Part 1 of 4: The Netherlands

Team Meeting

On January 25 we made our way to The Netherlands for our first Gypsy Team meeting. CBF organizes its field personnel by teams and clusters based on their ministry concentration. Teams usually meet every six months to discuss ministry, life and team issues. Also at meetings we worship, fellowship and spend time praying for one another.

(Team Praying for Us)

This meeting was held just outside of Amsterdam in a quaint town on the North Sea. We were lodged at a hostel where we met for meetings, ate most of our meals and spent time playing games. We fit right in because as most of you know we are avid game players. It was the most fun! On the last night before leaving everyone went into town to eat at a local restaurant for our celebration dinner. It was a wonderful sea food place. We love seafood and haven't been able to each much of that in Bucharest. Another highlight of the day was that several of us rented bicycles and rode into town. Bike riding is a very local thing to do. Everyone rides bikes! It was so cool. The few of us that rode into town had a blast riding our bikes on the streets and on the beach, too.

(Colleagues Macarena and Penny)

(On our bikes on the beach of the North Sea)

The meeting ended on Sunday as everyone made their way into Amsterdam to catch flights home. But before everyone left we enjoyed one last meal together downtown. A few people had the afternoon to do sightseeing so they stayed around for a few hours. We all said our goodbyes and went our seperate ways. For us, this was officially the start of our 2 week vacation. First Stop: Stay in Amsterdam for a few more days!

( Group Photo)

Vacation

We started our vacation right here in Amsterdam. We were referred to a neat little hotel called the Amstel Botel by our colleagues who live in Amsterdam. The hotel is not actually a hotel but a boat turned into a hotel (picture a cruise) and achored on the canal. Service was great and prices were fair. The location couldn't have been any better. We really enjoyed Amsterdam for many reasons: the canals, the architecture and the convenient (and clean) public transportation. Immediatly we started sightseeing, we hopped on the local tram system and took a ride around. Sunday didn't leave time for much so we went to bed early and had a full day on Monday. Some of the things we did were visit the Ann Frank House museum, took a tour on the Canal cruises, and explored the Van Gough Museum. This was a lot considering we did all this in one day because on Tuesday we were off to our next destination. Enjoy a few pictures below and until then: Stay tuned for our next location...