April Newsletter

Light in the Lowlands
Reaching out to the people of Belgium and the Netherlands

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Philemon 6-7

Dear brothers and sisters, family and friends,
This has been a very challenging month - God is so good and mighty. I’m glad He is in charge - He does such a good job!

Reaching out and reaching in
One of the joys of knowing God is that we have the opportunity to let others know about Him and how good it is to live with Him. Sometimes that means studying or talking, and other times that just means singing His praises.
In April we tried again with the “Getting to know the Bible” series we offered in March. This time we put it in the newspaper as well. We had four good responses, of which one was able to find our building (something to work on in the future). Mr. W. not only came to the first three lessons, he also continued through the second set of lessons and wants to know more about the church. Hopefully you will be reading more about him in next month’s newsletter. Please keep him in your prayers.
At the end of the month Listen Up! went to Antwerp to sing with the a cappella vocal band “Agape-la” from Paris. This was a great opportunity to reach out to people in the neighborhood in Antwerp. Posters and flyers were printed, people were invited and in a meeting place meant for about 70 people we had more than 120 listening to good news about Jesus Christ! It was a sweaty evening (there is no airco in this building and it was one of the hottest days in history for this time of year), but everyone listened with pleasure. We heard afterwards that there were several from the neighborhood as well as a couple who had come from more than 2 hours away because they had seen it on the internet. It’s great to sing of such a wonderful life!
Speaking of singing, at the beginning of the month we went down to camp with our young people for an Easter weekend. Before the weekend we had told the young people to prepare by knowing Philippians. Down at camp we had a quiz and talked about what we had learned, but we also put that knowledge into song. We sent them off in groups for 90 minutes with the task of writing a song based on something in Philippians. Now we have four new songs for our songbooks! Amazing what God can do with willing hearts and minds!

- the view from the "Love Tree" -

We closed out the weekend with a sunrise service up at the “Love Tree” (a tree at the top of a hill nearby camp) remembering what Jesus has done for us. Then everyone headed back to their respective congregations to celebrate this wonderful family that God has given us. It was a great weekend which we are already planning to repeat. First we have a weekend to prepare for June which will also include singing and song-writing. This weekend showed me never to underestimate what God can do.

Studying
In addition to the regular studies Scott has with several adults, he and Ruud have also started working with the youth of the congregation. At least once a month they get together to have fun and games, and on other days to challenge their hearts and brains. Sometimes these studies are about current topics (most recently - creation), but also about the basics of real life with God. Please keep these young people in your prayers as they struggle to see if this is real or just something adults do. Pray also for us that we will not be just teachers, but examples of how real this life truly is.
On Monday evenings Scott is involved with university students from Maastricht in a weekly Bible study. Students from Germany, Romania, Ukraine, the Netherlands and the US get together to discuss all sorts of topics. Scott recently led a study on “Who is Jesus” as part of a group of studies on God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus. It has been interesting to see that although these students don’t want to be “told” what is right, they are more than willing to listen to someone who has a little more experience (and hopefully more knowledge). Pray that we can always simply get back into God’s word and see what is really there.
Next month Scott will be presenting a study and helping with a discussion over homosexuality and how Christians should respond. This is quite a current topic for these students (and all of us). It is exciting to see that instead of running away from difficult topics, they are more than willing to examine them based on God’s word.
Some months can be very busy and very challenging. There have been times this month that I felt like the day had stretched into 36 hours. But each evening God brought rest and created new opportunities and strength for the new day. What an awesome God!

Prayer warriors
Please keep the following in your prayers.
- My reading in the Bible with LJ, Gerard, Cor and Titia and Mieke.
- Our continued contact with people in our villages.
- Upcoming youth weekends and concerts in May and June.
- Our upcoming youth activities. What a blessing to see them growing in so many ways!
- Thanks for the “Getting to know the Bible” series and continued prayers for the participants.
- Shirley’s and Ruud’s health. Shirley is doing better.
- Thanks and praise for a wonderful church family!

ON THE FAMILY SIDE . . .
Although many of you may have gotten showers in April (or even snow - we heard), we have been enjoying summer weather. As a matter of fact, we broke a record for the most days without rain here. Thankfully (yes, I can truly say that!) it has started raining again. But during the sunny days we have experienced a good mix of fun,beautiful and challenging times.
Stephan went off at the beginning of the month to some friends outside of Eindhoven. It’s not always easy when your friends live so far away. But he also spent plenty of time with his school friends and his teammates from basketball. As a matter of fact, his team became champions - which meant that he had to shave his head! Sean couldn’t stop laughing, some girls were quite impressed and Stephan simply continued with a smile (as always).

- Stephan, the champion -

Sean had a real up and down month. He was approached by the coach for the C1 team (two levels up from where he plays at C3) to play with them. Unfortunately, his own coach didn’t want to lose him. So he played for both teams for a little while. But in the next to last game, one the C1 had to win in order to continue at their current level Sean fell and broke his elbow (maybe)! Scott was off in Antwerp at a concert, Shirley was off to the store, but thankfully Ruud (our colleague) was there to accompany Sean to the hospital. After lots of x-rays, they still weren’t sure, so now Sean is in a cast and waiting on new x-rays and certainty about what has happened.
In the meantime, he had been having a good time with his best friend Wouter. Wouter’s parents were off together and didn’t want to leave Wouter alone, so he stayed with us for several days. Both he and Sean are big Genk fans (the pro soccer team) and followed all the news together. Genk is fighting to win the season and they have a good chance.
Shirley is doing well. The latest EMG showed that things are actually getting better. She has doubled her medicine so that it is more effective (according to doctor’s orders) and we will check in again just before we leave for the States this summer. In the meantime it is definitely Spring, which means new flowers and trying to keep up on what is happening in the yard (but being careful about what she does!).
We all have enjoyed the times getting together with our brothers and sisters around the country. At the end of the month Listen Up! had a concert in Antwerp together with a group from Paris - Agape-la. Shirley and Sean had to stay home (the day Sean got hurt, Shirley taking care of him), but Stephan went with Scott and got to see lots of friends and meet new people.

EXTRAS
DID YOU KNOW?
Tidbits of information about
Belgium and the Netherlands
Delicious?!
- Most people have heard of Dutch cheeses: Gouda, Edam. Some other typical meals include pea soup and many different ways of preparing cauliflower or cabbage.
- Although the Belgians are not as well known for their cheeses, they do have quite a few varieties. Currently Belgium is more known for their beers and their chocolate. But you might also want to look into recipes for cooking venison or rabbit.
Have you come across something typically Dutch or Belgian? What did you think of it? Let us know.
What’s coming up?
MAY
Getting to know the Bible
Listen Up! concert
Youth studies
JUNE
Youth weekend and concert
Outreach in our neighborhood
THANKS!
- For praying for us - and letting us know that!
- For your continued desire to know and follow God
- For your blogs, emails and calls - it is great to hear what is going on with you.

Sometimes we think we know what to expect. April is supposed to bring flowers and the beginning of showers, right? But if it ends up doing something different - well, then, just keep on going, with a smile (Stephan is always a good example!). We have been blessed through all the things we experienced this month and pray that you too have been able to see the blessings in all that has happened in your life this month. Have a great day today!