While the Backstreet Boys were gone I started to go to Youth and Church, on my second week at Youth they announced a name change the video went like this.
A familiar looking guy came on screen and he said, �This new year is going to be intense, in your face and to the point, YOU are NO LIMITS Tampa, and WE are NO LIMITS Leduc, and together we will change history and the world.� JD, the guy got up from pastor Monica�s Desk and lightly grabbed the camera, �this is who we are, and this is where you begin, please welcome, pastor Monica� He said.
I screamed everyone else was quiet, but I didn�t care, this was a little piece of home right in the middle of Tampa. After an intense service, Monica pulled me aside and said, �This won�t bee exactly like Leduc, cuz these people are their own people but if you help them they will make the same difference in people�s lives. Go out there and make new friends, and I�ll tell everyone back home you say �Hi�, ok?�
�OK, Monica, thank you, but tonight was a reminder of what I�ve been missing since I left Leduc, I miss you all and I hope to visit sometime this year, it all depends on what happens with Leighanne and the new baby,� I said.
�Well, take your time, get used to the new environment, also I�ll be bringing a few people up with me over spring break, I�ll try to convince Baylee�s parents to let her come with. Baylee�s grown in god, and I think coming here could do her a lot of good,� Monica said.
�Thanks, well I have friends to make, thank you for reminding me of why we�re here, I was starting to forget, and tonight was really good,� I said.
�Go, make new friends, and always remember that god is with you.�
I walked towards a girl that seemed to be standing alone, the first thing I had learned was that if you approached a group you were likely to be ignored, and so I decided that I would start out with just one friend. Soon I would fit right in that is if they ever got hyper; they all seemed kind of off, or on the fence. I know it�s kind of mean, but still, being on the fence was worse than being on the wrong side of the fence, with god there is no lukewarm it�s hot or cold, on fire or not, I was on fire. I guess you could say that I am really weird, because I greeted the girl not with a handshake but with a hug, I never did like to shake hands, because with me being left handed I felt like it was a thing against lefties, and I am Canadian and Canadians are really big on hugs. �What?� the girl was confused.
�I�m Canadian, and I�m really big on hugs, sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable,� I said
�No, I was just shocked because there aren�t very many people here who will just introduce themselves then hug you, but hey there�s nothing wrong with hugs,� She said.
�I never did catch your name,� I said.
�Oh, sorry, it�s Lisa,� she said.
�well Lisa, I guess it�s not that often that a new person will come up and hug you,� I said
�You�re new, wow, I had no Idea, this is only my third time here,� Lisa said.
�It�s my second, I just moved here, It was a little taste of home to have Monica here, she�s an Awesome speaker and pastor, I�ve been part of her church for a long time, then when I left it was like weird, I�m glad I found a church so closely affiliated to Word Of Life Center because then I have contact with everyone back home,� I said.
�I miss my home too, I�m from, the Netherlands and I miss everyone back home,� Lisa said.
�You are from the Netherlands? That is so cool, I�ve always liked the food from there, my mom made an awesome Croquette (a Dutch food, I�m not sure how to spell it, but it�s really good it�s got like turkey and a curry sauce all wrapped in bread crumbs and deep fried, they are almost as good after they have been frozen and heated up in the toaster oven.)� I said
�My mom always makes that, it�s so good, and it reminds me of my home,� Lisa said.
�So, what are you two talking about?� the youth pastor asked, I looked up and saw Andy.
�Dutch food, I should have known you�d come here, Andy� I said.
�Dutch food, that�s that fattening stuff that Pete�s mom always made at New Years,� Andy said.
�We were talking about what my mom made, olebollen (Another Dutch food, this one is a mystery dough and it�s deep fried as well, I don�t like it because it is an acquired taste that is mostly acquired by non Dutch teens it seems, and old Dutch people.) is gross.�
�Oh, your mom made that better than Pete�s mom, she didn�t make it the same,� Andy said.
�Pete�s mom put the meat in a batter, so it was way different,� I said.
�You know, you should come to my house sometime when my mom goes on a cooking spree,� Lisa said.
�Really? That would be cool, but I�d have to ask my mom,� I said.