There where God is

This past week, as with most years, I was down in Gemünden, Germany for the Advanced Bible Study Series (ABSS). This is a week of Bible study with people from around Europe sitting at the feet of teachers from around Europe and one or two from the US. It is always a time of intense conversation and thinking as well as relaxing walks and even fun goofiness on the Thursday evening. 

It has always struck me how amazing and good it is to be with brothers and sisters from various places talking about the truth of God. This past week we were talking about the presence of God, how we see this in science, in beauty, in suffering and how we lear to follow Jesus in this Way. It struck me that there is no place where God is not; there are loci everywhere where God IS, together with His people. 

This is the very experience we have had throughout the years we have been blessed to serve in the area of Belgium and The Netherlands. We are blessed to be here because people in many places give their finances, encouragement and prayer so that we can be here. This past week reminded me of this truth as well. I was working through our financial statements in preparation for doing our taxes for the US and was reminded of all those who are it possible for us to be here. 

After this year we will no longer have financial support from the S. 11th and Willis congregation. They were the ones with whom we started our married life and were always a missional group of followers of Christ. Although this congregation has now folded into another in Abilene, Texas, we hold the memories and encouragements from through the years close to our heart. 

Another group of followers who have long supported and encouraged us is the congregation in Muscatine, Iowa. They, too will be dialing back their financial support in the coming year. Knowing the hearts of many of the members there we pray that they will not lose their focus on the mission of God around the world as they strive to discover how best to use the funds God has given into their care. We are thankful to be connected in many ways to the living fellowship there and to remember with joy how we are welcomed with open arms when we come “home”. (Find them here)

In a continuation of this movement towards the North we land at the Woodbury congregation in Woodbury, Minnesota (Minneapolis-St. Paul area). This is a group of people who have encouraged us from the beginning and worked through many changes to keep us in their prayers and minds and hearts. Every group of followers changes throughout the years as new people are added to the body and others go to their reward - waiting for the rest to join them soon. Woodbury continues to look for ways to pass on the grace of God in any way possible not only to the surrounding area 9which has changed immensely through the years) but also throughout the world. (Find them here)

Our sponsoring congregation and encouragers from the beginning are the members of the Lord’s body in Long Beach, California. It has always amazed me to see how this group has struggled through the various changes that come through the years, but always trying to focus on grace and salvation to any and all who come. This family makes sure we are linked to the others who financially support us, so that all goes well on the front. But they also continually share their hearts with us as well, praying for our needs. (Find them here)

Most recently (in 2023) we have become linked to the Oldham Lane church in Abilene, Texas. Although we still need to get to know this congregation better, we are thankful for their willingness to help us financially. We look forward to getting to know them better the next time we are in the US (normally that would be in 2026). 

Besides these various groups of people, we are also blessed with the encouragement, financial support and spiritual mentorship and friendship of various individuals and families. The Eck’s first visited us as students to work with us I this area and continue to support this work. The Bundy’s have supported and taken part in work in many places around the world including Belgium and continue to encourage, support and be an example to many, including us. The McNeill’s traveled in the past, experiencing this very idea of God’s people everywhere. Their hearts continue to be with the people they know and the people God knows in places around the world. The Cron’s and the Jablonski’s in California, and the Stovall’s now from Iowa, have remained strong encouragers and supporters throughout the years. In years past other families have helped, visited, encouraged and worked together with us, including the Skarin’s, Tornij’s and Rampton’s. 

God is in all places. He is here in the group of followers in Maastricht who also support us daily in their spiritual encouragement and monthly in their financial support. We have a connection with God’s family all over Europe, through to Asia and Africa, down through South America and even in Australia. God wants his family to be everywhere. And He is able to use any and all of us to make this possible. We are thankful that He has used us and continues to use us, with you, to reach people who do not yet know Him here. 

Know that God still wants to use you wherever you are now and that He is able. We are so very thankful for God’s faithfulness and for so many of you who have helped so many hearts here. 

Working together

This past weekend we heard that the congregation we attended from the first Sunday of our married life has decided to merge with another congregation in the city. South 11th and Willis church of Christ has been one of our supporting congregations for most of the time that we have been here in Europe. And they were a shaping force in our Christian lives, being a very mission-minded congregation from the beginning. 

