boonaerts henki maryesther 1983 belgium

7/24/2019 Boonaerts Henki MaryEsther 1983 Belgium

1/6

Medaryville

Christian

Church

Box

140, South

Jefferson

Street

Medaryville,

Indiana

U.S.A. 47957

Please

notify

Fonvardtn^f

Agent

i f

t h is a dd re s s i s i t ico r rcc l .

t h is mai ling

is

no t

desired.

Non-Profit

Organization

U.S.

Postage

PAID

Medaryville,

Ind.

PERMIT

4

MISSIONARIES

Henki

Mary

Esther Boonaerts

BELG IUM

FO R CHR I S T

FORWARDING AGENT

Melv in

Loue l l a

Ro l l e r

Route

1, Box

92

8urnett sv i lle , Indiana U.S.A. 47926

Vol. XIII No.

1

J a n . - June

1983

THRE E-F O LD IND IAN

MIN I STRY

Firs t ly , we

came to

India

to fill

in for Weesners while they

were on

furlough.

Though we didn't

know much

about thei r

Hope

Rehabilitation Center it was

felt

Henki,

with

some mechanical abilities, would

be

able

to

help

in various

ways during

Weesners' absence. We immediately fell in love with the fellows of

the

Center and became involved in

various

ways The boys

receive t rain ing in

th e

Center building (photo

1)

(both theory and practical if they've no t

already had it)

and

are

able

to

us e

different machines, together filling contracts to help earn a

living.

Being handicapped in various

ways, some

ar e

less able

than

others,

bu t each has hi s

indispensable function

and

ar e found happily

filling I

them,

we

have

observed

We have shared with them through family 1

problems,

death, sickness, power failures, slack in production, and in

so many other

ways.

K

Hope

Rehabil i tat ion

Center .

Henki

started

by

giving

the

morning

devotions

every

morning

IjH

(workdays) but when he was asked to helpwith preacher's training, sM

arranged

t o l et

others

who

had led

in these studies

before

ourarr ival to

continue

two

days

a

week

so

he could

help

there also. Strategic

World

Evangelism,

directed by

Leonard

Thompson, is bu t a few miles

away

in the

Kilipuk

Garden

area

of Madras. Here

in

the upsta ir s portion

(photo) ofthe building are found

hi s

recording studio for radio broadcasts and

Bible

Correspondence

courses,plus the classroomand boarding facilities for

th e Mad ra s

School of Evangel ism (preacher 's training).

The

David Rees

Memorial library

of

th e school

is

also squeezed

in

with th e

office area, so

facilities

are meager. Mary

Esther

helped out some

in

the library

as she'd

had

lots of experience along that line both

in

high school (back

in Woodstock,

India )

and

college while

attending

Lincoln

Christian

College.

Henki spent

many hours

preparing class

notes, (that his

personal secretary

typed) so it

was a

joint effort

and

enjoyed ministry.

It

was especially

a

joy

to

get

to know

th e four s tudents though the

time

was short , just being wi th them

this one

semester.

Exams

are finished

an d

thesummer break

has

begun.

We

wish each

one Godspeed, and

hope

our efforts will help them be

mighty

servants for th e

Lord

wherever He

will

place them

Folks

a t

th e Center .

Some

of

th e

handicapped boys,

superintendent,

an d

o the r workers .

Strategic

World

Evangel ism.

Lastly but

no t

l east of course, was our minis try with the local

congregation, the Ann a Nag ar Chur ch . Weesner s were

also

members here an d it

is

within

walking distance

of thei r home

so was a natural

place

fo r us to a tt end a nd

get

involved.

Leonard

is

also

minis ter wi th this congregation so

we've been

working with h im in several ways.

Not

only

have we attended

quite

regularly, th e boys

especially enjoyed

th e Sunday School

classes, an d

Mary Esther everything in her

mother-tongue,

but

also

Henki has

preached several times.

