V-ups and Stroopwafels

I think stroopwafels will be my undoing here in Holland.  They are just so full of sweet sticky caramel-y goodness and I have a hard time resisting them!  I have learned a lot about the Netherlands in my week here by talking with Lisanne, her friends, her sister and her parents. Her father in particular is a fountain of knowledge in European history and the history of the Netherlands in particular.  What I have enjoyed the most however is spending time with Lisanne and catching up with her.  It has been about 8 years since we met in Costa Rica and although we kept up a bit by e-mail it has been special to have this time to get to know her on a deeper level.  She truly is a delightful person; thoughtful, hospitable, funny, and easy going.  We have talked about so many subjects already and I have enjoyed her perspective on history, politics, dredging, foreign policy, food, movies, relationships, and religion.  We've laughed a lot together too and I am happy to say it hasn't always been because of something I did as she has also had her moments.

Here are random bits of culture that I am learning from Lisanne:  you don't need to rinse your dishes when hand washing them because the soap won't hurt you (it takes much will power at times to resist the urge to rinse!), always give bicycles the right of way when walking, how to properly drink mint lemonade, and do not run down the tiny narrow steps that lead up to third floor flats.  I have also learned how to ride on the bike of a bicycle side saddle style while cruising through cobble stone bumpy streets and narrow narrow passages -- it is like doing a prolonged v-up and I feel like those who habitually ride on the backs of bicycles like this must have abs of steel.  We are staying in the Hague right now at Lisanne's place and a couple of nights ago we went to her favorite hole in the wall pizza shop run by a sweet Italian couple.  We sat on the counter as our pizzas were being made and the owner gave us bruschetta and the house wine as we waited; he never stopped smiling as he made the pizzas and the walls of the shop attested to the fact that he was a favorite in the neighborhood as there were pictures of him and many children behind the counter making pizzas.  The pizzas were delicious, but my newly acquired bike passenger skills were put to the test as I had to carry both of the pizza boxes while precariously perched on the bar in back as we whizzed through night traffic (suck in the legs so they are not clipped by passing cars, but not too far in or you hit the spokes all while leaning back to make room for the pizza boxes -- thus the v-up).

Lisanne was able to take Tuesday off of work and we spent the day in Amsterdam.  We went to the Anne Frank house museum; I felt compelled to go since like just about every American child I read the book in middle school and was fascinated by the secret hiding place.  The actual hiding place is stark as all the furniture has been removed at the request of Otto (Anne's father) and there is such a long line as you go through the house that it felt hard to emotionally connect to what I was seeing, still it was interesting.  Lisanne and I had some good discussions about Holland's involvement in WWII and the shame the country has that they were occupied by Germany and many helped the Nazis cause.  Yet every country has shame that it bears for poor decisions and I think recognizing the decisions as poor is a start towards making ammends or at least not making the same bad decision again.  Lisanne is a great tour guide; we wandered all around Amsterdam and saw the medieval buildings that remain as well as random sculptures hidden around, hidden churches that Catholics had during the reformation time, punishment houses for women, and a really neat art deco theater where we watched a movie.  We originally were going to watch Intouchables, and in fact purchased the tickets, but as we walked away from the theater Lisanne realized the movie was in French and the subtitles in Dutch... which would be a really confusing language lesson for me.  Luckily we were able to change the tickets.  We had lunch at Lisanne's favorite restaurant which was delicious with big open face sandwiches with "old cheese"and avocado and veggies on brown bread - I appreciated the insider's knowledge on the restaurant selection.  It was a long but tiring day so we used her sister's flat to make supper and to rest after all of our walking before going to the movie and then home to the Hague.

God has been teaching me about being.  To learn to just be with Him and for that to be enough.  At times it has been hard not to have a distinct purpose for each day and I find myself trying to decipher and create meaningful tasks for myself; and although meaning and purpose are good things, it seems Jesus is wanting me to be satisfied with being present with Him.  Like Martha, from the story recounted in Luke chapter 10 of the Bible, I can attach my identity to doing and I need the Lord's gentle reminder that my identity as one loved and redeemed by Him has already been given to me and it is not changed, down graded or enhanced by what I do or do not do.  I have also had a heightened sense of gratitude that God is. I find myself praising Him more for the fact that He exists than for any specific attribute or blessing.  Since God is, I can rest in the knowledge that am that He sustains all things and all people.  It has been a prayer of mine since I left that God would love me through other people so that I can better learn how to love others and I have found Him to be faithful to show His love to me through others I have encountered which has grown my awareness that as image bearers of God we all have the capacity to be used as His instruments and everyone has something to give or something to teach.

I apologize there is no pictures with this one, but I need wifi to upload them from my phone, so I'll do a pictures post in a few days.

May God who is rich in mercy show His love through you,

Cassie