Summer summary

This has been a busy summer period, as is most often the case for us. But busy doesn’t mean bothersome. We love all the things we are challenged with and enjoy – albeit oft times afterwards – the struggles we have had and new things we have learned. Here are some of our blessings this summer. 

We enjoyed meeting, spending time with and worshipping with Nicole from South Africa, Danii and Jonathan from the US, and Mark and Roxi and family (from the US) who were visiting our precious Jonathan and Lauren (and Anderson). We welcomed the Goodpastures on a Wednesday evening and heard them share the Word and then met them again later that week worshipping with the church in Brussels.

The 2^nd day of Pentecost was a great opportunity to speak with members from around Belgium and the Netherlands and be challenged to continue preaching and living the Word. We are planning more evangelization throughout the country in response to some of what was said that day – but more about that later.

Ardennen Bijbelkamp holds four weeks of camp each summer: Youth (15+ years-old), Benjamins (8-11 years-old), Teens (12-14 years-old) and Family (everyone welcome). We directed and cooked at the last two weeks.

For Teen Camp we were blessed with a very varied group of 13 young people. We had expected a low turnout, but this is quite a good turnout for one of our weeks. Joshua and Judges – Be strong and courageous – was the them for the week. 

One of our challenges from the beginning was how to mix things up. Boys and girls at that age don’t want to sit together, but we also had various cultural differences. Still, with a few challenges here and there, the end of the week had everyone talking together, playing together and truly getting to know one another. God is amazing!

We were also pleased to be able to train some new people during this week. Paul and Deysi Quiel, who live and worship in Haarlem, were assistand camp leader and crafts director. We also had two new counselors in Prisca and Lesley. It is so important to give new people the chance to try out what God can do with them. We were especially proud of the young ladies for taking on this responsibility and trying new things. Be strong and courageous – God is with us!

At Family Camp we looked at Serving - every day, in every way. As is usual with Family camp, every day was a surprise. Some people come for a few days, others for the whole week.  We were especially blessed with the R. family – a mother with 5 boys ranging from 11 years-old to 6 months. I was struck by the realization of how much my mother must have had to put up with, how much courage she must have had, when I was growing up (I have 1 sister and 4 brothers).

During the week we took the opportunity to serve in the village. Our local milk farmer, Lucienne asked me – as we sat drinking coffee following a sweaty clearing of old tires and hawthorn hedge clippings – why we would do this. This is the fourth year that we offer this in the village, but usually it is the teens. This time it was the ‘old’ folks. I explained that if we really wanted to learn about serving, then we had to be willing to put it into practice as well.

The last day of camp is also a Family Day. This year was organized by the congregation in Maastricht.

You can see pictures of our two weeks in the Ardennes over at our picture site. Teen camp. Family camp. Family Day.

Looking ahead

In the coming months our schedules are already full. Sean is starting in to his last year of journalism school in Brussels. He is also moving from his present room to a flat shared by two other students (one of them the drummer in his band). We have been moving his stuff (through the traffic jam that is Brussels) and finding more stuff for the coming year.

We are also starting our other studies up after a summer break. We will be meeting at least once a month with the family in Valkenburg. With H. I will be looking at the book of Romans. He requested that we get more into the Bible (and he usually prefers the Old Testament)! We were also asked by LJ to get back to a Bible study. We have already started and are excited about her desire to learn and the opportunities for growth for all of us.

We hope to continue meeting with our neighbors, continuing along the Meeting Jesus studies. At the beginning of summer we closed off the previous session with a wonderful barbecue together where we all shared food and time together. 

Shirley sells used clothing on a sort of ‘craigslist’ here (called Marktplaats) and has developed a relationship with a few of her buyers who live close by. Be praying for these opportunities.

In September the church in Maastricht has a youth weekend planned where we will get together with the church from Cologne – in Aachen (halfway for both of us) to sing and encourage one another. The next weekend is a Men’s Retreat down at camp. Before all of this gets started there is a meeting in Amsterdam about how we can better work together as congregations in evangelizing throughout the country.

Along these lines, Maastricht is also participating in a Family Day held by the Limburg churches. This is an effort to get the congregations working together to see how we can better help one another and in this way spread the grace of Christ further. This Family day, as well as a Ladies Day organized by the ladies from Limburg, will be in October. LAUS, the singing group set up for evangelism this Spring, will also sing.

In the meantime, we will also begin our 1^st Wednesday singing again with the members from Liége and any others who want to come. Where will you be on September 2? Come sing with us in Maastricht! We are looking forward to how God is going to use us in these coming months.

