of the follovlng;^ Co Rolsnd803 N, LoganLlncolns 111. 62656

phono- 217 732 3267

5S John KcDonald2213 DaT-mGr;fnLte Clt^s 111, 62040

phono- 6I8 931 55-6

HOW cm YOU EELP IN BLLaiUi. FOR CHKI.ST??PRAX»®»nevcr under est LniJ^tlng- tho poxTor of pr?yor,

or our noed for prayer, '-.'e ^-nnt to become''pr.'',3^^-p^^rtncrs•• with you, Sho^-: yourconccrn ps you think p_bout us, And pr-!^yfor our T:"ork,

SHARSc.by telling others pbout our T^ork pnd need,Thcro bo others you knof-r "c^rho could h^-lp«"ilhllc you nrc tellme-s toll others ^pboutChrist also, 'fc o^-n bo "evpngolizors"topothcrj even though the miles sepflrnteus nhysically,

GIVE,, .choerfully, pjid until It hurts. The need forthe gospel to be told In 5clgiui.i is greatpnd urgent, V/e need finances to do thowork God hp.s provided for us,

i-JONTKLI FIII.AJ^CI/L NJiiJDS—

Snlary (grocerlcss utilltless personal needs) $220Working exi^enses (evr^np.ollsi.ij tr.-'-nsoortot ion) $180

IT3KS FOR 3..GINNING THii .t)RK—Vpriot\s iter.s rill be needed to set up house^ind begin the T-ork in Boorscm, $700

FHOJiiCTS Aii FUi^DS—Various "rojccts pnd funds in fhich srr.^ller proupsc^n be involved, ?uch .-^s lilble fund,

Belgium For ChristForwarding Agent

John McDonald

2213 Dawn Street

Granite City, Illinois 62040

M/M 3x11 i-iCGilveryBox 368Joliet, 111# 60ij'34

; EiSENHOW

Forwarding Agent:Mr. John McDonold2213 Down Street

Granite City, lilinois 62040

Henki, John Mark, Mary Esther

Vol» a No a 2

BehiUuiv Ifii/ Ch/dst

JUST

A S

S XL PLY.

Field Address:Henki Etoonaerl)

Pepperhofttraat 75Genk, Belgium

1971

AS YOU OPEN THIS PAGE,

"God has opened the doors for nev field of service forHenki nnd ISsther Boon^ertse -h \Torc just startingthe process of returning to the United St^ites after ajre.^r's Internshlt) in Belgium® Oar nl.nns 'rore to returnto St, Louis for the roir:nlnder of Eenkl-s studies forhis degree® God Kpde it ver""* clv-^r to us th^t thesevere not the doors for us to enter, but other doors Hev.'j.s 0;:ening.' for uso

THE COHGHIi:-.ATIOi-: IN GaNK IS THIATESi-I iEARS OLD,There ^irc no other Christian church.?:s -.rlth ^.Thori the GenkChristi.:::nr, c^n fclloushlp. We felt the need, even soonpfter arrival In Belrlum Ifist ^earj for another congre-g/stion to be st.-rted. V'.'e hoped this nould not onlyprovide felloTTship for the Christtr^nsj but «lso helpgro'rbh In r-'-'ny other Yet ire felt, '-Hoxt can vrebecome Involved in nofr-church ^^ork for only ,n year'stimes then le.'-ve?. We'll T^rit until studies Are finished*

Bi ^PRILs Dli-CIDED T^lAT IF GOD RH./1LLI DID JAKT US TOst?»y, Ke i^Tould shoT-^ us the T-royj ^nd open the doors»There Is a tov-n about ti-renty-i ive r.illcs from Genk viheroabout fifteen r^cre interested in having services nearthem® One of the families that drove fro:~ this" areaevery Sunday for services in Genk, eseeci''llyanxious for a church to begin In the Kaasmechelem area.Wo would need a. home in this area, "If ^^rQ fjQre to beginholding services and do evangelistic T^ork#

VJE P3LZ TO FTlL HOU.SE5 B' BOOH-SSi , If you don'tthink that is so ^-ronderfulo»dlsten to ^'hy vQ think ItIs. Vhen we asked at the-clty-h-'^ll about the possib-llties of " house to rentj they said there x-rere only6,000 others house-hunting i It is to^Ti of about25,000 populations so uQ figured "o did not have muchchanccj unless God i^as ' on our ride, There were anuriibor of houses to rent in Waasmechelem, as wo drovearound later. They all rented for too much, or werealready re-rented#

