My last post???

Dear shelter staff,

My time with all of you guys is almost finished. I want to thanks everybody for this time here, a really good time in my life. I have the feeling that everything went too fast and i'm a little bit frustrate because i didn't hang out with everybody and spend enough time to talk and have fun.

I think that God changed me a lot during this time. He learned me to:

• Understand, experience and accept His grace
• Overcome the feeling of rejection (i'm still working on it)
• Fix boundaries (NM shifts, cleaning the kitchen)
• spend time in His presence (Bible+prayer)
• develop my knowledge (I never read so many book in my all life, Bible study, converstation,...)
• learn to make priority (sometimes difficult to combine my life here and my relation with Hanna)
• deal with differences, this is a really big one. Cultural shock...
• ....

I know that i will trully realize how much God changed me when i will come back home. It's been such an good part of my life, when i decided to make a break with my study, i wanted to do something where God can really change my character and show me how to follow him and draw closer to him. These 6 months here have been the perfect place to be under God's hand. Thanks a lot all of you for helping to be more a man of God. Thanks.

So now next step is holiday with Hanna first in Holland, then in France. After we will go in a Christian seminar (2 weeks) where i have to do the lights and where we will follow workshops. After i will start studying Logistic near Lille (north of France), I really have deep in my heart that God ask me to continue my study and then he will use this for His glory.

So people, i will try to keep my blog updated, but this will be really difficult.

In Jesus name,

Wednesday evening is worse then thusday, aha

The day after my strange shift (see previous blog), i had again a bad shift. After this day, Rose told me that i have to learn of my mistakes, aha. But then there was a guy who was looking much more strange. I could not see his eyes because he had kind of plastic skin before because of the drugs things i think. And the guy was kind of agressif and he didn't enough money to stay. Then i told him i can't stay here, so he ask me if he come back with enough money if he could stay, then i answer Yes, but i really don't get why i said this. I think he also didn't believe that i said yes, aha. Then He came back with a Christian familly whom he find in the street and asked them to help him. They paid him the bed and left right after. So i went upstair with him to show him everything and be sure he will not do bad things. Then i came back after 30 mn upstairs and he was smoking in the toilets, i wasn't so much happy. So i start to tell him that if he do again something like this, he will have to go out and find another hostel. Then he was quiet, we talked a little bit together and i read with him the Bible. He told me his story but i didn't get anything. It was strange because when i was with him, i was really happy and had the feeling that i'm working right now for the kingdom of God. I like to be with this kind of strange people, i'm fascinated by them a little bit, it's maybe because i'm so so different then them. Whatever, he could sleep good during this night, it was kind of quiet time for him, with a warm shower, a nice bed, a free breakfast and good athmosphere. Ryan didn't come back from Greece, so i worked his Sleeper shift and then i could also be here if there was somthing wrong with Johannes. But nothing happened, he slept all the time and in the morning, nothing special. Ok, so now maybe some people will think that i'm the receptionist who check only bad people in and can not say no, but they also have to know that i said no to a lot of other people and this guy, there was something different with him. Anyway, doesn't matter what other people think, and it is my responsibility and i try to assume it.

That's my story.

Thuesday evening Reception is quiet difficult shift

So here i am after 1 month of break, aha. But live is going so fast, whouah. Where is the pause button. I'm almost already in the middle of my stay here, noooo.

So yesterday it was so weird. I first check in a guy for whom i had such a strong feeling inside me which says, DON'T CHECK HIM IN, he looked so like a bad man and so on. But i change mind at the last moment and let him stay. And then today Rose let me know that he was opening lockers from people at midnight and stealing stuff. Then Ian called the police and they kicked him out. I'm feeling so strange about it.

There was also this girl which hang out 2 hours in the reception because she wanted to stay here for free. BUt her passport was in the shelter City because she already need to pay them a night. Aha. So she stayed here all the time and start to cry and so on... THen at the end with Calleb we prayed for her and then at the end she said that she also want to pray for me to change my heart made of stone. Aha. I don't what was it this night but it was so so strange.

See you next time

Thuesday evening Reception is quiet difficult shift

So here i am after 1 month of break, aha. But live is going so fast, whouah. Where is the pause button. I'm almost already in the middle of my stay here, noooo.

So yesterday it was so weird. I first check in a guy for whom i had such a strong feeling inside me which says, DON'T CHECK HIM IN, he looked so like a bad man and so on. But i change mind at the last moment and let him stay. And then today Rose let me know that he was opening lockers from people at midnight and stealing stuff. Then Ian called the police and they kicked him out. I'm feeling so strange about it.

There was also this girl which hang out 2 hours in the reception because she wanted to stay here for free. BUt her passport was in the shelter City because she already need to pay them a night. Aha. So she stayed here all the time and start to cry and so on... THen at the end with Calleb we prayed for her and then at the end she said that she also want to pray for me to change my heart made of stone. Aha. I don't what was it this night but it was so so strange.

See you next time

PIZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Yesterday morning during my shift in the kitchen, two guys came around 9h00. Then i suggest our 2 breakfast, one warm and the other cold and then ask which one they want. They answer : "Pizza", then i answer "Pizza?", "Yes Pizza!!". Then Khaled who was next to me start to laugh very laut.

I think it's because of the lekker pizza from Katia few days before. ahah

Weird day

This evening is my 4th nightmen shift, my 2th on my own. As all the night before, i have found in Paul a nice presence in the empty cafe of the Shelter Jordan.

Today it was a really strange day for me, because i planned to meet Hanna (my girlfriend) at 14h in Utrecht, so i went to bed at 9h in the morning and put my alarm clock. But i couldn't fall in sleep, i don't know why. Even if i was really tired, i was counting hours before my alarm clock will ring. Then i wasn't patient enough to wait till i'll finally sleep, so i took the train earlier and went in Utrecht to meet Hanna. During the afternoon, i tried to sleep a little bit, but it didn't work very good. So finally, i didn't sleep at all today, so it means that i'm awake 36hours or something like this. I hope that this morning when i will go to bed, i will fall in sleep.

Now it's 3h00 in the morning and everything is quiet, i only hear the mouse from the hostel who is making some noise in the kitchen. I will try to catch it.

First night man shift

I just wake up in the evening at 9:00 pm. It's so strange to sleep in the afternoon to have some rest before standing awake all the night. I'm looking forward to be nightmen, to be the only one awake in the big hostel, to have sometimes on your own to read your bible, play guitar and stay relax. Ít's a pity that my girlfriend don't have problem to fall in sleep else we can chat all the night together or something like this. I think that during the night you can also have nice and deep talk with people who stay a little bit longer in the cafe or people who can't sleep.

This evening, i'm trained with Harold, this will be very cool. He's really a nice guy and i think that i can learn a lot with him. not only about the work.

So in few hours, my first nightmen shift will start, cool.

See you everybody

First day as receptionist

Today, my first day as receptionist was quiet funny. It started with a nice timing. This morning my alarm clock didn't ring, so i didn't wake up at 7 o'clock but at 8 o'clock because Jacob call the staff house to ask for me. So i jump out of my bed and call Jacob from the staff house and then jump on my bicycle and ride so fast my bicycle to the Jordan. I arrived at 8h20 or something like this. But i still feel really stupid because it is the first time that i work with Jacob (the main manager) so it's not a good begining, but he seems to be very cool.

Welcome, Bienvenue

Welcome. Bienvenue.

Here is my first post of my blog. Thanks to the help of Meghan, now i'm also in the blog community from the shelter's staff. So see you in the next post :-).

Mat