A certain future

This past Monday evening our sister, Rita Davison, went Home to her reward with the Lord. Her daughter, Tonia, is part of our family in Maastricht, together with her husband and son, Liam. Rita is well known among the churches in Belgium and the Netherlands. She and her husband Roy have been part of the Dutch-speaking work for decennia, having links to the congregations in Brughe, Ostende, Roeselare, Antwerp and Eindhoven. Rita was 88 years old.

As I was looking through the things so many said of her on the memorial site, many of the same things returned. Rita’s smile was amazing and her love for the people around her came from her great love for the Lord. She and Roy have been an influence on many people in the Dutch-speaking work. Rita was especially an encourager in all she did. 

This past month we have had her children visiting us in Maastricht because they were visiting her. We always get to enjoy Tonia and Mario and are grateful for her influence in Tonia’s life. But we also got to spend time with her daughter Connie who lives with her husband Ian McGuiggan in South Dakota. I was a counselor and teacher for both Tonia and Connie at Bible camp when they were both young. Rita’s son, Stuart, and his wife Connie were also visiting this past month. We all spent some good time singing spiritual hymns together. 

There will be many in the churches here (and it would not surprise me if there are plenty in Canada as well) who are looking forward to seeing Rita again and singing with her, hearing her wonderful alto voice lilting high, mixing perfectly with the other voices in praise to the King of kings. We are so very thankful for heroes of the faith, good examples of what it means to remain faithful to the end. So we praise God, comfort those who are hurting deeply, and look forward to the certainty of the future with our Lord and Master.  

What is so beautiful in all of this is how we see God working. The week that Rita went home to be with her Lord, Kristof decided to give his life to Jesus as his Lord. This young man works with our brother in Christ, Danny. He had questions about faith, which Danny talked about with him. And he realized that he needed a firm foundation and good future. So he was baptized this past Thursday, dying to his old self and rising to new life, eternal life, in Jesus Christ. 

God is amazing and gracious. We are so thankful for the secure future that we all can have in Him and that there are so many choosing for this life. 

Saying goodbye

This past week was a week of goodbyes. A dear sister in the church in Liege passed away unexpectedly quickly and quietly. Leonie and her husband George are stalwarts in the church in French-speaking Belgium, in Liege. They have both been involved with Bible camp from near the beginning and have been encouragers of many throughout their years. 

In Maastricht we have known this couple for many years as they come to our monthly singing every first Friday. This has not been possible this past year, but we were thankful to have seen them last year when the congregation of Maastricht went down to camp for a day of fellowship and the church in Liege joined us there for the afternoon. We also celebrated the 60th wedding anniversary of George and Leonie last year. 

Leonie was a quiet, beautiful, happy soul. We were not able to have long conversations because our French is not that complete and she spoke almost no Dutch or English. But when an interpreter was present or when we were sharing God’s word in a group, her joy and hope were always clear. She had struggled with some health problems in the last decade, but continued to be everywhere she could when she could. How beautiful an example she has been to so many. We look forward to seeing her again when we all get Home. 

This past Saturday I helped officiate a funeral for Marguerite. I met her as the girlfriend of a man I read the Bible with. Both Rob and Marguerite were in their 70’s when I met them. Rob passed away almost 3 years ago. Marguerite made it to 93 years old. In that time we got to know each other better. Shirley and I also got to know her family through her. Marguerite had no children, but many loving nephews and nieces. 

The most interesting thing about Marguerite and my relationship was how we were able to talk about God. Marguerite always had questions, realizing that Shirley and my faith was different than what she was used to. She would ask things like if we also had Mary in our faith. I would point out where Mary appeared in the Bible and we would talk about it. Or she would ask questions about Jesus and I would show her again what the Bible had to say about it. 

Every time we met I would ask if we could end the meeting with a prayer and she was always surprised that I would simply talk to God. At one point she asked if she could do that too. So she learned to pray in a different way than she was used to, simply talking to God. So much of her faith was a cultural faith - something we often talked about. 

At her funeral Shirley and I were able to talk to various members of her family who were present. We always hope to be encouragers and a place where people can ask questions if they have them. We are always thankful for God’s grace and leave Marguerite in His righteous hands. 

It has always been clear how different Marguerite and Leonie are.  Marguerite was often afraid. She feared death, even though she knew that it was inevitably coming. She fought cancer twice and was a sickly child, so she had fought all her life. Leonie faced death many times as well throughout her life, but she knew where she was going. We are so very thankful that we can say “See you later” to those we know who have clothed themselves with Christ and have a home prepared for them. 

As I post this we are praying for Shirley's sister who has gone to hospital and is on life support. We want the best for her and she knows the Lord. But we do not want to have to say goodbye just yet. This remains the reality and the struggle. Thank you for your prayers. 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4

[The picture is of Marguerite's grave right across from the grave of Rob Wessels]

The beginnings of Life

Where does life begin? That is a big question discussed by all sorts of people at various times. As Christians we know that life comes from God. We are the created, He is the Creator. But not everyone accepts this view of life and the world. 

This past week we were able to take a few days off and visit a young couple who have moved down to the south of France. Pamella is our sister in Christ from Brazil. She is married to Tim, who is a wonderful young man who does not want to believe in God just yet. But he was always willing to attend Sunday services with Pamella when they lived in Maasmechelen. 

Shirley and I seldom get to celebrate our anniversary on the day itself, but knew that we wanted to visit this couple to encourage them. Since it is a 13 hour drive down, we decided to make the drive a two day journey and stop over in Dijon on the way down and on the way back. This would leave us about two and a half days oil the south with Tim and Pamella. 

We had a wonderful time in sunny but cooler climes and spent a morning in Dijon on the way back home. More importantly we were able to have some good conversations and moments together. When we got back home we had just enough time to get a little rest before the next event on the next day. 

Mike Houts is a NASA scientist who came to talk about Science and Worldview. He spoke to a full room in the church building in Antwerp about the questions we can and should have about what science really shows us and where life comes from. It reminded me of the questions Tim sometimes had. Mike asked, “Did someone choose to be an atheist? Then people must be more than simple chemical reactions. A person must have a soul if he/she can make a choice.” Intriguing questions. 

While we were down in France, we got news that a dear sister of ours was sick and at the end of her life. Leonie and George are members of the congregation in Liege and came regularly to our monthly singing or to church outings down at camp. But she has also struggled with her health as of late. By the end of the week we had heard that she had gone Home to her reward. We look forward to seeing her soon, when we also can go Home. 

It was a challenging week with reminders of what really matters and where life really is. Life begins with God and can only continue with God. Jesus Christ makes real life possible. This is something that Leonie not only knew, it was something she regularly shared with those around her and showed in her daily life. Mike Houts presented good information that showed the truth that what we see is clearly come from God. And we continue to know how important it is to pass all of this information on to everyone who is willing to question and listen. 

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!   2 Corinthians 5:16-17