The youth these days

This past Sunday we were blessed to visit the congregation in Rotselaar where I preached. I the past we would visit this congregation regularly on a Sunday afternoon to practice singing. We have always had a good working relationship with the congregation and have a good relationship with many of the members in other capacities. This includes Bible camp. 

Many of the kids we have had come through Bible camp are now young people or even grandmothers. One of the sisters on Sunday was showing off her granddaughter. She mentioned that she herself was only small when she first went to camp with us as directors. And now she herself is a grandmother. It is amazing how quickly the time flies. 

But this of course also means that her kids are old enough to have kids of their own. Her son was also at our camps through the years. He was first a camper, then a counselor and then an assistant director and planner for the youth. Now he is also a father. His little sister has also been helping as a counselor in the last few years. It is exciting to see how people grow up. 

And yet, not everyone who came through camp has remained faithful or followed the Lord. There were a few people at the meal after services yesterday who came through camp, but are no longer attending or doing anything with their faith. This is hard to see and we continue to pray for all of the kids we work with every year. 

We pray that as they grow up into young adults, fathers and mothers, even grandmothers, that they hold onto what they have learned from the people around them. We pray that we, and all the people we have in a team for a week of camp, are good examples for all of the campers who attend. We know that a week of camp is only a week, but can mean so much more. We also know that our example needs to continue far past that week of camp. 

Bible camp was immensely important in my spiritual growth, but it was not the only influence. We hope and pray that we can continue to be a good influence not only for the kids at camp, but the kids in our congregation in Maastricht and the adults we have contact with every week. This past week we celebrated the graduation of one of our kids from the kid’s class to the adult’s class. He received a Bible and we all prayed over him. He joins two other young men in the congregation. Later this year we will graduate a young lady.  

We all were kids once. People were an influence on us as well. Now we want to be those people who are a good influence for the kids around us. Do you remember who was an influence in your spiritual life? How can you be that person to the young people around you now (no matter how old you are)? 

Prayer opportunities

Not that you need to hear from me to know that there are so many wonderful opportunities to speak with God, but I wanted to share these things in our work for which we would greatly appreciate your prayers.
- Last year I told you about the opportunity we had with our colleagues in their village. Karla was asked to help with the Catholic confirmation group by teaching them about the Bible. I was able to help out during a weekend retreat where we talked about faith. This year they have asked me to help again, specifically to talk about prayer and what it is. So I will be able to talk to these young people (and also to the adult supervisors) about how and why we can pray. Talk to the Father about this. So many people miss out on what prayer really can be and this is an opportunity to give this to these young people who aren't even yet sure if they want to know who God is.
- P. called Ruud (Karla's husband) last week and told him he wanted to be baptized. Ruud called me and we discussed how we should continue. We made an appointment to talk - so that he could see what we were saying and we could see what he was thinking. He lives up around Nijmegen - a good 2 hour drive from us. We went up last Sunday and talked for several hours, finally leaving, understanding that P. would let us know what he was going to do. He called this past Friday to let us know that he is very serious about his desire to give his life to God, but that there are a few more questions he is examining. He has a yearly vacation in France at this time, so this will give him a good opportunity to think, pray and study. Pray for P. and his wife, N., as they are making this consideration for their life.
- We have a new couple in the congregation in Maastricht. Philip is a Christian from Togo, via Germany, and his wife, Susanne, is from the Orthodox church. They are bringing a regular visitor who just moved to Belgium. Susanne's desire to know the Lord in her life, along with the visitor, along with two other regular visitors are all putting a strong emphasis on the decision we all make to belong to our King, Jesus. This has also been good for our young people. Pray for our discussions and the decisions of those considering giving their lives to God.

Thank you for your faithfulness and encouragement!! It is so good to know that we are striving together to have a wonderful family in our Father's kingdom.