THEN Vffi FOUND A HOUSE, JUST OUT OF MASi'BCHELElU Til

A

Boorsem, That was wonderful... It rented for thirty dollars amontho The house had a lai^e room that could be used for holding services for about thirty-five i^ersons. Beslds that, therewas' a living-dining room ^>nd kitchen, plus four bodroomss. Thatmeant we could have space enough for an office, bedrooms for us,and in ca.se wc i^ould have guests. See v^hat ve piean wonderful UWell, wo signed the contract for a year's rent, V/e had to trustGod to j3rovlde funds and our other needs for a new work in thisarea •

MOVING FROM SHjiRIriG AN jiUTOi.OBILE V,1TH HESna" S FATHER, V/Evould need traxisportatlbno In order for us to do ^ny calling,brliig folks to services, continue vl«;itlng T.rith those in Genk,and do our shopr^ing, etc., that x-ras a. necessity! i\ ca.r was alsoprovided for us by the Lord—within two weeks of the time trebegaji ^'alking tlirough the opening doors. The car is second hand,onlv costing atout cp200, so you can imagine In what condition Itis* We hope we Cc^n use it until such time as we are able topurchase something r.:orc permanent.

THE LORD has already blessed us In man^r ways, for acce-ntlnethis c-11 to now field of service.

THE CHRlSTlAr'S in Genk have holc-^d in ~qn3r wn—s, gcttln,-;: Usstarted in Boorsei:-',

HE14KI Is still in Bol^iuris and has begun services T-dth sijrt,eenthe first Sunday.

tiARI ESTHER (aJid our son, John i ark) are in the United Statesfor four months in order to raise supportfor. the Tjork.

IDU, we hope ttHI also become 'actively involved in the workthat so urgently needs to be done inBelgium for Christ,

kARi ESTHER VJILL BE IN THE- UK-ITED STATES WTIL 3EPTH::.BER 25, 1971then hopes to bo able to return to Belgiur^, Of course all presentations of our work will not be able to be "in perejon'" so aset of slides 'rlth a tape-recording is nl.so being r-rer'arcdo Vfecan -"Iso personally correspond with ^/ou, or make other arrangements at your ?u?;restiono If you are interested in a presentation of work in Belgium for Christ, please corres'-ond with one

Forwarding Agent:Mr. John McDonald

2213 Dawn Street

Granite CityIllinois 62040

Vol»iI No. 4

Bcll|ilMII/ ^0^ Ck/Udi

Mary Eslher John Moric

1971

Henki

Field Address:

Henki Boonaerts

Kerkstraat 161

Boorsem, 3631Belgium

December-November

"A Coal Miner is ^ Coal Miner, is Coal Miner, is ^ Coal Miner!"

Henki's father was a coal miner. He began working while it wasstill very dangerous. He has many stories to tell of those twenty-five years, and often uses these experiences in his sermons toexplain the gospel to those around him.

When Henki was fourteen, he left home to find work and wentto nearby countries. He ended up back in Genk wanting to follow inhis father's footsteps. His older brothers were also coal miners,so why shouldn't he??

So began Henki's "career" in the coal mines. After workingthree and a half years, he went to the United States to BibleCollege. Now he, his wife, and son are back in Belgium, and theneed has arisen for Henki to return to his coal mining "career."

When John Mark and Mary Esther returned from their visit tothe Scates this summer, their mission was fairly successful. Theywere able to visit many churches who promised to help support workin Belgium, Unfortunately some were unable to begin immediately,or to say how much they could send. Sufficient funds could not beexpected until after the new year.

(continued page four)

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INTER-CHRISTIM RELATIONSHIP1'1 I

Through the years, the church of Christ in Genk has enjoyeda good relationship with the "notipinstrumental" folks inHolland. The congregation in Utrjecht, Holland has two Hollandershelping them who have had training in the United States,Though the group is small and struggling, they have proved aninspiration to many. i

The various congregations in Hdlland and Belgium (of thenon-instrumentals) have a piece di ground in Belgium whichthey use for summer camp. The Genk youth group and some ofthe adults have been able to sharje in the blessings of thiscamp. There has also been an intejr-relation for variouscampaigns, etc.

