Plans for the coming year

My last name is Raab. This comes from the German for “raven”. This is why our blog site is called “The Raven’s Roost”. Although we are ravens, we will find our roost wherever God places us and can use us. Our “roost” is wherever we are and wherever we will go. 

In the last two months we had the pleasure and the blessing to speak with so many of you, pray with so many about our situation and future plans. In the meantime, the church here in Maastricht was praying for our travels and our conversations. They too knew that we might be approaching a moment of change. Yesterday we took the time to talk about that change with our brothers and sisters here in Maastricht. In the coming days we will be talking about it with others we work with in both Belgium and the Netherlands. 

Our plan here in Belgium and the Netherlands was always to serve God however we could and in any capacity that God made possible. The idea is always that God works through each of His children - as He sees fit. We do not always know how this works best, where we might be sent or be useful. But we always try to be aware of opportunities and challenges that move us into trusting God. That is why we have always said we serve God wherever we are or wherever we go. And that is also what we teach others. 

We have been working with the church in Belgium and the Netherlands since January 1991. Actually even longer when we count the time we came on campaigns in 1981 and my two year stint from 1982-84. We will always be working for the gospel in these areas, wherever we are. But the time has come for us to plan moving out of Belgium (from the house where we have lived for 34 years) back to the Untied States. This is due to how things have changed financially for us - especially the Belgian tax situation - as well as how our family situation is evolving. 

While we were on our Home assignment (the trip we just took to visit family and supporting congregations) we were able to get to know our granddaughter in Indiana even better. She has just turned 3 years old and we would like her to know who Opa and Omi are. At the end of our trip we received the wonderful news in New York that our son, Sean, and his wife, Jill are expecting to welcome a little girl to the world in January of 2027, bringing our second granddaughter into our lives. 

So we are making frantic plans to try and be moved back to the US by the beginning of next year. Not only because the financial situation makes it necessary, but also to welcome a new granddaughter and get closer to family in general. This will be a new season in our lives as we head into the season of “retirement”. We are the right age, even if we don’t feel like we will ever retire. 

Before any of this happens, we have so much to do on the Belgian side. We will be leading Benjamin Camp at the end of the month and teaching at Family Camp. Our Wednesdays and Fridays singing with the church in Eindhoven and Maastricht will continue. In August the church is taking part in a neighborhood activity in Maastricht. In November Shirley and I are part of a marriage workshop. Life goes on and there is so much to do - wherever we are. 

We would greatly appreciate your prayers in the coming months: for our kids and their kids, for our wrapping things up here and the lives being touched with the gospel, for our moving plans (selling house, buying house, etc), for a full trust in our wonderful God who knows how things work and how He is going to use each of His children wherever we are. Our supporters have agreed to continue supporting us through 2027 as we make this change. Thank you for your continued prayers, encouragement and support in this time of transition. 

Sisters

This past weekend some of our sisters in the church were off to the Ladies Retreat. This is a retreat organized in Germany. Each year his organized by a different group - sometimes the Swiss ladies, the ladies from Germany or England, or the Belgian and Dutch ladies. It is four days (Thursday to Sunday) to get to know sisters from around Europe, hear lessons in English and sing together. 

We were thankful that several from our church family could go. One of our sisters who moved away a few years ago (first to France and now back to Belgium, but a few hours away, following her husband’s work) was able to attend for the first time. It is always exciting to see how getting together with fellow believers can be so encouraging and to see how God can use you in such times. 

Last year our young Ukrainian sister went to the retreat and ended up translating for many of the other Ukrainians who attended. This year our sister who moved away was able to get together with new sisters and friends from South America. She herself is from Brazil. So even though she speaks Portugese, she understands and can speak Spanish as well. 

The car that left with the group p from Maastricht included Shirley and three other sisters. While they were gone some of the brothers (husbands and brothers in Christ) got together to spend some time together on the Saturday. Cooking for one another and spending time together is always good. I ended up planning some work in the house while Shirley was gone. Our new brother, Jef, was able to help start om putting a ceiling in our pantry. It is a lot easier to get things done when you can make a mess while your wife is gone. 

Sunday morning was a bit different without the ladies. We have several ladies in the congregation who are strong singers. But even four being gone was definitely noticeable. We are thankful for the time that the ladies were able to spend together and how God uses each one to encourage others. But we are also thankful that they made it home safely.

(Top photo is of the full group. Bottom photo are "our" ladies.)

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)

The tax man cometh

The tax man cometh. April 15 is an important day in the US. In the Netherlands it is also in the Spring. In Belgium tax day is in June. Taxes are a certainty in any country or culture and it is no different here. In the Netherlands you even know when your post is from the tax office - it is a blue envelope.  

