Around the world

In the Netherlands today is Liberation Day. Yesterday was Remembrance Day when the country remembers the sacrifices of all of those who died in wars to make so many free. Today they celebrate freedom and what that means. It always strikes me that these two things are also inherent in our walk with Christ. We usually are quite aware of this each Sunday, but it was especially so this past weekend. 

We have been missing our colleagues for a few weeks. They had traveled to the US to visit their daughter and see their two granddaughters. They also got to meet with brothers and sisters in Arkansas. This past week they traveled back home, but we did not see them yesterday to worship together. We were off to a city in Belgium to visit with a congregation there (Roeselare). We had not been there for quite some times it was good to see the brothers and sisters there and meet new friends as well. 

While in Roeselare we always remember the saints who went before us and brought so many to faith in Christ there. Faith is not something that we simply have for ourselves. It is a way of true life that we share with everyone around us. Yesterday we were able to see Jose again. She is 100 and still going strong. It reminded me of our sister Willemien who went Home to be with her Saviour when she was 94. We have so many good examples of brothers and sisters who are faithful in walking in the light with Jesus, including Isaak who is only 12 and has just given his life into Jesus’ hands recently.  

Every Sunday we remember not only those who have gone before us, including the apostles and disciples from long ago, but we especially remember Jesus who died for us and lives still today. We celebrate our liberation. We do not only celebrate that we are living in a free country - not everyone we know who is in our Christian family is living safely. We celebrate that we are safe in the hands of Jesus. 

It was wonderful to remember yesterday how connected we are to the body of Christ around the world. We praise God for His grace and for making us into a family. And we will look forward to celebrating again this coming Sunday and each new day that we are given. 

Saying goodbye

This past week was a week of goodbyes. A dear sister in the church in Liege passed away unexpectedly quickly and quietly. Leonie and her husband George are stalwarts in the church in French-speaking Belgium, in Liege. They have both been involved with Bible camp from near the beginning and have been encouragers of many throughout their years. 

In Maastricht we have known this couple for many years as they come to our monthly singing every first Friday. This has not been possible this past year, but we were thankful to have seen them last year when the congregation of Maastricht went down to camp for a day of fellowship and the church in Liege joined us there for the afternoon. We also celebrated the 60th wedding anniversary of George and Leonie last year. 

Leonie was a quiet, beautiful, happy soul. We were not able to have long conversations because our French is not that complete and she spoke almost no Dutch or English. But when an interpreter was present or when we were sharing God’s word in a group, her joy and hope were always clear. She had struggled with some health problems in the last decade, but continued to be everywhere she could when she could. How beautiful an example she has been to so many. We look forward to seeing her again when we all get Home. 

This past Saturday I helped officiate a funeral for Marguerite. I met her as the girlfriend of a man I read the Bible with. Both Rob and Marguerite were in their 70’s when I met them. Rob passed away almost 3 years ago. Marguerite made it to 93 years old. In that time we got to know each other better. Shirley and I also got to know her family through her. Marguerite had no children, but many loving nephews and nieces. 

The most interesting thing about Marguerite and my relationship was how we were able to talk about God. Marguerite always had questions, realizing that Shirley and my faith was different than what she was used to. She would ask things like if we also had Mary in our faith. I would point out where Mary appeared in the Bible and we would talk about it. Or she would ask questions about Jesus and I would show her again what the Bible had to say about it. 

Every time we met I would ask if we could end the meeting with a prayer and she was always surprised that I would simply talk to God. At one point she asked if she could do that too. So she learned to pray in a different way than she was used to, simply talking to God. So much of her faith was a cultural faith - something we often talked about. 

At her funeral Shirley and I were able to talk to various members of her family who were present. We always hope to be encouragers and a place where people can ask questions if they have them. We are always thankful for God’s grace and leave Marguerite in His righteous hands. 

It has always been clear how different Marguerite and Leonie are.  Marguerite was often afraid. She feared death, even though she knew that it was inevitably coming. She fought cancer twice and was a sickly child, so she had fought all her life. Leonie faced death many times as well throughout her life, but she knew where she was going. We are so very thankful that we can say “See you later” to those we know who have clothed themselves with Christ and have a home prepared for them. 

As I post this we are praying for Shirley's sister who has gone to hospital and is on life support. We want the best for her and she knows the Lord. But we do not want to have to say goodbye just yet. This remains the reality and the struggle. Thank you for your prayers. 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4

[The picture is of Marguerite's grave right across from the grave of Rob Wessels]

The beginnings of Life

Where does life begin? That is a big question discussed by all sorts of people at various times. As Christians we know that life comes from God. We are the created, He is the Creator. But not everyone accepts this view of life and the world. 

