The Shelter Youth Hostel Ministry

NEWSLETTER

Nr. 35 – December 2005/January2006    Editor: Auke Algera  Info: newsletter@shelter.nl

I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!
The Saviour has been born tonight in Bethlehem (Luke 2:10-11)
Merry  Christmas to you all !

 

There is building and Building

 

The good-old staff attic is no more…..

At the end of October, construction workers once again invaded the Shelter City. Building materials were transported from the street all the way over the roof, and the noise of different machines began. In a few days the stairs, the hangout room, toilets and shower were broken away and with that your memories of hanging out with your room mate in your own tiny room, or climbing the stairs –tired as you were after a busy shift-, or running down because you were late for dinner, are forever history…..

 

One of the seven new rooms (2-4 beds) on the former staff attic.

 

Historical building

After changing the huge dorm 8 with its 40 beds into 5 smaller dorms, we got permission from the board to start reconstruction in the attic where 7 new rooms and a new bathroom in colourful style are being created. The rooms will be made “gezellig” and are meant for girls. The guys will remain on the 1st floor. One of the rooms will be used for the sleeper. The City will end up with 19 rooms in total for guests!

 

Reconstruction….building…: an ongoing process in the historical buildings of Tot Heil des Volks. And before you see the improvement it means: noise and dust; a lack of space in the staff house; and inconvenience for the sleeper who in the meantime sleeps in the small office just above the reception.

 

Open as usual

Reconstruction and building: an ongoing process in our own lives. While we serve our guests and share the gospel with them, God is at work in our lives. It reminds me of that story about a shop that was full of building materials and you could hardly see the items that were for sale. On the door was a sign: “during reconstruction: shop is open as usual”. The people who came in did not only get a glimpse of how the shop got improved; they were impressed by the skills of the architect!

 

While working in the ministry, staff may feel like being in the middle of a reconstruction process in their own spiritual life. In the meantime “shop is open as usual” so people may see how grace can change a life and get impressed by the Architect, seeing that He is wonderful, skillful and He knows what He is doing!

The process may be painful and test our patience and our faith, but we belong to Him and He has every right to shape us into His likeness no matter the costs.

 

Old Testament examples

When I was called to the Shelter back in 1993, some of the O.T. passages about rebuilding spoke to my heart, like Nehemiah who had the courage to face the ruins of Jerusalem and examine them. It shows how important it is to look to the root of issues, and I am often reminded of that when I see the ruins in people’s lives. Do we still dare to address the deep root of sin in the heart of people or are we these days too quickly focused on building someone up?

 

Haggai is another O.T. figure that speaks the word of God to the people in a time of reconstruction. Things did not go that well in their lives and they were wondering why. “Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house” (Haggai 1: 9b).

 

Working at the Shelter keeps challenging me to face this question: am I busy with my own “house” (work, ministry, list of things-to-do), or focused on the Lord Himself.  “Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself“ (Hebrews 3:3). It is not about us. It is not about creating a beautiful hostel or running a perfect ministry. All honor and glory should go to Jesus Christ!

 

Right materials

The good-old staff attic is no more. Changes are made to make the hostel attractive for our guests. It is important which materials to use. The Shelter is to be a house of God where people can get to know the Savior who came to live among us and Who wants to live in our hearts. Again, it is of vital importance which “materials” we use. What we find attractive may not last, but the Word of God stands forever.

 

The challenge is for all of us:  “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored“(Haggai 1:7b- 8).

 

Hennie Maljaars (assistant manager)

 

 

Challenging Job

 

The cleaner ministry is an important part of the youth hostel ministry. Because we work and live so closely with these travellers who help us keep the hostel clean, they become part of our live and vice versa. Adeleida Klein from the Netherlands who has been cleaner supervisor in the Shelter Jordan hostel for over a year now, shares some of her experiences.

 

Orthodox

Every month we welcome three new cleaners. Every time this means new challenges, and getting to know new people. They usually come from very different backgrounds. Some of them are Christian, some are Orthodox, and others are Muslim, etc., all equally interesting.

 

This past month, for example, we had a man from Greece with a Greek Orthodox background in the cleaning team. He learned that it was required to be Orthodox, if not you would end up in hell. This guy left Greece and now he doesn’t let people tell him any longer what to be or what to believe. He finds it very interesting to see how we as Christians are relating to each other. He does not believe that God made us all. His parents created him, he says. It’s a real challenge to talk with him in a way that is not trying to convince him but to testify and be a witness. He does not really want to engage in conversations, but often he will make little remarks that trigger a discussion.

 

Questions

Another cleaner is Christian. He has been through a lot in his life and only four years ago he came to faith. He still has a lot of questions about how God looks at things. Who is the Holy Spirit? What is the purpose of my life? It has been a lot of fun having conversations with him and he has a desire to learn. Often we pray together. It is awesome to talk with someone who is that hungry and thirsty for spiritual food! This is very different from our man from Greece. These are two opposite examples of two people with whom you interact in a completely different way. And that makes my job really interesting!