Vacation visits

A Sunday with visitors from
the US, South Africa and Belgium

I have said this many times to young people, members of the congregation in Maastricht and members throughout the States – we are blessed with the ability to travel. Most of us all are blessed with the ability to travel where we want and pretty much when we want. This is very different from those who are more recently in the news because they are fleeing war in their country. We can choose to visit other places, and we do this with regularity.

Because of this, we can take advantage of another huge blessing – getting to know our brothers and sisters, the body of Christ, in other geographical locations and even cultures and contexts. We do not have to simply imagine and trust that the body of Christ is larger than our local group, we can get to know this body. And more importantly, we can even worship together with this body.

We are always thankful when people come through the Netherlands or Belgium and take the time to meet with us as a congregation. On a Sunday morning in Maastricht we will do our best to accommodate you (translation where needed, songs are sometimes in English, all of us will try to talk with you). And we know, since you are our brother and sister, that you will also do your best to accommodate us – doing your best to speak with us and understand our situation and culture. This is the beauty of our life in the body.

But it takes some planning to make this really happen. Despite the beauty of the internet and websites, you will seldom be able to just drop into a country and Saturday evening hope to find the church in the village you are visiting. You need to plan ahead. Think about where you are going and research where you can find the church. Email and call the members so that you know you have the times right and will be able to encourage one another. And then pray for this body of which you are a part – before you get there. I can assure you, you will be greatly blessed and will greatly bless those you meet with. I know this not only because we have experienced this time and again in our travels, but because our God has made this family.

This summer we have welcomed folks from South Africa and the United States on various Sunday mornings and have been able to meet with others on a Wednesday to share the Word and prayer. Plan your vacations with the body in mind. It is well worth the time and effort – for all involved.

Will you be in our neck of the woods - in the south of the Netherlands, in Belgium or in the west of Germany? The church in Maastricht meets for Bible study on Sunday morning at 10 and to worship at 10:30. If you come on a fourth Sunday, we can all sit down to eat together as well. Look us up and come on by. We would love to share with you and worship the Lord together with you!

How time flies?

In the good times, in the bad, when you are busy or just wasting time, together or alone – time marches on. And yes, if you look away long enough, it sprouts wings and flies by!

These past months have seemed to do just that – perhaps because I haven’t taken the time to look back often enough. So let me take a moment and recount some of the things that we have been doing since our last newsletter (December 2014!). I will also put some of the picture links in this post so that you can SEE what we have been doing, but you can always just visit our photo site.

 In January and February we had several opportunities to encourage one another across borders. At our annual Bible Camp meeting at the end of January members from Belgium and the Netherlands get together for fellowship and singing – as well as some formal business. This was also a rehearsal time for a group I was putting together called Laus which would sing for a gospel meeting in Belgium in May. But more on that later.

In February we went to Germany for the Advanced Bible Study Series where we met people from all over Europe and enjoyed some good spiritual food. A week later, at the beginning of March, Shirley was off to the Ladies Retreat in Germany. We also enjoyed our monthly song evenings with the church from Liege and continued rehearsing with Laus.

March was also a time of beginning. We started with another set of Meeting Jesus with our neighbors as well as a new study along the same lines with the teenage children of our sister, Daisy. Our neighbors have changed by one since last year: one man has moved to his own place and another has come in his place. So we have enjoyed getting to know the new man.

In April (and throughout the year since September) I have also continued working with the village kids in Veldwezelt with my colleague, Karla. A two-day retreat is held as the end of the season where we can really challenge the kids with some thoughts about the Bible, God and their choice to follow Jesus. For many of these kids this is a choice being made for them by their parents. We want them to know that it is something they themselves can choose.

We also took a few days off in the middle of April to travel as a family to Barcelona. It is so good to spend some time together and with Sean. Sean has been working hard on his studies (Journalism in Brussels) as well as on his band – Wooly Mammoths – who have been getting all kinds of play and air time.

Back in November the church in Elen, Belgium, asked me if I could get a group together to sing for a gospel evening. This was the beginning of Laus (‘to praise’ in Latin). A group of 10 singers from all over Belgium and the Netherlands trying to put together an evening full of songs with just 4 or 5 rehearsals. But we wanted to help this small church in reaching out to the neighborhood. My colleague, Ruud, brought one of the lessons – using a haiku and a good bit of rhyme in his lesson. Laus will look at more opportunities to help out in evangelism.

