Follow me!

Let's go!

This past weekend was exciting. Shirley was able to go over to Germany for the Ladies Retreat - organised this year by the ladies in Switzerland - and I was down at Bible camp for a youth weekend organized by the church in Rotselaar. Both groups, not because they had discussed it with one another, worked around the theme: Follow me.

Down in Solwaster (where our Bible camp is) I was greeted by 10 year-old Gideon. These days I have a hard time remembering how old the kids are, so I asked. He proudly announced that he was 10 and this was his first real youth weekend (he has tagged along with his parents before when they were leading a weekend). It was exciting to see these young kids wanting to learn about Jesus.

And it is truly so simple: Jesus is calling us to follow him, to trust Him with our lives. Because there is a lot of work to be done. He doesn’t just want us to follow, but that we help others to follow – as many as will listen.

And yes – it is a challenge to follow Him. He asks some pretty tough things, like: love your enemies, be willing to be last, don’t look at material things as most important, follow only me. But He also gives us some pretty amazing promises: I will be with you always, all authority in heaven and earth is given me, I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you.

I have always liked Matthew 11 especially. Not only does Jesus let us know that He is where we can find rest, He makes clear that we find that rest in working together with Him. It is not in a lack of work that we find worth, it is not in doing the work we wish to do, it is in working together with Him doing His work, taking His yoke up – together with Him.

Jesus has a ton of work that needs done and He wants to do it with us. I am so thankful for a team in Rotselaar, for ladies in Switzerland, for young people and old – all willing to follow. Will you join us?

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

To see some of the pictures (thanks Luk Brazle!) click here

Where is my focus?

At the end of september we once again had the privilege of working with some of the young people from Belgium and the Netherlands. The congregation in Maastricht planned a youth weekend, but this time we held it down at camp. Since Ardennen Bible Camp was celebrating the renovations, we thought it would be a good chance to finish off the weekend with the young people.

It was exciting that we were able to work together as a congregation. And it was a good example of what we were wanting to talk about with the young people: what is our focus? With just a few activities focusing on three verses, we tried to encourage one another to look to Jesus. 

The reason I like these weekends is because I am always challenged by what we learn together. How can we tell young people to keep focused on Jesus and not do it ourselves? So when we held a race, saying: ‘let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus’, we are faced with the same exhortation. When we send them on a search in the dark for treasure and then talk about how your heart is where your treasure is, we, too must think about where we have focused our heart. And when we encourage them to ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind’ (Rom. 12:2), then we are confronted with our own need to be transformed.

What a blessing to be able to do things like this with young people who are willing to listen, willing to be formed, willing to share in this transformation!

If you haven’t already, you can see some of the pictures from the weekend here.

Meeting Jesus

This past weekend we hosted a youth weekend in Maastricht. Usually we have a bit more time to announce things and get a group together, but the short notice for this weekend (less than two weeks) didn’t keep too many from coming. We had a great group of young people willing to learn and looking forward to encouraging one another.

One of the things that we so want to encourage in our youth is to really get to know Jesus. That is what we consistently hear from Jesus in the gospels: Follow me. When Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus replies, “Philip, have I been with you so long and you still don’t know me? If you have seen me you have seen the Father.” (John 14:8-9)

So we took time from Saturday afternoon until Sunday afternoon to meet Jesus and see what we could learn about him in those meetings. Along the way we also had fun with eggs, a scavenger hunt and marshmallows around a fire. We spent time developing relationships with each other while we developed our relationship with Jesus.

I am always impressed by young people who are not only able but who are also willing to listen to the Word and dig into what is being said. We looked at the 12-year-old Jesus in the temple, at Jesus on the mountain and feeding the 5000, at Jesus washing the feet of the disciples and why he could do this, at Jesus in the garden and walking over the sea. The challenge now is to read one of the gospels in the coming month to continue getting to know Jesus. Why not read along with us? Choose a gospel and take the time to get to know Jesus. We can talk about what you have found next month. 

Running the Race

This past weekend we had 17 young people "over the floor" for a youth weekend in Maastricht. We are always so thankful when we can have the young people down to our city - and that God has put us in a position to help. From the beginning of our time here in Belgium we have been able to use our house to host these events. 

This weekend we talked about "Running the Race" - a great picture of our life in Christ - and touched on four points: 

1. We must participate (no standing on the sidelines)

2. We need to hold on to the end (and we have good examples)

3. We run according to the rules (which help us get where we are going)

4. We must give our best to win - give our best to Jesus who makes us winners!

It was a challenge working with a group with quite an age split: there were 7 who were just 11 years-old and another 7 who were all older than 15. But everyone helped one another - what a joy to see!

On Saturday we went to the "kazematten" in Maastricht - tunnels dug under the city (these ones during the reign of Louis 14th) to defend the city. This was also where D'Artagnan (the 4th musketier) died in battle (defending the - at that time - French city). The beautiful weather held throughout the day, so that the kids could help with making dinner back at the house. They prepared a fruit salad and some vegetables for the hot dogs and "frieten". 

- Our group for the weekend (picture from Tim Bos) - 

It is exciting to see how longing these young people are for what God has to offer. We had three "visitors" the whole weekend as well, friends of our young people who came along to the weekend. God offers us so much, ever day. There are so many reasons for not participating or stopping, but it is good to know that we can run the race and reach the finish line, with His strength. We ar enot too small (Zacheus), we are not too sinful (Paul). We can be His - if we wish. The invitation is there, but will we accept and participate? 

(you can go here for more pictures of the weekend.)

Long time, no see!

