Crossroads Bible Church, Team Holland 2006 Official Blog Site
Dates of our trip: July 12--July 30, 2006.
The team has been assembled and preparing since January, 2006.
Departing Flight Information July 12: British Air Flight #2192, Departing DFW 4:20PM. Arriving London Gatwick 7:20AM. Connecting flight from London Heathrow, British Airways flight #434 to Amsterdam Schipol arriving 1:45PM.
Return Flight Information July 30: British Air Flight #8110, Departing Amsterdam Schipol 7:00AM, arriving London Gatwick 7:10AM. Conntecting flight from London Gatwick, British Airways flight #2193 to Dallas/Fort Worth arriving 2:30PM.
You can also use the links on each of these sights to find out even more information!
In order to prepare for the nature of direct outreach in a postmodern culture, our team read the book "How Should We Live Then" by Colson & Pearcy. It's an excellent read for an introduction to worldviews, their effects and their results.
Some of the most influential books on the subject of postmodernism would be by Francis A. Schaeffer, including "The God Who Is There," "Escape From Reason," & "How Should We Then Live" (which obviously influenced Colson). If you're interested in some basic quotes on postmodernism, you can get them here:
2003: Brent McKinney, Rob Edwards, Deb Stevenson, Jess Semmelbeck, Liz Stevenson, Alicia Garcia, Jude Miniat, Christy Thrasher, Abby Lorenc, Cristina MacGilvra, Matt Eaton, Justin Bascue, Faith Oldenburg, Kayti Edwards, Kim Church.
2006: Brent McKinney, Steve Davis, Debbie Schmidt, Michelle Davis, Thomas Egbert, Schuyler Crabtree, Kayla Russell, Alex Ehrich, Keila Lorenc, Bailey Price, Olivia Schmidt, Maria MacGilvra, Alicia Garcia
First and foremost, this trip is 17 days long and for many team members it's the longest they've been away from home. We'd love to hear from you, so feel free to check back often and comment by clicking on the spaces beneath each entry!
Secondly, pray for the team members and those they'll come in contact with. This ministry is entirely relational...and each day we'll simply be waking up and trying to find someone to share the Gospel with. We'd truly appreciate your thoughts and prayers!
Finally, when this team left, we were short of our financial goals. If you're so inclined to donate, simply go to the church website and click on "contact us," send an e-mail saying you'd like to contribute, and you'll be given the necessary instructions.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Alkmaar is my home now -Mish
Beauty abounds in this country not only in the scenery, but in the way Netherlanders live. Everything (grocery stores, convenience stores, shops, malls) closes on Sundays and nothing opens on Monday until one o'clock in the afternoon. I have a feeling if we as Americans had this same schedule, then no one would have what we like to call a "bad case of the Monday's". The way of life here really resonates with my soul. Yeah, sure, I was talking with two Dutch friends today, Liza and Sonuh. They said people tend to "run, run, run" here as well. An observation God just gave me is that a culture will not slow down the human soul or take our spirit out of a vicious spin cycle. I know the only answer to rest is knowing the refuge of hope we have in Christ. Christ gave us access to God's presence. This is peace. There is no other hope that will give you peace. That's it. There's not much more to the gospel, and the truth is simple. Christ gave up his rights on his life to give us the right to know God's presence and character. What a peace and hope we have.
Things I love here:
All the bike routes
Biking everyday to get around or walking
Eating meals with the team every night around a huge table where we can all eat
Being in Europe with Stevie
Seeing men wear capris and looking very cool
Downtown Alkmaar (my good sense of direction comes in handy. I'm a honing pigeon)
The large old church that makes me feel small, very small
Meeting people I don't know and having a good conversation with them
The Green Pea (a guy dressed like a leperchaun and singing/playing guitar funny because he reminded me of Leslie in Austin. He's the Alkmaar Leslie)
Shopping at H&M
Jasper (this creepy osama bin laden stuffed head. the neck has fake guts hanging out)
Living in the Scouting Building
Snoring all night because that means I got good sleep finally
Not having easy access to bathrooms because it's an adventure
The weather (sunny with a cool breeze), my favorite
<3 Mish
Free and Living 5:33 PM