Thanks for the article. I have recently relocated to The Netherlands – well, two years ago now – and I was heavily involved in my home Church before I left. I really struggled to find a welcoming Church when I first arrived in Holland, and the culture shock was nearly unbearable, especially as I have lived in numerous places before this; and to be honest I have felt all of hurt, distrustful, ignored, shunned and rejected by people in Church and by God himself since moving. I am currently on holiday back home, and am in a near depression at the thought of returning to Holland and the “imperfect” Church I need to return to. I am trying to regain my confidence in my faith and find Jesus and God and the initial love and passion I had for the Church so I am thinking of taking a sabbatical as well and returning once I am ready to do so. Until I found your post I was haunted by thoughts of failure, backsliding, shunning, accusations of having a weak, immature or defective faith, but I have been really encouraged by your story so I am going to go ahead. Thanks for your wisdom.