This past week we were able to take a few days off and visit a young couple who have moved down to the south of France. Pamella is our sister in Christ from Brazil. She is married to Tim, who is a wonderful young man who does not want to believe in God just yet. But he was always willing to attend Sunday services with Pamella when they lived in Maasmechelen. 

Shirley and I seldom get to celebrate our anniversary on the day itself, but knew that we wanted to visit this couple to encourage them. Since it is a 13 hour drive down, we decided to make the drive a two day journey and stop over in Dijon on the way down and on the way back. This would leave us about two and a half days oil the south with Tim and Pamella. 

We had a wonderful time in sunny but cooler climes and spent a morning in Dijon on the way back home. More importantly we were able to have some good conversations and moments together. When we got back home we had just enough time to get a little rest before the next event on the next day. 

Mike Houts is a NASA scientist who came to talk about Science and Worldview. He spoke to a full room in the church building in Antwerp about the questions we can and should have about what science really shows us and where life comes from. It reminded me of the questions Tim sometimes had. Mike asked, “Did someone choose to be an atheist? Then people must be more than simple chemical reactions. A person must have a soul if he/she can make a choice.” Intriguing questions. 

While we were down in France, we got news that a dear sister of ours was sick and at the end of her life. Leonie and George are members of the congregation in Liege and came regularly to our monthly singing or to church outings down at camp. But she has also struggled with her health as of late. By the end of the week we had heard that she had gone Home to her reward. We look forward to seeing her soon, when we also can go Home. 

It was a challenging week with reminders of what really matters and where life really is. Life begins with God and can only continue with God. Jesus Christ makes real life possible. This is something that Leonie not only knew, it was something she regularly shared with those around her and showed in her daily life. Mike Houts presented good information that showed the truth that what we see is clearly come from God. And we continue to know how important it is to pass all of this information on to everyone who is willing to question and listen. 

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!   2 Corinthians 5:16-17

A living body

The church is called the body of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 12). Often when I hear people who do not believe ask why God doesn’t do anything, I remind them that He is doing things - through His body, the church. We are very thankful that God can use us in many ways, wherever we are. That has always been our desire: to serve Him in His Kingdom, wherever we are in the world. 

We are thankful that we are able to serve where we are in Belgium and the Netherlands because we are connected with other parts of the body of Christ around the world. We have had four different congregations in the US supporting us for many years, besides the individuals who also support us. This is certainly financial support, but is also support through encouragement and example. 

In 2023 we heard from one of our supporting congregations in Texas that they would need to reduce their support for us. They have been our ‘home’ congregation from the moment we were married and moved to Texas. We have always been thankful for their financial support and for the examples of mission-minded Christians that we saw in them. 

Since we were losing some support, we started looking around last summer and were introduced to Oldham Lane church of Christ while we were in Abilene. We were thankful to be able to talk to the missions committee and meet some of the elders as well as experience a Sunday evening worship time together. This year we received word that this congregation will be assisting us with financial support. Last night we had a video-call with the elders and missions committee. We look forward to getting to know this part of the Lord’s body and that they can get to know the body in Belgium and the Netherlands. 

Another piece of good news came when the congregation in Maastricht decided that they wanted to increase the amount that they support us financially. It was extremely encouraging to hear the brothers talk about the need to help us and how much they knew we were doing. One of the ways they will increase their help for us is by paying for our gas each month. We drive quite a bit in our work with the church here, so this is a real help. 

So let me take the time to thank all of those who help us financially throughout the year - many who have done this for many years. We have congregations helping us: Maastricht, Woodbury in MN, Muscatine in IA, S 11th and Willis in TX, Oldham Lane in TX and Long Beach in CA. We also have various individual families who help us regularly as well as some who help incidentally: the Crons, Bundys, McNeills, Ecks, Stovalls, Ramptons, Tornij's and Jablonskis. 

And then there are innumerable people who pray for us every day, every week, every month. We may not know your name, but we feel God’s grace, mercy and strength in our lives and know that this is also because you are speaking with our wonderful Heavenly Father about us and the work here. Thank you!

The body of Christ

A congregation, the church, as Paul talks about the church in 1 Corinthians, is a body. We all need each other. While we are gone to the US things will continue here in Maastricht because we are a body and a family. It is Jesus’ church. 

We are head out to the US on Wednesday morning early and we are looking forward to being able to see so many people we haven’t seen in four years or more. We will also get to meet lots of new people. But the last month has also given us the chance to see and welcome visitors from the US here. 

