een korte meededeling.
ik kon mijn mobiele nummer weer activeren.
dus 0034 652 106 171.
ik heb mijn geluid uit staan.
telefoontjes uit nederland zijn te duur.
maar nu kan iedereen me texten.
bijv. als iemand wilt skypen/ msnen/ etc.

a short message.
a was able te activate my mobile phone number.
so 0034 652 106 171.
international phone calls are to expensive for me
i switched off the sound. but now you can text me.
in case you want to skype/ msn or facebook etc.

me again



not a whole lot has changed i guess.
so i just inform you about some things that did change.
it's snowing now, that's one thing that changed.
second, the number of pilgrims went down to one each other day.
i do have a good time with them.
sometimes there is more then one pilgrim staying, but mostly it's one on one conversations we have.
that leads to very intresting talks.
there was a lady who worked with the elections in the states, right after she came to walk the camino.
then there was a man from the canary islands, he was going to join the french legion.
he walked from sevilla to here in navarra, and had to go to marseille


these days the pilgrims ( that came)
came in at about 6
first we drink a cup of tea, talk about there walk that day, and how it wen.
then they go and fresh up a bit.
in the mean time i fix a meal.
we have a meal untill about 9.30, then i clean up and prepare the breakfast.
during the day i reorganise the rooms one by one, and work on my spanish.
on mondays, i meet up with the spanish pastor ( Abel) from Estella.
we read the Bible together.
he reads the english niv, and i read the spanish.

last saterday i was invited for a american thanksgiving meal, with the family who run the church in tafalla.
it is so good to have these friends around me here.
they all opened up there homes for me, invite me for meals, and just times to get out of the hostel.

i think i enjoy the solutarie life a bit to much.
i lock my self up here in the hostel.
in itself it's a good thing.
i needed a time to be on myself
reflecting.
when there are no pilgrims i watch a lot of podcasts
mars hill church sermons
sermon index. com
richard wurmbrand
gladys aylwards ( from "the inn on the sixth happiness")
and a spanish course called
"coffeebreak spanish"
done by a scottsman, very funny, so it's a more relaxing way of learning spanish.


we have a dutch to spanish "loi" course, here in the hostel, and that's more formal

this is a picture of a mans conference i went to a while ago



don't look for me, i'm way in the back, i just wanted to show the people i met here.

please let me know by email if and when you want to skype, then i'll get online.
otherwise i'm offline, because i'm all over in the hostel, and not behind my mac all day.

that's all for now folks
i hope to be back in the netherlands about the 16th of december.
then on th 5th of january i'll go back to spain.

maybe we can meet up

let me know

hi

the last weeks it has been very slow in the albergue.
we had an average off 4 pilgrims each day.
we did have some friends from amsterdam to visit.
sam and nynke came first, then a few days later francien and her sister hilmar came.
we went to do some day trips, and worked together in the albergue.
i’ve put the pictures on my picasa web site.
it wasn’t the happiest thing to say goodbye



last update i uploaded, i talked about the brethren church we visit.
this weekend the brethren church organized a guys weekend.
i went there on friday afternoon, until sunday 13.30
it was good to make friends there, and listen to a lot of spanish.
they where all very eager to help me with my spanish.
i felt very welcome, i mostly helped out in the kitchen
there where people from all over navarra.
a lot of bask people too.

now martin en greet are leaving to belgium.
that leaves me here alone.
in a few weeks marijn will come and help me.
then we will make plans for this winter.

more things start to become clear to me, what it means to live here in spain.
i was reading oswald chambers “my utmost for His highest”
on 25 of october, and it described my feelings spot on.
http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/10/25/devotion.aspx?year=2008

i’m not down or disappointed, i new it wasn’t fully real to me yet.
so many things are just different.
the concept of siesta, the language, the peoples behaviors and ways they deal with things.
but also my life has changed.
i have to do things different now.
and like i said, it’s all good, i just starts to sink in a bit more.
i know that God has called me for this, so i can just move on, step by step.

things like, people ask me, why didn’t you study spanish before you came?
for me, i just took things step by step.
i came to monjardin in april, it became clear to me that this would be my next thing to do.
together with my friends in Amsterdam, we worked things out.
and now i am here.
for me it is clear that God was and is with me on this new journey,
He will lead me now as well.

i’ve been here in monjardin now for a few days on my own.
the first day i didn’t have any pilgrims, then last tuesday i had 11 pilgrims.
that was nice.
firts 1 lady from london walked in, she told me that some more people would come.
it kept me bussy that evening and next day.

