This has been a good Queen's Day (Koninginnedag) so far. The weather has cooperated beautifully. We got to enjoy the experience with other close friends. And we managed to find the right mix of adventure and rest (which can be a tricky balancing act on Queen's Day).

It was especially nice to hang around the corner of the Herengracht and the Herenstraat this morning, along with a bunch of other friends from Amsterdam50. In this way, we let Queen's Day come to us -- instead of us having to tromp through the busy city streets with our three small children (though we made one quick swing from our base location to the Noordermarkt and back).

One thing that was especially cool about many of the activities organized by people from Amsterdam50 was that they had an philanthropic function, as well as simply being fun ways to be out in the city, interacting with people. For instance, my friend Arjen set up a classic Koninginnedag contest in which you drop a coin through a tank of water and (hopefully) into one of three shot-glasses on the bottom of the tank, in order to win a prize. But instead of it simply being a money-making endeavor, the proceeds were going towards caring for orphans in Kenya, through an organization with whom our church has been developing a stratetic partnership: Kenya Matters.

In a similar vein, my friends Theo and Eva sold coffee and tea, with proceeds benefiting Kenya Matters. My friends Patricia and Naomi painted faces and fingernails, again with proceeds benefitting Kenya Matters.

I have to say, though, that one of the best ideas for this year's Koninginnedag (and I believe one of the original Queen's Day ideas to raise funds for Kenya Matters) was my friend Kor's initiative: Plassen voor Afrika (Peeing for Africa). Use of the H88's toilets was granted for €1 per person, again with proceeds benefitting Kenya Matters. And what was especially brilliant about this idea was the way that it tapped into a natural need for Queen's Day celebrants. When Amsterdam's city center is overwhelmed with 2 million visitors, toilet access comes at a premium. A lot of area businesses make a decent amount of money on Queen's Day, providing a place for people to relieve themselves (many of whom spend much of the day drinking). But this "Plassen voor Afrika" initiative provided such access in a way that opened conversations, raised funds, and increased awareness (both for Kenya Matters and for Amsterdam50).

Simply put, I thought it was brilliant.

It was pretty cool to see how everything came together to make this year's Queen's Day one of the best that I've yet experienced in Amsterdam. Of course, some of our church's altruistic endeavors were also mixed in with individual projects that were designed to make money and to rid houses of accumulated stuff that needed to be sold off -- but it was just fun to see everyone making the most of Queen's Day together. I'm really glad for such a day, in such a city, with such a group of friends.

In case you might be interested in seeing more pictures from this year's edition of Queen's Day (including Elliot's crazy orange hair), you can also visit the Amsterdam Pictures section of the website.

Leve de koningin (Long live the queen!)!