Support

We have been amazingly blessed in the years that we have worked here in Belgium and the Netherlands. In order to do this work, we have had to rely on financial support from around the US and here in the countries we serve. Often it is difficult to find congregations that will support someone longer than 10 years. The congregations and individuals who support us have been doing it often longer than 30 years. 

And not all of that comes in monthly support or big checks. This past weekend we were with the congregation in Haarlem, with whom we get to spend time learning new songs and how to sing. They make sure that our transport costs are covered and provide a fellowship meal and good fellowship while we are there. The same thing is true of the congregation in Maastricht which covers our transport costs every month and encourages us immensely every time we get together. 

But we also requested of our supporters to continue supporting us through the coming year. Not only do we realize that the transition from mission work in Europe to life in the US will be a challenge, we still want to be able to help in some way with the congregations we work with here. The continued support will enable this desire to help. 

We are always surprised, thought we never should be, at how giving these brothers and sisters are. We heard this past summer that the church in Muscatine would be able to cover us another year. We just received news from Woodbury (MN) that they not only will cover us in 2027, but will be willing to look at 2028 as well, if we need. When we first sent out the request, we heard almost immediately from each of our individual supporters that they were on board. Some of these supporters we are not even able to visit on our Home Assignments each three years, but they continue to care about the work in Dutch-speaking Europe. 

In Abilene, Westgate (with some from the 11th and Willis congregation) will be covering our moving costs (the movers come on November 17). At Oldham Lane, they assured us this summer that they will have us covered and have already gone above and beyond. We look forward to getting to know them better at some moment. 

Looking back at the many years we have been here, we remember all of the amazing faithfulness that has carried us through these years. Churches are people, brothers and sisters who care about how God is working in many different places. Some of these congregations know us personally. Some knew us, but have changed in the passing years. And still they are willing to help in any way they can. God’s family is amazing and we are so thankful for how we are part of so many families in so many places. 

(Photo of our singing this past weekend in Haarlem)

“Opgeruimd staat netjes”

“Cleaned up looks good” is about what the phrase means. Getting things ordered, put away, cleaned up makes for a feeling of peace. “Everything in its place and a place for everything” (or is it the other way around). In any case, that is NOT what our house looks like at the moment. We are discovering things that we had forgotten we had and now need to be gotten rid of. We are trying to find places to set things (boxes and boxes of “things”) that then need to go to new owners or the container or a second-hand shop. 

While we are working on getting the house ready to hand over to the new owner, we are also continuing with our normal contacts and tasks for each week. This means that things get a bit busy. But it is good to share the truths of God’s word with the various groups we work with as well as be encouraged by all of the conversations we have along the way. 

We were touched by our last visit for singing with the congregation in Eindhoven as several of them knew that that would be the last time to see us before we leave. This coming Saturday we will be in Haarlem for the singing there and look forward to being able to touch base again with some brothers and sisters who we will not see again until we all get Home together. These are bittersweet moments and we are thankful that we get the chance to see people. 

And still, we understand that we need to take a breather every once in a while. So this last week (which is why we did not write this past week) we took a few days off to just be together. We got a cheap flight to Montenegro and enjoyed sunny weather and a new culture and food. I will get the pictures up soon so you can share the beauty if you are interested. It was good to be away on a last European adventure. 

The rest of this month we will try to get everything finished in the house. The movers come around the middle of November. We will clean the house and then stay with church members until we leave. At the congregation we all together are looking at how to make sure that everything is in its place as well. Who will take over certain tasks? How will things change? God is good and blesses in ways we could not even think of, so it will be exciting to see how the congregation grows in this time. 

Whatsit Wednesday: A coin?

Years ago, before the euro entered Europe as the currency of every European country from the EU, each country had its own currency. There were German marks, French francs and British pounds. In the Netherlands, there were guilders. But it was even more interesting when you got to the coins. 

As in the United States, there were names for certain coins. In the US a 10 cent coin is called a dime. A 5 cent coin is called a nickel. And a 1 cent coin is called a penny. The 25 cent coin is a quarter, because it is a quarter of a dollar. I don’t remember if there was a name for the 50 cent coin - perhaps called a half-dollar - but I didn’t see it very often. 

In the Netherlands a 5 cent coin was called a “stuiver”, a 10 cent coin was a “dubbeltje” (literally a little double, although it was 1/10th of a guilder), As with the US coins, the Dutch also had a “kwartje” (a quarter) which was 1/4th of a guilder. A guilder in Dutch is a “gulden”. 

But it wasn’t just the coins that were named. The paper money also had various names attached. A 25 guilder note was called “geeltje” because it was yellow (“geel” is the word for yellow). The 50 guilder note was called a “zonnebloem” (sunflower) due to the picture on the note. The Dutch money was quite colorful and varied. 

Since the introduction of the euro, these names have all but disappeared. The 1 cent and 5 cent coins are rounded off in most stores, so they aren’t really in circulation. The 10, 20 and 50 cent coins are called simply by their denominations. And although the money is still somewhat colorful - the 5 euro is grey, the 10 is red, the 20 is blue and the 50 is orange or yellow -  the names have disappeared. This could also be because they needed to be simplified and unified for the multiple countries. The coins however still show specific people or places to the various countries.