 

Explaining

The third cleaner is very chaotic. She finds that things get too busy around here very quickly. She can’t handle being with too many people, but in the hostel there are always people around. She finds it difficult to do her cleaning in a structured way and tends to start with everything but not finish it. In her case, the challenge for me is to stay calm and explain again how things work. Even after explaining it for the third time, the art is to stay calm.

 

With all these different people and the various challenges that they bring me, prayer is a very important means for me to be able to keep on doing the job of cleaning supervisor. God is creative and He is teaching me to be creative in the way that I relate to the different  people in the cleaning team (and then we didn’t mention relating to managers and staff yet!). The cleaners learn a lot from their time in the hostel, and I learn lots through them!

 

Adeleida Klein (staff member)

 

 

Shelter foundation

 

The Shelter hostels and the Shelter Youth Hostel Ministry will become a semi-independent foundation per January 1st. Up to now we were part of the foundation Tot Heil des Volks. The Shelter will still be connected to Tot Heil des Volks but will operate much more independently.

 

The vision of Tot Heil des Volks is to continue to grow and add more ministries under her wings. To make this possible, the current ministries are all becoming more independent.


For the Shelter, one of the consequences will be that we have to raise more funds. Financial deficits will no longer be covered by the mother organisation. We encourage you, therefore, to consider whether you not only want to support the Shelter in prayer but also financially.

Over the last weeks we have been working on a portfolio to inform companies and churches about the ministry. If you know of people who might be interested in sponsoring the Shelter, please request the special information material from Nienke at personnel@shelter.nl

 

Jacob Kops (manager)

 

 

 

 

HELP NEEDED !

 

We are desperately searching for people to join our ministry team this winter. We’ll need 6 more people for January and February, and 15 more for March and April!

In the past, God has always provided and we trust that He will do the same today. You can help us when you either:

1.       Pray for more people to join our team

2.       Consider signing up yourself

3.       Forward this message to friends who might want to serve with us

4.       Advertise the Shelter Youth Hostel Ministry at your church or school – flyers or posters can be downloaded from our website.



 

For the latest info: www.youthhostelministry.shelter.nl

Email: personnel@shelter.nl

Tel.: +31 (0)20-3446310 (ask for Nienke).

 

 

Baby news

Jaap and Johanna Oudman – Van Stapele received their first child, a boy named Lev. Congratulations!

 

 

OPEN DAY

The Shelters will have an open day on 22nd and 27th February. For more information (in Dutch) see our website.

 

 

PRAYER SUPPORT

 

·     Please pray for suitable people to join our team. We need many more applications for the coming months.

·     Pray also for smooth visa and permit procedures for those who are signed up to serve with us.

·     Pray for the evangelistic programs in both hostels around Christmas time.

·     Pray for the ministry to the cleaners in both hostels, for wisdom and grace for the cleaning supervisors and for cleaners to come to a saving faith in Christ.

·     Give thanks for the increase in number of guests and the openings for meaningful conversations about the Gospel.

·     Pray for the management vision days on January 17 and 19 in order to seek the Lord’s guidance for 2006.

 

 

Remembering Ine

 

Ine van Weele volunteered at the Shelter City at different times in her life, of which the most recent were in August 2003 and around New Year 2004. A few weeks ago, we received the sad news that Ine passed away on Monday 21 November.

 

Back in 2001 Ine was diagnosed with breast cancer. In her application in 2003 she described how God brought her through and healed her and how this had deepened her faith and trust in the Lord. Last summer the cancer came back and Ine had to go through chemo therapy. When the message reached us that the Lord had taken Ine home, different memories of Ine came to mind:

- Her joy and kindness within the team and towards the guests.
- The time she gave a managers training about stress, sharing from the lessons she taught in England where she lived and worked as a teacher in psychology.
- Her enthusiasm and willingness to help in the Shelter during her holidays.


 

In her application Ine wrote: “Jesus is my Friend, my Saviour, my Guide, my Helper, my Healer. Jesus came and died for all who believe in Him. It has nothing to do with us but everything with Him. It is because of God’s grace that we are saved and through Jesus death and resurrection that we are made perfect and are able to communicate with God.”

Ine is with the Lord. We remember her for who she was and pray for her family.

 

 

 

 

The Shelter Youth Hostel Ministry is a Christian evangelism ministry in the centre of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Our goal is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the 30,000 travellers who are staying each year in our two Christian youth hostels: The Shelter City and The Shelter Jordan. The ministry is part of the association Tot Heil des Volks, a non-denominational mission organisation registered in Amsterdam. Internet: www.youthhostelministry.shelter.nl  

Donations. The work of The Shelter Youth Hostel Ministry would not be able to continue without financial support. Help support this ministry! Read more at http://www.theshelter.nl/ministry/donations.html

This Newsletter can also be found at www.yhm.shelter.nl

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