- Newsletter -
The Shelter Youth Hostel Ministry Amsterdam
Content
New Articles1. Summer Guests in The Shelter 2. Sometimes we reap3. Sometimes we sow4. Prayer Support |
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1. Summer Guests in The Shelter Back_to_content
It is a Friday morning in July. In the Shelter City snackbar, Steffie and Carsten from Germany are enjoying their breakfast. The couple is spending most of their vacation at the Dutch coast and is only staying one night in Amsterdam. " We wanted to get the feeling of Amsterdam, to smell the atmosphere," explains Steffie, " today we are returning to the coast."
The three young women at the next table are planning to stay in Amsterdam for almost two weeks. Csilla, Bea and Magdi are from Hungary and they want to do a lot of sightseeing in Holland. They already visited the Van Gogh and the Amsterdam Historical museum and today they will take the train to nearby cities Leiden and The Hague. They are very pleased with the friendliness of the Dutch people and with the fact that everyone seems to speak English. The Hungarians are less impressed with the coffee shops where they sell soft drugs, and the " strange" people they see in the streets. Witnessing a robbery didn’t really help either. But in the hostel they feel save. This is the main reason why they chose a Christian hostel, it sounds save and secure.
At an other table people are speaking French. Julien from Quebec, Canada, is having breakfast with two refugees from Seara Leone. A refugee organisation arranged for them to stay in the hostel for one night. They are not sure where they will go today. " We pray, we pray," says one of them, expressing his hope that God will provide. After a stay of seven days, Julien will be leaving Amsterdam to go via Paris to Spain. Unlike the three Hungarians, Julien did enjoy the coffee shops. " The system with the legal soft drugs seems to work very well, I didn’t see any abuse or problems related to this," he explains.
While the guests in the snackbar are finishing their breakfast, new travellers are forming a line up at the reception desk. At 10 a.m. the receptionist will know how many beds are available for this coming night and she will start assigning them to the people in line. One of them is Jahyun from Korea who just arrived by train from Interlaken, Switzerland. A friend recommended The Shelter City to him because it is save and inexpensive. He is on the top of the waiting list and will most likely get a bed. A traveller from Ohio, USA, on the other hand, is not too sure about getting a bed. " I already tried six other hostels. They where are full for the day." While waiting patiently, he checks his travel guide for hostels in surrounding cities. Just in case…
Most of the travellers who are waiting to check in are here for the first time. For us as workers each of them has a new faces. In a few days she or he will be leaving again to go to the next destination. Will he be changed by God during their short stay in the hostel? Will she join one of the Bible studies? Will one of the staff get the opportunity to share the gospel with her? Sometime the Lord allows us to see Him work in the heart of a guest. Other times it seems we are just sowing. Maybe someone else will water. But most importantly, we trust that God will make it grow. The next two stories are a wonderful examples of this. All praise be to God!
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Although the staff and volunteers in the Shelter come from many different nations, we haven’t had someone from Russia in a long time. This changed when Anna Savina (21) joined our team for a three weeks period in June. In what follows she tells how the Lord used her to lead a guest to Christ.
" During my time in The Shelter Jordan I had some difficult conversations with guests. But I didn’t let my self be discouraged because I knew I was doing the work God asked me to do. For one of the Guest Bible Studies we met with three person only. Two of them were staff and the other one was Laslo, a guest who was working as a cleaner in the hostel. He is from Hungary and speaks only a little bit of English, Russian and German. Non of these languages well enough to make a conversation easy.
The topic of the Bible study was the exodus out of Egypt, and how God freed the people of Israel. Both Ellis, the other staff member, and myself struggled to explain in three different languages what the story was about. After trying for half an hour without much success, we decided to watch the movie ‘Prince of Egypt’. This made it a lot easier for Laslo to understand the story and recognise God’s redemption of Israel.
After the movie had finished I explained to Laslo how Jesus Christ offers salvation to us as well. This time no translation in three languages was needed. Laslo understood every word I said in English! We invited him to accept Christ as his personal saviour. And he did! After this he left the Bible Room and told every person in the hostel what had happened to him."
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A couple of weeks ago we received the following e-mail message from an Australian girl who had stayed in The Shelter City.
" My name is Pippa Cook, I am an Aussie who stayed in your hostel about two and a half years ago. I stayed there because it was the cheapest in town. I went to your Bible study because I wanted to get away from a guy who was bugging me to go out with him. While I was in the Bible study, I argued against the Christian faith. For some reason, when I left, you gave me a copy of ‘Peace With God’ by Billy Graham. I started reading it but stopped about a chapter into it because it was getting too Jesus-is-the-only-way for me.
Strangely enough, about six months later I picked up the book again and started reading it. About halfway through it, while I was talking to my roommate about the book, Jesus came into my heart. All of a sudden it was real and true and I understood that I was a sinner. I bought a Bible, found a church, and got baptised. I am saved. I am finding my gift to teach the Bible.
I have been meaning to write you for a year and a half, and finally I am doing it. I just want to thank you for being there, for being a light in a very dark world. For taking people in and showing them Jesus, and for helping God to save my life, just by being open to His guidance.
Please forgive me for the awful words I spoke while I was there. I want you to be encouraged that you are really are touching people’s lives. You may not always see results while guests are staying with you, but you are sowing seeds in very needy hearts."
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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 to12 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: personnel@shelter.nlBack_to_content
Contact for the Newsletter
: Auke Algera, newsletter@shelter.nlPersonnel Department YHM: Tot Heil des Volks, Youth Hostel Ministry, O.Z. Voorburgwal 241, 1012 EZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tel: **31-(0)20-6246151 Fax: **31-(0)20-4202394. E-mail:
personnel@shelter.nlThe 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), hennie@city.shelter.nl, johanna@city.shelter.nl, jaap@city.shelter.nl, martijn@city.shelter.nl, karen@city.shelter.nlThe 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, bertine@jordan.shelter.nl, anneke@jordan.shelter.nlThe 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.nlDonations
, 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’)