Around the world

In the Netherlands today is Liberation Day. Yesterday was Remembrance Day when the country remembers the sacrifices of all of those who died in wars to make so many free. Today they celebrate freedom and what that means. It always strikes me that these two things are also inherent in our walk with Christ. We usually are quite aware of this each Sunday, but it was especially so this past weekend. 

We have been missing our colleagues for a few weeks. They had traveled to the US to visit their daughter and see their two granddaughters. They also got to meet with brothers and sisters in Arkansas. This past week they traveled back home, but we did not see them yesterday to worship together. We were off to a city in Belgium to visit with a congregation there (Roeselare). We had not been there for quite some times it was good to see the brothers and sisters there and meet new friends as well. 

While in Roeselare we always remember the saints who went before us and brought so many to faith in Christ there. Faith is not something that we simply have for ourselves. It is a way of true life that we share with everyone around us. Yesterday we were able to see Jose again. She is 100 and still going strong. It reminded me of our sister Willemien who went Home to be with her Saviour when she was 94. We have so many good examples of brothers and sisters who are faithful in walking in the light with Jesus, including Isaak who is only 12 and has just given his life into Jesus’ hands recently.  

Every Sunday we remember not only those who have gone before us, including the apostles and disciples from long ago, but we especially remember Jesus who died for us and lives still today. We celebrate our liberation. We do not only celebrate that we are living in a free country - not everyone we know who is in our Christian family is living safely. We celebrate that we are safe in the hands of Jesus. 

It was wonderful to remember yesterday how connected we are to the body of Christ around the world. We praise God for His grace and for making us into a family. And we will look forward to celebrating again this coming Sunday and each new day that we are given. 

Whensday: The Flood Disaster of 1953

On February 1, 1953 - 70 years ago -  the Netherlands experienced a terrible natural disaster that shaped the country from then on. In the middle of the night, after severe storms, the water in the rivers and the seas rose so much that much of the southwestern coast of The Netherlands was flooded and more than 3000 people died. 

This is a tragedy at any time an in any place in the world, but at this moment - not long after the ravages of World War II - and in this seemingly modern country, it was devastating. In the country that for centuries had tamed the seas and learned how to live under sea level, nature had struck back and the country was brought to its knees. 

But that was the impetus for a renaissance of technology that has stretched Into the 21st century. These days, when a country wants to know how to deal with water, they come to The Netherlands and ask advice. It was Dutch engineers who were consulted after Katrina devastated Louisiana. Dutch engineers have been consulted and are at work in solving problems in Bangladesh. This tragedy 70 years ago ignited again the desire in the Dutch to conquer the water around them and turn it to their advantage. 

The Dutch rebuilt the villages, towns and cities along the coast, but not before they built an amazing wall to keep out the sea. This wall can open and close, leaving life open to the sea when it is safe, and closing off the waters when they become precipitously dangerous. Knowledge about dikes, canals, tides, beaches and more became common knowledge for the Dutch - and turned into shared knowledge for the world. 

Interestingly, much of that knowledge could not really help in 2021 when the rivers south of the country flooded in a short week, flooding some villages and towns in Belgium and the south of The Netherlands and threatening the cities further north. Questions arose about how things had been built as well as about how to protect against such natural disasters. The tenacity and adaptability of the Dutch have made them the eminent scholars and practitioners of works with water. 

In recent days we have seen a disaster that will resonate for years to come with people in Turkey and Syria. It reminds one of the quakes in Japan and Los Angeles where v=builders learned lessons. But the pain remains as a reminder to all who will listen. 

Remember. Celebrate.

This past weekend I saw signs of "May the 4th be with you." And sombrero's and more for "cinco de Mayo". In the Netherlands the 4th and 5th of May are special. They say: On the 4th we remember; on the 5th we celebrate. The 4th of May is to remember the soldiers who gave their lives in World War II to make the country free. The 5th of May is a celebration of Liberation Day - the day the country was freed from occupation. 
On the 4th we were together with church members during our first Friday singing day - together with members from the French-speaking church in Liege. At 8pm we spent a moment of silence (two minutes) and we thought about those who had gone before us, fighting the good fight of faith. Then we sang of the liberation brought to us through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are free! 
I thought about several people who have been influential in my growth and life as a child of God. Here in Maastricht we recently said "See you soon" to our sister, Willemien. She and her husband were two of the first visitors to the church when we arrived in Maastricht. Willemien was a grandmother to our boys and to many in the congregation. Our sister, Roos, was taken by cancer in the early years of our time here in Maastricht. She was not only a part of our team, but I had known her in my years as an apprentice in Haarlem, 10 years before. We look forward to singing with these two women soon. 
But then my thoughts went on to the family members in the congregations who support us. My father in the faith, Ron, who taught me so much, well before I was a child of God. Or the elders from 11th and Willis in Abilene who were our first experience as a married couple and what they meant to our lives in Christ together: Dub, Neil and others. 
In each of the cities we visit when we go on Home Assignment, we always have a place to stay. In Minnesota that was first always with Susan, who also helped establish a wonderful, loving family. In California it was Wanda who often made sure things were organised. Both sisters went Home quite unexpectedly. 
But it is the celebration that reminds us that we will see them all again. We will sing the new song (and even if it IS a new song, we will all know it) as we gloriously celebrate the Lamb and His victory. So we know, even now, that we are liberated. We are made free. We are made new. And we live as people who know that we do not belong here, but we will bring the liberation of the King here. That is why these and many other of our brothers and sisters have taught us. 
Remember. Celebrate. 

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.  Hebrews 11:13-16

Remember

This past weekend (Memorial Day in the US) we drove down to Muscatine, Iowa, to spend time with God’s family there. We weren’t aware of it, but this congregation has been supporting us faithfully for 20 years! And there is a lot to remember here.

The family in Muscatine has our picture up on a board (right next to Sue Foster!). So when we come back every three years or so, people know who we are. But they also know our names. The first morning here we went out to breakfast with the seniors and it was the ladies who asked Shirley – “So how are your two boys?” They ask about them by name.

We remember being here one year during Vacation Bible School when Scott got to play Jesus and Shirley was Salome at the resurrection. We remember sharing a barbecue behind the church building, playing discgolf on a local course or basketball on a court down by the river, learning about the city from Connie or Lloyd or Janet. It is always coming home, here. We even Skype in a Sunday with this family to be able to worship together.

This year we have been able to make new memories, staying in a different place with people we already knew. And we were able to renew our friendships and family ties with the Schellekens family. Although we had not counted on this being a holiday weekend – Memorial Day – it worked out that we were able to see so many people who we may not have seen otherwise (and them all grown up!). 

It is not always easy to remember names. This weekend we met new people: Arthur from Liberia, Lilian from Ukraine, Jeff (MayCastle if you translate his name), Ethan (who is off to Birmingham in June to tell people about Jesus) and many more. And although we may not remember all the names we would like to remember, we will keep trying. God knows our name. God knows every hair on our head. He knows what each one of us is experiencing and how difficult it can be.

One of the questions the congregation in Muscatine has asked is: What can we do to help you more? Our answer: Help us to know that you are praying for and with us. Prayer and thanksgiving are powerful tools that are only in the hands of God’s children. We can use them mightily. We are so thankful for congregations like Muscatine who love God so much, work daily to be an example of His grace in what they do, and encourage us and so many others in serving God faithfully!

Check out the pictures here.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Brothers and sisters, pray for us.                          1 Thessalonians 5:16-25