We

a lso got quite

involved

with their

V.B.S.

program the firstofMay. Leonard's

van

(a n

Indian

cousin;

of

th e Tata-Mercedes-Benz company;

facing

in foreground

of

photo

with raised

roof) and ours stand

ready

to

take various ones home after

th e

morning ofactivities

(photo) Several of the boys from the center, though actually

older than th e

others,

eagerly

joined in

also. They are mostly

Hindi, s owe hope and pray

they

may be influenced fo r th e Lord

t hrough thi s and other efforts. This

is

also

th e

congregation

that William an d Jean

Roland

(Mary

Esther's parents)

attended

when

they

were living in Madras-small world, isn't

it

We've gotten

to

know and love

many

of

this

group an d will

indeed

miss

them

when

i t comes time

to

leave.

Our

family in

Christ

just keeps on

growing,

and

we'd have it

no

other

way

Th e t hem e o f t h e V.B.S . week wa s R i ve rs o f Life

and

wi th t h e

drought

in an d

a round Madras it

was

refreshing to

put

th e

emphasis

on spiri tual ,

eternal

water,

rising

above

the physical

needs

and suffering

of

the past

months.

It

was

a lovely week,

different in

ways

from

the tradit ional

U.S. - V.B.S.'s but

we got

s ome

new

ideas

on

how i t can be done


2/6

Children holding

theme

song.

Two

vans

at

Anna N ag ar

Church

af ter V.B.S.

sess ion

I

th irs ted in

a

ba r ren

land

of

s in a n d s ha m e

And nothing sa tis fy ing there

I found,

But to

th e

Blessed

Cross

of

Christ one day I came

Where springs of

living

water

did

abound

Drinking

at

th e

springs of

living

water,

Happy now am I

My sou l they satisfy

Drinking at t he spr ings o f

living water,

O

wonderful

and

bountiful

supply

W H I T E F A C E S A M O N G T H E B L A C K

Coming to South India makes our white-skinned faces even

stand

out more

than

ever.

Farther

north folks are considerably

fairer, bu t down here they are almost

literally

b-l-a-c-kl And

what

does ourwhite face mean to the

Indians?

We have discovered

severa l reac t ions :

--IGNORANCE:-- We surely didn't know much about the area so we could easily befoole some must have thought.

Especially gett ing around

in

th e city

by

auto

rikshaw

(an open, three-wheel scooter vehicle used as

a

taxi,

bu t

lots

cheaper ).

The

drivers

thought they

could get more fare out of these white faces. Fortunately it

didn't take

long to know

ou r

way

around

and

keep them

from

taking detours an d longer trips

so

they'd

get more

ou t of

us . Later we

also learned

to

us e th e public bus services , a lso much more economical .

MONEY

BAGS

Thinking weweretourists, and knowing tourists always are rolling in money,shopkeepers alwayshiked

prices up. Wehad to learn quickly that prices quoted to us usually weretwo orthree times the normal going price,

and

begin

to

bargain.

Or even

better, send

our darker

friends

to shop for us and avoid

th e

hassle

anxious to

v is it w it h

the whole

family

in

our

home,

and

came several t imes. Exci ted ly they

shared

experiences of witnessing

in

villages where th e gospel

had never been

heard.

It

almost seems impossible, but others

have testified to similar experiences

an d

such places. Another time they sa t and sang spiritual songs with us

and

th e college

boys who werealso visiting at th e time. Once they prevailed upon

us to

visit them

in

their home

so we could

meettheir

family

They were certainly given to hospitality and after serving cold drinks,

cookies, and cake,

insisted on butcheringone oftheir

three chickens to send home with us In order to ge t

their

picture we had to go to

the ir back

patio or th e

whole

village area

wniilH

bflvp

siiHHpnIy hppn in

their

family

They a ll

live

in

a

small, two room house , with

a

porch,

and

th e

patio

ou t

back

Though you cannot see them very well, we' ll

introduce

you to them, f rom lef t to right:

Pastor

Samuel

(father); ou r son James; Jacqul ine; Spurgeon ( the eldest and only

son);

Ebenezer and Jebba (Tamil

fo r

prayer) th e

two

youngest girls

in front :

Bathma

(mother);

Jammima

(we were

informed

is

also

one of

Job's daughter's

names );

and Freeda

(that happens to

mean

peace in

Dutch ); and Mary Esther.