for the first time doing the whole thing on my own.
normaly we split it up among 3 or 4 people.
then in the afternoon i had to do some shopping.
i feel like a house-man now.

yesterday i had 1 pilgrim.
no breakfast guest this morning.
easy cleaning.
i’m doing some laundry and emailing.
reporting to home front.

can i ask you to check out skype for me.
it would be great to talk on skype

it started to snow here on the mountains higher then 600 meters.
i can see some snow top mountains from my lounge room window.

i have a great time here, thank you for your support

first week in spain

yesterday we said goodbye to one of the staffmembers.
for me that was the first time, now here in spain.
i've installed my room, and have my first day of today.
the hostel feel home to me.
we have about 15 guest every night, what still keeps us busy.

the daily schedule is as following:
one of the staffmembers serves breakfast at 7 until 8
then the staff eats breakfast and have a bit of team time.
after breakfast we clean the hostel.
then every couple of days we need to do shopping in estella.
we keep siesta in the afternoon until 3.30.
then the team come together again and have a prayer time.
at 4 we open the hostel for the guest.
some of us then serve the guest and check then in and have them pay for there stay and meals.
at 7 we eat and at 9 we have a evening meditation with the guest.
after the meditation, the one who serves breakfast next morning, prepares the room for breakfast.

for your information, siesta is for us the best time to connect with the homebase
or let me know by mail that you wanna skype/ chat/ facebook, what ever

sunday we went to a brethren church in estella.
i was good to meet some christians we can contact in the area.

i've put up some new pics on my picasa page.
and i've installed msn

the weather is still pretty good
yesterday 24 in the day and about 18 in the evening.

( that was a hint/ invitation)

talk to ye later

time is now really coming to an end here in amsterdam.

coming thursday( 4 Sept.) i'll have my goodbye party at the Willemsstraat.
even writing it down feels weird.
but most of you who read this, know how that feels.
now i feel it
(it's not the best part about leaving)
i'm exited about what God has for me in spain.
big challenges that i need his help on.
as Jacob Kops told me last week," you'll learn to pray, when you do this job"
i believe that.

my house mate Ian, is gonna take me to spain on saturday 27 september.
i'll start the following week in the hostel

8 nights to go as night-man.
the nights have been hard on me the last months.
it has been good, i had a lot of great contacts with guest and staff,
but the hard part became the sleeping during the day and switch over to sleeping at night.

that will be one thing i won't miss.

i will be sick because of missing my people, but i a way nothing chanced.
in the past, people moved on from amsterdam, either from crossroads, or the shelter, to there new place.
now it is me who is leaving.
goodbye sucks both ways.

what helped me a lot the last 8 years that i was night-man,
was that i had a small group of friends around me that was consistent.
people at crossroads and true-out the country
i'm specially thankful to those people

that's all for now
hope to see you, or talk to you later

harald

dec. ’96

i would help out in the “Eben Haezer”

youth hostel ministry over chrismas, for about 2 weeks

now i want to invite you for my goodbye party

 september 4th  at 5 o’clock at willemsstraat 33 amsterdam

on the first of october I'm gonna get started in spain.

before that, i want to say goodbye to you and explain what is going on in my life.

finger-food and drinks will be provided

so 04 sept. 5 pm ‘till 8 pm

willemsstraat 33 amsterdam

i’m thankful for my time in amsterdam

and want to thank you

new times seem to come up for me

as some of you already concluded after reading my last blog, my focus is now on moving to spain.

in my last blog you can read how i met with the organization called oasis trail.

my plan last time when i went to spain was that i would just go for a break.

i would work in the inn in spain for about 2 weeks, get to know the work and the people.

then i would go and walk a part of the camino ( pilgrim route).

then i would go home and make my conclusions here at home.

there was nothing here in amsterdam that pushed me away, so i would have the time to sit down with some good friends, and talk things over.

it's a big step for me, and i love what i do here in amsterdam.

i've been working in the shelter jordan now in total for more then ten years, and wouldn't have mind to continue for an other number of years.

also crossroads, my home church for about 12 years, isn't easy to just leave behind.

but to continue with the story, as i was in spain, things just start to fall in to place.

the whole ministry felt like a custom made suite.

i feel at home, the hostel feels like my living room, and every day i can invite people to come and have a meal with us.

show hospitality to the pilgrims, and just be available to them

the scripture that i still feel very strongly is about eliah

1 kings 19

4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers. 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, Arise and eat. 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you. 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. 