We are so thankful for the time that we had with all of the members there (and the contact we will continue to have). And we are thankful for the other congregations that are part of the web of support that God has placed around us. This past month when we visited Stephan and Natalie to meet Sophia and celebrate her birthday, we made it a point to visit the Green Valley congregation who we had visited in the past when we were in Indianapolis. It is always encouraging to share the love of God with our brothers and sisters around the world. This time Scott was able to preach one Sunday and teach on another. 

One of the things we talked about while in Indianapolis visiting with Green Valley was how to help missionaries on the field and what the relationship between missionary and supporting church can look like. We mentioned how encouraged we were when our supporting congregation in Long Beach, California shared that they are always praying for us. While we of course need funds, it is the spiritual support that we feel immensely . 

We have enjoyed this kind of support and family from the congregation in Muscatine, Iowa as well. We have been hoping for years that Rudy and Pam Schellekens might even visit and use the time to reach out in the Netherlands. Rudy and Pam both worked in Rotterdam and The Hague in the past and are also a major influence on our lives serving God wherever we go. 

Our relationship with the Woodbury congregation in Woodbury, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis-Saint Paul) started many years back and has continued throughout our time here in the Netherlands and Belgium. We actually began with a congregation which later merged with the congregation that - together - became Woodbury. We try to follow the goings on every week by keeping up with the weekly bulletin and even sitting in online once in awhile on the men’s breakfast. 

These relationships have taught us and the members in Maastricht about how we are all a family of God, working together wherever we are. The church in Maastricht also shares with us financially and spiritually. Most recently, when they understood that we were losing some financial support due to changes in the US, they raised their level of financial help. This was something we also were thankful for in Abilene, Texas when we picked up a new family in the Oldham Lane church of Christ. 

Besides all of these congregations, we also have various individual donors who not only send us funds, but more importantly keep in contact in various ways, supporting us spiritually. We are a family, working together. As we are preparing for a week of Bible Camp (we are directing the week for the youngest kids), we are thankful for a team made up of members from 3 different Dutch congregations, serving kids from all over Belgium and the Netherlands. 

Realizing that God works through community, through a body, using the talents and resources of many to help even more come to life in Him - this is immensely encouraging. We are thankful for a mighty God who can use us all in so many ways to do His will, wherever we are. 

(Photo of a Sunday evening class in Muscatine, Iowa last year)

2nd day of Pentecost

In Belgium we celebrate several Catholic holidays with two days. Easter, Pentecost and Christmas all have two days. And then there is also Ascension Day which always fall on a Thursday and includes the Friday so that there is a long weekend. Of course most people understand what Easter and Christmas celebrate, even with the commercialization and strange things like chocolate bunnies and colored eggs. The confusion often comes with Pentecost. 

Pentecost is of course the celebration of first fruits, the first harvest of the first crop. It is the idea that the people of God were to trust God to give them what they needed. They could give Him their first fruits because everything came from Him anyway. These days it is still good to think in this way, realizing that all we have comes from God and we can trust Him for the future. 

If people know about Pentecost, then they know about it as the beginning of the Christian church. And that is certainly true. Christians, followers of Jesus, are the first fruits of the harvest. That first Pentecost when 3000 gave their lives to Christ in obedience was just a beginning. The church has spread all over the world. And it continues to change and grow in various ways. 

In the Netherlands some of the changes are very visible. The church building in The Hague used to house a church of 100-200 members. That was at a time when the congregation was Dutch members and American expats working in the city. Now the church building still exists, although with many troubles, but it houses a Ukrainian congregation and an international group. And the building has been joined in the neighborhood by a mosque next door. 

Speaking of international groups, the church meeting in Antwerp (in Belgium) and outside of Antwerp is also international. In Antwerp there is a Spanish-speaking group. Outside of Antwerp the congregation is mostly African. The largest congregation numerically in the Netherlands is the congregation in Amsterdam which is primarily Ghanaian and meets in Twi (one of the languages of Ghana) and English. 

In the Netherlands there are congregations in Amsterdam, Groningen, Haarlem, The Hague, Den Dolder, Eindhoven and Maastricht. In Belgium there are congregations in Ghent, Roeselare, Brughe, Antwerp, Turnhout, Hasselt and Rotselaar which generally speak Flemish. French-speaking congregations meet in Liege, Charleroi and Brussels. Each of these places has an interesting history behind their establishment and growth (or lack of) through the years. 

