Give freely and become more wealthy;
be stingy and lose everything.
(Proverbs 11:24)

Greetings from Amsterdam! As we stretch into the middle part of May, I realize how much I really enjoy this time of the year, in this part of the world. There’s plenty of sunshine and blue skies (in marked contrast to other times of the year in the Netherlands). There seems to be a national holiday every week or two (Easter, Queen’s Day, Memorial Day, Liberation Day, Ascension Day, Pentecost). And everyone seems to be especially loose and relaxed in the weeks leading up to the summer vacation season. It really is a lovely time of the year.

At the end of April, the Netherlands celebrated its annual tribute to the Dutch royal family: Queen’s Day (which just so happened to be the day after the big royal wedding in England that you may have heard about). This year was our family’s ninth Queen’s Day in Amsterdam, so we’ve developed a pretty good sense of how things go. Over two million visitors flock into the city. The streets and canals are jam-packed with people wearing orange (the color of the Dutch royal family). Music is everywhere—stereos, live performances, disc-jockeyed dance parties. Many people lay their stuff out on the city sidewalks to sell in the annual vrijmarkt, which is basically like a gigantic, city-wide garage sale. But even though we’re familiar with how Queen’s Day goes, it’s still quite the adventure every year. As you might be able to imagine, different people experience Queen’s Day in different ways. Some are very pleasant and just enjoying the holiday in their own way. And then others take the vrijmarkt bargaining process way too seriously… or become drunk and belligerent and unaware of the ways that their behavior might be causing problems for other people… It can also be quite exhausting.

Fortunately, this year we had a good Queen's Day. The weather has cooperated beautifully. We got to enjoy the experience with other close friends. And though it’s always a tricky balancing act, I think we managed to find the right mix of adventure and rest.

It was especially enjoyable for our family to hang around the corner of the Herengracht and the Herenstraat, right outside our church’s ministry center, this year. We did this along with a number of other friends from Amsterdam50. Many of them organized traditional Queen’s Day activities—but with a twist, in that many of the activities organized by people from Amsterdam50 had a philanthropic function, as well as simply being fun ways to be out in the city, interacting with people. For instance, a young man from our church named 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 went 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, a couple from the church named Theo and Eva sold coffee and tea, with proceeds benefiting Kenya Matters. Another couple of 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 an initiative planned by one of our church’s community leaders, named Kor. His initiative was called (pardon the crudeness) “Plassen voor Afrika” (Peeing for Africa). Obviously, it was a bit of a provocative and humorous idea. But the basic concept was very simple. Use of our ministry center’s (regularly cleaned and maintained) toilets was granted for €1 per person, again with proceeds benefiting Kenya Matters. 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 two 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, it was a brilliant idea for a brilliant day. Throughout the course of this year’s Queen’s Day, our church raised approximately €700 for Kenya Matters.

Honestly, I think this year's Queen's Day was one of the best that we’ve yet experienced in Amsterdam. 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 was 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 find some on the internet at http://www.ericasp.com/pictures.php/amsterdam-pictures/. Also, if you would like to learn more about Kenya Matters, you can find information on the internet at http://www.kenyamatters.org/. In any event, thank you for the way that you provide us with opportunities to engage with the city of Amsterdam in creative and intentional ways! We’re so grateful for your prayer and financial support. Please keep praying for the Spirit to guide us and direct us in everything we do—from organizing prayer meetings and worship gatherings to celebrating national holidays. Thanks for everything. We’ll be in touch…

Eric