It has been a very long time since I updated the blog. As you will hear in the newsletter (which has also been a long time coming), we have been preparing for a horde of exciting activities - many of which have started taking place. So here are a few pictures to show you what we have been doing. You can always check out more photos by clicking on any of the pictures or clicking on the link in the sidebar. 

Thanks for continuing to drop by to see how we are doing! 

A group of more than 50 from Belgium and the Netherlands went down to Switzerland to play football (soccer) with teams from churches from all over Europe (including Austria, France, Switzerland and Germany). Great fun, but also great fellowship, getting to know family and encouraging one another. I was blessed to be able to preach on the Sunday there. 

In the meantime our house renovations have continued. When the wall came down, everything had to be put into one room - a bit cramped! And this was just before our campaign group was to arrive (half of which would be staying with us).

But the windows have arrived, the floors are almost here (maybe next week) and we are able to breath a little again. Soon we may even have a kitchen!

Check out those low-tech earphones! A few threads, a spoon and you're ready to go. Just clang them against something hard, with your hands over your ears, and you've got an amazing sound!

Mid-May we went over to Antwerp for a youth weekend on Science and Faith. I taught some lessons, we looked at some science and we had a good time encouraging one another. Our campaign students from Harding (and Stephan!) also went with us. 

In between Stephan, Sean and Scott went up to Eindhoven to celebrate Jan Blaakmeer's 50th birthday - he "saw Abraham". Jan and Nit are good friends and loved brother and sister for many years. 

By Ascencion Day weekend it was time to head down to camp for our yearly clean-up, fix-up of camp, getting it ready for the summer. In the last few years it has been a miserable, wet, muddy bit of work (with plenty of good fellowship to outweigh all the negatives). This year was still muddy, but full of sun. 

Quite a bit still needs to be done, so it was great to have so many there to help! On to the summer camp weeks!

From May 11 our campaign group has been working hard. A part of the Good News Singers (from Harding University), with director Chuck Hicks and his wife, Melinda, has come to offer Black Gospel Workshops. We have had two groups in Maastricht and another with the kids in Veldwezelt (this picture). All of the groups learn to sing, learn about the message of the songs, and then sing for a nursing home in the area. 

It has been a great time to meet people from the neighborhood, sing some great songs, and really be an encouragement. As a matter of fact, many of the participants want to know if we can continue. Keep this in your prayers. 

This weekend we as a congregation are organizing the annual spring gathering of the churches in The Hague. Our theme this year is unity. This will also be the last activity for our campaign group, after which we will have a preparation month of June, getting ready for the busy month of July. Hopefully I will get some news up here again before then!

Thanks again for stopping by! Praise God for all that He is doing in our lives (yours and ours). 

A wedding and a weekend

In September every weekend has an eventful activity. Last weekend we had the honor to take part in the wedding of Robin Huyghebaert and Joyce Agyare. 

Robin has been involved with camp weeks from a very young age. When he was 16 he decided to organize a winter camp, because he wanted one and no one else was organizing it. Joyce has always been active in the church in Turnhout and has also helped out with camp the last several years. What a team these two make!

But last week it was just wonderful to see how beautiful they were. Listen Up! sang, several people form their lives took care of parts of the wedding, and we all had a wonderful time sharing this day with them. 

The very next weekend we were welcoming a group of young people for our youth weekend in Maastricht. We talked about "A Body Lives", but we did more than just talk about it. We also took the time to put the ideas (a body works together, has to be active, and helps others) into practice at a local playground. We cleaned up the area, then went back and helped each other get ready for dinner. A good group having a good time with an important concept. Fun with friends and learning about God - that's what a youth weekend is all about. 

The next few weekends are also full - but more about that as the time comes. 

March Newsletter

LIGHT in the Lowlands
Reaching out to the people of Belgium and the Netherlands

March 2008

Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. 2 Timothy 4:2

Dear brothers and sisters, family and friends,
I will try to summarize all the different activities in this month, but I fear that I will not be able to tell you as much as I would like in this letter. God is working mightily!
Outreach and in-reach?
This month was full of opportunities to share our faith and encourage one another. Sometimes that was within the context of the church, other times as a means to reach out to others.

It is a real privilege to teach, but also to learn from our young people. March saw the start for 2008 of our youth days in Maastricht. This time we also included a short quiz on a Bible topic.


This month there were separate youth weekends. The guys had a games console weekend and looked at “How to get there from here”, talking about what ‘salvation’ is.
The girls looked at their “Spiritual DNA” in Eindhoven, talking about who we really are in God. These are opportunities to invite non-believing friends and also to deepen relationships within the church. It is exciting to see how God uses these opportunities. Pray for us in the coming months as we plan for the next season (2008-2009) of youth weekends.

What is prayer? And how do you do that? Last year I was asked to assist with a Catholic youth weekend. This year the same people approached me to help once again. I mentioned that I would pray about it and get back with an answer. This led to me being asked to present a lesson on prayer. These young people are being told that this is an important time in their life, that God should be part of their daily choices. And yet, the examples they have around them (even their parents) are not always positive (most people here do not attend church, and yet they find these traditions important). So, in addition to helping work on a song and some poems, teaching about the Bible and simply being an example, I talked about the priveleg of prayer. I was excited at this chance to touch lives once again.

In addition to the work with the youth, we also continued our regular studies. Mr. W and LJ continue to ask good questions. They come from very different backgrounds (one an elderly Catholic gentleman, the other a Chinese PhD student), but are able to focus on what is really important. Keep them, and us, in your prayers.

We also had some wonderful studies within the church context, building one another up. We had a visit from a church in Oxford, Alabama, who works with the church in Curacao. Since many people from Curacao also come to the Netherlands, this church understood how important it is to keep up those contacts and visit here as well. We had a nice visit at Shadira’s house (she is from Curacao).