We hope

you'll pray

for Pastor

Samuel

and hi s

family,

the

boys at th e

College,

and others

like

them who

are

content

to

live

in

very simple conditions

and spread the gospel as funds

and opportunities

arise

H O W D O Y O U L I K E I N D I A ?

It seems like wherever we go to visit another country How do you

like

it? is

about the

first question asked, even ifyou'veonly

been there

10

minutes

It

is indeed very different

in

India from the United

States or

Belgium,

bu t we have adjusted

fast, and are

enjoying many things about

this

ancient , ye t modern

country


3/6

The stree t

scene (photo)

shows what is

typical

in cities and

villages alike: living

out side , s imple, s low, and

easy

Cows, cyclists, pedestr ians amble along beside

or

over

th e

s t reets . Trucks,

ox-carts, and

other

vehicles

park or camp

a long the

side

o f th e road fo r the

n ight . Tea

stalls

and hot

food stands line up a t busy sect ions; l ike here near a bus

stop,

to

serve hungry

an d

thirsty

people.

There

always

seems to be p lenty Auto-rikshaw drivers

rest

in the

s ha de o f a tree hoping someone

will

want to be brought

somep la ce . So as you

travel along,

there is never

a

dull

moment:

you

must watch

where

you

are

going

and are

en te r ta ined in watch ing what 's

going

on

States^or^ ^ t is

lso

f s in ting

Tamil popular hits,

especially

ourteenage

son

Missing out on schooling they

have had

two

months

of tutoring with a Pharisee teacher. She did

an

excellent job coaching

them in English reading and writing, and maths which they should always beable touse in the future. And, ofcourse, somany

of their experiences the

last

few months could never

have

been learned in a classroom. We

just trust

the Lord will help

them

make

th e

needed

adjus tments when

they en te r school again in

September.

Boys

in

Indian

clothes

in

f ron t o f

our

NEWS

FROM CHRIST IANS

IN BELGIUM:

During our

stay

in

India

wehave

had

several letters from different ones of

the Christians

ofMaasmechelen. Gleanings from

these give

lots

of good-news to be shared

with yuu in th e States,

to

assure you also thatOod

continually blesses

an d guides

this

g r o u p .

Shortly after our absence we had word that

some

of th e men, who, while we were there, did

no t

lead in any of the services, are

now doing it

For instance

we've been told

Harry

Goyens has lead th e communion

meditation

and is blossoming in other

way s .

Several of th e

Christians

provided addresses of friends

and

relatives,

who

they hoped

would be

won

to

Christ,

to

the editor of

the monthly church

paper.

Alex

Beckers

wrote later

that some

were offended with the straightforward

articles

and asked

no

longer

to

receive them Copies

have

been

sent

to us,

and

we

have

appreciated

th e

sound teaching

and

truthfulness;

and

the

efforts of those

helping

to prepare

this paper The

Good News. Alex

spends much

timeediting

and mailing this,

for which we

ar e

truly

grateful, an d

know the

Lord

is

blessing and

will

mult ip ly His

kingdom

through these efforts.

It

is

also

good to

know

the morn ing and evening

Bible studies

continue in

our absence,

as well as th e services in the Cul tural

Center. Efforts

have again

been made,

but

unfruitfully, to purchase other property

that

could beused for services. Be

praying

th e

Christians

will be patient

in

this, and be led of God to th e

most

useful place for their

needs

and purposes. They have been

trying

fo r

about three

years

now,

all to no avail

Also wehad good news about the

Sunday

school. Wewere a

bi t

fearful this would peterout, as interest seemed tobe dwindling

while

we were

still there. Our absence seems

to

have been just what

wa s needed

Now

there

ar e

five

ladieshelping teach, each

taking

a turn a week, so

there ar e

none of them

burdened

heavily Supplies have been provided by

funds

from

the church

budget, and other gifts

have

been made

to

help in this project

by

various members. Songs

to be

taught have been recordedfor

th e use of the teachers, and

meetings

attended

to

help better their teaching

abilities We

certainly

rejoice

i n thi s news.

