Vincent .

(I'm having a lot of trouble with blogger formatting right now, so I'm sorry if this appears very strangely.)

Starry, starry night.

Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.

Starry, starry night.

Flaming flowers that brightly blaze,
Swirling clouds in violet haze,
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue.
Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain,
Weathered faces lined in pain,

Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.

My grandma and I had the chance to go to the van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. Van Gogh is a person and painter I admire, and it was amazing to stand in front of these paintings and think "ok, this is real; this is what he painted, what he dreamed, what he hoped for other people, what he saw." I so appreciate what he stood for - he wanted to express things, and make everything beautiful, and he was all about people even if he didn't particularly like being around them or have much luck with them. I'm glad I've read about him before because the museum told very little about his story.

The entire time in Holland (and especially on the bike ride, which was at a nature reserve about 30 minutes from Barneveld) everything reminded me of his paintings, and the way he thought about people. I am convinced that Dutch clouds are the most beautiful in the world :) The colours, and contrasting landscapes were so beautiful. Grey, blue, and white sky against fields of purple heather and shades of gold and green. Then there were plains of sand, with bare, stark trees, and empty roots. It was so breathtaking and fresh!

Psalm 19:1

The heaven declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.

For they could not love you,
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one As beautiful as you.

Starry, starry night.
Portraits hung in empty halls,
Frameless head on nameless walls,
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget.
Like the strangers that you've met,
The ragged men in the ragged clothes,
The silver thorn of bloody rose,
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.

They would not listen, they're not listening still.
Perhaps they never will...

(some photos taken by Kyleigh)

Abroad Again

We are in the middle of our 3rd week in Europe now. There are many fun and colourful details I would love to share, but sadly I have a ton of homework...and some of you have short attention spans!
Basically what we have done is flown to Germany, spent two days, hopped trains (due to a convenient Lufthansa strike) to Zwolle, and were there for a week. Though the week in Zwolle was amazing and our primary reason for the trip; I can't really share stories or photos of that.
Since then we have been staying at a little house in Barneveld, owned by my old Dutch tutors who are away. It's a really nice town! We don't fit on the bikes but have been into the square a few times to walk around.
Two days were spent in Belgium, one in Amsterdam, one on a bike ride (which I'll talk about later), and today in Haarlem and Delft.
Now just a couple pictures.
Dahlia at Mini Europe in Brussels - The flower carpet in Brussels, which we were lucky to see as it happens every two years
I like this picture. Taken from a German castle wall.
Again from that German town wall -
At a doll museum in Rothenburg, which was amazing!


This weekend we'll be in Maastricht, Luxemburg, and Germany (Koln), then back to the house in Barneveld to pack before flying to Germany for two days and then home to Dubai.

I'll probably write in greater length later about the bike ride and just things in general, but while I have time...

It's been an amazing trip, in short. Europe is so beautiful, and has such a rich history that is so apparent...you don't have to dig as deep to find it.
The week in Zwolle was fun, challenging, and very much a learning experience. God seems to very much like to teach me things by long ordeals with people/relationships/friendships. This was no exception! I got to see dear old friends again, practice my bagpipes overlooking a windy canal, and go to Walibi World, an awesome amusement park (and I'll have you know that I went on the biggest roller coaster, which I'm very proud of!! And enjoyed every second of it!).

This summer God has changed more things in me than I could think of. There are so many things around the bend or to figure out (or even realise about myself) but a lot of that has been clearer this summer.

Another analyzation of our time I'll save for when we've actually left Holland so I have more to look back on, but really, I can't wait to serve here someday, and doors open and open and open.


with love (and hopes that you're having a delightful August),
Cait

mercy on our country.

Our family has read so much lately about the continuous progression of - I'm not sure what to call it so I will say liberality - in America. It is sickening, but more so tragic. It would be easy to despair that the fate of our nation is to spiral down in a crumbling mess of hate, homosexuality and abortion; disguised as tolerance, love, and choice.
What is tolerance when it is selective? As in turning against Christians...or turning against themwhen they actually stand for what they believe in. This is a repetetive phase.

This is merely a short side note, a burst of steam. I guess it would be good to think and write more deeply about the late happenings involved.

(I know that many of you strongly disagree and have different convictions. Shall we agree to disagree instead of judging?)

with love,
Cait
a person, not always tolerant and not always loving, but trying to be; like you.