可敬的阿姨和叔叔：

        願榮耀歸於我們的主上帝。因著我們主的恩典和引導，我能處於現在光景中。感謝你們所有人對我的支持及將我放在你的禱告中，叫我得以堅固，並知道在這旅程中我並不孤單。

        我在荷蘭的生活已經開始習慣了。起初文化衝擊很大，就是買生活日用品的情況與我預期的都有很大不同（我要騎15-20分鐘的自行車才能到達最近的超市）。天氣的影響也與我想像的不同，我以為冬天應該很有趣！下雪應該很好玩！為什麼沒有人告訴我有「冬季抑鬱症」呢？

        撇開意想不到的事情，我還有很多事情對上帝感恩。其中一件事，是我的住宿安排。今年（我的意思是2021年，從技術上講，這是去年，但仍然不太習慣），我所在的城市恩斯赫德（Enschede）出現了住房短缺。根據我大學的通訊，在9月新學年開始時，大約有300名學生沒有地方住宿。由於我是來自歐盟以外的學生，所以大學保證我第一年可以有住宿的地方。然而，有住宿的地方並不意味著有一個好的住宿環境。我擔心我唯一能找到的地方是一個骯髒的房子或與一些不負責任的室友同住。然而因著上帝的恩典，我能夠在校園裡找到一個房間，並且與負責任和成熟的室友同住（他們都是24-28歲的碩士生），我甚至有自己的廁所和淋浴的地方（大約80%的學生宿舍都需要與其他人共用衛生間）。我的房間也是帶傢俱的，所以我沒有購買傢俱的煩惱。當然，我每天都有一些感謝上帝的事情，但住宿仍是最重要的，直到今天我仍然感恩。

        至於我的學業，我不會說它很順暢，但至少我還沒有被迫輟學（哈哈）。來到一個全新的環境，所承受的艱難比我預期的多，再加上我必須應付課堂上大量的功課，說實在的，我真的不知所措。有很多日子我感到情緒低落，我開始在課業上落後，甚至有時好幾天沒有走出房門。但是，一如既往，感謝上帝，因為我在那裡遇到了很多真正理解和支援的人。我的教會每週二都會舉行小組聚會，每次我與他們見面時，我都會感到神清氣爽，得著更新。我的室友們也讓我有這種感覺，因為到2021年底，我開始在宿舍的公用廚房裡遛達，而不是把自己鎖在房間裡，透過與室友互動和交流讓我感到比以前更快樂。

        總而言之，我在新地方的第一個學期很艱難。然而，藉著我們上帝無盡的愛和恩典，我挺過來了。對於所有支持我並為我祈禱的人，再次感謝你們。知道我的掙扎被體會，並你在我背後給了我力量。願上帝賜福你們。

親切問候您的
吳以勒
2022年1月12日

To all the lovely aunties and uncles:

        First and foremost, glory be to the Lord our God. Truly, without the grace and guidance of our Lord, I would not be in the position I am in right now. And thank you all for supporting me and keeping me in your prayers. I am strengthened by the knowledge that I am not alone on this journey.

        The Netherlands was a lot to get used to, to say the least. Culture shock quickly became the norm, access to commodities was very much different from what I expected (15-20 minutes’ cycle to the nearest supermarket), and even the effects of the weather differed from what I thought. I thought winter was supposed to be fun! Snow was supposed to be fun! Now why had nobody told me about this “winter depression”?

        Unexpected things aside, there were still many things that I am grateful to God for. The one thing that still sits in the front of my mind was my housing situation. There was a housing shortage in my city, Enschede, this year (by that I mean 2021, which technically is last year but it’s still weird to say). I believe there was about 300 students without a place to stay at the start of this school year in September according to my university’s newsletter. Granted, I was a student from outside the European Union, so I was guaranteed by the university a place to stay for the first year. However, a place to stay does not necessarily mean a GOOD place to stay. I was worried that the only place I would be able to find would be a dirty house or a house irresponsible roommates especially because of the shortage, but that was not the case. By God’s grace, I was able to find a room on campus with responsible and mature roommates (they’re all masters students ranging from ages 24-28) and I even have my own toilet and shower (around 80% of all student houses have shared bathrooms). My room also came furnished, so I didn’t have to go through the hassle of purchasing furniture. Of course, there is always something I am grateful to God about every single day, but my housing situation was the biggest thing and one that I am still thankful about to this day.

        As for my education, I wouldn’t say that it’s going swimmingly, but at least I haven’t been forced to drop out yet (haha). Transition to a completely fresh environment was a lot more to bear than I had expected. Combine that with the swamp of work I had to do for my classes, well, I became really overwhelmed. I had many days where I was feeling low, I started falling behind in classes, and there were even times I didn’t step out of my house for days. But, as always, all thanks to God, because I met a lot of people there who were really understanding and supportive. My church there holds small group meetings every Tuesday, and every single time I meet with them I feel refreshed and energized. My roommates also made me feel that way, as towards the end of 2021 I started working inside our communal kitchen instead of locking myself in my room, and having the interaction and the liveliness made me feel much happier than I was.

        So, to sum it all up, my first semester in a new place was rough. However, due to the unending love and grace of our God, I made it through. To all of you who are supporting and praying for me, once again, thank you. Knowing that my struggles are seen and that you are behind me gives me strength. God bless you all.

Kind Regards,
Jireh Wu
January 12, 2022

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