Christmas joy …

Our ladies sure can celebrate!

… at our ladies’ Christmas meeting, with at least 8 visitors

… at the student and staff Chistmas dinner, with musical interludes and a meditation

… at our church’s Christmas Eve service with dozens of guests. Pat’s decorations made the school auditorium look a bit more like a church, while Jack sang base in a men’s quartet.

All because we celebrate not our gifts to one another, but God’s gift to us. He didn’t announce it with pomp and celebrations, but quietly to humble folks who longed to see God’s salvation.

We’re grateful for the salvation we have already received, we like Simeon and Hannah who held Christ as babe, we too long for the full promise of peace, justice and salvation for the whole earth.

Thanks for praying for us and supporting us to help make a litle more of this salvation visible in the Netherlands and through ETF’s students. Without your help we couldn’t do that.

Click here for our prayer page.

A musical interlude before the main course

Waiting their turn to give their testimony ...

His testimony was carefully prepared. He pulled out his paper when it was his time to speak. A story unfolded of someone in search of certainty and security. Could he really know for sure whether his family would like the presents he was about to buy them? Could he really know for sure if God would accept him. As he read the Word, prayed and worshiped over the past few years, confidence grew that God was really who He said He was. He shared how many questions and doubts remained, but that he had decided to give them over to God and trust Him. It moved us to hear of his struggle to trust God, a struggle that many could identify with in a world filled with rational doubts. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.”

This was just one of the five testimonies that we heard during our baptismal service. We wish you could have heard them all. God is at work mightily to open up hearts and minds for His truth, not in the least because so many of you who pray with us regularly for contacts, open doors for the gospel, and life-changing commitments of searching people. Keep on praying as we turn our eyes to the celebration of God becoming man in the birth of Jesus Christ. That many may yet come to know Him!

We continue to look for people to pray for us daily (like praying for those who were baptized to remain faithful). Please join our prayer force. Also, you can subscribe to this blog to get the stories delivered by email. See the subscription option to the right of this story.

Answering two questions, just before getting baptized

“Lord, I need a lot of conifers for the ladies flower workshop. It would be nice if it wasn’t too far away.”

A few hours later I heard noise outside that sounded like a tree being cut down. Workmen were hauling conifers from the backyard of people around the corner. I asked for some branches. They said yes and put a huge pile at my front door! What  an answer to prayer!

Flower Workshop on Thanksgiving Day

Yesterday, Thanksgiving morning, the ladies began coming. Three tables filled my living room. After a short explanation, coffee and apple cake, 16 ladies began making wreaths or filling baskets and flower pots with greenery. Conversation flowed and the big conifer pile almost disappeared! It was super to see how ladies helped each other and how their pieces were the same but yet so different!

Then at 7:30 in the evening another group of 10 ladies came for the same workshop. Again the sphere was super and the pieces lovely. There was even some greenery left over! I was also very thankful that 5 new ladies came and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Pray that the seeds sown would grow on good ground and bear fruit.

 

With close to 100 believers, we gathered in a converted farm in the nearby hills for our all church retreat. The theme was “Living Stones,” helping us reflect on how God has made us in all kinds of shapes and forms and yet he expects us to fit together into a beautiful building to his honor.

Workshops had something for everyone, from getting your face painted, percussion, portrait painting, and playing chess to a night game in the woods (in the drizzling rain – ugh). The only

One of the workshops

activity with mixed results was getting enough sleep – but those who snored hard enough didn’t have any trouble with that.

One of the enjoyable things about the retreat is leisure time to just chat and spend some time together, feet propped up by the huge fire-place in the middle of the hall. Or just teaming up to get meals prepared or tables cleared. Several guests had come as well, getting a first exposure to Christian love and teaching.

Thanks for praying for the retreat. And keep on praying that our church will grow into the beautiful place of worship and proclamation God intends for it to be.

Yesterday, Pat and a member of the Beta Bible study made 50 Dutch pancakes, like crepes. Some with bacon, others with apples and raisins, other with cheese folded inside, and of course some were plain. It was for the closing night of the Beta Bible study. It is our church’s follow-up study after the very first evangelistic Bible study, and they used material from Christianity Explored to study the gospel of Mark about who Jesus was.

The crepes were delicious ... getting ready for the study

One participant (sitting on the couch with someone else’s baby on his lap) will be baptized on November 29th (with three others). Pray for a good service of celebration and testimony for the baptisms, and pray for them to bring friends to the next round of evangelistic Bible studies started in the new year.

Click here for our prayer page.

Yesterday was the 11^th of the 11^th, a noteworthy date on two counts. At 11:11 AM, festivities started in our region to prepare for next spring’s carnival. Some people take time off to celebrate and drink, anticipating the big spring parade with all the partying.

