Work camp

Beautiful weather, a place we all love and a great group of young and older people working together. That is a really good work camp. Every year at the Ascension Day holiday (Thursday and Friday are free days for many people), we get a group together down at camp to get done what needs done before the full summer weeks of camp begin. 

There is always the normal cleaning that needs done and the maintenance of the buildings and terrain. Spiderwebs to be removed, windows to be cleaned, a kitchen to be completely cleaned and lots of grass to be mown. These are the normal tasks. But this year we have some bigger changes that also needed taken care of. 

More than 40 years ago we were able to find a set of beds from the Dutch military. They were changing to longer beds and the ones they had (already longer than normal) were being dropped to whoever might be able to use them. This was perfect opportunity for us as we needed at least 16 bunkbeds for the new dormitory we had built at the time. Now, the beds have more than done their duty and both the beds and mattresses were showing their age. It was time to renew. 

So we have been able to purchase new beds and mattresses. This is a great thought, but it also needs to be done. Break down 32 old metal beds, throw out the old mattresses and build new beds with mattresses in their place. Thankfully we had a very enthusiastic crew. The first evening saw all of the new beds placed after the old ones had been removed. The second day saw the old beds taken off and the mattresses found their way to the recycling park back in my village. 

In the meantime the other most visible project was also taking shape - the new basketball court was getting a lick of paint. Now no one will have to guess where the free-throw line is or if they just scored a 3-pointer. The lines were painted on this newest addition to the camp terrain. Last summer was the first that it could actually be used and it was used immediately and by every single week of camp. Every age has found it fun and useful - if not as a basketball court, then as a great place to sit in the sun. 

We had a young man return for this few days of work who has not been to camp for about 9 years. He worked together with his two young nephews, who can be a handful - as he was when he was their age. We also had the help of 4 young Dutch kids who live in Switzerland and come to camp almost every year. This camp gets into your bones once you have been. 

And that is what we are planning on in the coming years as well. The plans for the coming year are to rebuild the oldest section to include new toilets and showers, a new kitchen and a section of bedrooms above the kitchen for the team leaders. Each year camp is being transformed into a place that can be used more often. And it is being used throughout the year by the various congregations. 

In less than two weeks the congregation in Maastricht will also have a church day down at camp. We are so very thankful for all the people that have made camp what it is throughout the years and for how `god is blessing this tool now as well. 

(Click on the picture for more pictures)

Back to "normal"

In the Netherlands, the corona rules have been dropped and all sorts of activities can go back to “normal”. In the congregation in Maastricht we have decided as  congregation to set up our seating differently. 

The last two years we have been seated in a circle around the walls of our meeting room. This gave us the ability to keep some distance from one another and still meet together. In addition to the seating change, we changed how we do the Lord’s Supper and what our worship time together looks like. We even instituted some traditions around how we interact after our worship time. 

Now we as a congregation have decided to “return” to the old way the meeting hall was set up. But almost half of our members actually came to be part of this family during the corona years. This means that - to them - the corona set up was “normal”. And it brings up the question: what is essential and what is normal? 

For the Lord's Supper during corona, each member (or family member) approached the central table where the bread and cup were, took bred and cup and returned to sit and wait until all members had done the same. Then we prayed for the bread and partook together after which we prayed for the cup and partook together. 

Now the table will no longer be central and we will no longer be seated in a a circle facing one another. Now the table will be in the front and we will be seated in a semi-circle. The brother leading the supper will pass the plate and the cup. For many this is a well understood and familiar thing. For many in our congregation, this is new. 

It has always intrigued me to think about and study the bits of our communal worship time that are traditional. What is essential? And how can we do that? During corona years we dropped the sermon and increased the time for the word during the Lord’s Supper. And yet, Jesus remains central to it all. During corona we made a conscious decision to make this time central to our time together. It remains so.

Now things are changing again and we can look at and wonder how to do things together. We are thankful for the changes that have come. We are most thankful that we are a family which can work through these things together with the grace of God. In other parts of the world - Ukraine - other changes are having to be made. We pray for the church there that they, too, can continue to rely on the strength and peace of the Father as they continue to live out and show the love and grace of God, even during very difficult times. 

 

New year, new chances, new life

Yes, we really have started a new year. And we are determined to make sure that we pay attention to the new opportunities and chances that we can have. We want to focus on the reality of walking with Jesus each and every day. That is what matters more than anything else. So, although I have let my exercise slip - even before the year began - and have not been eating as I might wish, I will continue to keep God’s word in my heart every day and look to how to serve Him daily. 

Normally we would be planning a singing workshop for sometime in the Spring. And to be honest, although singing has been one of the major things to have been cancelled in these times, I feel like I have been singing more than ever. In December I was able to finish up work on four more lyric video’s of songs for the church. At the same time, we have been updating our songbook at the church and that has taken a good bit of work as well: fixing comma’s, checking layout, printing and putting the books together. 

