Approaching August in Amsterdam!

How's that for alliteration! Clearly I haven't done a very nice job of keeping you all posted on this blog, mainly because I have put all my energy into my personal one. So, for the most recent updates and ways to pray for me and the ministry here check out arijaaninamsterdam.blogspot.com The Lord continues to blow away expectations as well as meet my needs and the needs of others around me in awesome ways. It is such a blessing to be in this country, my world view is becoming more broad and I am learning more and more what it looks like to love all those I come into contact with. Certainly a challenge at times, I've met a lot of interesting characters! I think of and pray for Grace Church frequently - God is so faithful, where ever He has placed us and whatever season He has us in. I praise God for your interest in missions and pray that He would continue to cultivate that desire to be sent in all of us, regardless of where we are or what we are doing. Have a great day!

Blessings from Arijaan

Hello All,
We received a letter from Alan this past weekend and it seems that things are going great. They were able to have an all American fourth of july with KFC, PB&J, and the went body surfing. I guess that was quite and exciting day.

He mentioned how the language classes have been a little difficult, but at the same time they have been beneficial because he has a little more ability to communicate with the people he has met. From this he has developed many new friendships and has been able to share with them what is so important in his life. Some exciting news, there is a new brother. This is some very
exciting news that we can be thankful for. Ask for conitnued opportunities as they share more with the friends they meet.

He has let us know that everyone is in good health and they are in good spirits. Ask that this would continue in the last two weeks that they are overseas. I really appreciate all your requests, as does Alan and the friends he is with.

For this coming week you can keep the following things in mind.

1. Ask that the hearts of the students would be softened and that the HS would begin to move in the lives of the students who hear about JC.
2. Ask that the group would be able to follow up on decisions that are being made and have the ability to give them the necessary tools to grow in their relationship with the Father.

At the end of next week they will be getting ready to leave East Asia and they ask that we would ask the Father that they would be able to leave without regrets and be able to take advantage of every last opportunity to share and reflect our Father. I will be going overseas my self for a week, so I will not be able to e-mail until August 1st. SO, please continue to be
in prayer about these specific things. I know that what is being done overthere would not be possible without prayer and submission to the HS. Until I next time I hope everything is going well.

In Him,
Melissa

Update #3

Hey everyone,

It has been a very long, but amazing week. God has really taught me so many things. For the past three days, I have participated in a poverty simulation. We were told that we could select three personal items (I brought my blanket, my shampoo, and a hat) and one set of clothes (the ones I would wear for the next three days) in seven minutes and then meet downstairs. They said our perspectives would be completely different in three days and they were right. I've gotten maybe 6 hours of sleep in the past three days and have been severly deprived as far as food and sanitation goes. Some people were deamed homeless at the beginning and all of their possesions were taken from them and they were forced to depend on the generosity of others.

Friday morning we had to engage in various "homeless activity" and Saturday afternoon we had a hunger banquet. The banquet itself was very interesting. Everyone in my team drew a card that placed them in either low (less than $900 annual income), middle ($900-$9000) or upper (greater than $9000) classes. These classes were proportionate to the quantity of people living in these conditions accross the world. Only three people were in the upper class. The other 15 people in my group ate beans and rice... or even just small portions of rice and had to look on at their friends being served pasta and drinking out of wine glasses. We forget the poverty going on in other nations where people work all day for less than a dollar.

Not only did we have to participate in these activities, but we also had to go to our ministry sites. I was fortunate enough to work with seniors this past week, although when we had a barbeque for them on Friday, we were not permitted to partake. We also had to undergo the two mile walk to the El train and sit through an hour train ride with all of our belongings and do the same thing after working six hours.

I can honestly say that I will never look at the poor and homeless in the same way again. More
than anything, it has been affirmed that I truly feel called to work with the poor and share the
reality of poverty in America and internationally. My close interactions with the impoverished and lonely elderly, and the homeless will change the way I see the world and the considerable
luxury we sit in every day. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I would love to see
your perspectives changed as well.

Some prayer requests I have are:

• That I regain some of my energy so that I will be able to counsel a day camp for underprivelged children next week.
• For financial support as I am still quite short of the necessary amount and some complications have arisen.
• For my health... that I would finally recover from this cold/residual strep throat that has vaguely resurfaced during the simulation. I've been sick off an on for over a month and am finally ready to start feeling better.

In His name,
Shannon Todd

Dear Family and Friends,

I apologize for the lack of coherence in the last e-mail. The opportunity to write that e-mail was rather unexpected, and so much had happened in the previous weeks that my thoughts were all jumbled. The fact that I only had 30 minutes to write that e-mail also left me with little time to collect my thoughts. As the English teachers among you will attest, time for editing and revision is necessary for good writing. Unfortunately, that is not always possible.

So this time I decided to write my letter a little earlier so it was more coherent should the opporunity to write arise. Much has happened in the last week. We don't have an official team count, but it is probable that 3-14 have chosen to believe. I was personally fortunate to watch 5 people choose to believe. What a blessing!

