A firm commitment (Home Assignment 2023 Iowa)

Last week we were in the Pearl of the Mississippi or the Watermelon Capital of the world - Muscatine, Iowa. Mark Twain, who lived here for a time, also claimed that it had the best sunsets he had ever seen anywhere. We are here because there is a loving church here that joins with us in the work in the Netherlands. 

As a matter of fact, this congregation has been connected to mission in the Netherlands for about 50 years. While we are here we stay with Pam and Rudy Schellekens. When Pam was at York College, she went to the Netherlands for two years with the Master’s Apprentice Program (MAP). It was then that she met Rudy Schellekens, a young Dutch man in the church in The Hague. 

When Pam returned to the US to finish her schooling at Harding University, Rudy followed to take part in a preacher training course at Harding. They married and began working for the church in The Netherlands where we met them years later. Shirley and I first went to the Netherlands on a campaign in 1981. Rudy and Pam lived in Rotterdam and were just starting a work in that area with other missionaries. 

When Scott was in Haarlem for two years (with MAP), he worked under Jim Krumrei, but was often with Rudy learning printing at the building in The Hague. Shirley worked with Rudy in the summer of 1983 before her time at HUF (Harding University in Florence), Italy. It was in December the following year that Shirley and Scott wed and started making plans to return to missions. They moved to Belgium in 1991 and in 1997 the Muscatine church, where Rudy and Pam were now members, began supporting us in this work. 

During our short stay here we have been blessed to worship with the family here, including several Liberian brothers and sisters. It seems that back in the 19th century, Muscatine was also home to a certain mr. Clark who as a black man was the US ambassador to Liberia. There is a flourishing Liberian population in the city now and also in the church here. 

We taught class on Sunday morning and evening and shared dessert on Monday evening. Members here can identify with much of what we experience in our work. The south of the Netherlands is looked down on by the northerners, as the Midwest is considered “flyover country”. But there is also a link with agriculture and new tech companies, as in our area in Belgium and the Netherlands. We even talked about cement and 3-D printed homes. 

We are very thankful for the relationships that we have with the members here, who also support Sue Foster in Ghent (Sue grew up here and her parents are members here). We know we are talking to people who know what is going on in the church in Belgium and the Netherlands. And we even get to speak some Dutch regularly - at least with Pam and Rudy Schellekens or their boys. 

As we drove over from Omaha, we were able to crash a graduation party for Pam and Rudy’s grandkids and also see their children. Scott worked in the Netherlands when these boys were just little guys. So in Iowa we feel like we get a mix of family and church family. 

Midway through the week we moved on to Indiana where we finally get to see Stephan and Natalie. For Sean and Jill we will need to wait a bit longer. But before moving on, I was also able to throw some discs a few mornings in Muscatine. You can find our pictures of our time in Iowa here.

I wanna be like you!

Good examples are indispensable for growth. When you are learning things, watching someone do it right, and having them teach you, is the best way of assimilating what you want to learn.

This past week was Missions Emphasis Week at South 11th and Willis church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. This congregation has been ‘doing’ missions for the 65 years they have been at this address. I don’t know about all of those years, but I can remember all of the examples we saw.

We arrived in Abilene on a Saturday and attended Willis the next morning. That Sunday we were asked out to lunch by at least two couples (if not more). We were taken on a driving tour of some nice areas of Abilene before being taken to a lovely meal. And it wasn’t even because we were such a wonderful new married couple (we had been married that very day before). It’s just how the family at Willis is.

When we arrived, the congregation had already supported a mission effort in the Northeast for a longer period. They were already active in missions in Africa and with the deaf. And they took care of their members and their neighborhood. They had young members who had done short-term evangelism in New Guinea, Africa, and Europe – and they continued to support them.

What does it teach you when you see a congregation set their budget in such a way as to make sure that they can continue supporting missions all over the world? And they are not picky. What I mean is – it is easy for a congregation to get focused on one area of the world. It makes a bit of sense, since the congregation can then gain a deeper knowledge of that area of the world. But Willis has always had a principle of supporting the person. They support their own members who are called to serve – no matter where they are called to serve.

I remember seeing funds raised in a special contribution – because it was needed. Above and beyond the budget. This could be for a chair for those sitting with a loved one through the night, for clothes for those who had less, or a missions need. When there was a need – voiced by any of the members to the family – all looked for a way to help.

In our own situation we were offered a place to stay, had a car loan co-signed (we didn’t have any relatives to help), and found jobs because of these family members who continually focus on the heart of Christ. I don’t know how many of these brothers and sisters specifically thought about their example, but they indisputably formed us through their example.

When one of the members started a Bible study in the neighborhood he asked for any members who wanted to join them in the effort – but he was quite clear: only come if you are willing to be active in sharing your faith. “If you aren’t telling people about Jesus now and here, what makes you think you will do it anywhere else?” That was a good question.

When we started getting ready to come to the Netherlands and Belgium, Willis was right there beside us. And they have remained there all along. But in the typical fashion and example we learned from them they have continued on. Besides supporting us in Europe, this congregation continues to have efforts in Africa, with the deaf (both local and overseas) and within the refugee community locally.

That was something I learned a long time ago from this family: the job is never done and it is not always about doing big things. Sometimes it is just about taking someone home for a good lunch.

We are so thankful for this congregation and all that God continues to do through them. 

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all God’s people – the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. Colossians 1:3-5

Going for a walk

Just before Thanksgiving (which we are actaully celebrating this weekend as ‘Thanksmas’ with other Americans and such) we were once again blessed to attend the Euro American Retreat in Rothenburg op der Tauber, Germany. This retreat has been going for more than 50 years and was originally attended mostly by military members in Europe. From the beginning they wanted to make it also a time of refreshing for and learning from missionaries in Europe. We have been able to attend because of gracious gifts from church members in the US and in Europe.

This weekend is a great time to meet up with others who are working in the kingdom around Europe, to share ideas and struggles, to be fed with challenging lessons from the Word. It is also a time to sing and share. I am always amazed and blessed by the giving, sharing spirit of those who come to this retreat. The intimate, quaint walled city and inevitable beautiful weather (whether it be snow or Autumn sunshine) are all simply settings for the conversations and thoughts which take place here.

The weekend of Thanksgiving, we were in Antwerp to share once again with some of the same people about missional outreach. How can we, where we are, be more intentional in how we are reaching people? Are there things we need to be doing differently? These were some of the same questions we had struggled with in Germany. 

One of the things which has remained with me was the realization presented by an illustration: we cannot keep pouring the goodness of God out of our cup into that of others. We must ourselves be filled to overflowing, thus allowing God’s blessings to overflow to others. If I am not myself being filled with the Spirit, how will He be able to use me to bless others?

Another moment of clarity came with the discussion about how religious language often is already too foreign for modern ears. That doesn’t mean we do not present the truths of Jesus Christ in our daily language. It means that we may first speak about ‘the teacher’ or ‘our support group’ or how ‘I read...’.

Each week I go walking. I walk with a man who needs to talk and wants to get healthier. I walk and listen and sometimes say a bit. This is what I observed was being done with me these last weeks as well. Isn’t it beautiful to know that God – from the beginning – talks of walking with us. He walked in the garden. And we can walk in the light, as He is in the light.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7