My friends

Almost every night in the cafe, Walter wants to play a game. In his Dutch-English he points his finger at you, flares his eyes and says, "You play a game??" Woah. How do you say no to that? You can tell in his eyes if he's had a few beers yet that night or not. If he has, the game will be really interesting. If he hasn't, the game will be interuppted by a few "bathroom breaks."
Tonight I am working in the kitchen until 11:45. "You play a game?" asks Walter. "Well, maybe after I'm done with all my chores," I say. "Bah!" says Walter, "I help you! What you want me to do?" He doesn't take no for an answer. I tell him he can clean the garden while I scrub the grill. He must really want to play tonight, because he grabs a rag and goes. In ten minutes he is back, explaining that he cleaned all the free tables and told the guests still out there that they better clean up their own spots. I can only imagine their reactions! Having a 40 year old, tall fiery Dutchman tell you to do anything would probably bring complete obedience.
We sit down at the table with Keila, another cleaner right now and try to decide which card game to play. We are talking about the hostel- how it is Christian, but how everyone upstairs in the dorms break the rules. We talked about being honest and Walter proudly talked about how after he was caught the first time drinking upstairs he hasn't done it again. "But everyone else f---ing does it upstairs!" "Yeah, Walter, I know. It's not right, but that's cool that even though they break the rules, you are trying to do what's right," I say. "Yeah," he says, "it's not easy," wagging his finger at me again. I nod. Keila smiles at Walter. After 2 weeks we're learning how to respond to him.
Rico, another one of our cleaners, comes in. He sits down with us in the middle of our paused game and makes us laugh so hard. All of a sudden, Walter lights the cigarette that has been teetering between his fingers all evening. "Walter!" I say. We both look at his smoking cigarette and he is shocked! Walter always complains about not being able to smoke in the cafe, but he would never do it on purpose. His mind, caught up in the fun of the moment, let go and let him light up. I laugh at his shocked expression and we both jump up. I follow him outside and we go sit at the corner by the canal. "I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to!" he keeps saying. I just laugh- "I know Walter, it's ok!"
He finishes his cigarette and then pops open a Heineken can. It's ok for him to drink, just not in the hostel. I say nothing. Staring out over the canal, my mind starts running. The wind picks up and the sky is pink. "Is it going to rain tomorrow?" I ask. Walter has lived in Amsterdam all his life. "Do you know what the weather will be like by looking at the sky?" I interuppt him mid-sip, not meaning to, but my mind is running. I laugh and tell him I don't mean to. I tell him about my dad and how I used to go and sit in my dad's office armchair and ask him a million questions. Walter's eyes soften. His daughter Mellie is 10. "And he was angry with you?" "No," I say, "he was a good dad." "I think you're a good dad too Walter," I tell him. He scoffs so I continue. "I think you have a good heart too Walter." This is something we have talked about before. He can see this heart in us and has told us. Walter's eyes see so much.
Keila comes out to the corner. She has her ratty black jacket on and her walkman in hand for one of her evening walks. Keila doesn't talk to us much unless it's about what she wants to talk about. A "how are you Keila?" usually is answered with a swift, "I'm fine, and you?" Walter doesn't want her to go alone. She doesn't want to wait. "Let's all go," I say, and I run inside to get a jacket. Well, the jacket I don't find, but I do find Rico, bored and sitting at the table waiting for us to return. "Come on a walk with us!" I say and he gives me "the look" which is really difficult to describe, but basically means, "why are you so weird, but i'm going to come with you anyway."
As we head to the corner, another friend of ours approaches. Al was a cleaner before he got his new job as the head chef at the Cafe Limon. He has worked crazy hours and had so many ridiculous things happen. He passes his joint off to Keila as he begins to imitate the waitresses at the Limon fixing their hair and talking on their cell phones. His Scottish accent thickens as he gets more and more animated. We are all standing around nearly rolling on the ground in laughter and I have one of those moments that you just pause in your head.
These are my friends. And somehow the Lord wraps my heart in peace when I'm around them- unruffled by all these "ruffling" things- the pot, the alcohol. What a moment of fun, of laughter, of such random community! I can't believe I'm here.
Walter had slipped away and brings back a coat for me. We say goodnight to Al and the 4 of us- Rico, Walter, Keila and I head out on a 2 AM walk around the block. We walk past closed but lit shop windows, laugh about the thought of stealing a car or a bike, twice convince Walter that we don't need to go to a bar or liquor store tonight- that we're tired and just need to walk back. We are German, Dutch, British, American. We are all tired, in the same way, in different ways. We are atheist, closed off, searching, in love with Jesus. We are on a walk in Amsterdam in the middle of the night. And I know that Jesus walked with us that night.
Will you remember my friends in prayer? Pray for Rico- that inside himself, he would put down his pride and skepticism and believe in God. Pray for Keila, since this story she is on the street again. Pray that the walls around her heart will keep crumbling- that she will let Jesus love her. Pray for Walter- there is so much more to say about his journey so far, but he is journeying! Praise God! Pray that the power of Jesus would cut through his addictions. I know it is possible.