34 days!!! I can't believe I'll be home in 34 days! ahh!! Ok. So. Sometimes I feel like I complain a bit about situations here or things in general that I don't like. And since this is November I think I should make a list of things that I do like about being here...
1) The family. Even though we sometimes get on each other's nerves at the end of the day, I am so glad that I live with this family. The kids love to laugh (so do the parents for that matter), they tease each other (and me) just like in my family, they love to play games and they pretty much accept me for who I am.
2) My bike. Silly I know. But seriously. I love having a bike to ride around on (unless it is raining and then I am a wimp)
3) The public transportation here. It rocks. I get on and off at the bus stop less than 2 min from my house. I can take the train pretty much anywhere and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. It's pretty much the equivalent of a 1/2 a tank of gas. It's great.
4) My church. I love my church. It is a very diverse group of people who go there. We have people for lots of different countries and cultures and it makes it really fun to go and meet people.
5) Holland in general. I love how small it is. LOVE it. In the states you drive for an hour and you get to Des Moines or Springfield (depending on who you are that is reading this and where you are). In Holland you can be in Belgium, or a long ways from Den Haag (depending on if you take the stop train or the fast train). It's great.
6) Skype. I love love love skype! It makes everyone feel so much closer somehow. Just being able to call and see their smiling faces makes all the difference. Heck, even just using skype to call without the video is nice. Just hearing the people that I love is so great.
7) Sheila (and her family). This family is truly a blessing to me. They took me in right away. They live super close ( 3 songs away on my ipod to be exact). And they are just so kind. I still can't get over how good God is. I mean seriously. Of all the places in the world that I could have gone, God sends me to Wassenaar, Holland and I have family less than 15 min away (by bike). Honestly. How cool is that?
8) I'm so thankful for this amazing opportunity. I mean, how often does someone get a chance to go live and work in another country for a year? I always wanted to see Europe but I never knew how it was going to work since I knew I would have to work in order to see any of Europe. And now I have the chance to work with 3 delightful (sometimes ornery) kids AND travel on the weekends. Even if I don't get to see even 5 other countries while I'm here, I'm so glad that I get to be in Holland where my Dutch roots run deep and explore the motherland.
9) Haagelslag. HA! Seriously. SO GOOD! (it is pronounced haggel- sla) its tiny little chocolate sprinkles and get this.. they eat it on their bread for breakfast! WONDERFUL! Where else can you eat chocolate on your bread for breakfast? I mean really? It's great (i'm also glad we live near a gym...)
10) Finally, for today I am so incredibly grateful for the friends God has blessed me with for this year. I remember praying, more like begging/telling God to give me at least 1 friend that I could hang out with this year, and he has given me 3 good friends (plus I just met a new girl last week). Way more than I asked for.
I am so blessed. So so sooo blessed. I sometimes wonder why I think God won't come through. With friends, finances, tickets to come home for Christmas or my need for a Mountain dew fix (Sheila is my hook up for the last one). He always always does. Sometimes I think he likes to make me sweat before he comes in at the last minute. But I know he will always come through. In some way he always does. Maybe not the way I thought he would, but always in the end he does.
So. Thank you Lord for all these blessings and all the thousands more that I can't think of now. And thank you for all my friends and family who give me support in all that I do. Thank you father. Thank you so very very much.
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