We also had a wonderful time around Easter. Easter Monday is always a gathering of all the Dutch-speaking churches (organized in The Hague). This year was devoted to workshops on the resurrection. I presented a workshop on how to stand up for your faith - if you really believe Jesus is risen.

The next week we had a wonderful potluck dinner in Maastricht with a special class on “New Life in Jesus” for those who have some questions about baptism. We discovered that one of our visitors is our sister in Christ! I hope to give you some more of this story soon on the blog, so keep tuned if you are online.

Activities and events
Next to all of these planned events we had several other activities to challenge and encourage us. As mentioned last month, Willemien received a new knee. This month was her rehabilitation, which only took her an amazing three weeks. She was soon home walking the dog. The hospital staff called her their ‘wonder child” (Willemien is 86!).

We were pleased to attend a wedding of one of our student contacts from the past. Agnes had stayed in Maastricht and we got to share in her wedding day. What a joy! We also went up to Eindhoven for a funeral. Roel de Gruyter’s mother passed away and it was good to be there with and for him on that day.

A completely different activity was the Moslim-Christian debate that I attended with our young brother, Tim. The debate was organized by a Moslim organization around the question “Jesus, son of . . .”. The same evening a film from the Dutch politician, Geert Wilders, came out on internet. He is very much against the Koran. It was an interesting evening. We need more opportunities to talk about what the differences are between these two. And I pray that people will read their Bible more and think critically.
We are presented with so many opportunities to learn and grow. I am so thankful for the strength and guidance of a wonderful Father!

PRAYER WARRIORS
Please keep the following in your prayers.
- Pray for Mr. W. and LJ as we continue to study together. Praise God that they are willing to listen!
- Pray for our plans in the church: WoW course, our church study weekend, men’s studies and our weekly Bible studies as well as our daily contacts.
- Pray for our regular visitors A., S.,V. We had a wonderful lesson on New life in Jesus. V. and I. are studying the Bible together now!
- Praise God for Mishell. She has come as a visitor, but is our sister in Christ, baptized in Hong Kong!
- Pray specifically for our plans for June. We are organizing a youth weekend and concert to challenge our youth and reach out to our city.
- Thank God that all went well with Willemien’s second new knee.
- Thank God for the time we had with the young people during the Catholic youth weekend, teaching and encouraging.

THANKS!
- For your faithfulness - it cannot be easy financially for many now, but you remain a strength!
- For all the emails, phone calls and comments on the blog
- for your prayers and encouragement
What’s coming up?
MAY
Work camp
Maastricht study week
Leadership training
JUNE
Youth weekend
Listen Up! concert

DID YOU KNOW?
Tidbits of information about Belgium and the Netherlands
Science and knowledge
Some important, but obscure discoveries are attributed to Dutch and Belgian scientists. VanderWaal forces, magnetism, or blood pressure in the body were all discovered by Dutch or Belgian scientists. But even our everyday life is impacted by the discoveries made by Dutchmen and Belgians.
Christian Huygens developed pendulum clocks for navigation, but Gerardus Mercator is the one who gave us cartography and maps. Einthoven developed the electrocardiogram (ECG) but Quetelet invented the body mass index (BMI). Tinbergen figured out the dance of the bees while de Smedt invented our modern-day asphalt.
Have you come across something typically Dutch or Belgian? What did you think of it? Let us know. s.raabs@tele2allin.be

ON THE FAMILY SIDE . . .
In between all of the various church activities this month we were also able to slip away for a day or two. You can see more of that on our picture site if you have can get online. But before that came at the end of the month, we enjoyed some good meals with various friends and long time contacts.

We hadn’t seen Gerard for quite a while. He has been studying with Scott for quite some time and continues to have good contact with one of our previous summer students. It was good to have him over for dinner this month and renew our friendship.
We also spent some good time with LJ who we are getting to know better and better. She had to move, so we helped move her meager belongings to her new apartment. In the following weeks we had dinner at her place twice and once at our place. In April she will cook for us again - at our place! And at the end of the month we also went over to Jacques and Mieke’s for a wonderful dinner. Mieke reads the Bible with Scott as well. So we have had plenty of good dinners this month. Stephan is even going to prepare a meal soon which he also has to be able to prepare for school.

Easter Monday is usually a busy but good day in The Hague. We leave at around 7 in the morning in order to make the 3 hour drive. Once there we sometimes have a minute to drink coffee before getting started (Scott usually has some part in the program). This year we were able to talk to plenty of people afterwards. We don’t plan on getting home before 7 p.m. and this year was no different. Thankfully Snuffles can handle a long day like this at home without any troubles (although she was definitely glad to see us when we got back!)

The last day of the month ended up being a wonderful surprise. We had seen that a day-trip to Canterbury, England wasn’t that expensive, so we asked the boys (who had vacation at that time) and made the plans! What a wonderful day!! Long, but wonderful. We left the house at 4 a.m. to get to the boat in Calais on time. But we were in Canterbury by 10 a.m. - without any troubles driving on the ‘wrong’ side.
The day was planned as we wanted - we would choose as we went. So we stopped to see Greyfriar’s, took pictures of “English alleyways”, ate a bacon sandwich with “brown sauce”, walked along the sea in Whitstable and Herne Bay, napped on a bench in the sun and had a thoroughly wonderful time together as a family.
Near the end of the day we headed back to Dover, got something to eat and loaded back on to the ferry for the continent. By 2 a.m. we were sneaking into Luk and Holly Brazle’s house in Ghent (they let us spend the night, of course!). The next day, as rainy as it had been sunny in Canterbury, we walked around the city of Ghent and took in the history.

We pray that your month was like Sean’s - he said these were some of the best days he had had. He was ready to enjoy all that we came across.
Have a great day today as you live with God!