The Italians of

th e

congregation and area

have

also had another oftheir gatherings. This

time

it was in t he

home

of Dennis

an d Linda Messimer in Beringen, just nort h o f

Maasmechelen.

Guy and Thelma Mayfield were

also

present. Brother

Vincenzo Petronelli,

whom the congregation is

also

supporting

as

a

missionary,

was

there from

France.

He

travels through

various

European

countries to encourage

Italian

families

scattered and without

congregations with whom to worship.

Through

him

one of our own famil ie s now moved

to Riccione,

Italy also

receives fellowship

an d encouragement.

We've

also

heard they continue

faithfully

holding the Lord's supper each Sunday just th e two

of

them. Hopefully through Petronelli's

efforts

and their

own witnessing,

others

may

be

added

to th e

Lord 's church, encouraging

Martini's

even more

Men of th e congregation have

also

again

been

involved with

physical

labor at thecampgrounds in

Sol

waster, Belgium.

These

are owned by th e non-instrumental churches

in Holland,

and

several

ofour

children also

attend

their different

sessions. They

have

been trying to build sleeping cabins, and the Genk

and Maasmechelen men have

helped with th e brick-laying and will

probably beg in wi th roof-making soon.

News

of

Genk must also be included

here,

as

they have

decided to be directly

involved

with

ou r

mission efforts . After

getting to

India they

wrote

saying they plan

to

support

us with

10

of their

offerings.

The

first

gift

received

we

used

to buy

'remembrance' Bibles for th e

boys

of

th e

Center as going away presents . Some

a re no t

as ye t

Christians so we

surelyhope His

word

will

work mightily even after we've lef t these p reci ou s ones we' ve been a ll owed to s er ve

and

teach.


4/6

Just

a

bit

of

personal news from both

th e

Genk and Maasmechelen

groups:

Henki s mother had much trouble

with arthritis

in

her

legs

and had to have 6

weeks bedrest. Ofcourse

thatbrougjl t

some anxiety

to

us

and

inconvenience to

her who isso

active

in the church and many otherways. God has been gracious and sheis much better, butwrites shewill always have to rest and

slowdownher paceof life considerably. Henki'syoungerbrotjier,whowasmarriedlast summer, and his wife are expecting

theirfirst

child

which of

course

wasgood

news.

In the Maaslmechelen

group

thereare

wedding

bells ringing. Jean Pierre

Verstappen and Eva

Maria

Guerra (who d

been

immersed in

Las Palmers

last summer by

he r

brother-in-law on vacation

there)plan to join their livestogether, just before her parentsjreturntothe islands.

We

hopewe'llbebackin timetogetin on

this happy occasion and to greet the babies to be born to

several

of the young

couples

of the Maasmechelen congregation

A-N-D~

the best

news of all

The

evangelistic efforts of

the congregation have brought fruit

for

the

kingdom.

The

most

recent

news

ha s

been

that a

young

couple has

been

converted from

Catholicism

to be obedient to

Chris t. MARCEL

and

SONJA

SCHOBBENwereimmersed in the Genk church, but wedon't knowthe date orhave any details oftheir conversion. Rejoice

with u s in

this wonderful

news

and hopefully we l l be

able

to inc lude more

a t

a

later

date.

From the

looks of it,

through the

eyes of

members

in

their

correspondence

has

brought mostly

good

in individual

and

group growth. Aj

congregation

we hope God s blessings and

guidance

will

continue

throughout

th e world

encouraging one

an d all

S P E C I L

P R ^

, our absencefrom the Maasmechelen congregation

we look for

another

place of service, hoping to begin

another

on these

Christians

so news of

their

witness

may

be

heard

E R REQUESTS

Due to a

three year

failure of monsoon

rains, the

entire

state

of

Tamil

Nadu,

and

particularly

Madras

is

having

a

drought. The water and electric situation have

become

very

send relief,

as

a miracle

is

the only way fo r

healing

of th

ritical. Please pray withC hristians ofIndia thatGod will

land

in

such

a t ime

of crisis

MAY WE SUGGEST you

have

this, and other such news items from missionaries posted on th e bulletin board,

printed in the church paper,

oi|

read during a

gathering...?

