team of students from NWC on their mission orientation trip to Amsterdam. The connection between this school in Orange City and the Netherlands is strong. Most of the students have a Dutch family name, pointing to their roots in Holland. I could do a short presentation in the chapel service and also pass on greetings from the three NWC students who are currently working in The Shelter as long-term staff members: Jackie, Angela and Dan.
It was great to meet old friends and to strengthen the bonds with the people of these two familiar schools. After this I had the chance to present the Youth Hostel Ministry to six new schools: University of Sioux Falls and Dordt College (both in Iowa), Bethany College (Minnesota), Trinity College (in Chicago), Reformed Bible College and Hope College (both in Michigan). They gave me the opportunity to speak in chapel or to have a information booth in the cantina. I met with some Deans of students and ministry co-ordinators as well as with many individual students.
To me it was a great experience to visit these schools and tell about the ministry I love so much. Many of the people I spoke were impressed by the work of The Shelter ministry and will consider joining our staff team. Some didn’ t need much time to consider this. Even before I returned to Amsterdam, the Shelter already received an application from a student team of Sioux Falls! They hope to come over in the spring."
4. Meet the world … Back_to_content
A phrase we like to use in our promotion material is: Go out into the world at a place where the world actually comes to you. The statistics of the year 2000 prove that this slogan is absolutely true for The Shelter. Let me give you some numbers. The Shelter City and The Shelter Jordan together welcomed 22.437 persons who stayed in the hostel for an average of 2 to 3 nights. (The total number is lower than usual because The Shelter City has been totally closed for more than 2 months due to renovation and partly closed for more than one month due to lack of staff.) These 22.437 persons represented a total of 156 different countries!
Looking at the list of these countries I came up with an Alphabet of exotic countries our guests come from. It makes you feel like travelling yourself. Here it is:
Andorra, Bhutan, Cuba, Dominica, Eritrea, French Polynesia, Gambia, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, Vietnam, Yugoslavia and Zimbabwe.
To give you an impression of the spiritual need of the nationalities that visit the hostel, I looked up five countries in the mission prayer book Operation World. The selected countries represent the most prominent nationalities of our guests. Please, pray for these countries.
United States. The number one country in both the Jordan (15,6% of the guests) and the City (10,3%).
No state in the world has been so strongly influenced by Biblical Christianity, but the spiritual heritage of the USA is being steadily eroded. Minority right groups mock Christians and limit of remove anything Christian in public life. The aim is to replace ‘ intolerant’ Christian values with a permissive pagan culture. The greater challenge is for commitment among Christians. Lack of it has had devastating consequences. The word ‘ revival’ has been debased to mean slick mass evangelism – the need of the hour is true revival with conviction of sin, repentance and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
England. The second country in both hostels (about 8,8% each).
Spiritual need is highlighted by increasing violence in the cities, the high divorce, suicide and illegitimacy rates, and drug abuse which is paralleled by a growing number of young people who have no contact or knowledge of Christianity. Over 60% of the English people have no real knowledge of the contents of the Bible, hence what the gospel really is. The public opinion is no longer Christian. Christians have been marginalized in the media, public life, government legislation and school curricula. Religious pluralization has sapped the confidence of many Christians to testify boldly and even believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father. (However, the success of the Alpha course offers hope)
Germany. The third country in the Jordan (6,8%) and the number four in the City (5,8%).
Secularisation and materialism are big problems. The loneliness, pointlessness and emptiness of life has driven many to alcohol, drugs, astrology, occultism and New Age thinking. The church is perceived as no longer relevant to their needs. Only 5% of the members of the state related Protestant Church are active participants in church life. The only real growth is among newer, independent and often charismatic churches. Pray that the tragic internal divisions that cripple the witness of Protestants, Evangelicals and Catholics alike may be removed and leaders raised up who emphasise righteousness, holy living and the primacy of evangelism.
Japan. The surprising number three in the City (6,6%) number seven in the Jordan.
