Fellowship

One of the things that we enjoy so much with the congregation in Maastricht is how they understand how important it is to spend time together. We have various opportunities to get together, but they are all different. And different members can make it to different activities. Still, the most important thing is being together. 

At the beginning of the month we had our first Friday singing. Since our house is a mess, and since things are transitioning to taking place without us, this month the singing was held by Ruud and Karla at their house. This means that Ruud can be there, even if he was still recovering from a hip operation. The living room was full, the singing was great and the joy was complete. 

In that same weekend we needed to figure out how to get together to clean the building. This periodic cleaning is shared among the various families, but this time was a deep cleaning. So some made it on a Saturday morning, while others stayed afterwards on Sunday afternoon. For both groups the time spent together was valuable and the building got clean as well. 

This past Sunday was our 2nd Sunday Games. Whoever can and wishes stays afterwards, shares some soup which Tonia has made and their own sandwiches. After a lunch together we sit around the table to play a game that Andrew and Adriana (our young Ukrainian couple) have brought. They have all sorts of games and it is always exciting and fun. Mostly it is great to get to know one another and to be able to laugh together. 

In the coming weeks Shirley and I will be looking for opportunities to see as many members of the various churches in the Netherlands and Belgium as we can. We attended the Family Day at the beginning of September where we were able to say goodbye to some. We will lead our last Wednesday evening of singing with the congregation in Eindhoven this week and our last Saturday singing with the church in Haarlem at the end of the month. Near the end of November we will go to the Copa - a soccer tournament with the various churches - so that we can see some folks again. 

It is so good to see how God makes families and how big His family actually is. We are so thankful to have been able to work with so many people and look forward to how things evolve in the future. As we think about our transition to the US, we consider how we will also start developing relationships there and look forward to how God will use us. 

Take every effort to take part in fellowship opportunities wherever you are. God has an amazing great family and every chance we get to take part in being together is a chance to grow and to encourage others as well. We are so thankful for this life in Him.