Whodunit Wednesday: NFL and NBA

Most people, when they think of Belgian or Dutch sport personalities, will settle on the various well-known soccer players: Virgil van Dyke, Kevin de Bruyne or more. But soccer is not the only sport where you can find Dutch pr Belgian players. The very American sports of football (NFL) or basketball (NBA) are also home to some Dutch or Belgian players. 

Thomas Odukoya was born in Almere, the Netherlands. He became the first Dutch player to play in the NFL for 24 years when he signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2024 as a tight end. He is currently part of the practice squad for the Kansas City Chiefs, having also played for the New England Patriots in 2025. Although you will hear plenty of Dutch sounding names in the NFL, Odukoya is currently the only actual Dutch player. 

In the NBA people will be even more familiar with the names of Toumani Camara and Ajay Mitchell. Camara (born in Brussels) has made his name known with the Portland Trail Blazers the last few years as a 6’7’’ forward. He has already started with three three-pointers in five games to help Portland to move toward the top of the Western Conference at the beginning of this season. 

Ajay Mitchell, from Ans, is a point guard with the OKC Thunder (in the same conference as the Trail Blazers). In 2025 he became an NBA champion with the Thunder. Both players have not yet played for the Belgian national team since they remain active at the same time with their NBA teams. 

(Photo of NBA champion Ajay Mitchell with the OKC Thunder in 2025)

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.