For us the whole situation is rather complicated. We file income tax in the United States and in Belgium since we come from the US but live in Belgium. In both countries we are considered self-employed for the tax law. We are required to pay social security in both countries as well. Thankfully we have help for our US taxes from brothers and sisters who have always been willing to help missionaries. 

I remember when E.B. Dotson was working for brother McCready. Brother McCready did the taxes of missionaries for free, taking away any worries and in this way supporting and encouraging them. E.B. and Jean were our good friends in church (as they are still) and it has been a true blessing to have this weight taken from our shoulders all these years. Tax law is difficult enough as it goes, but it gets even more complicated when someone lives overseas. 

In Belgium we do not have anyone doing our taxes for us, but things are fairly straight forward. We do not have to itemize. We list the value of our house, its measurements and such. For some years we get a digital printout of what the tax office already figured for us. Then we do even less. But the cares of wondering if everything is done correctly remain a concern. 

We always want to make sure that we are doing things as they should be done. As Christians we have a responsibility to make sure that we are an example to those around us. Jesus also told Peter (and Paul told the Christians in Rome) that taxes are not something to escape. So whether they are fun or not, we want to do what is right. 

As we now also are reaching a certain age, we have thought about what we would need to do for retirement. In Belgium retirement age is 67 - and moving higher each year, it seems. We have social security in both countries, but we are not quite sure how the two countries will work with one another. When one looks for answers, the “normal” answers on a FAQ never quite fit our situation. So we will start looking deeper at what needs to be done. 

In the meantime, and as always, we will trust that God is taking care of things. And we will thank our loving Father for brothers and sisters who are willing and able to help us with this kind of information. 

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

Working out

As I have mentioned here before, we have quite an international group now in Maastricht. This means that our worship time is translated from Dutch to English and vice-versa. But several of the young people, students and young professionals, wanted to organize a weekly time together to dig into the word of God together and invite their friends. This would be in English. 

So we have been able to meet the past month with these young people and have been looking into Paul’s letter to the young man, Timothy (1 Timothy). It has been exciting to see the desire of these young people to not only walk with God in their lives, trying to be good students, good colleagues and choosing to do what is right, but also to see their desire to learn from God’s word. 

1 Timothy has presented us with various examples of what they are experiencing in their daily lives as well. What do you do when you have a problem with a manager? How do you make things right when you have said something wrong? Which things are most important to speak about and how can we do that? How can we be an example? 

We are thankful for these young men and women and look forward to the coming weeks as well. As with many young people and professionals, it is not always easy to find a time to get together. But they struggle with that and find time. We are encouraged by their example. 

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.  1 Timothy 4:8-9

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!

Memories of Home

I remember singing Joh Denver songs and listening to Battlestar Galactica (on cassette tape) while falling asleep. That was many years ago when I first lived in the Netherlands as an apprentice. I felt alone. Was alone. But not alone. God’s family was always there taking care of me. And the family that made me feel at home was the family of Karsten Rog. 

Karsten was a teenager then. Henk and Celia, his mom and dad, took me in for Christmas and a few other times. Karsten is the eldest of three sons. Later I would work together with his younger brother, Reuben, at the beginning of the singing group Listen Up!. Karsten married Sandi and they became an active part of the congregation in Eindhoven. 

Years later again, when we were traveling in the US on our Home Assignments every three years or so, Karsten and Sandi and their kids were a certain stop for us in Colorado. Their oldest, Whitney, was born the same year as our youngest before the Rog's moved to the US. So we continued close, with Karsten and Sandi, with the kids, and with Henk and Celia. This was always a place where we have felt at home. 

This past week, after years of struggling, Sandi’s struggle with cancer ended and she went Home. We pray hugs to Karsten, to the kids and their spouses, and especially to Henk and Celia at this time of loss. But we also know that we will soon have some great Home time together. That is something that Sandi and Karsten always made clear to everyone around them. Home is where Jesus Christ is to be found. 

We also said goodbye to another sister here in the Netherlands. When I first went to the Netherlands, it was on a campaign from York College with Tom and Dottie Schulz. Sitting at a table in the church building of The Hague talking to Monica and Oscar was one of the major reasons that I returned to work with the church in the Netherlands. Oscar and Monica, two teenagers in the church, talked about how good it would be for someone to come help. I was already picking up the Dutch language quite quickly. My promise to come help them and the Dutch people was one of the reasons I would return. 

Elly was Oscar and Monica’s mother. She was a quiet woman as I remember her. Every time that I came to The Hague throughout the years (we first met in 1981), she was there and would say encouraging words. She loved to sing, loved to hear from the Word of God and did her best to live for her King. I always felt like I was coming Home when I visited The Hague and saw Elly. Elly was 92 and went Home to see her King last week. I look forward to seeing her again when I get Home. We will sing together and sit somewhere together quietly, wondering at the beauty of everything that we see. 

