Endless Gifts (34)

Being back in “my” time zone

Making a friend on the train to Rotterdam to make the trip go faster

A perfectly delightful hotel room at the Rotterdam Holiday Inn (with a choice of soft or firm pillows!)

 

Being able to put one of my bags onto the next Holland container so I don’t have to travel with as much the last few legs of my trip (and just how great it is that both the IOC and Holland allow us to use the containers to ship personal goods)

Discovering just how much work the Holland office does for us… I thought I wore a lot of hats on the ship but these guys wear even more and do it all with great humility and a positive attitude. So thankful for them and the chance to see behind the scenes.

New food to test in Pier 99 is on a container due to arrive in September!

The warehouse from DB that allows Mercy Ships space to store bulk items for free and stage container shipments

Paul and Eva’s hospitality and a delicious home cooked meal

A bike ride through Kinderdijk and seeing the windmills

Yelp and Trip Advisor that helped fill in the gaps on my shameless tourist days

Fresh, warm stroopwafels … I didn’t know something already amazing could get even better but it did

And other Dutch foods and drinks to try… savory pancakes, mini pancakes and Dutch beer

The Rotterdam Port tour and feeling at home again for a 75 minutes

Two mini reunions, one with Hanna in Den Haag and one with Wilco in Amsterdam (with a spontaneous adventure to Volendam), and knowing the beautiful thing about ship friends is that no matter how long its been it will always feel like no time has passed

Getting to talk about Benin as much as I wanted without worrying I was annoying anyone and lots of laughter remembering stories from the never ending Advance

The current Advance team in Mada and the tireless work they are doing behind the scenes for our next field service

A slow morning started with coffee and prayer

A last dinner in Holland complete with an amuse-bouche to start

Safe and quick flight to Scotland and seeing Jenny and Sam waiting for me… big hugs from both and Sam’s hand to hold

Miriam warmed up to me after only a few hours instead of days as it normally takes (perhaps because her mum and I look and sound so similar)

Hannah’s immediate running hug and smile

Delicious homemade soups and other tasty meals

Hannah’s hugs every morning

After the kiddos tuck in for the night Jenny and I stay up talking and catching up

Watching my beautiful sister and her wonderful husband love their children well even when its difficult or they need to be disciplined or when it means putting the kiddie pool out even when its cold and about to rain because they know it will mean the world to Sam in that moment