I am Dutch/American girl who would like to be a missionary one day. I am interested in theology, literature, education and nutrition. I love the home, beauty and nature.

Authenticity and patience: I love the essay by Michael Spencer titled 'iMonk 101: When I am Weak'. In it, he writes about how tired he is of seeing Christians pretending to be strong and have everything together. Instead, he says, we should admit our brokenness. He quotes Luther, who said "Christ dwells only with sinners." I've got many flaws and so I hope for someone who would be able to be patient with me, and who would also admit his own.

I think humor is important too. I don't watch much tv but I liked the humor in, for example, th Cosby show.

I've got lots! Here are a few:

'One life, 'twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last.' -C.T. Studd

"Must you go to China? How much nicer it would be to stay here and serve the Lord at home!" She made it plain at last that she would not go to China." - J. Hudson Taylor's new ex-girlfriend

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to the other, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one!" - C.S. Lewis

"The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing...to find the place where all the beauty came from." -C.S. Lewis

"We can measure our spiritual state not by our own devotional life but by our relationships. Our problems are not horizontal but vertical. We don't love people because we don't love God. Our battles with others are because we are at war with God." - Paul Tripp

I am in college, studying Chinese (BA). I am in my fourth year now. I chose Chinese because I hope to be a missionary to China or another Chinese-speaking country one day. I have not always loved China, as some of my fellow-students have. I chose this major after I read Randy Alcorn's book 'Safely Home', in which he describes the plight of Chinese christians. There are now anywhere between 35 and 130 million Christians in China (I know, very diffferent numbers. It is hard to be certain because there are so many who do not attend registered churches), but there exists a huge lack of Christian literature and Christian teaching.That's why I would like to go there. I would, however, not want to go alone, but instead would like to go together with someone (a husband :). If I do go alone, I would hopefully be involved in missions work full-time, but if I am married to someone and if we are blessed with children my priorities would be supporting my husband and raising our children.

I think I should add that although going to China one day seems the most logical thing to do to me, I am also open to going to other countries where there is a great need.

See above :)

Or, the short version: I would really like to be a good wife and mom, (I'd like to adopt if possible too), and be involved in missions too, mainly indirectly (by supporting my husband).

I read a number of blogs, such as Between Two Worlds, Internetmonk, Girltalk, She Worships, The Gospel in China, Stuff Christians Like and others. Some of the blog posts I like, I share via Google Reader. You can see those here: Google Reader Shared Items

I am an active member of a Christian student union. I run two or three times a week and ride my bike a lot (I live in Holland, after all...).

I was born in New Jersey to an American mom and a Dutch dad. My parents had met during a missions trip in England, and my father later moved to the U.S. and married my mom. Nine months after I was born they moved to The Netherlands, and we have lived here ever since. We have visited my mom's family in the U.S. a number of times. They live in Virginia and Massachusetts. I have traveled through Europe, and have lived in Ghana (four months) and China (last year).

I am really grateful for my family. I have two younger sisters. My dad works for the technical department of a prison and is an elder at our church. My mom is a homemaker. It's a Christian home. It's not perfect but we love each other a lot.

I would find relocating hard, I think, but I am willing to.