In Maastricht we are getting ready to say goodbye to one of our American families as they return to the US. But we have also welcomed some Ghanaians recently. We teach and worship in Dutch and English and are looking forward to meeting together for a day down at camp for fellowship and encouragement. We understand that our existence is all down to the grace of God and His spirit in our lives. We are still His harvest, His first fruits and we pray that He is able to use us to have an even greater harvest here or wherever we go. 

(Picture is of a youth weekend this year in the building in The Hague)

Little Words

The last weeks have seen me trying to help someone who I have known for more than 20 years. We started reading the Bible together and I helped him out with moving, small things around the house, parenting tips (he is a single father) and more. 

Recently he was operated on a perforated intestine and almost died. His son - who is now a 26 year-old lawyer - reminded him after the operation that he had been given a second chance. You see, he has never been an easy person to live with. I have tried to remind him of an amazing truth I learned many years ago (as I mentioned a few weeks ago about pizza evenings with the youth group). The simple words “please” and “thank you” make the world a completely different place. 

While he was in the hospital a nurse came to assist him. She mentioned her name when he wanted to call her “miss”. Later, when I went looking for coffee, because we needed to wait for quite some time, she showed me the way. I thanked her and mentioned her name. A smile lit her face. It was nothing more than a simple “thank you”, but it meant a lot to her. Nurses have long days. 

So, we (his son and me) have given this man a challenge to learn these two simple sayings. He started his chemo this past Friday and immediately had some opportunities to practice. It is NOT something that comes naturally, although Ince you learn it, it can become normal. I saw this reality this past weekend in another way that we might not expect. 

This weekend was the COPA Benelux. The last COPA (the cup) was in 2019. Covid rules killed this indoor soccer tournament for the churches in Belgium and the Netherlands in the years between. We had people from 7 or 8 different congregations. We had 5 Fun teams and 5 Pro teams (each team being at least 5 people). We came with a Fun team from Maastricht. The Fun teams aren’t that serious and are often comprised of younger players. 

The COPA is also a time for members from the various congregations to see and talk to one another. It is a time to invite people we know who may or may not know Jesus to an event where we talk about and show what fun is like when Jesus is in our lives. 

During the play I remember hearing Luk Brazle, who played for Ghent Fun, calling out to the goalkeeper of Rotselaar Fun, “Good stop, Eva!” His teammate had just tried to score and the goalkeeper had kept the ball out. It was a great stop. It deserved the attention. So Luk made sure that the encouragement was there. 

Throughout the day you could hear and see these kinds of things happening. People thanking one another, enocuraging one another. During the Pro games I saw players admit when they had kicked it out, rather than wait on the ref. In fact, once their was a bit of a dispute about whose ball it was. The ref said one thing, a player said something else. Finally the opposite player simply said, “No problem. Their ball.” And the game continued. 

This is what people who know Jesus have discovered. Complaining may have its place in life, but it can only get so much done. And it seldom changes people. Gratitude changes hearts and situations the it is real. It doesn’t have to be big or flashy. It doesn’t really have to be noticed by anyone, except the person to whom it is addressed. Gratitude admits that YOU are not the most important at that moment, that someone else was needed. Gratitude allows humility to be present and grow. The same thing happens when we use “please”. 

Amazing that these are things we could learn early on in our lives. But we can still learn them later in life as well. Please keep A in your prayers as he tried to put his second chance to good use and learns to change his world. 

Thank you so very much for your encouragement of us in our lives and for how you show the love of God where you are. Enjoy your day of Thanksgiving this week, and remember that it is possible to practice this every day, in any month of the year. 

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Family Day!

Johan Huyghebaert
Originally uploaded by sraabs.

Family Camp always ends with a Family Day - a day for the churches in Belgium and the Netherlands to get together for learning, encouragement and fellowship. This year was organized by the churches in Brughe and Roeselare. Johan Huyghebaert, who was also the camp leader for Family Camp (and had the help of his son, Robin, Robin's finacee, Joyce, and Johan's mother, Jose), got the day going with some good singing and announcements.

This is always a day of wonderful fellowship - sometimes the only time you might see someone from a congregation further away. It is always esepcially nice when some of the French-speakers from the church in Belgium are also able to attend. And this day was amply blessed with beautiful sunshine until everyone was on their way home again!

(click on the picture for more pictures of the visiting during this day)