Raymond Blasingame, an elder in the 11th and Willis congregation that supports us from Abilene, Texas, dropped in for about a week. We were able to share our city, our village and the congregation with him. We also shared a great day with an old Belgian friend and got to see what our golf course in Maastricht is like. 

On Sunday Raymond shared the good news of being family in Jesus Christ and told us about brothers and sitters in other countries. This coming Sunday the congregation in Maastricht will have the opportunity to share financially with Sam’s  Place in Kenya. 

Not long after Raymond moved on to Kenya and the Philippines, we visited with folks from our supporting congregation in Minnesota. First Jared Hawley spent two days with us and we were able to share our Christian family here once again. He was able to spend a Sunday and spent the afternoon at a games day organized by our young Ukrainian couple. 

Last week we were also able to meet up with Dale and Vicki Hawley (uncle and aunt of) in Cologne for a few hours. They were on their way back from visiting with other missionaries in Greece and we were thankful to be able to see them as they passed through. We talked of life, family and how God blesses us in so many ways. 

As we plan to leave, the brothers and sisters in Maastricht have showered us with love and care making sure that we get to the airport on time, sending greetings to our supporting congregations, and covering some of the costs that we will have for this trip. It is good to kno0w that there are good brothers and sisters who will continue supporting one another and growing in faith. 

The body of Christ - it is not just symbolic. Together all of us as brothers and sisters in Christ work together, wherever we are, to accomplish His will in His Kingdom. It is amazing to be a part of this and to experience this daily. 

(Coffee time in Maastricht after worshipping together on a Sunday)

What does church look like?

“You can’t ‘go’ to church because you are the church!” I remember hearing this early on in my new life as a Christian. And it is so true. The family, the Christians, are the ecclesia, the church. In Dutch, the word for church - “gemeente” - is the same word used for the city government. Some might use the word “kerk”, but this refers more to a building. 

This past Sunday showed once again what it looks like to be the church. In Maastricht we try to make sure that we do things in Dutch. We are, after all, a Dutch-speaking group in a Dutch-speaking city. But we are much more than that. We have 6 Dutch-speaking couples and 7 Dutch-speaking singles. But that only tells a part of the story. Most of these couples are mixed in some way. There is an Ecuadorian wife, a German husband, Belgians, and two Americans (guess who). Among the singles, there is an Iranian, Armenian, and a Belgian. And this is just the group that speaks Dutch. 

You see, although we try to make sure that things are done in Dutch, we know that we have quite a group that does not speak Dutch. So we translate into English. We have one English-speaking family and 8 English-speaking singles. There are Americans, a Nigerian (who also speaks Russian), an Albanian, a Brazilian and four Ukrainians. Around this time of year some might start singing about partridges and pear trees. 

So what does church look like? On a Sunday people filter in (some with a cultural time adaptation - if you know what I mean) and those who are earlier will be greeting each other and already drinking some coffee. After the study, some others will grab their cup of coffee in the space that we leave between the study and the beginning of our worship time together. This is a time of more greeting, hugging and general hullaballoo. 

We worship, as I mentioned, mostly in Dutch. This means that most songs are in Dutch. But we have talked with the Ukrainians and found out which songs they also have in Ukrainian and Russian. This means that the song-leader can choose songs which they know. At that time you will hear singing in Dutch and a bit of Ukrainian at the same time. A few months back, we would also hear some Spanish when Deysi’s parents were visiting from Ecuador. 

The sermon and prayers are translated into English or from English into Dutch. Sermon outlines are available in Dutch and English. Sometimes you will hear some translating of a difficult point into Russian or Ukrainian. More importantly, when all is said and done, we all gather around the coffee and discuss the lessons and how God has been blessing us in whatever language makes things clear. There is a pleasant hum of discussion and sharing. 

One of our ladies takes the Lord’s Supper to one of our shut-ins. In the week we gather online for a Bible study. The ladies just returned from a week together. Some of the members get together in the week to help each other or just meet and talk. Our Nigerian will be moving, so others will help with a car and trailer. Our young Ukrainian couple is marrying in January, so we look at how to help them get settled in. Family stuff. On a Sunday or any other day of the week.

Yesterday we spent time together having Christmas fun. We played games with gifts (white elephants), ate goodies that everyone had prepared and brought, and had a good time together. This is what church looks like. Language doesn’t matter. Where you are from doesn’t matter. There are some challenges, but we can get through those because we are family, we are church - the body of Christ. 

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.  1 Corinthians 12:12-14

(If you do Instagram, you can find us there @gvc_maastricht)

Around the world

This past Friday we held a CHRISTmas sing-a-long, inviting our neighbors, Ukrainians in the city and any others to pion us in singing Christmas songs in various languages. We sang in French, Dutch, English, German, Ukrainian and Russian (and even in Latin). We wanted people to be able to not only enjoy this time in their own language, but also share this time with others. 