9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? 10

my hope is to host people in this place where they can meet with God.

to make my self available for God to reveal Himself through us.

here i'll give you a google map link to find out where we are.

villa mayor (de monjardin)

Hi, I'd like to share a Google Maps link with you. Link:

no pictures this time

i'm still working on all the details, but just wanted to share this with you, and will keep you updated, when more things become all clear.

thanks and hope to meet up again

Hi bloggers

Last time I wrote (I think) was during the renovation of the shelter Jordan

Lots has happened since.

In the hostel a lot has changed.
Here you see the bathrooms in its lowest state.

I might give you an idea of the intensity of the renovation


Also the dorms got some serious beating up, we changed 2 dorms in to 5 smaller rooms, on each floor


Also the alcoves got turned in to small rooms

Here you see the reception (?)


The whole kitchen got knocked down and rebuild
For the final state (of art) I have to forward you to
http://www.shelter.nl/

In the weekends we try to set up men-night again.
Twice a month we come together
On Saturday night we have a relax evening where we hang out and do relaxed things.
And two weeks later on Sunday night we come together and have testimony night.







In crossroads I’ll still continue my custodian job and help out with some practical things/ fix ups
Another new thing that changed for me is “oasis trails”.

Last November a friend and old college, his wife and I met up in the community house of the shelter.
We had some small talk, and made an appointment to meet up at their place.
Just to meet up after a long time.
So, in December I just went there for a meal.
As we had that meal they shared about oasis trail, and how they liked it.
They showed me pictures and told me stories.

Then he said,” you should try it too, it would really fit you.”
I told him I was to busy, renovating the shelter Jordan, but maybe after that would be over I could take a break.

As I went home, I gave it some more thoughts.
I talked to some more people that told me the same
”you should try it too, it would really fit you.”

My friend (Bogdan) invited me for a meeting with the board of the organization.
I really liked the meeting, and said that in April I would go to Spain to work in the albergue (inn) for a month
So now I’m here.

Oasis trail is a Dutch organization that runs an inn in Spain, in the area close to Pamplona.
The inn serves about 25 guest a day with a meal, a bed and breakfast
It’s in a small mountain village called “villa mayor de monjardin”
Pronounced Bilja major de mogarden (as far as my Spanish teachers where able to teach me)

These are 2 of my Spanish teachers together on the swing

They are girls that live in the village.
During the week they are in boarding school, but in the weekend they come home to villa mayor.

I really enjoy the time with the people here.
The times we spent with the pilgrims are very special.
We here so many amazing stories, its weird to write these down like this, but I hope I can share them with you in person some time.
So many people that are truly seeking for God
(As far as we can see of course).

A number of times I heard people, from all kinds of backgrounds, tell us that they we’re so amazed, how little they hear about God on the Camino.
During our “Jesus meditation” we invite the pilgrims to experience the love and forgiveness of Christ.
With that we gladly sent the on there Camino

This is our kitchen, with Jan my collegue.
This is how we serve breakfast. He is married with Coby
Here you see them together doing reception in front of the inn
(look at the ruin on top of the mountain)

This is the view they had during there reception shift

This is one of the dorms

We serve breakfast from 7.00 till 8.30.
Then the staff has their breakfast all together.
After breakfast we clean all the beds
(The pilgrims only stay for one night)
We clean the restaurant and the bathrooms and do shopping in the next town called “estella”.
Then we have lunch and siesta till 3.30.
After siesta the staff comes together to pray and to divide the work.
About 2 people check in the guest, and two prepare the meal.

One day a week we’ll have a day of.
For my day of I went back against a secondary Camino, back to Estella.
I wandered around a bit, came trough a deserted village

I saw lots of orchids

and rosemary

On the way back I bought some food and walked the common Camino from Estella to Villa-Mayor.
Along the way it rained a bit.

I was able to shelter, so didn’t have any trouble with it.
When I came to the monastery of “Irache”, it really started to rain hard.
So then I took my dinner break in the gate of the church.
This is the monastery (where we by our wine)


Oasis trail still needs workers
Now you know what we do.
So if you want to come just follow these signs

Or the following signs



And from all directions you can see this ruin on top of the mountain
Climb the mountain and then look down direction south


Then when you are on top, you look down and you see this village

Follow this sign and ask for us

I hope to be here some more, so maybe we can work together here in Spain