will stacken - ywam amsterdam staff

life over this past week went very good. it had its challenges. but it also had its victories. i guess the one thing that i am most taken by is the way that i tend to learn things in the week. each week truly brings with itself a set of simple truths that i just need to glean from my experiences and place into my life. funny eh? maybe thats normal. anyway. it was a good week. my week included an exciting time of ministry on monday night in the RLD. me and 2 friends here took to the streets at around 11:00 pm to pray and minister. we were blessed to meet and talk with both dealers and tourists. these tend to be who we encounter here. the Spirit truly shows Himself in these times. He leads us in finding who we need to talk with and how to pray for them. also He protects our purity in these times. what a blessing! we had some great times of teaching together as a base. there were 2 really good sessions that i was able to be a part of on tuesday and thursday in the morning. on was on "Gods leading in the life of Joseph" and the other dealt with "The Father Heart of God." both sessions were intense times of prayer for our YWAM Amsterdam base. its interesting to watch what God is doing in our community here. His hand is really on us here. He's calling us to first know Him. out of our true, personal, one on one relationship with Him we can be a part of what He is doing in the world. God is already working at redeeming the world. He was doing before i was born, and He invites us to join with Him in His work. He gives us the task...and He provides the tools and grace to accomplish them. amen. this weekend though was truly a breath of fresh air...i was able to hang out with some friends here in amsterdam on friday. on saturday a friend of mine got married here in amsterdam so i went to the reception for that. it was mostly YWAM people, but it was a nice to just relaxing and enjoy life together. it was truly a breath of fresh air. however, sunday was kind of the high point of my week. i was able to run the Amsterdam 1/2 Marathon. (www.amsterdammarathon.nl). it was sooooo much fun. oh wow. the course for the race went all around the center of amsterdam. it was really beautiful. however, i was a bit focused on the race. i had planned to run a fairly easy pace of 8:45-9:00 miles...however, blew that out of the water. i felt quite strong so i took it up a notch and ran an average pace of 8:00 miles for 13.1 miles. it was awesome. i enjoyed it greatly. so yeah. that was my week here. take care...seeya. in Him...will

i'm feeling like the word intense is getting over used, however; i feel that no other word can describe the life i lead here in amsterdam. no joke. these last days have just been awesome. last week i began to see the Lord begin to bring about healing in my life. i see God refining me of my sinful nature. i see Him challenge me to walk in a way that is worthy of the calling i have received. Hes teaching me to release myself of old ways and habits...revealing areas of my life that i need to bring His light into the darkness of my life. He wants to bring cleansing and restoration to all areas of my life. ministering in the RLD brings out the true pains you have experienced in life. you see so many broken people here....people caught in vicious addiction cycles. yes, they hate there addictions; but they cannot fathom life with out them. you see people who are so addicted to heroine and cocaine that if they even were to quit, the withdrawals would shock there body to death, literally. (basically there body cannot function w/o the drug...or so i am told.) i see homeless people who have grown so used to life on the street that they just assume that is there role in life. they don't really desire a normal life. they know that different places will feed them...let them shower there...and get a fresh change of clothes twice a week. this for them...is there cycle in life. it may be hard to read these things...but living them is even more intense....however, for me; i need to be a living witness to them. i have to be a part of there destructive and co-depended worlds... and try to walk out a normal healthy life of my own (which is a witness in itself). i try to live a normal life here, while witnessing these horribly self destructive patterns. it can take such a tole on you. however, this is where i see God speak to me. He speaks scriptures...He speaks truth to the lies i see. He IS faithful. no joke. i totally love being here though. its awesome actually. i can totally say i love what i do. i the love the times where God gives me the words that shock people with His love for them. yesterday is saw a dealer named Alex on the street. hes someone i have been seeking to meet and talk with. well yesterday he was sitting on the street by the Cleft. he was a bit out of it. i went up to him and introduced myself to him and told him i lived i lived in amsterdam and worked here in the neighborhood. he told me a bit of his story. its a story in which he is the victim and he doesnt take responsibility for his actions. (he doesnt understand it like this though). its similar to many stories here. however, do not think i have grown hard to this area and its people. but the elements of alex's life are common to this area. they are just normal causes of a lifestyle of like his. anyway. i was able to share a bit of the love of God for him. you could see this mans eyes light up as i shared with him. he longed to hear those words...he hungered for that kind of love. it was a taste of the love of God for him. it was a beginning and the start of a foundation in his life. its a relationship i now have with him and i hope that it will lead to him coming to know the Lord. thats a bit about the life i live here. sorry its been a few days since i have written...its been crazy. this is only a small bit of what Gods doing here. i will seek to share more soon. take care. in Him...will

what a crazy it was. i am so blessed to be able to even share that with you. i was given so many learning expierences this week. wow. so i will just go right into it. i dealt this week with a guy who's name is david. hes not from Holland and he has paranoid schizophrenia. this is my first time ever dealing with someone who has a severe mental condition. he was not harmful to us though. however, he was not taking his meds so that made him unstable and incapable of a normal thought process. we took him to a doctor this week who informed us of him condition. david was a true test and challenge for us. we learned better how to handle people in his condition...we learned how to love them. also we were able to see what our love for him did in his life. because we loved him he began to trust us as much as someone in his state can. we were able to speak truth to the lies he believed and we were able to reasure him of his safety, as this was a part of his illness. also, i saw the spiritual side of his life and illness. davids state was clearly demonic in nature. if anyone doubts me on this, just sit in the same room as david. you feel it such a heavy way. however, we clearly saw the strength of Jesus in this. the Lord was mighty and faithful in this situation. God says that "He will never leave you - never forsake you." we saw that clearly in davids story. this situation took most of time and strength this week. dealing with him just wore me down and out. however, i was able to make better contact with some of the people he on the streets of the RLD. the night ministry Teun and i did was intense and very fruitful. we are begining to build relationships and recognize the different dealers on the streets. this is key to working in this area. many of these men simply try to forget the way these drugs hurt people. they only care about the money...many spend it so foolishly...some claim that it is for there familes. i wish i knew the truth better on this subject. other than all this...life in amsterdam is good. i am struggling to learn where to set my boundaries between my life and my ministry though. i am first called to follow and know Jesus. this is who i am. my work and my calling are to be a missionary in Amsterdam. however, i learned this week that i cannot let that become my identiy. undestand? i hope. i write this because i simply learned this this week and i need to put into practice in my own life. working in the RLD is tough and i struggle with taking my work home with me. if i am not careful it totally consumes me and this is not healthy. yes, i give 110% to my work here. this is not a question. i love what i do here and i see God work in me and through me...i am learning that i simply need to unplug from it when its time to go home....kind of like Paul says..."in this world, but not of this world." hope you all see my heart in this...feel free to email me and talk with me more about it....willstacken@gmail.com well i need to run for now...take care... in Him...will