The Netherlands was playing against Argentina in the World Cup, so many Dutch people had quite a conflict for this evening. But we had a great group of Ukrainians who came from Eindhoven (about an hour away) to sing with us and to meet the congregation here in Maastricht. The singing was done before 9pm. The talking went on until about 10pm. We are so thankful for how God creates family. 

Last week we also heard from a small village in Uganda who received 50 Bibles in their own language. The church family here wanted to help with this need and took care of sending the Bibles in a responsible way. As a congregation we have helped with various congregations in times of need: in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, St. Maarten and Curaçao as well as with our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. 

God’s family, the church that is the body of Christ, is not some small group of people in a city in a country. It is a body, truly linked around the world and serving as the hands of Jesus wherever they are. If you are a Christian, you are not alone. We are made to be in communion, in a body, working together. And even if you are isolat5ed, you are not alone. Write, pray, email, call, speak to those around you. God is mighty and is using us all mightily, wherever we are. 

This is family

As all of us know, the situation in Ukraine is not good. People all over the world, but especially all over Europe, are asking how they can help. What has so encouraged me is to see how churches all over Europe are quickly looking at how they can help. 

From the beginning the churches in Poland and Ukraine itself were working together to help make sure that the first refugees were cared for. Take a minute to look at a map. Ukraine is bordered by Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldavia. I have seen messages from churches in almost all of these countries offering help in many different ways. 

Of course the countries themselves are doing their part. Europe has made it easier for Ukrainians to stay. Previously they could enter the EU and stay as tourists for 90 days. This was first extended to 180 days. Now it has been opened to a special status whereby these refugees will be able to stay for 1-2 years, receive financial help and be able to work. 

But they still need places to go and ways to get there. Free flights and trains have been offered. People have traveled with their own cars for hundreds of kilometers. Some are even renting buses to go pick people up. Many of this is being organized and coordinated by the churches in the surrounding countries. Among churches all over Europe members are offering ways to help. 

Belgium and The Netherlands is a long way away from Ukraine, but we know that there are lots of people needing help. Ardennen Bijbelkamp - our Bible camp - has offered to put up some families for at least 90 days. We are not sure how this will work yet, but we are prepared to help. One of the members in Maastricht is a Ukrainian preacher from Kiev who will stay at camp to help the refugees who come there. 

It is so good to see God working in all these people, in this whole situation. Our God is mighty. We continue to try to keep our focus on Him and the true eternal good news of eternal life in Christ as we also do our best to help with current needs of the here and now. Please join us in prayer for this situation. 

Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.  Ephesians 6:23-24

Beauty of the Body

We are now about halfway through our travels on Home Assignment and have so enjoyed the rich blessings that have come our way in each location. It has been so good to see how beautiful the body of Christ is. Everywhere we have been we have been able to join in the working of this body which is made of various parts working together - each part contributing in so many ways. 

Travel is essential in these two months – we need to make a lot of miles. In Minnesota, Indiana and California, members of the body have lent us their car. In Minnesota that meant letting us drive down to Iowa, over to Nebraska and back to Minnesota. And some have even paid for a part of the gas.

Getting to know members is fundamental – sometimes we need to remember names and sometimes new members need to get to know us and vice-versa. Members who prepare and keep up a bulletin board are indispensable.

As we were shopping in an Aldi (a German supermarket that is making inroads in the US) a young lady and her daughter stopped and looked closely at us. “Scott and Shirley Raab?” she asked. She recognized us because our picture is up on a bulletin board at the church building. In Iowa we were told by a new member of the church that he had been praying for us regularly and that it was good to finally meet us. He was able to follow what we were doing through the blog and the bulletin board at the building.

Body and soul – caring for every need. Every step along our way we have been asked what we would really like to eat, if there is anything we haven’t been able to get. Some have shared a special restaurant meal, others have made a meal (and allowed us to help and to clean up). More importantly, we have been able to share such good conversations at these tables, sharing our thoughts, hearing others, being encouraged and encouraging.

So many of you have shared so much: leading songs with a heart for the Lord, talking about how God is using you in a mighty way each day, simply letting us know that you are praying, taking the time to introduce yourself so that we can get to know you, listening to some of our struggles or joys, including us in your family (even playing lego’s or going to a garage sale).

We are all a part of the body of Christ, doing so many different things. We are all being used by our mighty God to do His will to His glory – if we allow this to happen. Know that we are so thrilled to be part of this life in the body with you!

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. ... But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”   1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 18-21