Shinto and Buddhist religion are dominant in Japan, only 2,2 % of the people is Christian. The sincere, polite, hard-working Japanese are too busy to give heed to the gospel and understand little of what is right or wrong or of the meaning of sin because they do not know the Creator God. Only 10% believe in the existence of a personal God. Pray for Christians to stand firm in Jesus and not compromise their faith under pressure (of for example nationalistic Shintoism).
France. Number four in the Jordan (6,7%) and fifth in the City (5,3%)
France is a mission field. This is the opinion both of Catholics and Evangelicals alike – though this suggestion would horrify most French. One of the worlds most cultured and sophisticated nations is reaping the barren fruits of 200 years of secularisation. Barriers to the gospel are many – intellectualism, rationalism, widespread involvement in the occult, individualism and a nodding acquaintance with institutional Catholicism (only 1,77% is Protestant). These must be broken down by fervent prayer. France is not only needy, but also hardened to the gospel.
(Taken from: P. Johnstone, Operation World, Carlisle: OM Publishing, 1995)
You can be involved in world mission without going to the nations they come to the hostel!
If you are interested in more detailed information regarding the nationalities of the guest in the hostel, you can take a look at the lists on the tourist web site. Here are the links:
www.shelter.nl/reports/tsjnat2000.htm -nationalities in the Shelter Jordan.
www.shelter.nl/reports/tscnat2000.htm – nationalities in the Shelter City
www.shelter.nl/reports/tsjcont2000.htm – continents in the Shelter Jordan
www.shelter.nl/reports/tsccont2000.htm – continents in the Shelter City
AA
About this Newsletter Back_to_content
Workers needed Back_to_content
More than 30,000 travellers are staying in our hostels each year. This means, for us, 30,000 opportunities to bring someone in contact with the gospel. To be able to use these witnessing opportunities we need more than 60 workers each year. Would you like to become a youth hostel missionary or do you know someone who would?
We are looking for Christians between 18 and 30 years of age, willing to commit for a period of 6 to 12 months. During this time you will be part of our international staff team and you will be involved in both practical work and evangelism. The Youth Hostel Ministry provides unique opportunities to serve the Lord and to share the gospel in words and deeds. Go into the world, in a place where the world actually comes to you!
Get more information from our web site: http://www.theshelter.nl/ministry or contact our personnel manager mdehaan@totheildesvolks.nl
Contact us Back_to_content
Contact for the Shelter Newsletter: Auke Algera, newsletter@shelter.nl
Personnel manager: Martien Jan de Haan, mdehaan@totheildesvolks.nl (Regarding applications)
Ministry site: http://www.theshelter.nl/ministry (about working in the ministry)
Tourist site: http://www.shelter.nl (about staying in the hostel as a tourist)
The Shelter City, Barndesteeg 21, 1012 BV Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Tel: **31-(0)20-6253230, Fax: **31-(0)20-6232282. Management: pieter@city.shelter.nl (projectleader), gijs@city.shelter.nl, hennie@city.shelter.nl, johanna@city.shelter.nl, jaap@city.shelter.nl, martijn@city.shelter.nl
The Shelter Jordan, Bloemstraat 179, 1016 LA Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Tel: **31-(0)20-6244717, Fax: **31-(0)20-6276137. Management: jacob@jordan.shelter.nl (projectleader), tineke@jordan.shelter.nl, rosemary@jordan.shelter.nl, winette@jordan.shelter.nl, tyleen@jordan.shelter.nl, bertine@jordan.shelter.nl
The ministry is part of the association Tot Heil des Volks, Central Office, O.Z. Voorburgwal 241, 1012 EZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Tel: **31-(0)20-6246151, Fax: **31-(0)20-4202394, E-mail: secretariaat@totheildesvolks.nl, web site: http://www.totheildesvolks.nl
Donations, Money transefers to: Postbank Amsterdam, SWIFT-address INGBNL2A, Accountnumber 104944, from: Tot Heil des Volks, O.Z. Voorburgwal 241, 1012 EZ Amsterdam, (please mention ‘ Hostels’ )