A Brazilian in Amsterdam

Leticia from Brazil wanted to discover the questions that people ask today about life and faith, and learn how to start conversations that lead to sharing the Gospel.  With this aim, she spent her first year placement volunteering at a Christian Youth Hostel in central Amsterdam, putting into practice "what I had stored in my head from lectures, private reading and time spent with the Lord."

Guests at the hostel tended to be backpackers or tourists from all over the world. As the hostel has an international staff, guests who could not speak good English were able to talk in their own languages and dialects.  Leticia was able to share the Gospel with several Brazilians, using Portugese.  "They were always very interested in all I had to say as it made them really happy to talk in their mother tongue!" she says.

Her duties included running the hostel's café, and preparing evangelistic outreaches and Bible discussions.  She also ran a Samba workshop that was enthusiastically received!  "Lots of our guests attended the workshop, and had a great opportunity to interact with the Christian staff. I appreciated being able to express one aspect of the nationality God gave me."

Leticia found she needed to depend on God at all times, in order to be able to give to others.  "Whenever I tried to do the work in my own strength, I would struggle and become frustrated. I also learnt a lot about how essential prayer and intercession is. I prayed with a room-mate each night and the more we prayed for the guests, the more we saw the hand of God moving in amazing ways.

"I would like to do further placements in Amsterdam, but in whatever way God leads me I am grateful to him to have had a great starting point through my experience at the hostel."