March in pictures

March was a very busy month - full of fun and opportunities to serve and learn. The newsletter is coming in the next few days, but here are some pictures that hopefully tell a few stories. Click on the pics to see more over on our picture site.

- we finally got some snow! -

- console weekend in Antwerp -

- Easter Monday with brothers and sisters -

- teaching from the Bible, learning how to pray, writing poetry, and singing -

- talking about new life in Jesus -

- chillin' out in Canterbury -

January Newsletter

LIGHT in the Lowlands
Reaching out to the people of Belgium and the Netherlands

January 2008

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7

Dear brothers and sisters, family and friends,
As we glanced back near the end of last year at what we experienced, we had a chance to look ahead to what is coming. Here are some of those thoughts.

Looking ahead
We want to focus in 2008 on three major areas of our work (which have also been our focus in the past): youth, equipping members and outreach. In 2007 we had 5 youth weekends and 4 youth activities. This coming year will be no different. The first youth weekend for 2008 was this month. Haarlem hosted more than 20 kids for a weekend on sin (and what to do about it!). It was great to see some of the youth from earlier years leading this weekend.

Community and family are essential concepts if we are going to live and grow. Last year was a beginning for special days with the brothers and activities with the older youth. It has been good to see how this has also taken off. The older ‘youth’ have not let go of their faith. Instead, they want to put it even more into practice in their lives. A new group begun last year - ‘Het Anker’ (The Anchor) continues to be important in this.

One of the most exciting parts of community to me is how God has made us able to sing. 2007 a year of song for us in Maastricht. The members in Maastricht wrote 10 new songs. This has been so encouraging, to us and to others. At the end of this month the annual Camp meeting was held in Antwerp. This is a formality which we use to do even more by making it into a community event. We used the opportunity to teach some new songs and sing together with members from around Belgium and the Netherlands. What a privilege! If you are interested in the songs, take a look at our church website: www.gvcmaastricht.nl. Everything is in Dutch, but some of the songs are in English. Click on the top right tab “Liedjes”. You will see a list of songs and a player. There are at least two in English, but take a listen to the Dutch ones as well. Most of these were written by our young people! That’s how we combine youth with community.

Outreach
Trying to let people know how wonderful God is would seem to be a straightforward activity. In reality it has to be a mixture of large efforts and activities as well as everyday, small efforts by all members. In 2007 we had more than 150 studies (even though we were gone for three months in the summer) and we hope to continue these in 2008. We had a wonderful opportunity to work with a Catholic youth weekend and have been approached to help this year as well. And our everyday opportunities are ever-present - if we open our eyes to the people God brings across our path.

We plan to offer our Wiser on the Way course at least twice this year - this time in combination with some extra efforts in the neighborhood. We also plan to host a concert with Listen Up! at the end of a youth weekend in June. This is a big effort, requiring all sorts of help from all of the members. But it is also a time to see how God can work through us. This concert will bring in all sorts of visitors who are interested in what is being said, but still from a distance. It will be up to us to let them see how good it is to be up close and personal with God.

This month has been a challenging and exciting one for relationships. I have been able to continue with some of my studies from last month and they are exciting. Mr. W. continues to ask such good questions and be genuinely interested in what God says in His word. But other members of the congregation have also been able to talk about their love. Willemien was excited when her neighbor asked her about the Bible. This is a neighbor who helps Willemien regularly and is now interested in where she gets her strength. We look forward to how God is going to continue using us in so many ways (many that we don’t even know right now) to let others see how wonderful He is.

This past month has brought some regular visitors in our services as well. We have never really viewed our worship time as the premium moment of evangelism - it is instead the premium moment for us to encourage one another and be encouraged by the presence and might of our loving God. But we are encouraged that several young people have made a clear choice to meet with us in order to get to know God better.

God is amazing and gracious. We are ready to be amazed in this year as we look for how He will let the year unfold. A bit exciting. A bit anxious, not knowing what is coming. But all will be very good - in His hands.

PRAYER WARRIORS
Please keep the following in your prayers.
- Continue to pray for Mr. W. We are having some great studies in the Word.
- Pray also for LJ who knows how challenging the life of a Christian is and is considering whether that is something she is interested in.
- Pray for our plans for this coming year as we try to reach out more to the neighborhood.
- Pray for our regular visitors A., A. and V. These are young people who want to grow and are an example even for their parents.
- Continue to pray for our youth activities planned for the year. These are so important for the future of the church as well.
- Pray for Ruud and Karla, our co-workers. Ruud is in terrible pain. He continues each day, making it through the pain.
- Pray for our young people heading out near the end of this year to start university far away - that they will continue to grow.

DID YOU KNOW?
Tidbits of information about Belgium and the Netherlands
That’s music to me
The Dutch and the Belgians have had an interesting musical history. In the 60’s and 70’s people will remember the Dutch groups Golden Earring (Radar love), George Baker Selection and Mouth and MacNeil. These days listeners will recognize Anouk, Raccoon, or DJ Tiesto. Country listeners might know Ilse de Lange.
Belgian singers like Jacques Brel and Ann Christy were internationally known. Toots Thielemans is the best-known jazz harmonica player in the world and the Queen Elizabeth contest is the premier contest for classical piano and violin.
Have you come across something typically Dutch or Belgian? What did you think of it? Let us know. s.raabs@tele2allin.be

ON THE FAMILY SIDE . . .
We kind of skipped out on the December news. We are so thankful for so many of you who send year-end newsletters updating us on what is going on in your lives, but somehow we always feel like December is a bit of news overkill, since we send you a newsletter (almost) monthly. So we also enjoyed lots of visits (we even crammed Thanksgiving into December!), way too much good food and sweets and lots of time together.
We brought the new year in with a bang over at Ruud and Karla’s house with most of the congregation. That was fun! Sean did magic tricks (with his beautiful assistant Shirley at his side), Stephan juggled and Scott sang a song or two. Others played piano, read poems and made jokes. It was a great evening, rounded off by some good fireworks outside.