Carnaval Celebrations in Maastricht

The 11^th of the 11^th is also a day off in Belgium, since they celebrate the cease fire at the end of a particularly brutal battle in 1917, during the first World War.

What a contrast! We’re glad that we don’t need a parade and parties to experience the true joy of knowing God. And it’s good to know that we have the victory in Christ, whatever battles we may face.

Unlike any other Tuesday, almost 30 students gathered in the chapel this week. It was a special meeting to discuss mentoring at ETF. The current system, where students are assigned to a small group with a mentor did not meet the need as well as it was hoped.

Students brainstorming about mentoring in ETF's chapel

The need is still there: committed and enthusiastic students who need guidance in their study choices and progress — especially if they run into obstacles — and opportunities to interact spiritually and not only academically with faculty.

The potential is also still there: committed faculty with experience in life and ministry, who have grown in their faith through things that students may one day face.

So we brainstormed about how to make the connections between faculty and students, about how to create a learning community where intellectual, personal and spiritual development go hand in hand. Lots of ideas were shared in the small discussion groups. Please pray for Jack, the students and staff, as they work this out so that students are better equipped to become the Christian leaders that the Lord calls them to be.

You missed a sight last Sunday. Just before I drove off in our little red car to preach in a nearby mission church, I helped Pat get loaded up for church. And loaded she was! She had made two beautiful arrangements with

Pat on the flower express

gladiolas and sunflowers, each about 4 feet tall. Then she had two basketball size pumpkins to create a pretty composition in front of the church. Plus, she had her purse, her Bible and a few other assorted items. Would you believe we got all of that on her bicycle!? That’s a sight even for the Dutch!

I am so thankful for Pat’s creative talents, for her eagerness to serve the Lord in all kinds of ways. And we’re both grateful for Pat’s boss who often lets her take home armfuls of old flowers on Saturday afternoon to make something for church. Keep praying that Pat will be used as a fragrance of life at her place of work – things are really slow now so the pressure is on.

Don’t forget to check our new prayer page.

Oh, and pray for me when Pat discovers I’ve put her picture on our blog …

Thijs teaching on the Holy Spirit

Wednesday night.

Time to get the laptop and beamer set up.

Where is the extension cord?

Rearrange the small auditorium of the grade school where we meet.

Who was bringing a thermos of coffee and tea?

Thijs and Jack started the new series of Bible courses in the Maastricht church. Last Wednesday night was the second session, with an attendance of about 12 people. Jack taught the first hour on the gospels: How did we get them? Are they a full biography of Jesus? How is each gospel unique? We’ll also look at the life of Christ. The next session will focus on the stages of discipleship in Jesus’ ministry, a great way to get a picture of how Jesus’ ministry progressed from Judea to Galilee to Ceasarea Philippi, and so on to Jerusalem. A final session will deal with Christ’s suffering and resurrection.

Thijs, our part-time assistant pastor, taught the second hour on the ministry of the Holy Spirit, this time dealing with the baptism and the filling of the Spirit. Thijs gave an overview of prophecy and the ministry of Christ to help us understand these important concepts. The next two sessions focus on the fruit and on some of the gifts of the Spirit.

We know … that’s not much time to teach on the life of Christ or the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but it provides basic information in broad brush strokes to help people read their Bibles with better understanding. Pray that this ministry will encourage all believers in reading their Bibles, and that it will help to equip people for ministry.

Enjoying Rita's visit in our colorful backyard

Was it ever a mistake to think we’d have a few quiet weeks before classes started in full swing! It all started with a visit (on 9/17) from Rita Whaley, a medical missionary in Ecuador. Merriam Christian Chapel (Albion, IN) supports both of us. We thought you’d like to see the evidence!

The next few days were a whirlwind:

Friday: funeral for a believer (retired only a few years ago) who died unexpectedly from the complications of a neck surgery.

Saturday: Pat participated in a big flower exhibit with her class of fellow florist students.

Sunday: a special baby dedication Sunday for three young couples and their little treasures.

Monday: Jack attended the official ceremony for the opening of the Academic year at ETF.

Tuesday: Jack taught the first class on the gospels in his class for the fall.

Thursday: Pat assisted in the young believers’ Bible study group, called “Christianity Explored” as Jack attended his small group at church (oops, almost forgot to mention the interview with Jack for a young people’s magazine about how Dutch churches can reach out better to young people).

Our baby dedication

Saturday: Jack taught the first session at the Saturday Bible Institute (with a new intern!).

Sunday (today): Jack preached the opening sermon on David (1 Sam 21, Ps 34) for a new sermon series about finding shelter with God (our church’s theme for the year).

With so much happening, we’re glad to know that many of you were praying that God in His grace would use us to touch people’s lives! Thanks a whole bunch.