Its been really busy around here lately. i might have said before we are short receptionists and its our busy time of year. so pray that we get new staff and quick. also theres something else you all can pray about, im thinking about extending my stay here. i talked to my manager the other day and we discussed how long i would need to stay and what practical measures i would have to take. first of all if i stay, i need a new plane ticket home. ive been looking for cheap tickets and the cheapest i can find is $700. i know i can find a cheaper one way ticket, so pray about that. and if the Lord is asking you to give, well then thats splendid. i would stay til the end of august, and i will need to extend my insurance policy as well, it came with my airline ticket at only $40 so im not too worried about that. one thing i am worried about is if im doing this for the right reasons. i do want to be here longer, im going to miss this place a lot. especially the few really good friends i have made here. its one thing to leave people behind, but its a totally different story when they live on the other side of the world and you may never see them again. God has given me many opportunities to share the gospel lately too, i feel like He's working more now than when i first arrived. just last night i had an encounter with a drunk french kid, who we found out later was black-sleeping. (that means he doesnt have a bed in the hostel, but is sneaking in and sleeping in someone elses bed or on the floor or somewhere.) hes given my friend sebastian some problems. the kid, and he is probably 20, ignores the rules, is rude, and well, french. sebastian caught him smoking pot in the garden and told him if we caught him again he'd have to leave. last night i was sitting in the cafe and sebastian, again, was there and this time the kid was drinking beer right there in front of everyone. he told him there was no alcohol allowed and the guy stood there, drank all of it, threw the bottle away and sat down. i was mad. i looked over and said, "if you dont like the rules you dont have to stay here." he, in his drunken state, smiled sarcastically at me and said, "why are you angry?" i told him i wasnt and that he needs to follow the rules. dang, God has given me so much boldness since ive been here, this would be really hard for me to do in the past. so after some "debating" the kid comes over to me and says, do you want to play chess with me. i said no, wasnt being rude, i just dont like chess. so in my attempt to really not like this kid, God would not allow me to go there. He just wouldnt. so i ran to the office and got Connect 4, i just found it in a closet the other day and was so excited. so we sat down and played and of course i beat him 2-1, hes drunk remember. (did i forget to mention he plays the violin drunk, and it sounds like it...) but it was completely a God ordained thing because he asked me why im a christian, why i believe in God and why i think i "need" God. even though he was drunk, i took the opportunity to tell him that im nothing without God and id rather live my life with Him than on my own. he argued with everything i said but was suprisingly mellow, the alcohol helped, and not rude. his name is ulysseus and his friend was luic. i invited them to my bible discussion but they said they wanted to go meet girls. so they did. before he left he asked if he could make an announcement on our PA, just so he could hear his voice. we told him no cursing and he complied. it was funny, he kinda sang what sounded like someone strangling a goose and then laughed and walked off into the world. i really hope what i told that kid sunk in somewhere and someday he will remember it when he hits a low point in his life and i pray God really speaks to him. it was so strange though, that this kid i was so ticked off at, i ended up playing vier op een rij (connect 4 in dutch) with him and God absolutely would not allow me to get angry with him. God is really teaching me about bitterness and forgiveness and he totally gave me so much grace last night and it felt awesome to not stay mad at ulysseus. God is awesome.
i also saw my japanese friend, mami, the other day. but it breaks my heart because she is blacklisted, she can no longer stay in the shelter city. but when she stops by to visit me i let her into reception never knowing it was a bad thing. apparently some of the other receptionists and managers dont like that and one of my managers came to me the other day telling me it wasnt "healthy" to let mami come and see tiger, our cat and this lonely lady's best friend. i struggled. how can i as a christian deny this lady the right to see a CAT? mami stoppped by 2 days ago and i told her i couldnt let her in anymore. she took it well, but now i feel like my chances of leading her to Jesus are getting smaller and smaller. i know shes heard the gospel a million times but i dont care. i took her to a coffee shop once, didnt smoke pot, and told her about Jesus and she listened. so pray for her, she needs Jesus, like we all do.
well i have 6 weeks left here. its unbelievable how the time has gone by so fast. i am sad to think of leaving this place, it has really become my home and going back "home" will be strange. kind of like starting an old new life all over again. please continue to pray about my extension here, i feel like God is opening a door but if i cant pay for the ticket and insurance then i will take that as a closed door. thanks for your prayers and support. i will write more often now that my time here is getting shorter. God bless you.
