Looking ahead

We have almost been on the road for two months now. By next Wednesday we will be in our own house, our own bed, perhaps sweating from what we have heard is a heat wave in Belgium. Here in the US we have been able to visit with family and church family in so many places, sharing about what we are doing as well as picking up on what God is doing in these various places. 

We still have a day in California and then a few days with Sean and Jill in New York, but at times our minds are already turning to what is to come when we get back home. We fly on a Tuesday and arrive on Wednesday morning. That evening we will be able to share with the Maastricht family again in a Bible study we have missed for the last 8 weeks. 

On Saturday we will head down to camp with the congregation to share time together in God’s word and with God’s family. IN the morning we will study and discuss. We will then share lunch with the congregations from French-speaking Liege and Verviers. Following lunch we will join in song together - probably in at least three different languages. We are so thankful for these opportunities to encourage one another and be a family of Christ together. 

As we head into July we will be preparing for a week with the teens at camp. Shirley will be helping in the kitchen, Scott will be sharing the lessons and training new leaders and teachers. The week is full with 24 campers signed up. Please pray for these young people and the team leading them in this week. 

The week afterwards Scott will be down at Family camp once again helping with the lessons for the teens. This week is always a good opportunity to reach out to families who attend. We pray that we will be good examples while there and that God can use us in all of our conversations. 

Looking past the summer months we are looking at how we as a congregation can be God’s light and love in our community. Some of the things we have discussed while on our trip will come up with the congregation. How can we be reaching out to families? How can we be encouraging one another in remaining in the truth? We already have some plans for walks together, studies with students, games days and/or evenings for families and more. 

In all of this we are thankful that God is mighty, that we are speaking of His truth and love and that He is the One using all of us mightily for His kingdom. What is planned for your coming months? How is God using you now? What are you looking forward to? Let us know. And thank you so much for your prayers, your faithfulness as you walk with God and your example to those around you if you are walking with Him. 

What does love look like?

The past month has seen us preparing for and enjoying our weeks at Bible Camp. We are so thankful that we get these kinds of opportunities to encourage and be encouraged by people at camp. It is our fervent desire that these moments bring young people closer to Jesus, encourage brothers and sisters to see how God can and is using them in His kingdom, and enjoy the challenges that God brings us to help us grow in faith as well. 

At the end of July Scott directed a week of Teen Camp with the 12-14 year-olds. What an amazing age, with young people who are wanting to change the world and who are willing to see and accept the challenge that God gives them in changing the world. Our theme was “Living Upside Down” and we talked about being willing to swim against the stream, being willing to stand up for what is right. 

What always amazes and encourages me is how God presents immediate opportunities to put all of the lessons we are learning into practice. Not only did we have a few campers who are not believers, but we had to struggle with what it means to differ in opinions and still try to love one another and get along together. Of course the setting always helps – the fantastically beautiful nature, getting to work together at ‘kp’ (kitchen duty), playing sports and games together. And struggle is good. 

The following we were both down at camp for Family camp – Scott directing and Shirley directing the kitchen. I am always thankful to be back together as a team – I depend immensely on Shirley’s ability to run a kitchen well and very efficiently. But we are also then able to share our thoughts, feelings and prayers at the end of the day – preparing for the next day. 

This week was centered on prayer, and it was the question from our young brother in Christ, Mathias van Ginneken that stuck with me from his lesson on the Lord’s prayer (“Our Father” in Matthew 6:9-13): What does love look like? He pointed out that in this prayer – the most important thing Jesus teaches his followers concerning prayer – Jesus mentions forgiveness as the most important thing we do (it is about ‘us’, not ‘me’). After the Lord’s prayer (verse 14 and 15) he reiterates this essential element: forgiveness. That is what love looks like. 

This struck me because we were blessed with families in this week who were so grateful to be away from struggle, away from angry neighbors or strident ex-partners fighting for kids, or difficult relationships with family members. Here at camp, although no one is perfect, we work together, we share, we encourage one another. It was like another world. And isn't that exactly what God intends? 

It has stuck with me since that week. God’s greatest show of love is in forgiving us. That is what Jesus came to do and what he modeled for us as well. It is the hardest thing we will have to deal with in our lives – nigh on impossible. And yet God asks us to do the impossible – with His strength and might. He makes the impossible possible. 

So as we head into September and many more activities and wonderful discussions and studies, we hold on to that thought: What does love look like? It looks like us forgiving one another, striving to live together. What a blessing! 

Head on over to our pictures and taste a bit of what the weeks were like. You can see Teen Camp here. You can see Family Camp here. Thank you for your encouragement and desire to live for Him every day!