It was May of 2002 and I was the one of two bakers in a small bakery in a little town of Eleéle’, Hawaii when God told me I’d no longer be working with loaves of bread, but with souls. This word was not only gloriously received but was also long-awaited. It had been 3 long years of working various jobs that did not bring me the satisfaction of working full time in the Kingdom of God. Although I was never not a missionary, it was what I was doing with my time that was becoming a mounting frustration. God clearly told me to give in my two week notice to inform my employer that I would be leaving the job and 3 weeks later I was flying back to the mainland US.

On that flight I got in a conversation with a stewardess who began talking to me about her Christian faith when she saw me reading the bible. Out of the blue she asked if I’d ever been to Amsterdam. I responded I hadn’t , wondering to myself why anyone would ever want to go there. What I knew of it was that it was a city of sin, plagued with frivolity and debauchery. " But in the middle of all that madness is a tall building with the words " Jesus loves you" , she said. I thought this to be encouraging, but gave it no more thought. As the days and weeks followed, spending time with my family and friends, I began to claim the verse in Psalm 25 " Who are they that fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose," believing God would show me where he wanted me to go. Soon it became clear. God said " Go to that Jesus loves you building in Amsterdam."

So, in faith, I bought a ticket to Amsterdam. I arrived on 31 July knowing no one, having never been in Holland before, having no contacts and having only 120 Euros. I knew nothing else to do than to ask how to get to downtown Amsterdam. I took a city bus half way and a tram the rest of the way to Central Station where I proceeded to the police station to inquire about the location of this " Jesus loves you building" . They directed me across the bridge where I found myself staring up at The Building and its big blue letters that for all I knew could spell my future. I knocked on the door. No response. I rang all the door bells. No answer. So I set my backpack down and turned to face a very large and foreign city that busily went about its day. " Well God" , I said to the voice who called me here to this strange place that didn’t seem anxious to help out just another backpacker on its streets, " I did what you told me to do" .

Within minutes a tall blond haired young man walked up to the door from the outside. I asked if he was with this organisation which I learned was Youth With A Mission. He said he was. I introduced myself and explained where I was from and that I was here to help in anyway they needed me. " Well yah, I suppose we could use your help. But come upstairs and I’ll make an appointment for you to talk to the person responsible for these things. After he made an appointment for me for the next day he asked where I was staying that night. " I don’t know" I told him, " I’ve never been here before."

" Well, let me take you to a place called the Shelter" he said. " It’s a Christian youth hostel" . A Christian youth hostel, I thought. What an interesting concept. And a new one to me. He brought me to the Shelter City, being careful to avoid the red light district, where I bought the last bed available that night. I decided to attend the bible discussion that night. The young man leading it informed the group that it was his last night as staff and that he was going back to America the next day. I felt a strong urge to ask about working on staff, wondering that if it was possible for this American young man why it wouldn’t be also possible for me. As I started to warm up to the environment of a Christian youth hostel, I could see myself as a part of the community.

" Who is taking your place here when you are gone?" I asked the staff member. Again I was told that the person I was asking was not the person responsible for such things but that he would refer me to a manager. That night I met Martijn Rutgers and Pieter Visser (managers in the hostel) and they seemed excited to give me an application. I filled it out and collected the necessary recourses and 6 days after arriving in Amsterdam I was on the schedule of the Shelter City staff and one week to the day of arrival God had already arranged a speaking engagement for me at the Cleft, YWAM’s homeless church in the red light district.

Since then, God has overcome many obstacles, the biggest being my acquisition of a Dutch work permit, which I was told would be difficult to acquire since I had no formal education in the last year (I had actually been out of school for 10 years). But God worked that miracle which has allowed me to stay in the Netherlands for the past 10 months. I’ll be finishing my time at the Shelter City the end of July. God has become more than real. He has become my working partner and best friend.

John Pearson

The program prepares those working in The Shelter hostels for practical service, evangelism, and Christian living. The program is organised in such a way that it provides both training and teaching for all aspects of the youth hostel ministry, as well that it gives you a basic Bible school knowledge that will help you for the rest of your life.

The Ministry Training School is closely connected with your service in the hostel. It combines classroom teaching with practical application. Two mornings a week are set apart for teaching and training in a school setting. During the rest of the week you can put the lessons into practice while you are working in the hostel ministry.

The program. The program of the Ministry Training School includes the following courses:

• Evangelism
• Apologetics
• Missions
• Understanding world religions
• Understanding cultures
• The Bible (authority & reliability, and overview)
• Two Bible books in depth
• Hermeneutics
• Spiritual development
• Teambuilding

The complete training program is divided into three periods of three months between September 1st. and May 31st. (during the summer months no courses are scheduled, but training will be provided within the hostel). Because of this, staff members and volunteers can join The Shelter Youth Hostel Ministry for periods of either 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. Everyone who serves in the hostel will take part in the Ministry Training School as well. Those who serve for an extended period - covering September through May - will have the chance to follow the training program entirely.

The first year. We will start the Ministry Training School in September 2003. The first year will be a trial year in which we will adjust the overall organisation of the Youth Hostel Ministry to coincide with the training program, and further develop the program itself.