All I hath needed Thy hand hath provided

I absolutely love hymns. They are deep and rich. Nothing watered down or repetitive about them. One of my favorites is "Great is Thy Faithfulness"

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with Thee,

Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,

As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above;

Join with all nature in manifold witness,

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own great presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.

Obviously, pointing out that my favorite line is stated several times above. I am amazed at God. He called me here to Amsterdam and told me He would provide. I stand here doubtful at times but truly EVERYTHING I have need He has provided. In so many ways too, some though hairdressing, others through wonderful people who support me. He takes care of me. I will never look back and think "oh man, I didn't have much money at all" I will look back and see how I had only 25 yet could pay 50. What's exciting is this is only the very beginning to an incredible life lived for God. I look forward to the things to come.

This never-ending learning circle

2012 brought a lot of insight and life lessons.

I learned how to live a full year in another country.

I learned that when God speaks to us; its important not to interpret it into what we think it means.

I learned that the last 5 years of leading up to living in Amsterdam didn't prepare me for actually living in Amsterdam nor to what the Lord had called of me here.

I learned that Amsterdam was just "my starting place" that I would pioneer here but this is only the beginning to my life and calling.

I learned how to submit to authority even more, and to stand up when I know something is not right.

I learned what it felt like to turn quarter of a century old.

I learned how to open my heart up.

I learned a richer meaning behind the verse "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart..." (Psalms 34:18)

I learned there is a time for following and a time for leading.

I learned that with becoming a leader comes much responsibility.

I learned how to simplify living in the physical, intellectual, and spiritual.

2013 has also brought some insight in just a month.

I learned how important it is to be centered on His Word and truth, on the Scripture and not our interpretation of the Scripture.

I learned the importance of being a promoter of the truth and in teaching it in an expository way.

I learned how much God provided for me in the last year. As I did all my expense reports, I realized how much extra money I had to spend when I couldn't account where it came from.

Of course these things that I have "learned" I have not mastered. But there is grace in my humanity.

I want to leave you with a testimony of God's love and grace. It's a story about a woman here. Lets call her "Tamar." Tamar had always believed in God, but like a common misconception never wanted to pray with us when we would go to the windows because "one cannot pray to God in this place of work." But every week our team said hello and reminded her how much Jesus loves her. Finally, she had had enough and when the gospel was shared one night she gave her life to Christ right there behind the window. When I first heard this I thought, alright, well we'll see how it unfolds. Will anything change in her life? And if so how long will it take? I can fully say I got to see Jesus work through someone's life wholeheartedly and meaningfully. It was nothing we did, it was all because of the Holy Spirit. We gave her a Bible and she was so hungry within a day or so had read through the Old Testament. She loves to read it and she loves to pray! Not two weeks later she made the choice to quit working as a prostitute. She knew it was wrong and had had enough, she just couldn't do it anymore. A few days later she had some of our team over to her house for dinner. This is when I got to actually meet her, and oh she is so precious. From her actions that unfolded this past month I know without a doubt her conversion was so sweet and sincere. Yesterday she joined in at my wonderful church here and I got to talk deeper with her. She said whenever she reads the Word of God she just weeps, and can't stop. I told her the difference between Judas feeling regret and Peter repenting was the tears Peter wept bitterly. Tears are a great thing. The incredible thing, is she is understanding things because the Holy Spirit speaks to her. She is hungry and can't get enough of the Word. She truly wants to live a pure life for the Lord and has such a healthy understanding of right and wrong and is learning grace, it's inspiring and beautiful. Jesus is so wonderful and I am so thankful to be here.

A few things you can pray for:

-It looks like I got accepted for my visa for the next year (PTL right?!) but have to pay for it at the end of the month, please pray that God would provide.

-This year holds some awesome but scary leadership roles for me, including leading the Shine Seminar in April, please pray for wisdom and grace.

-My 2 year commitment ends with YWAM Amsterdam in December, but I want to really know what His next plan is for me. Whether I stay here or move somewhere else, please pray for wisdom in that decision (yes I know its 11 months away but its something I want to start preparing for early).

-I really don't like bringing up finances, and God truly has provided for my every need so far, but there have been some ministry trips and outreaches I haven't been able to do, due to lack of finances, that I really wanted to be apart of last year. This request is ONLY if the Lord has been putting it on your heart to support me not only by praying for me but financially as well. If so you can click the "donate" button to the right, or email me Katybestill@gmail.com if you would like to get a tax write off through supporting me.

Thank you to my constant prayer supporters, it makes the biggest difference here because of you!