Once in January things picked up pretty quick (amazing how quickly a year can get going!). The stores all put everything on sale - which means good fun and opportunities for Shirley! She headed out into the wilds with Geesie and Marjolijn to see what she could find. Even Stephan and Sean enjoyed a bit of this shopping, since they needed some clothes.

It has been interesting to see how Sean has changed in the past few months. He switched schools at the beginning of the school year and this brought an almost immediate change in the way he dressed. Now he is much more willing to listen to the fashion advice of his mother (who knows of what she speaks).
Sean has also decided to buckle down and get to work this semester. A new school brings new ways of doing things, but also brought some pretty good competition in his class. This is not always a bad thing. It has been fun to hear Sean speaking French whenever he is not playing soccer or playing the guitar.
The guitar is Sean’s newfound love. He has decided that he is going to be a bass gitarist and has set to learning quite a few songs from his favorite group (at the moment) Bloc-Party. It amazes me how quickly he can learn something when he decides to do it! Great fun to see - though not always fun to hear (but what budding musician is?)

Stephan was absorbed this month by “Chrysostomos” which is slightly comparable to senior prom, but only slightly. The last-years put on a show for the lower-years and there is a dance. For Stephan the show included the ‘hakka’ (know idea how to spell that) which is the Maori dance. He made sure that he worked out enough first, since they were doing it in traditional dress. The dance does not include fancy dresses and tuxedos and probably resembles more of the ‘after-prom’ dances than anything else. It is not held in or by the school, but simply in a local disco. We were actually pleased that Stephan decided to stay home.

We also started looking at how to fix a few things around the house as the time for spring cleaning gets closer. We’ll see how that works out.

DON'T FORGET!!
What’s coming up?
FEBRUARY
ABSS
Hootenanny/Youth evening
MARCH
Youth weekend
Camp meeting

THANKS!
- For your comments on the blog - great to hear from you!
- For letting us know what’s happening in your lives
- Your prayers for all that is happening here and in Europe

Enjoy each moment as you walk with God today!
Love in Him,
Scott, Shirley,
Stephan and Sean Raab

Youth weekend in Haarlem

In de regen / In the rain
Originally uploaded by sraabs.

A little bit of rain just can't stop the fun. This past weekend was a youth weekend in Haarlem with the theme "Missing the mark". Biking in the rain could not keep the fun away, since we biked to the Ikea to have breakfast, to an archery club to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow and back home to listen to some good lessons and spend time together. These weekends are always good for seeing friends and making new friends. We had over 20 kids at this one in Haarlem.

What a blessing to have people who are willing to orgainze these events. This one was also organized partially by some of the youth who have grown up - it is great to see their growth in the Lord!

Click on the photo to see more pictures of the weekend.

December dones

Here are a few of the things we done done in December.


Thanksgiving
Since most of us cannot get together on a Thursday, we usually plan Thanksgiving some time later - this time at the beginning of December. We of course have to get it in before Sinter Klaas (Dec. 6).

This year we got together with about 50 other people in Eindhoven to enjoy the food and good company. The guys got to wash up afterwards, the ladies played dominoes and the kids lost themselves in with the fussbal table.

We were especially glad that Li Jia could come with us. We also brought Khrystyna, who is a Ukrainian au pair living in the next village. She heard of us from a friend of hers in Eindhoven and has made a point of getting to services every Sunday, even thought that is quite difficult.
(To see some more Thanksgiving photo's, just click on the photo above.)

Hootenanny
Every once in a while (hopefully at least six times a year) we try to get together for a 'hootenanny' in Antwerp. Since Paul and Carol Brazle have been gone (they are the missionaries in residence at Oklahoma Christian), it has been a little harder. They put these evenings together. A hootenanny is a time to eat hotdogs (chilidogs), have some good conversations, meet new people and play or listen to guitar songs.

Most of the time a few young people get out their guitars to learn a bit from those who already know how to play a little. This time it was fun to have Stephan there with his guitar, as well as Roxanne. We play some John Denver, Beatles or such - or if we are really ambitious, Plain White T's (Stephan had "Delilah" on his computer and it wasn't that hard).
(For some more pics on the hootenanny, click on the photo above.)

Shepherds Walk
Listen Up! had only one concert this end-of-year, but it was a doozy. We had been asked to take part in the "Shepherd's Walk" which is a three hour long walk along woods and farms stopping at certain places where a part of a play is presented. The purpose of the play is to tell the visitors the whole story of who Jesus is and why he came to earth.

The day was beautiful - nice and dry, sun shining during the day. Of course the play started in the evening and clear weather means cold weather. We dressed warm, knowing that we would be singing for at least nine different groups of walkers making their way past our section of the play. To be honest - we had it easy compared to the young actors (check out the pictures by clicking on the picture above). We only sang two songs each time, but it was nice being able to take part.

In between all of this we also celebrated Sinter Klaas, Shirley's birthday and have been trying to get our shopping done for Christmas. December can be pretty busy - but we are also getting plenty of time together. The boys have their exams, but that means they are home after lunch, studying (or complaining that they have to study). We are so thankful that we can enjoy the time we have together!

