will stacken - ywam amsterdam staff

hey dudes wow...so much to share for the past week of ministry and life. amsterdam is really begining to feel more like my new home. i am truly blessed to be in a place like this. God has placed me here and contures to confirm the fact that i am too be here at this time in life...i know this to be true. the Lord challenges me...blesses me...uses me...and refines me...and that was just this week of ministry!! so just a few highlights...i have been making some awesome contacts on the streets of the RLD. i met a ton of addicts...homeless guys...dealers...and even the guys who try to lure people in the sex clubs in the RLD. its really amazing to talk and minister to those guys. i just simply introduce myself and tell them who i am, where i work and where i am from. its awesome to see how God moves in me to minister to them. they are such broken guys. they totally hate what they do for work in the RLD, they just want to be treated like people. one even invited me over for coffee in the next couple of weeks. also, this is cool. i met a homeless guy named Theo a couple of weeks ago. i see him around a lot and i spent some time talking with him. hes such a broken guy. he lost his whole family at a young age...was sent to a boarding school where the nuns treated him badly...hes divorced...just a very broken man...well we have been talking a lot and on friday i invited him to the cleft for breakfast. i made him bacon, eggs and coffee. Theo, me and another guy Teun just sat and talked for a couple of hours. his whole view of God is just changing so much. Gods getting a hold of this man! Praise the Lord. also, i am learning how to enjoy life in this city also. i was able to get out and do some nice runs outside of downtown area of Amsterdam. i was able to get out by the sea and run. its relaxing there. the wide open space of it reminds me of home. also i have found a good church called Zolder 50.... www.amsterdam50.nl so yea..thats the short update. take care...stay in touch...comment on this stuff too. seeya in Him...will

just so you all know...there some new amsterdam photos on this site... there are not many right now...but there will be more to come...i'll be making a new post on here hopefully tomarrow. it was a busy week of ministry and i look forward to sharing with you all the highlights of it. God Bless...

well today was an interesting day of ministry. things went really good actually. we had 2 prayer walks through the RLD (red light district). one of them was in the afternoon around 1 pm and the other at 9 pm. wow...what a difference 8 hours can make. myself, a dutch guy named teun, and our american leader stan went on a prayer walk today around 1pm through a few of the streets in the RLD. it was a good prayer walk although there wasnt a whole lot going on. however...teun and i went to pray there after our bible study and it was crazy. the streets were packed! no joke. there were spanish teenagers...american business men...dutch couples...chinese tour groups... there were just tons of people. all with one thing on there mind. it was just heart breaking... as i work and minister more and more in this neighborhood i begin to see the way things work. i see the way that people get worn down...comfortable in these terrible suroundings. this get used to seeing the "ladies behind the windows" it can become normal to them. isnt that scary? i see people get sucked into this place. they become bound here, spiritually that is. that is where Jesus and the ministry of the cleft come in. as we prayed in the RLD tonight i had such a strong sense of the Lords presenece. we prayed earlier today that the Lord would give us a tour of this this, his broken and used city of Amsterdam. i believe that tonight i did see that. i saw the way His creation of women are abused and used. i saw the lustful eyes as people glanced at these women as if it were a zoo.....its really something. i feel that i had to really share these thoughts tonight. just so you all know, God really protects us when we are on the street also...our eyes and minds are free from impurity. God takes care of us when we are out there...i dont see anything that would cause me harm so. also, let me end with a story of hope. tonight we had our mens bible study at the cleft. we had 8 guys show from the street. it was encouraging. we looked at psalm 18. it was awesome to discuss it with them and answer questions. i get a chance to see the world through there eyes. thats awesome actually. some of them have been so used and abused...physically, emotionally and spiritually. its awesome to see Jesus love on them. so yea...there is a ton of hope in this area. God is totally busy. people are being set free and the kingdom is being built up a bit more everyday...take in Him...will

hey dudes

well its been a few days since i have been able to write on here. things are good. i am adjusting to life here at Amsterdam. its good though. i guess i kind of made the mistake that when i moved here that i would just pick up on life here right where i left off. this hasnt been the case. i have the close tight relationships that i thought would be here. this is an honest truth...and a prayer request also. things have been awesome here, dont get me wrong. its just part of the adjustment i have to make to life on this side of the sea. so thats that.

