April 8, 2005

Greetings from Amsterdam!

Do you remember when, in my last update, I said that I would like to work at The Shelter longer than three months? I don’t know if I mentioned how hard it is to get a work visa in the Netherlands, but many mission organizations have had a difficult time getting these permits. More often than not I’ve heard words like “miracle,” “long-shot,” and “most likely won’t happen.”

Maybe you can see where this is going.

Last Friday morning, in the middle of my first week of “night man” duties, the head office called The Shelter and told the managers that a one-year work visa had been approved for me! The word spread like wildfire through the staff, not least because only two other staff members before me had been approved for a permit in less than three weeks. Later I even heard about some staff jumping up and down in joy.

It’s nice to know that I’m wanted around here. Too bad I didn’t hear the good news until later that Friday night, long after the rest of the staff knew!

As a night man (e.g., night receptionist), I have to work from midnight to 8:00 am, for three nights in a row every few weeks. Last week I trained for that particular duty, which means that another night man, Maarten, trained me for two nights, and then I had to work another three nights alone. I started training on Tuesday night, so on Friday morning I didn’t stay up too long to chat.

Which means that when I finally did get up, at 6:00 pm that evening, my friends here at The Shelter were bursting to let me know. But they did manage to convince the manager not to wake me up to tell me. I’m thankful for that!

A Short Story Made Only a Little Longer

One interesting thing about last Friday is that I woke up praying for God’s will concerning the visa and what would happen if it didn’t come through. I checked my e-mail a few minutes later to see if I had received anything about the visa, and when I didn’t I sort of sighed internally and thought, “Maybe I’ll hear something next week.”

So I didn’t expect to see my friends’ smiling faces and the words, “You got the work permit!” I couldn’t think of anything to say at first, except, “Wow. That’s great.” But I’m thrilled about the opportunity to minister here longer.

In this picture I'm a little more dressed up than usual, but I have a good reason since it was Easter! I was evening receptionist during our big Easter program, so Neal made sure to help me feel involved by taking a picture of me, too. What a nice guy.

The Long and Short of It

What this all means is that I can stay here at The Shelter until next May. I now have the opportunity to continue ministering in Amsterdam, to talk to myriads of people of different cultures, faith, and personalities. What a privilege! I also get to continue learning how to run a hostel, which I also look forward to.

Another exciting thing about all of this is that I can see changes within me already from being here. God is working in me and through me, and I think I’m seeing a confidence that I didn’t know I had. I’ve never been so excited about sharing my faith in Christ with people!

Prayer Requests

But working here is not easy, and living with 30-something other people presents challenges I’m sure you can imagine. We work hard, and maintaining time with God can be quite a challenge. Please pray that I learn to balance work, ministry, personal time, and quiet time.

I would also appreciate your prayers for some of the people I’ve met here. I met Jon a few weeks ago and had some deep conversations with him about God, but he dropped out of sight unexpectedly, which concerns me. Farobi is one of our cleaners from Afghanistan and is a highly intelligent and passionate 21-year-old Muslim. But he listens and wants to understand the Christian faith, even if it only strengthens his own faith. Pray for the staff as we pour ourselves into him, and pray for him that he comes to faith.

I love The Shelter, not least because “the world” comes to our very doorstep. We have such an opportunity to be a light to travelers from around the globe. I’ve already had many “God conversations” with people, but think about the fact that there are over 30 other volunteer staff having similar conversations. And then count the managers who talk with guests, as well as other Christian guests who come and have God conversations. Please pray for this ministry, and pray that other ministries like this are started in other parts of the world. Believe it or not, there are only three or four “Christian” youth hostels in the world. That number needs to change drastically!

Last, and very likely least, is support. Please pray and consider supporting my ministry here. I need very little compared to the needs I had in Ireland, but I still need around $900 in monthly costs. There are also some one-time costs I could still use help with, including the 430 euro fee for the work visa. Below you’ll see a breakdown of the needs, as well as how to give. Please consider this prayerfully. I truly believe you would support a great thing if you supported this ministry.

If you would like to support my ministry in Amsterdam, your support through prayer and financial giving would be a great blessing. Please make checks payable to Greater Europe Mission and include the following account number on the check: 028860. Please mail the check to Greater Europe Mission, Attn: Receipting, 18950 Base Camp Road, Monument, CO 80132-8009. Contributions to this nonprofit missionary organization are tax deductible.

Your partner in ministry,

Jason McFarland

"Missionaries are never beggars. They are ambassadors who give us an opportunity to become partners by giving our dollars while they give their lives." Harry Ironside