November Newsletter

LIGHT in the Lowlands
Reaching out to the people of Belgium and the Netherlands

November 2007

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:2

Dear brothers and sisters, family and friends,
It is so good to know that God is always present, always a strength, always working - whether it is how we expect or not.
Up and downs
Some months bring exciting changes, while others are simply everyday or even disappointing. But we want to simply remain faithful in living for God and letting people know how good it is to live with Him. Although we were a bit disappointed with some things this month, there were other areas that were encouraging.

Many of you have been praying for our WoW course. It was so good to be able to explain the course while we were in the States this past summer as well. This month we offered the course, but for various reasons had little interest. We were offering it still to our own members (especially our new members), but cut this short as well (see church news further on).

Even LJ commented on this in surprise - she doesn’t understand how people could not be interested in the Bible. Continue to keep her in your prayers as she wants to know more and more. She was finally able to attend services and wants to come more often.

We will offer the WoW course again in the Spring and hope to have better results then. Mr. W. continues to ask challenging questions, for us and for himself. He recently commented on his frustration that he had to learn about the Bible from us - although he was very thankful to God for having brought us into his life. We pray that Mr. W. will continue allowing space for his questions, willing to listen to answers.

Another exciting moment in the month was the youth weekend in Eindhoven. The weekend was focused on giving, sharing and serving. As with this same weekend last year, we had the young people put together boxes to send to kids who have never before received a present. Some of you may be familiar with Operation Christmas Child.

The exciting thing to me this year was how we challenged the kids to use their own money and creativity in finlling the shoebox. They brought their own allowance money and we headed off into the city to make some purchases. Sinter Klaas was arriving in Eindhoven that very day. He is the big gift giver in the Netherlands (his birthday is December 5 and is when most kids get presents - not Christmas, although Santa Claus is based on this idea, which is based on Saint Nicolas). Our young people took the time to find things that would show how much they cared about the kid they were sending their box to.

Church News
For the last several months we have been blessed by the addition in our church family of Leon and Mariette. They are a couple we know through their daughter, who came through our youth weekends and camps in the past. Their daughter is now married and moved away and Leon and Mariette have become an encouraging force in the church here.

Mariette is chronically ill and cannot take much medicine - even though she needs it. Leon is a truck driver, leaving home at 4 a.m. and getting back around 2 p.m. if everything went well on his route. When he gets home he cares for his wife, gets the cleaning and shopping done and gets things ready for the next day. They are both an example to us of faith at work. Mariette tries to be positive in her situation and is always vocal about how God blesses her that day. Leon loves being with us whenever he can be.

And that was a bit of the problem. How long can you keep going when you are tired? So Leon came, torn apart by the decision he thought he had to make. He had the keys to the building in his hands, which he felt he needed to return to us. He had decided that they could not come any more since they could not come to everything! Thankfully, we were able to talk and explain how wonderful their presence is for those in the family. And that finding a balance is very important. So they will be taking a rest and looking for that balance. Please keep them in your prayers.

We also had some good visits with new visitors this month. LJ was able to come to worship with us twice! She has wanted to come in the past but works on Sunday mornings. Now she is looking for some solution to this problem. We also welcomed an au pair from the Ukraine who is working for a family in our town! She found us in Maastricht and goes to considerable trouble to be present. God continues to amaze us with his grace.

PRAYER WARRIORS
Please keep the following in your prayers.
- Pray especially for Mr. W. He is seriously considering what God means in his life. Our study each week always brings us to very challenging questions, which he is willing to consider.
- Pray also for LJ who knows how challenging the life of a Christian is and is considering whether that is something she is interested in.
- Pray for Leon and Mariette, our new brother and sister who are struggling with how to fit everything into their lives. Mariette is chronically ill and Leon cares for her as well as working full-time.
- Thank God that the weakness of the dollar has not yet influenced us terribly because there are so many who care about us and the work here. Praise God!
- Continue to pray for our young people, including V. who continues to visit and worship with us every Sunday morning.

DID YOU KNOW?
Tidbits of information about Belgium and the Netherlands
Dutch football is soccer
The Dutch love soccer. While there are several international players playing now for big-name teams, there are also several Dutch coaches making names all over the globe:
Poland, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, Australia and Russia have recently had or currently have Dutch coaches for the national teams.
At one point recently FC Barcelona (a Spanish team) was coached by a Dutchman and had six Dutch players in the first team (out of 11).
Have you come across something typically Dutch or Belgian? What did you think of it? Let us know.

THANKS!
- For your emails and comments on the blog - good to know you are following what is happening
- For letting us know what’s happening in your lives
- Your prayers for all that is happening here and in Europe

WHAT'S COMING UP?
DECEMBER
Hootenanny/Youth evening
Listen Up! singing in Utrecht
Bible study in Lanaken
JANUARY 2008
Youth weekend
Camp meeting

ON THE FAMILY SIDE . . .
This month started out with Stephan - mostly because last month ended with him. On his birthday we had the church over for a nice evening - but that was not a party for an 18 year-old. So Stephan planned a party with his friends. It is neat to see the friendships that he has built up through the years - even though these guys are pretty far away.


Everyone came over for an evening and day of Wii! If you have not yet seen this games console, then you need to. Instead of sitting down staring at the television, the players stand and swing their arms. You can golf, play tennis, or hit a baseball. Since we could hook up the projector, the guys decided to play baseball in the living room. It was great to see the fun they could have together.

Stephan is moving closer and closer to what will be a big change for him in his life. If all goes well, he will be studying in the States next year. Of course he first has to pass this year. That’s quite a task when you are fed up with school and just want to be done (which most of us have experienced). Exams in December after having to study for the ACT in October - November was just a month crammed in between studying.

Thankfully Stephan still has his basketball each week. And this month he had his first score - a three-pointer! He acts like it wasn’t much, but we were pretty proud. We don’t get to see him play very often (his games are often away and we have a Bible study with LJ on his game days), but we sure are glad he enjoys it.

