LIGHT in the Lowlands
Reaching out to the people of Belgium and the Netherlands
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:2-3
Dear brothers and sisters, family and friends,
When a new year begins, you feel like getting going, getting started - unless things just don’t seem to get started. This month has been a month of expectation and preparation for us, although plenty has gotten under way as well.
Youth and outreach
As in years past, 2007 will also have its share of activities focused on our youth and the youth in Belgium and the Netherlands. In Maastricht we are getting into the swing of holding a fun activity and a lesson activity every month. We are especially thrilled that our young people invite their friends as well to these activities. In January we planned a study evening so that I could summarize the first lessons from the “Getting to know the Bible” series. In addition to these local activities which are starting to really take off, we also have our youth weekends. Haarlem hosted a weekend this month which was focused on “The Internet” - how to use it safely and wisely.
- learning about the internet and having fun! -
The feeling of expectation and preparation definitely applied to our outreach. We want to present the ‘Getting to know the Bible’ series again in March, so we have to prepare the invitations well ahead of time. In February we will have those printed and distributed so that we can personally invite people in March. We hope to have some good visitors for this series again, making some inroads into our local neighborhood.Along a different tack, I mentioned last year that Karla, our colleague, had an opportunity to work with the local Catholic church. This happened because the people planning the activities for these young people don’t know anything about the Bible and knew in the village that Karla and Ruud do know about the Bible. So Karla was asked if she would present a lesson about what the Bible is. Along with this opportunity she is helping to form the activities for these young people. I was then also asked to help with the planning of a weekend, since I have experience in that area.
This whole situation is fairly unusual to say the least. I wondered if the Catholic church would mind someone from another church teaching the young people. So far, this has not been a problem. And we actually are looking forward to any conversation which might arise. It is good to know what you believe and why you believe it. But most of this is also for February and March, which means praying, preparing and waiting. Karla will present her lesson at the beginning of February and the youth weekend is at the end of March. Please keep these efforts in your prayers as well. We want to know Christ, and we want others to know Christ - and the power of his rising and life.
Lessons and church activities
In February I will present a series of lessons at ABSS (Advanced Bible Study Series) which is held each year in Germany. This is a good week of challenging lessons and good fellowship (and this is usually the only place we get to see snow!). It will be a challenge to prepare these lessons, hoping that they will also be an encouragement to those who come. But I know that I always learn so much more when preparing lessons.
In the meantime, it has also been exciting to see some recent changes in the congregation. Shadira has begun keeping up the website and Willemien keeps track of the birthdays. These may seem like small things, but they are very important. Our website is one of the ways we keep in touch with each other and birthdays are times of prayer for us as a congregation.
- Shadira at her birthday party -
My regular lessons reading the Bible have not yet begun in earnest due to sicknesses, but will begin fully in February. I have begun studying again with the international students and will keep you up to date on all of this next month.
PRAYER WARRIORS
Please keep the following in your prayers.
- My reading in the Bible with LJ, the Chinese PhD student.
- Our contact with young people in the village of Ruud and Karla (Veldwezelt).
- Development of a program for our older youth (18-30) and helping them to grow in their faith.
- Our upcoming youth activities in February and March. These contacts are going well, with our own young people and their friends.
- The “Getting to know the Bible” series coming up in March - for good visitors.
- Shirley and Ruud both deal with pain on a daily basis.
ON THE FAMILY SIDE . . .
Winter just can’t figure out if it wants to drop in or not. While we have heard of freak winter storms in the US, snow in California etc - we have been waiting on anything nearing freezing temperatures. In fact. the trees have begun blooming again and the flowers hardly went out of bloom. We had a few days when we thought it might have arrived (winter, that is), but then it simply whimpered off into the night. Stephan and Scott will be going to Germany in February and hope to see some Winter (and snow!) down there at that time.
Still, no real winter can have its advantages. Sean is able to get outside more when he wants, Shirley can dry clothes a lot easier at times, and biking to school is not such a hassle. So we are not complaining too much. We all enjoyed the Christmas break immensely, spending plenty of family time together. It is nice that this is still possible with two teenage boys. They enjoyed going to Antwerp to shoot off fireworks with the Brazles on New Year’s eve. We also had some good game time (we like Masterpiece, Trivial Pursuit, Boggle, Clue and cards) and the guys still got to play plenty with their friends. As a matter of fact, Stephan and Sean made another movie together (this one with a nerf battle) which will probably on line pretty soon.
Back to school has gone pretty well so far. Sean doesn’t really like going to school, but he does just fine. Stephan doesn’t mind going, and he is starting to pull things up. He took the PSAT in December and we have been communicating with school s in the States. This has helped him to realize that time is going faster than he might have thought. We will take the SAT and the ACT this Spring and look at some schools during our furlough this summer. This has also been a wake-up for Shirley and Scott - Stephan is already 17 and is growing up fast!
Shirley’s news this month has been a bit less cheery. In December we knew that there was something wrong, but didn’t know what. We still don’t know what, but we know that the pain has increased in her back and arm. She has been to the physical therapist and will go in for an EMG and CT scan at the beginning of February (keep an eye on the website for current info). This doesn’t keep her from doing most of what she wants to do, although it probably should! She cannot use her right arm without pain and is not always sleeping very well - but she is surviving and continues to be the joy in the house.
Scott has been able to go out to dinner a few times with various organizations he is part of: Chinese with the parent’s committee, french fries with the men after going carting, and johnny cakes on Shadira’s birthday. So he has been pretty happy. He of course has also had to have his teeth worked on (one of the times was an hour long!), but he is still alive.
- carting and chatting -
DID YOU KNOW?
Tidbits of information about Belgium and the Netherlands
That although the peoples of Belgium have been around since before the Romans arrived that the country of Belgium is only 176 years old?
Belgium became a separate country in 1830. At this time Belgium separated itself from the Netherlands.
That the Netherlands has a history stretching back to the 16th century, but it has only been a country in its present form for 191 years.
The Netherlands became a constitutional monarchy in 1815.
Belgium has always had a king while the Netherlands has had a queen since before the 1st World War.
EXTRAS
What’s coming up?
FEBRUARY
ABSS study week
Console weekend
MARCH
Getting to know the bIble
Youth day
APRIL
Youth weekend
THANKS!
- For the cards, calls, emails and holiday greetings
- For all those getting things ready for our furlough
- For your continued prayers and encouragement
We pray that you are enjoying the things that God has brought into your life, knowing that with Him all things are good.
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