- Newsletter -
The Shelter Youth Hostel Ministry Amsterdam
Content
New Articles1. Building project in The Shelter City Go_to_1_ 2. News from The Shelter Jordan Go_to_2_ 3. Sowing seeds in The Shelter Jordan Go_to_3_ 4. Special evening in The Shelter City Go_to_4_
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General information |
1. Building project in The Shelter City Back_to_content
It’ s very unusual not to have guests in the hostel, but for a period of two month this is exactly the case. The Shelter City is closed for a big building project. When we open the hostels again in the week before Christmas it will have a completely new look.
Let me give you an overview of what the changes will be: Coming through the door you will notice that the entrance hall is much bigger (because the deskroom, which used to be there, will only have an upstairs floor now). There will be a new reception counter with lots of workspace for the receptionists. The hallways will look new thanks to the painted walls and the new linoleum on the floor. Our biggest dorm (dorm8) will be divided into two smaller dorms. All other dorms will have multiple dividing walls to create more privacy for the guests. The totally renovated bathrooms will hold more showers than before (with warm water 24 hours a day). The blue wall in the dining room might be a pleasant surprise for you as well. The management office will look a little different with a new door to the reception and with a new ceiling. The old ceiling came down unexpectedly during building.
Most work is done by professional builders but the staff members and managers are helping as much as they can with cleaning, painting, carrying material, etc. During this building project we are also taking time to build each other up spiritually. Daily devotionals, prayer times and studies help us to grow in our relationship with God and with each other.
The building work is going according to plan now, but there was a moment that it seemed to be going wrong. In the second week of October we had to stop the project because the local building inspector told us that we didn’ t have the right building permit. It could take up to three months to get the right permit. That would mean a giant setback. That week we were reminded once more that we have a living God. In spite of our mistake, He turned everything into good. What could take three months was accomplished in three days! We got the permit and could continue the project. Praise be to God.
Pieter Visser (project leader)
2. News from The Shelter Jordan Back_to_content
The previous issue of this newsletter was sent out in March. I would like to give you an update on what has happened since that time. There have been some changes in the management team. After working in the ministry for many years, Marijke Zuilhof-Tulp left us at the end of August to study Theology at the University of Utrecht. (Studying seems to be quite popular. Auke Algera left The Shelter City around the same time to study at Tyndale Theological Seminary). Mark Vermeulen finished his one-year project as kitchen manager and he and his family are getting prepared now to do mission work in India. To compensate for the loss of these two experienced persons, Ferdinand Ploegman joined our management team for the busy summer period. As of 1 December Bertine Martens will be a permanent addition to the team. She has been working off and on in the hostels as a volunteer for many years. She will be our new kitchen manager. We have also started an experiment with a special night receptionist (Harold Davidse) to take over some nightman shifts. This is especially helpful in times when we have only a few male staff members. It will bring much relief to them.
We are happy with the increase of the number of tourists in the hostel. We expect to have 10% more people than in 1999. Many of these guests enjoy our monthly Hostel Night. When we offer them a free program with drama, discussion, fellowship and dinner. On these evenings the cafe is often filled with guests. The daily Bible study for the guests is not always attracting the number of people we are hoping for. Please continue to pray for both of these witnessing opportunities. We also hope to use our collection of evangelistic videos in a more effective way. For this purpose we analysed and cleaned up our collection. We would appreciate your prayers for an effective use of these tools as well.
Jacob Kops (project leader)
3. Sowing seeds in The Shelter Jordan Back_to_content
As a staff member I meet many people in the hostel every day. With some guests I have the opportunity to share what God is doing in my life. I would like to tell you about one of them. This man is from the USA and he worked in The Shelter Jordan as a cleaner. I remember how we started talking while playing a game of chess. We also played guitar and sang many songs together. During his stay in the hostel we had many conversations, often about God. He believed that God is some kind of good force. I know from the bible that God is a person and that there is only one way to the Father, that is through Jesus Christ. I prayed for this man and God started working in him. He became more curious about God and started longing for a relationship with Him. He told me that a long time ago he had already asked Jesus in his heart but taht he had never noticed any difference. I asked him if he believed and accepted that God is in his heart. This made him think and he knelt down on his knees for God. Afterwards he told me that something had changed and that he felt happy. But the next day he started doubting again and felt miserable. The day after this he felt certain again. His faith went up and down with his emotions.
Shortly after this he left the hostel and I didn’ t hear from him for two months, but yesterday I received an e-mail from him. He wrote me that he was doing very well and that he was back in the USA. This surprised me because he had told me before that he didn’ t want to go back to face the life at home. It made me praise God because I really believe that He started working in this man’ s life. This story reminds me of how the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. It is a seed that you barely can see, but when you put it in the ground, it grows to be an enormous tree.
Maria Keuter (staff member)
4. Special evening in the Shelter City Back_to_content
It was almost the last evening before the Shelter City closed and when all guests had to leave for two months. The big renovation of the hostel was going to start in three days. In order to say goodbye in a nice way, we organised a special evening for all the people in the hostel.
At six o’ clock the whole snackbar was filled with guests and old-guests, hungrily waiting for a big plate of spaghetti Bolognaise. Before the meal I read a passage from the Bible. It was the night just after the dictatorship in Serbia ended. I used this as an example to show that we too have a dictator in our lives from which we have to be freed: sin. Like Jesus says in John 8:34 " Everyone who sins is a slave to sin" . Sin keeps us from enjoying real freedom. Thanks be to God for the provided the final solution. Like it says in John 8:36: " So if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed" .
Together with some Jewish guests we sang the song of friendship " Hineh ma tov" . After this the managers and staff members served the meal to the guests. After everybody had enjoyed the spaghetti and was well fed, the coffee and tea was brought in and the program was about to start. We called it the open-microphone evening. All staff members and guests were asked to perform something creative, like music, dance, singing, drama, poems, cabaret, etc. And it turned out to be creative indeed!
Many staff members showed their hidden talents. Dennis played superman, acting like he could get free from the ground. Marije played beautiful classical music on her violin. Jesshica and a friend performed a impressive worship dance, while Ka and Pam imitated a hilarious piece from the film " First Knight" . Gijs played on his electric saxophone: starting with a very sensitive tune but ending in a very " heavy" way. The guests enjoyed the program immensely. Afterward I asked if there were also guests who wanted to share something creative, a man from Great Britain stood up and shared a few poems he wrote himself. Poems about loneliness, his alcohol and drug addiction and about the times he tried to commit suicide, but also about how he got rid of his addictions and of his new born hope. Everyone listened silently and I saw some tears in peoples eyes.
At the end of the evening Dennis shared a story with us. He compared the beauty of a rose with how beautiful life can be. But just like the rose, our lives are not without thorns. We become aware of this when we just look around us: prostitution, drugs, homosexuality, homelessness and loneliness, all thorns of life. However there is a man who is called the Rose of Sharon. His name is Jesus. The man who wore the crown of thorns, the thorns of our life.
Martijn Rutgers (assistant manager)
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 Newsletter: algera@totheildesvolks.nl (Auke Algera loves to hear from you)
Personnel manager: 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 (project leader), 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 (projec tleader), 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’ )