There have been so many memories made here on earth that are memories of Home. We are so thankful for all the saints that God has brought us in contact with - people who have hearts washed clean by grace and who try to live by that grace. What an encouragement to live the same way, have the same thought, in our own lives. Enjoy every minute with your brothers and sisters in Christ, even now. These are memories of Home. 

Sweet Fellowship

We are so blessed to be in a place where so many countries come together. Geographically we are at the nexus of three countries and four language groups (the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium with Flemish and French speakers). We look forward to any time we get to gather with brothers and sisters from around the area. This builds us up and encourages the whole church. 

At the end of September we held our annual Family Day down at camp. Ardennen Bijbel Kamp is situated in the hills of the Ardennes where not too long ago soldiers died to defend democracy and justice. These days we gather as members of the church to encourage one another in living for truth and justice every day in the Lord. The congregation in Maastricht organized the day this year and it was great to be together with French-speakers as well as Dutch- and Flemish-speakers for the day. 

In October we spent time with our French-speaking brothers on our first Friday singing. Then, the very next day, we gathered in Cologne, Germany, with brothers and sisters from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany for a day of fellowship and singing. How good is it to get to know and be encouraged by the family of God from all around us. We love using every opportunity to get together. 

Later in the month we got together again, this time in a more sportive atmosphere. The COPA Benelux is organized every year by members from the church in Ghent and is for all church members in the Benelux. This year I got to play on a team with members of the church from The Hague, Haarlem, Sint Niklaas (Belgium) and Maastricht. But we were also a mixture of Russians, Ukrainians, Dutch and American-Belgians. 

God has an amazing view on who we are and what we should and can be. We are made in His image, made to give, to share, to be together because we are created by Him. People are people, no matter where we are from or live. We are all able to become children of the King, no matter what we have done in the past. And then, suddenly, we are family. That is exciting news! Look around at the family God has in your neighborhood, at the family He has placed you in where you are. Be encouraged and be an encouragement. 

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.   Ephesians 3:14-21

Sing and be Happy

You have heard me say it before, but I’ll say it again – I am so thankful for what God has given us in song! Singing brings heart and mind together. When we sing together, we bring our hearts and minds together. What a blessing and encouragement!

In March we organised the second Song Workshop in Antwerp – time to learn new songs for any congregation, to learn how to read music, to learn the bass line or other part from a specific song. It was a great day of encouraging singing and hopefully preparation for more in many local congregations.

On some Monday’s Shirley and I get to visit with Mario and Tonia in Aarschot for a study. Often we will finish the evening in song – no matter how late it has gotten. And on the first Wednesday of every month we welcome some members from the church in Liege for an evening of singing (often in three languages). This month Mavis Antwi was able to come as well. She is from Scotland, but is doing an internship in Heerlen (outside Maastricht) and made sure to be active with us for the three months she is in the Netherlands.

In May we are organising a concert with Harding University Chorus. Harding will sing with two local choirs and Laus (a group of Dutch-speaking church members) for a varied group in a church building that has been turned into a home and laboratory for blood studies (wonderful symbolism there!). Be praying for the singers, the listeners and all hearts involved, that they will be touched with the words and heart of God.

Whatever your heart is – lift it up with God in song. Are you alone? Sing it out (even if it is only in your heart). Better yet – get together with others and share those hearts and minds in glorifying and extolling our gracious Father.

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. James 5:13

Check out a few pictures here.

Home Assignment 2016

Click on the picture to see our route

Our tickets are purchased and our plans are firming up for our Home Assignment this year! It has been 3 1/2 years since we last saw most of you and we are looking forward to sharing news and getting to know more of you. We would appreciate your prayers for the planning of this trip as well as during our travels. We very much want to be an encouragement wherever we go.

