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)

Vacation or business?

That is what they ask you at the customs counter. That is what they ask in questionnaires about travel. That is what some people ask when you tell them you are a planning a trip. Most people are shocked to hear that we will be gone for 8 weeks. “That’s quite a long vacation!” And to be honest, this trip is a very interesting mix of emotions, activities and purposes. 

We used to call it “furlough”. That is what a soldier took when he would head home for a bit after being on tour. In Dutch, the word “verlof” comes from the same root, but means vacation. In more recent years we have titled our trip “Home Assignment”, but perhaps it is not any clearer in that sense. 

We work as evangelists in Belgium and the Netherlands. We are financially supported by various congregations and individuals throughout the United States (as well as a few in Europe). It has been our desire to get back to the US every three years to visit with these congregations - to talk about what we have been doing, hear about how God is blessing those congregations, and renew the bonds that tie us together. 

Since we only go every three years and travel is not cheap, we combine this trip with seeing our family. In the earlier years that meant Scott’s family and Shirley’s family. Now it includes seeing our sons and daughters-in-love (and their families). But the congregations we visit and the families are not in the same cities, or States. So it means a lot of traveling and a good bit of puzzling to work out when we go where and how long we can be anywhere. 

The last time we were on this trip was in 2019. Our planned return would have been in 2022, but travel restrictions made that difficult. Although we took a short health visit to Shirley’s family in November, we had to delay our trip until this year. But now the puzzle is coming together and we look forward to the amazing mix that is a Home Assignment this May-June. 

In 8 weeks we will travel to 16 different cities in 9 different States, worship with 9 different congregations and see a good portion of our supporters and family while doing it - though not all. We will get on an airplane 7 times, rent a car 3 times and will be blessed to borrow a car in 2 other areas (one for 23 days!) while we drive roughly 3000 miles. 

While we will stay in at least 4 hotels in this time, we will mostly be blessed to stay with family and friends along the way. We hope that if you are not along our route (and we know that many of you are not), perhaps we can call or email while we are in your area. We are so thankful for the relationships that we have because of being family in Christ. 

If you are in the area, please let us know so that we can see you and spend some time together, even if it is only a cup of coffee somewhere. That is what makes a trip like this so amazing and different. Is it a vacation? We get to see a lot of people that we haven’t seen in at least 4 years. We get to hug on family and enjoy wonderful meals and conversations with family in Christ. We even get to see some places in the US that other people will never get to see. We get to travel. 

This is what our schedule looks like: 

We will land in New York City on April 26 and drive the next day to upstate New York to visit Scott’s mom on her 85th birthday. The Saturday after will be a drive down to church family ion Connecticut (family from in the Netherlands who are living in the US!). We are looking forward to being able to worship with them on Sunday before flying out the next day to Minnesota. 

We will spend a week in Minnesota with our wonderful church family at Woodbury before driving out for a Midwest loop hitting Omaha, Nebraska (Shirley’s family), church family in Muscatine, Iowa, our son Stephan (and his wife Natalie) and Scott’s brother in Indianapolis, Indiana, good friends in Chicago and returning to Minneapolis. This section is mostly possible because of generous hearts in the church at Woodbury loaning us a car for the whole trip (as they have done in the past as well). We look forward to worshipping with the church in Minnesota, Iowa and Indiana. 

After the Midwest loop we will fly down to Texas on May 25 hoping to visit with several supporters and worship with the congregation where we began our life as a married couple, 11th and Willis in Abilene. On May 31 we will fly on to Denver where we will visit Scott’s family in Colorado Springs and church family in Denver, worshipping in both cities on the same Sunday. 

We fly to California on June 7 and spend time with our supporting congregation in Long Beach as well as visiting family in San Diego. This leg of the trip is again made much easier by the use of a car from members of the church in Long Beach (which they have done on many trips in the past). We are also put up in all of these cities by members of the congregations we are visiting. What an amazing love and giving that make this type of trip possible!

Our last leg will begin on June 14 when we fly back to New York City, this time to spend some time with our son Sean and his wife Jill. We will worship in Manhattan for our last Sunday in the US before flying back after a total of 8 weeks exactly. We arrive in Belgium before the end of the month ready to jump into activities in June and Bible camp weeks in July and August. 

Along this trip we will have had some good vacation time - mostly because so many of you want to insure that we have some time to rest, knowing what all the traveling can mean. We will also have opportunities to tell about our work, preach, teach and visit. This is work, but it is good. We are so thankful that God can and does use us wherever we are or go. We want to be an encouragement wherever we are. 

Vacation or business? Yes. We travel in May-June if the Lord wills and because His family makes it possible. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible. Thank you for your help in making this possible!

Will we see you?

From May 14 - July 9 we will be traveling in the US, visiting congregations and family. We would really like to see you if that is possible. Check out the places we will be and let us know if we can get together.

May 15 - 18 in Omaha, NE

May 18 - 23 in Muscatine, IA
We are looking at the possibility of a Singing Workshop at this stop.

May 23 - June 2 in Minneapolis (and area)

June 3 - 10 in Colorado, first in Colorado Springs and from the 7th in Denver.
The Miller Street congregation (in Wheatridge) is hosting a Singing Workshop with us on June 8!

June 11- 17 in Abilene, TX
We will be mobile, so let us know if we can get together. We stay the night of the 17th in Dallas if you would like to meet.

June 18 - 23 in Indianapolis, IN

June 23 - July 4 in Long Beach, CA and area

July 5 - 9 in New York City

We look forward to seeing old friends and building new relationships. We are so thankful that God is making this possible through your generosity!