Do You See What I See?

  THE KISS – De Haar Castle

In the fall of 1983, I traveled to The Netherlands with a group from the church I attended at the time. Our mission was to help renovate an old building owned by YWAM (Youth With A Mission) situated on the periphery of the Red Light District across from the Central Train Station in Amsterdam. Little did I know at the time that my short term missions project would turn into a lifelong love affair with a certain red-headed Dutchman who would later become my husband.

We spent three weeks in Holland that autumn. Our group stripped old wall paper and hung new, sanded, painted, applied wood stain, and cleaned. Included in our group were a couple of skilled carpenters who helped build a new stairway in the old building. We participated in evangelistic outreach and also had the opportunity to do a bit of sight seeing.

My Dutchman happened to be volunteering his time in Amsterdam at the same time we were there. He and I were among a group of a dozen or so people who chose to walk from our hotel (if you can call it that; we stayed in a very old Seaman’s hotel – Het Zeeman’s Huis - with rooms just big enough for a single small bed and a sink, toilets and showers located elsewhere in the building…), rather than ride the bus to our YWAM work site.

I must admit I was quite smitten with this young, God fearing, handsome red-head, and looking back, it is no wonder that when he invited me to bicycle with him to visit a local castle located near his home town, I jumped at the chance. The picture shown above was taken during our recent trip to Holland in front of that very same castle.

The rest is history, I suppose you could say. Twenty-three years and three children later, I am still quite smitten. If there is such thing as love at first sight, surely our love story qualifies. And, anyway, how could a girl possibly not fall in love with a young man who whisks her away to a story book castle on their very first date? Nope, I didn’t stand a chance. Still don’t.