six months

it has now been six months that i've been in Amsterdam - and in the community. and i am deeply thankful for what i have learned, how i have been challenged, and how i have been accepted with love. i understand better now how community changes with each person that comes and goes - the joy that some people bring, the quiet work that others do [that you only notice when they're gone or quietly taking care of other's tasks], the energy that some people demand, the sadness that comes with missing others and/or remembering another time, and the utter delight in having everyone there again and all things well.

and one of the delights of community is getting to see people change and grow. Steven has been here for five months now - which is about half of the time that he's been a Christian. he has been trying hard to learn what Christianity is all about: both intellectually and with how he lives. before becoming a Christian he spent the majority of his energy for twenty-plus years on avoiding responsibility and using others to get whatever he wanted. so Steven has had quite a bit of a learning curve - and there have been moments when i think we all wanted to scream at him (and/or God) that the work of sanctification wasn't happening faster. but he has grown (taking responsibility with cooking, paying more attention to others and their needs, being willing to help out with extra tasks, being less adament about being right all the time, and so on) - and he has grown so much that everyone can't help but notice.

and then there is Emperatriz. she came to the community because she desperately needed a home and desperately needed to learn Dutch. communication was a significant challenge for her (her English was not much better than her Dutch) - and life in the community was hard for her, even if she was thankful to have a home and belong to this crazy family. after struggling through dutch classes (and being recently transferred to one where she feels a bit more confident) and working at speaking to people here (who try to include her), she is able to communicate well enough for all of us to laugh together (something that she loves to do). and more so, she is just the right person to have reached out (in Dutch!) to the new woman who moved into the house - for she knows well the challenges of being separated from children, the challenges of living in a new country, and the frustration of trying to function in a foreign language.

and through both of them, i can see God work - and i see how God can use community as a way for all of us to give and receive.