Later in May we took a group of 11 young people to Brussels for Brussels Extra Large 2015 (BXL2015). In this long weekend (Ascension is a national holiday on Thursday and links to the weekend) we want to challenge the young people with how God can bless us and how we can bring Jesus to all people. This means serving in all different situations – including helping the homeless, spending time with refugees, singing and talking to seniors as well as serving one another.

At the annual meeting of the churches on the second day of Pentecost – this year organized by the church in Haarlem – I was asked to talk about building the church up. This was a good opportunity as well to talk about the various plans for evangelism and equipping in the coming months.

In these coming months we are fervently trying to get ready for our two weeks of Bible camp (Teen camp and Family camp at the beginning of August). We will also finish up our Meeting Jesus group at the house, but continue our group with the teens. Hopefully I will remember to look back more frequently so that time is not able to sprout wings and fly away!

Thank-you-very-much-you’re-welcome

Have you ever noticed? It is such a hard thing to do: to simply say, “Thank you.” Why is that? I know that part of it is a desire to be humble – a misplaced desire (the desire is not misplaced, but it gets put in the wrong place). When someone compliments me on something I have done, or on a characteristic that they have noticed or experienced in me, why do I feel the need to minimalize that? Because I think that otherwise I am being proud, tooting my own horn. So I say something like, “It’s nothing really. I just threw that together.” Or something like, “This old thing? I just found it in a thrift store.”

It is often true. Maybe it is something that I just threw together. Maybe I did get for a really good price so that it looks expensive but wasn’t. Maybe it is something that is easy for me. But am I being humble when I mention that?

God gives gifts as He sees fit. We are blessed with certain abilities that others do not have. That is how we can help and serve one another. If we didn’t have different abilities, we would not need one another, we would not be a body. (Consider Oholiab and Bezalel in Exodus 31 and 1 Corinthians 12 about the body).

What I am actually doing is negating what the other has said. I am basically saying that they are a liar. That what they are saying is either not true or not correctly seen or not actually important. But that is not at all what I want to do! It isn’t what I mean to be doing! But it is what is happening.

On the other side, what do I do when someone thanks me for something? Too often I minimalize again. Perhaps I don’t know how to deal with the attention. Once again, I don’t want to be prideful. So I deny them their thankfulness. Of course that is not at all what I want to do, but when I minimalize their thanks, I am not being humble.

I have noticed that this gets in the way of my relationships. Maybe you have noticed that as well (in your relationship with me – or in your own relationships). But it doesn’t have to happen. We all learned as children some simple ways of dealing with these situations.

When I was a kid there were a few ‘magic’ words: Please, Thank you, and You’re welcome. Nothing has changed since I have grown except that I have gotten taller and older. God asks us to be thankful to Him. He has made us and knows how we work best. Thankfulness is what puts all into perspective.

Thanking someone is good, but it is the same when they compliment us. They have done something for us – given of themselves, opened themselves up to us. It is best for me and for him/her to simply be thankful. If you have been able to do something for another, or be something for another and he/she mentions this in a compliment – say, “Thank you.” It is that simple. If someone thanks you for what you have done or said or have been – simply say, “You’re welcome.” No more, no less.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Jesus, social media, the bank and the cloud

What do we choose?
Can we get closer together and keep following this path?

I am trying to deal with moving all of my information from an old computer to a newer one. This happens to me about every 6 years or so when I update my computer. But for a while there has been this thing called 'the cloud'. Try explaining that some time to a person who doesn't use computers. That will truly test your language skills. But the cloud has been a great help in moving my files from one computer to the next (and connecting the various computers in our house). And I have had my pictures (like the one here) in the cloud for quite some years now.

As a matter of fact, years ago, one paid for a little slice of cloud. Now there are so many competitors that a big chunk of cloud is free. I was ruminating on that thought during a morning walk with the dog recently. It all seems so wonderful. A great place to store all of that information, all those pictures, contacts, thoughts. Just like a floppy disk, but bigger and easier. (Don't know what a floppy disk is? Ask someone who is at least 40.)

But at our house we have also been struggling with our internet. Okay, we have not been struggling with the internet, we have been struggling with our frustration over our internet provider and our lack of internet access. So what happens when everything you have is in the cloud and you can't reach the cloud? That is what hit me during my morning rumination. First they get you to give them all your stuff, then they restrict access to that very stuff and charge you for it.

The same thing happens with your money. You earn money for the work you do and you want to keep it safe, so you put it in a bank. As a matter of fact, the bank even pays you to let them use your money (because they earn money using your money). But then they stop paying you (you get no interest), and instead you end up paying more for even less access to your own money. If it were possible, you could take it out and hide it in your mattress, but these days you can barely pay for things with cash. Everything is digital, you use your phone to bank and even to pay for the parking meter or bus ticket.

