Tomato Truths

The other day I was challenged by a picture from long time friend Amy Miller. She and her family have been encouraging people in so many different ways for quite a while. If you have never read her ‘Vomiting Chicken’ (the title alone is enough to make you want to know what it is about), go take a read. Also check out andhedrew.com with some really thought-provoking ideas and some great art.

All this to say that the picture is for Amy. On the 27^th I guess it was World Tomato Day or some such thing, so she challenged fb to show their tomatoes (with a HUGE tomato in her? hand). So I thought about ‘my’ tomatoes – but this may take a little while to explain. If you don’t have time, you are free to move on (and come back when you do).

Albert Heijn is a local grocery store, like the King Soopers, or H.E.B. or Albertsons (do they still exist?). They were giving out little cardboard pots with seeds of all sorts of vegetables at the cash register to all who purchased something. At the end of the action, they were simply giving them away. I have always wanted to grow things, but have never invested the time and this seemed like a great opportunity – especially since we are hearing so much about bad foods and such.

Mind you, I have no idea how good these seeds were, if they were GM (NOT, it is now allowed in Europe without mentioning it) or if it would even work, but that was the beauty of the whole idea. I could try it without any real cost, without any real guilt and practically without any knowledge. Each pot came with a set of instructions on what to do. Of course the instructions were the same for each pot – whether it was for salad, radishes, tomatoes, or broccoli. But there were instructions.

So I took the pots home, put them in my window sill in the kitchen (it was March, I think) and watered them. It was exciting to see something come up out the dirt pretty quickly. But I had to remember to keep watering them. Soon I would be able to put them in bigger pots and put them outside – but not yet. The ground was still freezing outside and all sorts of people told me not to put them out yet.

When I finally moved the plants outside (once they were big enough to handle it) I simply bought some dirt for plants and dumped it in the stone planters on the one side of our yard that gets a good bit of sun. Very shortly we were even able to enjoy a head of lettuce and several radishes. Amazing! I was eating something I had planted!

But the tomatoes were taking a while longer. I have come to understand that all of the things I put out have different seasons. (I told you – I have never planted anything. Of course I know about seasons, but I don’t know which season is for what.) So I was waiting on the tomatoes. But camp was coming and that meant two weeks away from the house. Would they survive? Belgium is basically rainy, so I shouldn’t have to worry about watering, but the weeks I was gone were some of the hottest and driest in years (centuries).

But we came back and – voilà – I had little tomatoes growing (they are cherry tomatoes). And they are delicious! Very meaty, very ‘tomato-y’ and juicy. And this is where I started wondering (anyone who knows me knew this was coming). I am amazed and thankful for this wonderful gift. It is amazing what God can do with so little. And of course it should not amaze me, but it does. Seeds from a package in dirt from a package, planted in perhaps too shallow dirt at the wrong time(?) survived my mis-watering and heat and weeds trying to strangle them to become these wonderful tomatoes.

God does that. He takes things that seem to be useless (or are useless and broken) and turns them into beautiful, luscious, useful, nourishing, helpful. And then I wondered about a few things. What if I had taken the time to learn more about tomatoes before I began? What if I had asked some people who knew more for advice? What if I had made sure that the basics were followed in feeding the soil and adding water? The tomatoes I have are great because God can do amazing things with anything. But He can do even more when we listen to the needs of the seed and the soil.

What if I took the time to feed my soil with faith and the word of God? What if I was accepting of what the soil needs to help plants grow? After all, Forrest said it and it is true: _ happens. But that’s fertilizer, helping us to grow. What if I made sure I was getting the water I need, especially in hot times?

And what about the church? How can we all grow? God is the one who gives the growth, we only plant and water – but that is important! And of course God makes delicious, wonderful things even when I make a mess – so why not put the effort into caring for and nourishing? My tomato isn’t much, but it sure has fed me well.

Summer summary

This has been a busy summer period, as is most often the case for us. But busy doesn’t mean bothersome. We love all the things we are challenged with and enjoy – albeit oft times afterwards – the struggles we have had and new things we have learned. Here are some of our blessings this summer. 

We enjoyed meeting, spending time with and worshipping with Nicole from South Africa, Danii and Jonathan from the US, and Mark and Roxi and family (from the US) who were visiting our precious Jonathan and Lauren (and Anderson). We welcomed the Goodpastures on a Wednesday evening and heard them share the Word and then met them again later that week worshipping with the church in Brussels.

The 2^nd day of Pentecost was a great opportunity to speak with members from around Belgium and the Netherlands and be challenged to continue preaching and living the Word. We are planning more evangelization throughout the country in response to some of what was said that day – but more about that later.

Ardennen Bijbelkamp holds four weeks of camp each summer: Youth (15+ years-old), Benjamins (8-11 years-old), Teens (12-14 years-old) and Family (everyone welcome). We directed and cooked at the last two weeks.

For Teen Camp we were blessed with a very varied group of 13 young people. We had expected a low turnout, but this is quite a good turnout for one of our weeks. Joshua and Judges – Be strong and courageous – was the them for the week. 

One of our challenges from the beginning was how to mix things up. Boys and girls at that age don’t want to sit together, but we also had various cultural differences. Still, with a few challenges here and there, the end of the week had everyone talking together, playing together and truly getting to know one another. God is amazing!