Sean is also continuing to have fun with his soccer. His team is struggling, and that means that playing is not always “fun”, but that is something Sean is also learning, and learning well. Sometimes you just keep working - even when it is not fun. It has been great to see his determination.

Sean is also enjoying his new school. This school year he switched over to a school where more of his friends are. It also has fewer students, which makes the teacher-student ratio good. He has said himself that some things are more difficult, but he seems to be doing quite well.

The rest of us have simply been enjoying each day as it comes. Some weeks are just pain old weeks. Both Scott and Shirley have paid a visit to the dentist and dealt with those minor problems. November also brought winter rains, which means wet-dog walks and lots of extra wash! But this has also meant together time. Walking the dog is a time for Shirley and Stephan or Scott and Shirley to be together. We have had a few family evenings together (Cars or the new Pride and Prejudice or the board game Masterpiece).

Every day brings different challenges and joys. Sometimes the two are the same - a challenge becomes something to enjoy. We have really enjoyed the time we have as a family and that we can be there for each other. Take the time to notice each other and encourage one another. Have a great day today!

Youth weekend

Goede lessen
Originally uploaded by sraabs.

This past weekend we had about 40 people in our house - we are so thankful that God blessed us with a place like this to be used for Him! The church in Maastricht organized a youth weekend on the theme "Music man!" talking about why it is important to know what we are listening to.

The boys stayed at our place while the girls stayed over at the Verheijen's house. Sean and Stephan were glad to have their rooms full (literally: Sean had 5 in his room, Stephan had 6 and there were two in the playroom donwstairs!) During the together times it was packed, but exciting.

We went to a "bare-foot-path" where we walked through the woods, over stones, through rivers and all sorts of things - all on bare feet. It was great. (check out our photo site for more pics). In the afternoon the young people split up into groups and wrote their own songs, based on any text they wished from the letter of James. These kids continue to surprise and impress us! What wonderful songs!

On Sunday the meeting room for the church was packed full (overfull) with all the youth and several visitors (including my Chinese Bible student!). The singing was great, as was the fellowship. Afterwards we ate together and finished up the weekend with a concert from Listen Up! For this even more people showed up to make it standing room only.

What a blessing God has given us in music, in song, in his family and his Word!

What do you believe?

This past weekend I took part in a youth weekend for Catholic youth preparing for their confirmation. You might remember that Karla Verheijen was approached in her village by the committee which organizes the catechism for these young people. They knew Karla and Ruud were believers and that they know their Bible, so they asked if Karla wanted to help. Along the way Karla mentioned that I had experience with youth weekends and the committee asked my help with this weekend.

This was a unique opportunity – both Karla and I want people to consider what they believe and to look deeper at what they are taught. We also encourage all people to read the Bible. The other adults in this committee not only don’t know much about the Bible, they aren’t really sure if they believe in God. But they do believe that the church is important for these young people. So this weekend was organized to help prepare them for their confirmation – the time for Catholics when they accept the decision made for them when they were baptized as babies, and the moment when they receive the Holy Spirit, according to Catholic teaching.

At the weekend, one of the activities was to look at the creed that they were to know. Often this must simply be learned by rote and repeated at the ceremony. But the committee member who isn’t sure if he believes in God thought it better to have these young people look at what they really believe. In this way they will not be saying that they believe something that they don’t believe. So we had them list some things they believe in. Then they were allowed to vote for the points they considered most important. It was very interesting to see what came out of the voting.

What do you really believe? What are your articles of faith? Do you believe that God is creator of heaven and earth? That Jesus died and was raised on the third day? That we can live eternally? That the Holy Spirit lives in us and guides us and gives us strength to be different people? And what is the most important for you? And what does this mean for your daily life then?

And then the thought: does it really matter what we think? We can vote all we want – and we live in a world where the publics opinion is the most important (“Idols” with the tele-voting) – but that does not change what is. When we say: “I believe”, are we saying “I think this is true” or are we saying “I accept this truth”?

It was an exciting weekend. And these young people have been challenged in ways that others certainly will not have been. And that happened because a man is not sure what he believes and is willing to ask others to help. I am glad that we were able to participate and look forward to what will happen in the future.

January Newsletter

Click here to download a pdf version of the newsletter. You can also simply read it here on the site and click on the pictures to view more of our pictures.


LIGHT in the Lowlands
Reaching out to the people of Belgium and the Netherlands

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:2-3

Dear brothers and sisters, family and friends,
When a new year begins, you feel like getting going, getting started - unless things just don’t seem to get started. This month has been a month of expectation and preparation for us, although plenty has gotten under way as well.
Youth and outreach
As in years past, 2007 will also have its share of activities focused on our youth and the youth in Belgium and the Netherlands. In Maastricht we are getting into the swing of holding a fun activity and a lesson activity every month. We are especially thrilled that our young people invite their friends as well to these activities. In January we planned a study evening so that I could summarize the first lessons from the “Getting to know the Bible” series. In addition to these local activities which are starting to really take off, we also have our youth weekends. Haarlem hosted a weekend this month which was focused on “The Internet” - how to use it safely and wisely.