In January I sat with a friend to try and translate some songs we want to learn in the church, but in Dutch. They are beautiful hymns, but figuring out how to fit Dutch sentences into the rhythms created for an English sentence is a real challenge. We were able to finish off all three songs which are now ready to be recorded at some time in the coming months. 

In the last few weeks, songs from Listen Up! have been added to the mix. For those of you who know Listen Up! - the a capella singing group with which we traveled much of Europe preaching through song - we stopped singing together in 2011, but have always wanted our songs to be an encouragement to any and all. Now all members have allowed me to make lyric videos of our songs. If you are interested in hearing them again, or singing along, visit the playlist: 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFXofVK3dvg8eiLBFkCqsHGpeTQWFhv0b

January is also the time that we meet to officially plan our Bible camp season. We are not sure what the summer will look like with corona rules, but we are planning for the summer in any case. We were so very thankful for the chance to hold our camp weeks in 2020 and look forward to being able to help our young people grow in faith this coming summer. Shirley and I will be working with the Benjamins and I will continue on for another week, helping to train some new leaders in both weeks. 

In our normal, everyday life, we have also been excited by new changes and chances. A new sister has joined us in Maastricht. She has moved from up north and will be trying to make her life down in the south. We are thankful that she has found her way to us and look forward to how God can help us in helping each other and serving Him. 

We also have met another very new sister in the faith. She gave her life to Christ in the summer and is learning quickly every day what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. We are meeting with her weekly to help her grow in faith and in knowledge of the word - starting with getting to know Jesus better. Keep her in your prayers as she grows and learns. We were excited to welcome her to the worship time this past Sunday. 

Another new situation is the brothers meeting that was moved from a Friday morning slot to a Monday evening slot. The hope is to help young brothers learn from older brothers, to give space for leaders to grow. We want to have a place where questions can be asked and answered in an encouraging atmosphere. We have had our first evening and I am looking forward to the second coming up in February. 

Some things stay the same. We are thankful that we still have mornings and evenings walking with Chester (our Cocker Spaniel). He is showing his age, but still loves chasing after cats when he gets the chance. And we still get to talk to our boys and daughters-in-love almost every week. Isn’t technology great at times! And we enjoy sitting together, sometimes playing a game of Trivial Pursuit, watching a film together or having a good conversation. 

Thank you, Father, for new days, new opportunities and the certainty of Your everlasting love and grace in our walk with You. 

The Tale of the New Song

“It thrills my soul to hear the songs of praise we mortals sing below. And though it takes the parting of the ways, yet I must onward go...” I want to hear this song – is what we sing. The song of Mozes and the Lamb – a new song, different than all the rest, because the time is different. Time will have passed and we will be Home. That is the new song (see Revelation 5:9 and 14:3). But this is not the only new song. 

As we have moved from supporting congregation to supporting congregation, thrilled at the encouragement that we enjoy and the faithfulness that we see, we have also taken time to work on some singing. We offered a singing workshop in Muscatine and in Denver. The workshop in Denver especially was focused on writing new songs. And then we think of Psalm 96 or 40 or 98. God is our song and makes our heart sing!

Written by John Raab
and Karsten and Sandi Rog

It has been exciting to see what can be done when normal members allow the word of God to touch their hearts. This is one of the things we have been doing in the Netherlands and Belgium with members there. Years ago one the members in Maastricht put the words from Psalm 96 to tune. We still sing it regularly in worship on a Sunday morning or at Bible camp. At the workshop in Denver, two couples worked together to put the words to another tune and learned that God can use them as well. 

This looking for new tunes and putting the words of God to tune has been a real blessing to the church in Belgium and the Netherlands. There are plenty of English-language songs which can be translated (and these have also blessed the church there), but these new tunes come from the members themselves and are in Dutch, not needing translation. 

This is something we would love to see happening all over the world. It is great to recognize a song being sung in a video of a foreign congregation because it is a translation, but how amazing would it be if we were learning and translating songs from other countries and cultures? And what a blessing to be able to sing in your own language and method and harmonies, putting the word of God into your heart? 

Last week we even talked with others about how the deaf brothers and sisters have completely other needs in singing. Yes, they sing. And if we say that it is our hearts that sing to the Lord – and that the most important – than those who are deaf or unable to sing, sing just as much as any other. The deaf Christians emphasize the words and look for signs that are more expressive and clear, since they do not really work with rhyme. However it may be, it is exciting to look to the word of God and allow His Spirit to guide in helping to put these words in our hearts through song.

Are you interested in the four new songs written in Denver? Let us know and we will send you the links when all is ready. 

Interested in some of the songs written in Dutch by members? Check out www.geestelijkeliederen.nl