We were also pleased to be able to train some new people during this week. Paul and Deysi Quiel, who live and worship in Haarlem, were assistand camp leader and crafts director. We also had two new counselors in Prisca and Lesley. It is so important to give new people the chance to try out what God can do with them. We were especially proud of the young ladies for taking on this responsibility and trying new things. Be strong and courageous – God is with us!

At Family Camp we looked at Serving - every day, in every way. As is usual with Family camp, every day was a surprise. Some people come for a few days, others for the whole week.  We were especially blessed with the R. family – a mother with 5 boys ranging from 11 years-old to 6 months. I was struck by the realization of how much my mother must have had to put up with, how much courage she must have had, when I was growing up (I have 1 sister and 4 brothers).

During the week we took the opportunity to serve in the village. Our local milk farmer, Lucienne asked me – as we sat drinking coffee following a sweaty clearing of old tires and hawthorn hedge clippings – why we would do this. This is the fourth year that we offer this in the village, but usually it is the teens. This time it was the ‘old’ folks. I explained that if we really wanted to learn about serving, then we had to be willing to put it into practice as well.

The last day of camp is also a Family Day. This year was organized by the congregation in Maastricht.

You can see pictures of our two weeks in the Ardennes over at our picture site. Teen camp. Family camp. Family Day.

Looking ahead

In the coming months our schedules are already full. Sean is starting in to his last year of journalism school in Brussels. He is also moving from his present room to a flat shared by two other students (one of them the drummer in his band). We have been moving his stuff (through the traffic jam that is Brussels) and finding more stuff for the coming year.

We are also starting our other studies up after a summer break. We will be meeting at least once a month with the family in Valkenburg. With H. I will be looking at the book of Romans. He requested that we get more into the Bible (and he usually prefers the Old Testament)! We were also asked by LJ to get back to a Bible study. We have already started and are excited about her desire to learn and the opportunities for growth for all of us.

We hope to continue meeting with our neighbors, continuing along the Meeting Jesus studies. At the beginning of summer we closed off the previous session with a wonderful barbecue together where we all shared food and time together. 

Shirley sells used clothing on a sort of ‘craigslist’ here (called Marktplaats) and has developed a relationship with a few of her buyers who live close by. Be praying for these opportunities.

In September the church in Maastricht has a youth weekend planned where we will get together with the church from Cologne – in Aachen (halfway for both of us) to sing and encourage one another. The next weekend is a Men’s Retreat down at camp. Before all of this gets started there is a meeting in Amsterdam about how we can better work together as congregations in evangelizing throughout the country.

Along these lines, Maastricht is also participating in a Family Day held by the Limburg churches. This is an effort to get the congregations working together to see how we can better help one another and in this way spread the grace of Christ further. This Family day, as well as a Ladies Day organized by the ladies from Limburg, will be in October. LAUS, the singing group set up for evangelism this Spring, will also sing.

In the meantime, we will also begin our 1^st Wednesday singing again with the members from Liége and any others who want to come. Where will you be on September 2? Come sing with us in Maastricht! We are looking forward to how God is going to use us in these coming months.

Vacation visits

A Sunday with visitors from
the US, South Africa and Belgium

I have said this many times to young people, members of the congregation in Maastricht and members throughout the States – we are blessed with the ability to travel. Most of us all are blessed with the ability to travel where we want and pretty much when we want. This is very different from those who are more recently in the news because they are fleeing war in their country. We can choose to visit other places, and we do this with regularity.

Because of this, we can take advantage of another huge blessing – getting to know our brothers and sisters, the body of Christ, in other geographical locations and even cultures and contexts. We do not have to simply imagine and trust that the body of Christ is larger than our local group, we can get to know this body. And more importantly, we can even worship together with this body.

We are always thankful when people come through the Netherlands or Belgium and take the time to meet with us as a congregation. On a Sunday morning in Maastricht we will do our best to accommodate you (translation where needed, songs are sometimes in English, all of us will try to talk with you). And we know, since you are our brother and sister, that you will also do your best to accommodate us – doing your best to speak with us and understand our situation and culture. This is the beauty of our life in the body.

But it takes some planning to make this really happen. Despite the beauty of the internet and websites, you will seldom be able to just drop into a country and Saturday evening hope to find the church in the village you are visiting. You need to plan ahead. Think about where you are going and research where you can find the church. Email and call the members so that you know you have the times right and will be able to encourage one another. And then pray for this body of which you are a part – before you get there. I can assure you, you will be greatly blessed and will greatly bless those you meet with. I know this not only because we have experienced this time and again in our travels, but because our God has made this family.

This summer we have welcomed folks from South Africa and the United States on various Sunday mornings and have been able to meet with others on a Wednesday to share the Word and prayer. Plan your vacations with the body in mind. It is well worth the time and effort – for all involved.

Will you be in our neck of the woods - in the south of the Netherlands, in Belgium or in the west of Germany? The church in Maastricht meets for Bible study on Sunday morning at 10 and to worship at 10:30. If you come on a fourth Sunday, we can all sit down to eat together as well. Look us up and come on by. We would love to share with you and worship the Lord together with you!