- learning about the internet and having fun! -

The feeling of expectation and preparation definitely applied to our outreach. We want to present the ‘Getting to know the Bible’ series again in March, so we have to prepare the invitations well ahead of time. In February we will have those printed and distributed so that we can personally invite people in March. We hope to have some good visitors for this series again, making some inroads into our local neighborhood.
Along a different tack, I mentioned last year that Karla, our colleague, had an opportunity to work with the local Catholic church. This happened because the people planning the activities for these young people don’t know anything about the Bible and knew in the village that Karla and Ruud do know about the Bible. So Karla was asked if she would present a lesson about what the Bible is. Along with this opportunity she is helping to form the activities for these young people. I was then also asked to help with the planning of a weekend, since I have experience in that area.
This whole situation is fairly unusual to say the least. I wondered if the Catholic church would mind someone from another church teaching the young people. So far, this has not been a problem. And we actually are looking forward to any conversation which might arise. It is good to know what you believe and why you believe it. But most of this is also for February and March, which means praying, preparing and waiting. Karla will present her lesson at the beginning of February and the youth weekend is at the end of March. Please keep these efforts in your prayers as well. We want to know Christ, and we want others to know Christ - and the power of his rising and life.
Lessons and church activities
In February I will present a series of lessons at ABSS (Advanced Bible Study Series) which is held each year in Germany. This is a good week of challenging lessons and good fellowship (and this is usually the only place we get to see snow!). It will be a challenge to prepare these lessons, hoping that they will also be an encouragement to those who come. But I know that I always learn so much more when preparing lessons.
In the meantime, it has also been exciting to see some recent changes in the congregation. Shadira has begun keeping up the website and Willemien keeps track of the birthdays. These may seem like small things, but they are very important. Our website is one of the ways we keep in touch with each other and birthdays are times of prayer for us as a congregation.

- Shadira at her birthday party -

Our young brother, Tim, recently stepped up and helped out wonderfully on a Sunday morning. He is one of a group of 30 or more young people between 18-30 who really want to encourage each other in their growth in the Lord. This is something that Tim has missed. It shows how important it is to make and keep contacts with your Christian brothers and sisters. In the coming months we are planning a new program with this group of young people (“we” being Luk Brazle, Ruud and Scott, and the young people themselves). We are looking forward to how this will develop and grow and what it can mean for the congregations throughout Belgium and the Netherlands.
My regular lessons reading the Bible have not yet begun in earnest due to sicknesses, but will begin fully in February. I have begun studying again with the international students and will keep you up to date on all of this next month.

PRAYER WARRIORS
Please keep the following in your prayers.
- My reading in the Bible with LJ, the Chinese PhD student.
- Our contact with young people in the village of Ruud and Karla (Veldwezelt).
- Development of a program for our older youth (18-30) and helping them to grow in their faith.
- Our upcoming youth activities in February and March. These contacts are going well, with our own young people and their friends.
- The “Getting to know the Bible” series coming up in March - for good visitors.
- Shirley and Ruud both deal with pain on a daily basis.

ON THE FAMILY SIDE . . .
Winter just can’t figure out if it wants to drop in or not. While we have heard of freak winter storms in the US, snow in California etc - we have been waiting on anything nearing freezing temperatures. In fact. the trees have begun blooming again and the flowers hardly went out of bloom. We had a few days when we thought it might have arrived (winter, that is), but then it simply whimpered off into the night. Stephan and Scott will be going to Germany in February and hope to see some Winter (and snow!) down there at that time.
Still, no real winter can have its advantages. Sean is able to get outside more when he wants, Shirley can dry clothes a lot easier at times, and biking to school is not such a hassle. So we are not complaining too much. We all enjoyed the Christmas break immensely, spending plenty of family time together. It is nice that this is still possible with two teenage boys. They enjoyed going to Antwerp to shoot off fireworks with the Brazles on New Year’s eve. We also had some good game time (we like Masterpiece, Trivial Pursuit, Boggle, Clue and cards) and the guys still got to play plenty with their friends. As a matter of fact, Stephan and Sean made another movie together (this one with a nerf battle) which will probably on line pretty soon.
Back to school has gone pretty well so far. Sean doesn’t really like going to school, but he does just fine. Stephan doesn’t mind going, and he is starting to pull things up. He took the PSAT in December and we have been communicating with school s in the States. This has helped him to realize that time is going faster than he might have thought. We will take the SAT and the ACT this Spring and look at some schools during our furlough this summer. This has also been a wake-up for Shirley and Scott - Stephan is already 17 and is growing up fast!
Shirley’s news this month has been a bit less cheery. In December we knew that there was something wrong, but didn’t know what. We still don’t know what, but we know that the pain has increased in her back and arm. She has been to the physical therapist and will go in for an EMG and CT scan at the beginning of February (keep an eye on the website for current info). This doesn’t keep her from doing most of what she wants to do, although it probably should! She cannot use her right arm without pain and is not always sleeping very well - but she is surviving and continues to be the joy in the house.
Scott has been able to go out to dinner a few times with various organizations he is part of: Chinese with the parent’s committee, french fries with the men after going carting, and johnny cakes on Shadira’s birthday. So he has been pretty happy. He of course has also had to have his teeth worked on (one of the times was an hour long!), but he is still alive.

- carting and chatting -

DID YOU KNOW?
Tidbits of information about Belgium and the Netherlands
That although the peoples of Belgium have been around since before the Romans arrived that the country of Belgium is only 176 years old?
Belgium became a separate country in 1830. At this time Belgium separated itself from the Netherlands.

That the Netherlands has a history stretching back to the 16th century, but it has only been a country in its present form for 191 years.
The Netherlands became a constitutional monarchy in 1815.

Belgium has always had a king while the Netherlands has had a queen since before the 1st World War.

EXTRAS
What’s coming up?
FEBRUARY
ABSS study week
Console weekend
MARCH
Getting to know the bIble
Youth day
APRIL
Youth weekend

THANKS!
- For the cards, calls, emails and holiday greetings
- For all those getting things ready for our furlough
- For your continued prayers and encouragement

We pray that you are enjoying the things that God has brought into your life, knowing that with Him all things are good.