Even our relationships have moved off into the cloud. There has been more than enough said about the trend toward absent presence (physically present in a group, but actually absent due to being present on your 'smart' phone). We have given away our relationships - the touch, intonation, the fidgeting that makes us who we are - and settle for a shadowed version of friendship. Mind you, this internet possibility is wonderful for those who are separated by great distances. But do we really want to place our proximally close relationships into these fickle, clouded hands?

And that is where my chewing was really bringing me. Our relationship with Jesus is something that too often also gets loaned out, passed into the hands of others. I don't need to think about a certain position, a truth - if it is what Jesus wants or not - there are others who think about those things and tell me about it. This has long been a discussion among Christians: how much does one rely on teachers (for teachers are given by God - think about Eph. 4:11-15) and how much responsibility lies with the individual believer?

If I give away my responsibility to know Jesus, to walk in relationship with him, to know what he thinks is important and how he wants things done - then I place myself in a position where those who say they know hold me hostage. I must then go to them for information. OR I retain only a vague, shadowy relationship with the very One who created me and knows me better than any other. I don't want to give away this relationship. I don't want someone helpfully relieving me of the 'troublesome task' of truly getting to know and follow Jesus.

I will continue using the cloud and the bank and social media - and enjoying the perks - but I will also pay attention to retaining and building the most important links for life. I will continue sharing thoughts and ideas with other followers of Jesus, listening to teaching that can help me stretch and grow. But I will above all continue to keep Jesus close, learning from His word what he thinks is most important and putting that into practice.

LIGHT in the Lowlands, December 2014

It is amazing how quickly a year can go by. We have been so thankful for the last several months and what we have been blessed to be part of. Thank you for being a part of some of those activities and for the blessing you are to our lives! How has God been blessing you this year?

Happy Camper

For years, one of the main activities that we have been blessed to work with have been camp weeks or days at Ardennen Bijbelkamp. Throughout the 50 years that this Christian camp has been reaching out to people young and old, Dutch-speaking or French-speaking, we (together with the many brothers and sisters through the years) have constantly strived to keep a focus on Christ, His Word and how we can encourage one another better to follow Jesus daily. Camp has been a place where you can be challenged or comforted, where you can be stretched to learn something new or simply come to find some peace.

This year seems to me to have been a year that camp was used even more than in the past and that is good. We want camp to be used almost year-round. And this year has seen lots of new uses. And, thankfully, we were able to experience some of those times this year. Of course you may have seen some of the pictures, but as the season is slowly coming to a close (but not until the end of December), I wanted to share with you some of the times we have enjoyed.

A time to work

There are still plenty of things that need to be finished down at camp. Whenever I get the chance, and my ‘skills’ mght be needed or I can put my muscles to good use for camp, I head down to help. This was in April for a day, in June for a couple days and then again in July before the camp weeks got started in earnest. The fun part about these work days is that there is always a group. Have you ever noticed how good conversations can be when you’re working with someone?

A time to sing

The congregation in Maastricht likes using camp because we know how we all enjoy the beauty there and the time together. Since we are relatively close it is also not really very difficult for us. So at the end of May we planned a day together. Philip taught us about forgiveness and we all wrote some new songs. This was the first time that our sister, Alonie came to camp, and our French-speaking brother, Clement, also showed up.

A time for camp

This summer I was responsible for two camp weeks: Teen Camp and Family Camp. Although Teen Camp ended up being just three campers, it was an especially active week. The campers and I went out every morning on a trip, usually walking a few hours. The afternoon would also be normally active. But of course we were looking at the travels of Paul in the Acts of the Apostles.

Family Camp was a great group of people and we struggled with some thoughts on Apologetics. Why do we believe what we believe? This is when the beauty and surroundings of camp show their best purpose: time to chew on deep thoughts and discuss concepts during long walks. It was great tp see how everyone helped with the various tasks throughout the week.

A time to escape

In September the Maastricht congregation held a youth weekend down at camp, focussing on Exodus and what we learn from the Israelites’ escape from Egypt. Once again, we are blessed as a congregation to be so close to camp that we can organize the weekend at camp and still meet in Maastricht on Sunday morning to worship together with the whole congregation.

A time to retreat

At the end of September the men headed down to camp for a Men’s Retreat. It is no easy feat to get a bunch of men together, but this was a wonderful time. And we had several who had either never been to camp or had never been for more than an afternoon. Challenging and fun activities along with challenging lessons sent us all off with the courage to be the men of God that we want to be.

