Welkom

It's never been about visiting a western country but more about meeting friends who wholeheartedly welcome me into their homes . 

Strange enough, my phone usage drops to an all time low when I am in The Netherlands. The open conversations revolve around life, faith and our well being. It moves me to visit friends and even the elderly in their 80's over a cup of coffee and conversations over dinner.

There is always something to learn during my visit - whether it is Arjen who taught me that he was supposed to be cleaning the toilets on saturday's in his mom's home since he was staying there (as his own home was under renovation) or his wife who took all the clothes from the washing machine  (including mine) and kept them neatly folded  in front of each room. Their 2+ year old son taught me on the very first day of my visit last year, that I should keep my message notification very low (mama - deze meneer heeft zijn telefoon hard op gezet) translated as this "This gentleman has kept his phone on high volume". It was a gentle reminder that I need to adapt to respect privacy, walk gently, smile and say hello to passersby.

The conversations generally revolve around practical life, struggles and how we cope up. There are friends who have had health issues over the years and it's a blessing to see them face life positively despite their limitations. Gert, for instance has been on a wheelchair for the past 8 years and his wife has been an tremendous support for him. It was a blessing to witness his emotional 25 year anniversary speech where he burst into tears and credited his wife for being his strength.

It's the small details of discomfort in cultural norms which I elaborate for them to understand which they find fascinating along with the arranged marriage, the joint family structure or our culinary food habits.

Relationships blossom over a period of time and deepen rust. The friendships are held very dear and never taken for granted. I find it difficult to keep in touch with friends in Netherlands since I am busy at work, my different abled project and the Hindi church but I do treasure great memories of love expressed in action. 

When I told my host family Nagtegaal where I would be staying that I am visiting them this year end, the response was a beautiful "welkom". 

My accident story adds emotions to  the visit. Since I was taken care by them during my accident with great love, I take additional care of myself both in my character and life to show that I am doing well and that their effort invested in me have not gone in vain. 

If such is the joy of showing yourself to your friends, how much more the joy of longing to hear the words of Jesus, if he finds us victorious in this worldly life and to hear the words - "Well done thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee a ruler over many things: enter into the joy of the lord" Matthew 25:23 and to embrace his welcome.