Occasionally for a special se^rvice, or just change inpreachers, the two preachers of th^ Utrecht congregation havecome to Genk. Since we have begun services in Boorsero, wehave been able to share in this relation. Brothers Cor vonEwijk and Henk Kelfkins have brouglit messages from God*sword for us. It is good for us tol ihave our faith strengthenedby others who also love God. Thisjis surely a fore-taste ofthe relation we will have with all|God*s family when Christcomes to receive His own.

I I

FIRST SIX MONTHS GEOWTH RECORD

OF ii"INFANT" CHURCH OF CHRIST DCN BOORSEM, BELGIUM

Date Attendance Offering Date Attendance OfferingJune 6 16 $12.97 Sept«5 21 $26.22

13 15 $14.80 12 19 $22.1720 15 $15.87 19 15 $20e0027 13 $21.44 i 26 18 $21.23

July 4 21 $29.88 Oct.3 19 $14.2118 34 $18.90 ii 10 13 —

25 21 $18.44 ; 17 13 $11.15Aug. 1 17 $16.21 ' 24 26 $19.76

8 22 $22.80 : 31 15 $16.0022 24 $21.90 Nov p 7 25 $28.1629 20 $26.48 ! 14 15 $11.11

i 21 17 $16.3628 23 $21.56

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"PRAYER-REQUEST"

Please read the "prayer-request" insert page carefIt has been printed that you might becomefamiliar with these people and their needs.And that thru your concern and prayersalong with ours, the kingdom of God may bestrengthened and grow here in Boorsem.

'A note from the forwarding agents:'Lets also keep Henki and Mary Esther presentin our prayers that God may ever bless themin their work for Him. And as they keepyou up to date cn their work, they wouldalso appreciate hearing from you!

THE BLESSINGS OF A DAY

Wednesday evening is Bible study night for us at Boorsem.The evening begins about 5:15 p.m. as we pile into our mini-bus.Our first stop is to pick up a man of Pentecostal background.Sometimes we stop next for Mr. Skotke and his son Peter. (Heand his family are the ones who use to drive to Genk everySunday for services. Mr. Skotke has begun working again so isoften not home in time to join us.

Our third stop is about a mile and a half away. Here we geteither Mr. or Mrs. Jurachno. Their seven year old grand-daughterlives with them, so they take turns going to the study. Then wedrive another two miles to the home where we have the Bible study.Mrs. Bacao is a Christian, but her husband has not as yet beenbaptized. Unfortunately he is milking cows when we arrive, butcomes in for part of the study-.

After singing a song or two, and an opening prayer, we reada chapter in the Bible. Henki explains it, asks questions, andwe have a discussion. Then comes a very special part of our study—prayer time! Two pray in Dutch, one in Czechoslovokian, one inPolish, one or two in German, and one in English. Though wecannot understand each other, we know God does. It is a heartwarming experience to hear the tones of sincerity and earnestnessin the voices.

Bible study is concluded by coffee and friendly conversation.Then we go back over the five or six miles leaving everyone attheir home. "See you Sunday," is the usual hearty greeting. Weget back to Boorsem about 8:00p.m., just in time for Henki to goto work.

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(continued from page one)

This caused a financial

difficulty calling for Henki togo to work. First he began fora local construction company,working outside on highways, etc.This proved to be unsteady work--sometimes Henki would be gonetwelve or more hours, returninghome very tired. He was unableto give himself very much to thework with the new church.

Yet there was need of

regular income, so he decided totry the night shift at the coalmine. Now he is gone for workabout nine hours, and is freeevenings to do calling, etc.He is also glad for the opportunity to witness among theminers. Henki has alreadywitnessed to many of these menbefore, and hopefully thiscontinued witness will bringgain to the Kingdom of God.

BELGIUM FOR CHRIST is

written by fdary Esther Boonaerts,edited; primted, and mailed byJohn and Eileen McDonald. It

is distributed every two monthsto inform and encourage supportof the work being done inBelgium for Christ by theHenki Boonaerts family.

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