Our trip will run from May 17 to July 18, since we are able to travel outside of school holidays now. This way we are also hoping to be able to see some of you who we have missed in years past. Here is a run-down of where and when we wil be. The red lines are Scott and Shirley, the blue line is Sean with Wouter and Marc and the purple is all of us together.
May 17-25 in the Minneapolis area (nr. 1 on the map). We fly in on the 17th and drive out on the 26th. We will be visiting our Woodbury family during this time and look forward to seeing the changes that have taken place there since our last visit.
On the 26th of May we will drive down to Muscatine, Iowa (nr. 2) where we will stay through Monday, the 30th with our Muscatine church family.  From there we will drive across Iowa on May 31 to Omaha, Nebraska (nr. 3) to visit Shirley's family, where we will stay until June 3. For the first time we will not drive down to Colorado, but will instead bring the rental car back to Minneapolis on June 4 and fly down to Denver.
Our next leg of the trip will be June 4-12. In Denver and Colorado Springs (nr. 4) we will visit Scott's family as well as church family in the area. New family members to meet, a chance to speak a little Dutch with the Rog family if possible and meeting up with Scott's Mom who will come in from New York if possible.
We will fly out of Denver on June 13 and head to the Texas leg of the trip (nr. 5), spending time in Abilene with our 11th and Willis family as well as time with church family in the Dallas area from June 14-22. In the past, this has been our last stop before heading back home. This time it will be in the middle of our travels.
On June 23 we will fly out to Indianapolis (nr. 6) where we will be until July 5. The first part of this Indiana leg Shirley and Scott will have time with Stephan and Natalie and the White family as well as being able to hook up with Scott's family and church family from Minnesota who have moved. On June 30 Sean will arrive with his friend, Wouter, and Wouter's dad, Marc (blue line). They also joined us on our last trip to be present at Stephan and Natalie's wedding. This time it is middle of the summer instead of a snowstorm ar Christmas. This time we will celebrate the 4th of July with family.
July 5 we all fly out together (purple line) to the last leg of the trip in California (nr. 7). In Long Beach we will be able to spend time with our Long Beach church family as well as visit some of Scott's family in San Diego.
This will probably be the last time that Sean travels with us on a Home Assignment. He will be finishing his studies this year and moving into his career choices. So this year we will take a short road trip together. Another friend from Belgium will join us on the 11th and from July 12-17 we will drive around California, seeing what there is to see.
We all fly out on July 18 and return to Europe on the 19th, ready to jump right into our full summer schedule of Bible camp. But we will have seen all of you and have been refreshed by the fellowship we share, the family that we are. This has only been possible because of the generosity of our church families - our brothers and sisters who continue to encourage us and are co-workers with us in what God is doing here in Belgium and the Netherlands. We look forward to seeing you face to face again!

Around the table

In the last months of the year we have had several opportunities to fellowship. I like that word. We share things with one another in times of fellowship. And, not surprisingly, many of these moments are shared around the table. It is at the table that we put our differences aside and try to be at peace with one another. It is at the table that we share our lives, our conversation, our food with one another. Normally we will at the very least try to be polite. But in times of fellowship we simply enjoy.

Here are some pictures of our most recent times of sharing around the table. We are thankful for good friends, Christian family and times together. 

This year we hosted our 'Meeting Jesus' group 

for a real Thanksgiving Day dinner (on Thanksgiving!)

At 'Thanksmis' (because we plan it in between Thanksgiving and Christmas) we saw people from all over Belgium and the Netherlands and got to see most of the new babies.

Having fun at Thanksmis. 

Yeah, probably scared the poor kid 

(although he did go to sleep not long after). 

For Shirley's birthday, which fell on a Wednesday, we had the group from Liege over at our house as well as the members from Maastricht who could be there. 

Christmas Eve we were welcomed by the Brazle clan for gourmet 

(cheese and meat cooked on a sort of hot plate, 

combined with lots of good conversation)

On Christmas Day we went to Willemien, 

since she couldn't easily come to us, and shared a nice afternoon.

Later on Christmas Day we invited some friends over.

We are so thankful for all of our family of all sorts all around the world. We pray that you too are enjoying fellowship with the Lord each and every day, in His wonderful grace. Our sincerest wish is that we can sit together with you around God's table.

Speak to one another

I love singing. Singing is the way that God has given us to combine thought with feeling and communicate that to one another, to Him and to ourselves. And communal worship singing is the best of all. It is here that we experience family in the presence of God.

I am thankful that I have had the opportunity many times in my life to expereince communal worship singing in multiple languages. I have no idea in which language we will sing when we kneel before the throne, but it is thrilling to be able to share this beauty and truth with others, even when we have difficulty communicating the simplest things (how do you talk about your hometown or your family in Croatian, or Korean, or French?). We can sing of our love for God, of our joy in His grace, of our burning desire to be His in all we do and say. And with a bit of translating in the beginning, we all know that we are sharing this thought and feeling.

Every first Wednesday of the month the church in Maastricht gets together to sing – learn new songs, learn about singing, share our thoughts in song. The group from Liége (Luik) usually joins us for the evening. Last weekend they organized an evening of singing with Robert McCready and his students from Harding. Glorious! And last evening was the last Wednesday evening in Maastricht until September (after our camp weeks). It was a wonderful evening together, although we missed some who are often there. But we will see them again too – and we will sing together to the glory of God, in any language, forever!