Friday, August 28, 2009

Before I leave....The Dutch Reformed Church in Dalden





Just wanted to post pictures of this Reformed Church built around the 1200's! It started out as a Catholic church but was transformed around the 1600-1700s. The church bell still rings on the hours and worship services are held every week to this day.

Leaving Delden, Going To Trinidad




Hello Everybody,
The GO Conference here in Holland has come to a rapid close and Sunday morning I will be on a 5 hour bus ride to the airport in Frankfurt Germany. Then my 50 person team will fly directly to Trinidad, then take another short flight to an island nearby for Pre-Ship Training (PST). During the two week training program, internet will be unavailable. I will have access again around September 9th when I aboard the Logos Hope for the first time and begin the mission.
During these last 10 days, I have learned a tremendous amount of info about the vast cultures around the globe. Conferences, workshops, and mission training daily really opened my eyes to new world views. They even had a "simulation" mission for us which was very challenging and intimidating. Know that I feel more prepared to pursue this and I realize how much harder the mission trip would have been if I didn't first experience this time at the conference.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Beautiful Country




I have been taking some walks around the camp to clear my mind and I'm always surprised to see how flat and straight every road is. But boy is it beautiful! I may be going into town again soon (I forgot my camera the last time) and will take some snap shots for you to see the wonderful flavor of the architecture.

Holland Time!





Well everybody, I made it to Holland safely last Thursday and it has been an interesting trip to say the least! Its wonderful to see people from all over the world join together for one reason. During my stay I have been apart of many wonderful workshops, conferences, and times of learning. In my cabin are people from Holland, Japan, Faroe Islands, Germany, and U.K. I will be here until Sunday morning when I catch a flight from Frankfurt, Germany straight to Trinidad. Should be about a 10 hour flight. I will update you more when the time is available.
-Steven

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Seeing Family in PA before Departure





To give everyone a quick update, I have been in Pennsylvania for two weeks and will be leaving tomorrow (Aug 19th) for Amsterdam. My flight itinerary is as follows: Pitt-D.C.-London-Amsterdam. That it a lot of time on an airplane by myself, so please keep me in your prayers for concentration and smooth transactions from plane to plane. During my stay here at home besides being in constant preparation with O.M., banks, and getting everything sorted out for two years, I have been able to enjoy some great family time, weather, and places to visit. Every update after this one will be from international soil (or waters!), so please check back soon for updates. The pictures that I have posted are: (1 and 2) Rowing down the Allegheny River. (3) Hiking at McConnell's Mill state park. (4) On my brother's friend's dairy farm, milking cows.