And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:10-11
Dear all,
Every day is a new beginning, an opportunity to grow, to see something new. But growing is not always easy!
Sing!
We have always loved singing. God has given us a song of love and grace in our hearts that can’t help but be expressed. And doing this with brothers and sisters is the best. This month we welcomed the Dela family into their new home in Belgium with an evening of singing and prayer.
Every first Wednesday of the month we get together to learn new songs and encourage one another. The church from Liege comes over for these Wednesdays and we get to practice our French (and they practice Dutch).
How do you do this?
- the kids trying to figure out how everything fits together -
We want people to know Jesus, to come to enjoy the real life that He gives us. To do this, people need to meet Jesus, know who he is. That means reading, discovering, digesting the Bible and
getting to know the Word - Jesus. But how do you do this? It sounds so easy to say simply,
“Read your Bible. Pray every day.” And yet, that is exactly what we are helping people to do.
This past month we worked with the Catholic young people from Veldwezelt. It is exciting to see that not only they, but their parents and people in the village are expecting to hear from the Bible (something that was not always expected). Our discussions with RW and LJ center around how real life is informed by what we see in Jesus’ life (which we see in the Bible). “But can I understand it?” is the question most often asked.
As we have been working through a deeper study with some of the young people in Maastricht, we, too have been faced with how some things may seem easier than they are. The reality remains that we are able to understand what God wants from us, but certainly not all at once (and not everything). We need to keep trying to understand (asking questions, listening to God speak in His word), and in the meantime live what we know is right.
PRAYER and FELLOWSHIP
We cannot continue without the strength and guidance that our King gives us every day. The song is right - if we want to grow. Sometimes we forget that we need each other. It is good to know that there are others exeperiencing the same struggles as we (1 Peter 5:8-11). I have tried lately to help the brothers in the Netherlands and Belgium see how they can encourage one another. We have been meeting to share our lives and pray.
Yes, we meet at an Ikea for breakfast (only 1 euro!) because it is a central place and makes things easy. But the sharing time and prayer in the weeks afterwards are invaluable. I pray that this idea and desire will spread locally as well. It is absolutely necessary that we know that we need each other.
Which is why playing football in Switserland is simply amazing! This is the third year that we have taken several groups (about 40 people this year!) to the soccer tournament put on by the church in Zurich and Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Fun teams, “pro” teams, plenty of soccer, and even more fellowship - in a whole slew of languages!
Sunday morning is a time of singing in German, French, English and Dutch. We partake of the Lord’s supper, realizing that the death and life we are celebrating is what binds us all together. And then listening to a wonderful message in English, but translated sentence-by-sentence in French and German - even the movements at times! God has placed us in His family so that we can stretch and grow. Sometimes it can be a bit of a struggle. But some times can be so enjoyable!
Let God have his way with you today so that you can grow. Read his word, every day - even if it is sometimes difficult. And pray. Talk to God every day.
Please keep the following in your prayers.
Keep our studies in your prayers - that we can understand what God is saying and put it into practice in our lives
Pray for our contact with K., LJ., A., R., C&T., and RW.
Pray for our sister, Shadira, and her plans to move to Curaçao with her daughters. Pray that her daughters will also be able to adapt to this move.
Pray for the Spring conference “Love Works!” on Pentecost Monday and afterwards - that the church here will be encouraged to be active.
Thank God for our oppotunity to visit this summer.
DID YOU KNOW?
Tidbits about Belgium and the Netherlands
Working together
Just recently the prime ministers of Belgium and the Netherlands signed a document stating their desire to organize the World Cup in 2018 or 2022 together. Some in both countries have wondered if two small countries should even try this. But Belgium and the Netherlands are willing to work together for this.
Of course, both countries will first have to get their governments ready. Both governments have recently fallen becasue the parties in the governments could not work together. In the Netherlands that means the normal right and left parties. In Belgium that means the French-speakers and Flemish-speakers AND left and right parties in each language!
ON THE FAMILY SIDE ....
April can be such a joy! Everything begins to bloom, the trees gain a hazy green, everyone is busy with muddy hands getting the yard or the garden ready, and the weather finally begins turning. Though not always as quickly as we would like.
We too were able to get out in the yard and get some work done. Of course most of it was simply heavy moving. We had a tree cut down earlier and all of the wood needed to be taken out of the yard. Several trips to the container park with gummy hands later and the yard started looking like a yard - albeit a messy one still. One of these days we will be able to get it completely finished.
In the meantime we enjoyed a wonderful Easter break. Sean gets two weeks off of school. A great time, except that he then gets no more breaks until the end of June when school ends. So we decided to make the most of this break. We wanted to have at least one family day, and it became a day to The Hague. (You can see our pictures at www.flickr.com/sraabs) We drove to the edge of the city (about 2,5 hours) and took the tram to the beach at Scheveningen. Mr. Blue Sky was our friend for the day, although it was still a bit chilly.
Walking along the beach, picking out seashells to take to Stephan in the summer, a walk through the parks of The Hague and a short tram ride back to downtown brought us to the center of the city. This is where the government meets, where the queen gives her annual speech, where people demonstrate ... and of course where the shops are. After looking around a bit, we had another tram ride back to the car, a ride home, and a film when we got back. A good time together!
Sean is hanging on since then, willing himself to do well at school (and doing well). He has gotten a job at a local restaurant and cafe boat, hoping to make enough money to invest in amps and guitars. His third gig went well, and he is looking forward to playing twice at his school for their open day. His life is quite a bit busier, but this has helped him to prioritize as well.
And all of us are trying to get our work done here before we leave for the summer. Being gone for two months takes quite a bit of planning and organization. We look forward to seeing so many of you again and are so thankful for the help we have already received. We will be starting in Minnesota, as usual, followed by Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, California and Texas. This time we will also be dropping Stephan off in Arkansas before heading on to Florida. Check out our blog in a few days for the schedule and please plan on hooking up with us while we are there! (http://ravenraab.blogspot.com)
Enjoy the moments together! They are meant to be times of love and joy, struggle and strife - real life. So good.
THANKS!
For the funds for our furlough, cars, and places to stay. It’s going to be great to see you!
For your prayers for our work!
For encouragement, wisdom and answers to questions.
What’s coming up?
MAY
Soccer in Switzerland
Love Works! Spring meeting
JUNE
Ladies day
Youth weekend
Waiting to see your summer schedule. Hopefully, we can see you this time. I don't think we got to the last furlough. It's been too long!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Tonita