we are in the middle whats called "at home week" here at YWAM Amsterdam. most of the missionaries were on some sort of furlough over the summer months. the "at home week" is a time for us to pray...worship...and fellowship with one another. its a time of gaining vision and focus for the coming year. its been a good expierence.

other than that...life has been good. i have been working on my bicycle here in Amsterdam. like all "amsterdamers" i have a bike and i am getting it all "dutched out." its pretty sweet. its electric lime in color with black bags on the back. its like it. well thats about it. monday starts fulltime ministry in the Red Light Dist. i am excited. i have been down there already since i have been here for prayer walks and meetings about ministry...but monday is the kickoff. i am VERY excited. oy...its gonna be intense. so thanks for all your prayers...emails...and the like. take care.

in Him...will

ps...I AMsterdam is this pretty cool advertising of posters throughout Amsterdam showing the multiculturalness of this city. i think its pretty sweet name for this blog.

hello all.

well its begining to feel like life here again. its crazy to be back in Amsterdam. at first it felt weird, like i didt know anyone. it was just a rush being back. now i am begining to feel at home again. so thats a huge blessing. wow. i am blest have such a good team to work with here. they are just amazing.

i am now pretty well at home in my new room. i bought a new lava lamp yesterday...oh man, its great. its silver with orange junk inside it. for those of you who know me well, you'll that i have just a fascination with these things.

as far as what Gods teaching me...i read today about how we as believers can be doing things out of our own strength. i am pretty guilty of that. i know that i have a true ambition to do ministry the way i do construction and thats long hard days, but i wanna see progres come out of my time. however, ministry cant really be that way i guess. yes i can and will put in long days at it. but only the Lord can provide and show me the true progess. i long to see a revival of the Lord sweep across the streets of Amsterdam. I desire to see places such as the Red Light District be a place that USED TO BE filled with broken souls who cry out for true peace. thats my prayer. thats what Gods teaching me. i know that God has big plans for this area. i dont believe He will leave it in the states that it is in. Gods to big for that. Jesus died for these people that they need to make the choice on how they will respond to so drastic a measure. I will live to see this dream come true..in His timing.

so yea...i guess thats about it. thanx to all who are posting comments. take care of yourself. seeya.

in Him...will

hola wow...i cant believe all thats going on. i have a million things going on right now before i leave. getting ready has been going really good thus far. i almost have my packing done...i have been able to see a ton of friends...my parents are getting ready too...so thats good. i feel like i wanna say a word about the way God has been moving lately. i feel burdend to say that it has a been a tough summer spiritually. like its been a challenge for me stay in the word like i desire too. i have been getting a lot of prayer. i pray continually...while i drive...while i work...while i run. thats been awesome to watch my prayer life grow. however, i gotta say that i didnt get the time in the word i needed. i know that. i got a lot...but it came in spurts...like i would take a few hours and read. but it could be 3 days at a time. i feel that i guess. today i stoped and read for a couple hours at this cafe in brainerd. i sat and read 4-5 chapters of acts...like around acts 12. i read how Paul was totally on the move. it had been a few months since i read acts. i love that book. the story of Pauls focus...drive...preaching...they all just blow me away. i totally relate to him. he inspired me in the way he taught and lived. totally for Christ. 110%. i love that. i also have been diggin on John 1 and Phillipians 2. those chapters really get me. i cant believe how busy i can get. crazy eh? i only have like 3 days left here at home. wow. i am gonna miss my folks a ton. its been such a good time with them. i lovem a ton. if any of you read this that know my parents...encourage them! pray for them as i am gone, that they would grasp what God is calling me too. pray they would have peace in my going. i guess i just cant wrap my head around what its like to have your son move across the sea with no idea when hes gonna return. guess i need to be more sensative to it, eh? well...thats about it. i should say that i have been totally blessed here in the Crosslake area this summer. my home church has been blessing me a ton. especially those on my support team. the way you all pray and care about what i am doing. you are a true inspiration to me. no joke. i couldnt do what i do with out you caring about me. so thanx. God Bless you....you know who you are!! well, that bout it for now. take care and God Bless you all. in Him...will