And we aren’t finished yet

Fall Camp is planned for the end of October, but this year it will not only be for the youth, but for all who wish to come – more like a Family Weekend. And in December the 16-year-olds will decend on camp to show off their ability to really stick it out in the cold. In the meantime we will have at least one more work day to get things ready for a new year of serving one another, helping one another grow and challenging one another to live in grace. We are so thankful to be able to learn so many of these lessons and share these times of growth with one another at such a wonderful place.

You can find most of these photos on our photo site (click on the pictures on the right) or you can go here for more photo's from camp.

July Newsletter

It is always challenging to experience how God works in our lives. Here are some of the things that God has been doing with us recently. We have especially taken time to talk a bit about the trip to Brussels with the young people. If you would like to see some pictures, check out these links:
BXL (Brussels Extra Large)
World Cup get-togethers
Living Room changes

A view of a few of the newest activities

The past two months have kept us pretty busy. Here are a few of the highlights with some pictures to go with it. We are so thankful for how we are able to be used, for the way God is forming us as well.

At the beginning of April Scott went to the European Singles Retreat in Germany to teach on ‘Final Destination: Aliens on our way home’. Singles from all over Europe meet twice a year to encourage one another in their walk with Christ. Scott taught about how our citizenship is in heaven and our culture should be from Christ.

Check out some pictures here or on facebook. For more info see the website.

Two days after the Single’s Retreat Scott and Shirley made a whirlwind tour to Colorado for the wedding of Scott’s best friend, Bret Carter, where Scott was best man. We were only there for 5 days, but were able to get in some quick family visit time as well as meet the bride and her family, meet brothers and sisters from two congregations, and refresh friendships. 

Two days after arriving back in Europe Scott left for a two-day retreat with the Catholic kids from the next village. He and Karla verheijen have been working for years with these groups to encourage the yougn people, their parents and the group working with them to focus on a real life with Jesus Christ. The year’s activities culminate for us with this two-day retreat, which inevitably challenges us with the same question we hope to present to those around us: Am I a cultural Christian, or is Jesus really my life?

the 'new' car

At the end of April Scott headed down to camp to help with some of the work being done there.But before heading down, we had to figure out a car solution. Our car unexpectedly died on the way back from the Single’s Retreat. With all of the activities in between, there had been no time to deal with this need, but now we had a week to look around and a borrowed car to add mobility. Just before the work days at camp we found a ‘new’ car – which looks remarkably like our ‘old’ car and is actually 10 years old (but within budget and with far fewer kilometers). The first test was driving down to camp. The car worked well (and continues to do so) and we got some good work done down at camp. 

The same day of work camp Sean presented his first real EP for his band, Karma Police. This was paid for by the winnings from the contest last year (‘Imagine’) which also saw them go to Romania to perform. More music is on the way. You can hear their music here and purchase their ep. You can also find them on facebook where you can see some of their video's. 

Singing in 4 languages

The first weekend of May saw Scott and Sean driving over to Thayngen, Switzerland for the yearly indoor, international soccer tournament. Scott would present the thoughts around the Lord’s Supper on Sunday, and both ‘boys’ would play soccer. This tournament is an amazing opportunity to bring Christians and friends together from all over Europe, showing what my ‘dad’, Ron Carter (and my best friend, Ron’s son, Bret) always said: Christians know best how to really have fun.

The next weekend the congregation in Maastricht had planned a day down at camp. Philip Dela taught us about how we can forgive – even when we do not feel like it. His original lesson had been on how ‘Christians’ in Africa had taken revenge on Moslims, killing them and dragging them through the streets. This was done, because Christians had also been killied. How should we respond? And where do we find the strength to do this?

Typical of our Maastricht family, we also used the day to write some new songs about forgiveness. One of these songs was written by 3-year-old Liam with his daddy. The Sunday morning after the day at camp all of the new songs were sung. We were pleased to welcome Jia, our Chinese-Maastricht PhD-living-in-Germany who was visiting us for a few days. She let us know a week later that the tune from Liam was still stuck in her head.

The last two weeks have been full of our normal activities as well as the smell of paint. Scott promised Shirley years ago (we won’t go into how many years) that he would paint the ceiling – changing the brown to a shiny white. The paint had been waiting, we simply needed to get it on the agenda - a hard enough task! Although it is not yet finished, we are well on our way.

We pray that you, too, have enjoyed some moments that have challenged your faith and your life in Christ, that you have found some times to share with family and friends, that you have been blessed by the physical blessings in your daily life and that you have been able to be used in many expected and unexpected ways. We have a wonderful and amazing God!