his mercies are new every morning

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion forever," says my soul, "therefore I will trust in him."     

LAMENTATIONS 3:22-24

I woke up Sunday morning to this view...

And it was exactly the reminder I needed. After flying in, trying to unpack a little, getting over jet lag, learning how to get to the grocery store, and figuring out how the network works here just so I could let my parents know I was here and safe, I was overwhelmed. And a bit homesick.

The Lord knew. He always does. That sunrise reminded me that he is in control and that he is good. Amidst everything, he is constant; he is faithful.

It's just, there were all the little things. Literally everything written is in Dutch, rarely even accompanied by English. I realized that the little Dutch I knew was just that - just a little. The fact that the toilet and the shower are separated only by a shower curtain and that the whole bathroom gets wet from the shower. The white walls that make the room sometimes seem more like a prison. Coordination without cell phones. Finding the good grocery store. Searching for picture directions on everything. Feeling like I had no idea how to do anything here. So much inefficiency. A very confusing library. The temperamental elevator. A cloudy, rainy first day. Different currency, different language, different culture, different people.

But those weren't the only little things. There was also a fantastic group of people going through exactly the same things I was. There was our professor and his wonderful family. There was the sunrise. There was the great view from my balcony. There was the kind man at the grocery store who explained to us the different cheeses. There was a comfortable bed. There was food to make and eat. There was the awesome architecture all around the city. There was church in English, where we could join the Dutch to praise our Lord.

And things just keep getting better. 

So what all have I been so busy with that it's taken me so long to write this blog? Just to name a few, we've...

• Gone the grocery store, mainly one called Jumbo (pronounced "Yum-bow"). Cereal is not nearly as common here, but the bread is abundant - and boy is the raisin bread delish.
• Gone to the Cafe on location. After some troubles due to not knowing whether a sign said "Please seat yourself" or "Please wait to be seated", a patient bartender helped us fill our hot chocolate and coffee cravings.
• Gone to the VU ('the Free University' as translated to English). There we found an 125+ page packet that we needed to copy for an American Film class, walked through 5 floors of library for 45 minutes trying to understand the complex book system enough to find a book without luck, and went on a useless tour of campus. But I at least know where my classes are!
• Gone to downtown Amsterdam to discover it, its restaurants, and its streets just a little better! 
• Watched the Superbowl (which started at 12:30 in the morning here) on a projector with the group, snacking on yummy potatoes which will become a staple in my diet. (I went to the store the next day and bought a 5 kilo bag for €2!)
• And of course all the mundane unpacking, organizing, emailing, filling out forms, and doing homework (yes, even before the start of classes). 

So much has happened in the past couple days. It has been at times overwhelming, but God's grace through it all has been even more overwhelming, especially through the avenue of this amazing Calvin group. Please keep praying, though! And thanks for the prayers that you've already prayed for me, and for reading my blog yet again! Also, if you'd like to send me letters or the like, my address is: 

Wendy Tabler
Uilenstede 216-1507
1183 AP Amstelveen
NETHERLANDS

It's only been 4 days. So much has happened. So much is yet to happen. And I know that his mercy and faithfulness will never end. I'm excited. :)