I have been meeting with two of them, and they are growing like weeds. They are very hungry and enthusiastic about what they're learning. Hopefully, we're looking at a lasting commitment, and not simply something that is happening because an American has come to visit East Asia. One thing I really like about the students is that when we first approach them, they are very friendly, and almost always ask "can I help you?" or "where do you need to go?".

My language is improving, though it is still limited. You could say it has grown exponentially, from ni hao, upwards :-) I've been able to successfully navigate from our hotel to some of the universities on my own, even with my limited language.

We've been taking one of the buses known as the "little 5". The drivers are pretty crazy, and very apt to drive on the wrong side of the road if traffic isn't moving at their desired speed.

On Friday, we went to something called English Corner. It is a place where many people go to specifically speak English together. People of all ages and walks of life come. I talked to an Economics Professor who studied in at U. Colorado, a person who works for Bell Labs, a para-legal who works on Intellectual Property cases in China for companies like Microsoft, and a number of students from Junior high to college. It was really fun and very interesting. The cool thing is that being able to speak English without an accent attracts mobs of people. A few of my team mates were able to share G with a number of people at once. It really reminded me of Peter and John. I wasn't deft enough to sway the conversation in that direction, but I received some tips, so next time we go, I'll be ready.

I'd love to write more, but I'm running out of time again. I'm not sure when I'll be able to write again. having e-mail access two weeks in a row is supposed to be unheard of for this team. I may write again from H, but not likely from B. We leave for H on the 21st.

One last note, we went to visit TS and the FC yesterday. We couldn't actually go inside the FC as it was closed, but it was interesting. I think TS is overrated. It's litterally a giant square in the middle of the city. Nothing to interesting. I took lots of pictures, so you'll be able to see them when I get back. Next Saturday, we'll go to the GW, supposedly to the most famous part.

That's all for now. Keep up your p's.

Love,
Brian

Hello All,
Since I have last written I have only received a letter from Alan's leader to let us know their basic schedule. However, prayer requests were also included so I thought I would include those, so you can be praying for Alan as he continues his work overseas. They have been there for just two weeks now and they are hoping to have met 250+ students to share the Gospel with. The team asks that you would be committe to finding ten minutes in your week to specifically pray for the work that is being done overseas. Within that prayer time there are a few things that you can focus on:

1. Pray for the team to bond and interact through difficult circumstances
2. Pray for the team to easily adjust to the new culture and language
3. Pray that the people they encounter would be open to the gospel
4. Pray for their discernment to know who is spiritually interested and
5. ready to hear the gospel.

Finally, pray that through all they do God would be glorified.

Thank you again for all your prayers and let me know if there is anything you would like me to pass on to Alan through a letter, since he is unable to check his e-mail while overseas.

In Him,
Melissa

From Brian Wong

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that I'm alive and well. I've only got 30 minutes to write this e-mail, so it's gonna be short.

I'm currently in East Asia. We arrived on Tuesday morning. We'll be spending the next three weeks here traveling around the city going to the universities to share JC. We're staying in pretty decent hotel. It's not splendid by US standards, but it's certainly more than I expected for East Asia. When we leave B, we'll be going to H to teach English for three weeks. Then, we'll be off to HK for a week before coming back to the states.

I love my team, so thanks for your thoughts in that respect. There are 8 of us. Angie and I did end up on the same team, which I thought was unusual because everyone said they'd be splitting up all the CCFers. But it's nice to have a familiar face on the team. Our team is pretty diverse. We've got a guy from Cornell, two from Cal Poly, one from USC, one from Rutgers, one from SDSU, and two from UCLA.

I've met a number of students on campuses, and it's been very cool to share JC with them. I certainly can't take credit for that ability. I've been much bolder than I ever thought possible. I give all the credit to the Big Guy.

That's all for how. I'll send more updates as I have the chance. No promises, though.

Brian.

From Brian Wong

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that I'm alive and well. I've only got 30 minutes to write this e-mail, so it's gonna be short.

I'm currently in East Asia. We arrived on Tuesday morning. We'll be spending the next three weeks here traveling around the city going to the universities to share JC. We're staying in pretty decent hotel. It's not splendid by US standards, but it's certainly more than I expected for East Asia. When we leave B, we'll be going to H to teach English for three weeks. Then, we'll be off to HK for a week before coming back to the states.

I love my team, so thanks for your thoughts in that respect. There are 8 of us. Angie and I did end up on the same team, which I thought was unusual because everyone said they'd be splitting up all the CCFers. But it's nice to have a familiar face on the team. Our team is pretty diverse. We've got a guy from Cornell, two from Cal Poly, one from USC, one from Rutgers, one from SDSU, and two from UCLA.

I've met a number of students on campuses, and it's been very cool to share JC with them. I certainly can't take credit for that ability. I've been much bolder than I ever thought possible. I give all the credit to the Big Guy.

That's all for how. I'll send more updates as I have the chance. No promises, though.

Brian.