Amsterdam and Vlog 7

Stephan's Traveling Camera Vlog #7 from Stephan Hughes on Vimeo.

Once again, i find myself traveling. This time for my shortest trip yet. I spent the 21st to the 23rd of November in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Or as we Americans/english speakers call it (and which the dutch gave up on correcting long ago): Holland.

It's interesting to be in a country that has english as a second language. One would hope for some degree of english in a major European city, but here everyone speaks it. There is a large emphasis on fluency. And something about the language sounds natural. Its not a pretty language like French or some of the other romance languages. But due to the shared origin with english, its just sounds natural. That or I am way too accustomed to hearing other languages.

But I wasn't there for the city. This time i was working with a secular choir that sings black gospel music. Secular meaning about half of the members are non-christians (out of a 120+ person choir). The choir members are required to memorize the music, which is all in english. So instead of being preached at, they are actually learning what our faith is made of. They have to learn about concepts such as sanctification, justification, etc. Things that most christians don't even know. It is through the music and the community that they are trying to spread the gospel. They show genuine love for the people. And it is a pretty amazing choir at that. It was a real honor to be part of such an experience. And Doug and Jackee are doing things in a way i totally respect and appreciate.

I wish i could have spent more time with the choir and in the city. I only had a few hours in the city itself. It was interesting. I knew which areas to avoid. Lets face it, Amsterdam is known for its red light district and legal pot smoking (ok, i could actually spell the drug). Its also know for its bicycle paths, which is awesome. So long story short, I did get some decent stock footage.