Much time, effort,

and

money

are put

into preparing such mail to better

inform

supporters, provide you with prayer

requests, strengthen you in your Christian life, build up thje bodyofChrist, as wellas thank you for standing behind

u

Help us be better stewards when thrift is a must for all


5/6

Medaryville

Christian

Church

Box 140, South

Jefferson Street

Medaryville,

Indiana

U.S.A. 47957

Vo l . XI I I N o .

2

Please

notify Forwarding Agent if .

. .

t h is a d d ri s s

is

tnci>rrcct.

t h is ma il ing is no t dvsirt 'd.

=?o , r /

fiiAR

14

^

-

Non-ProfJt

OrganiZBtion

U.S.

Postage

Medaryville,

Ind.

PERMIT #4

K ^ Tfc V ^

3 7 J o J

B E L G I U M

F O R C H R I S T

FORWARDING

AGENT

Melvin &

Louella

Rol ler

Route

1,

Box

92

Burnettsville, Indiana

U.S.A. 47926

Ju ly-December

1983

LOOKING BACK

Beginning the

writing

of this

newsletter,

I

s it in

ou r

new

kitchen

looking

ou t

over

th e

empty

field

across

the street

from

ou r

apartment

on a typical dreary, windy,

an d

rainy autumn day. But

today,

NOVEMBER 27, is a very special day,

as it was just

a

year ago

today

we began our eventful trip to India My

what

memories

that

brings up, and I think even with all the strain,

danger, expense, time and other things involved, we'd be wil ling to do it again if we saw it were the Lord's leading. Yes,

through thewhole experience above all we learned to

trust

in

the

Lord more fully, and felt His blessings in so

many

ways. We

feel it was

worth

it all,

and

that

our

involvement with

th e Hope

RehabilitationCenter

duringWeesners' ab8ence,along

with

the

Madras

School

of Evangelism

and

the Anna Nagar

Church, and other

activities was a success.

How strange

it

is indeed, that while giving oneself in service to others for Christ, one is so abundantly blessed. Among

the

ways we felt blessed in

India was

to

share

in

the continual

thankfulness

and

humble

attitude

of

contentment

we

experienced. For services we hardly realized we'd rendered, we were thanked many times. And

the

friendships wemade,

both

within

and without

th e

Kingdom, will always be cherished, though most

o f the

folks we may never see again

Letters we have

received from

different ones i n I nd ia and Pakis tan have included comments that also help confirm our

feeling ofsatisfaction. They almost all include thanks for our friendship and help and knowledge and insight from the lessons

an d

devotions

Henki

gave. They assure

us of prayers for

ou r

ministry

here,

andmany

hope

to see us

again

We'll sumthem up

with the

words of

the

Superintendent

of

the

Center,

and an

elder of

t he Anna Nagar

church, Mr.

J.D. Dorai

Raj:

Though your stay was short. . .the impression you have left behind was very, very pleasan t, cordial

and

affectionate. Mr. Henki, we t he s ta ff and students of this

center can

never forget you

and

your charming

personality and

the

useful

teaching

you

gave

us

during the

devotion. Especially I have noticed the great

compassion you had towards the students, your worry when they were sick, your interest in enquiring about

their

hea lt h and

problems.

Wehope you too will be assured

that

our trip to

India

merited your prayers, concern, and financial support,

and

you will join

us in

thanks

to

God

who made this many splendid

trip possible.

We also

want

to

say

THANKYOU to one and

all:

those

we

met and who made

our

stay in India comfortable, happy, and successful; and supporterswhose continual funds helped

make

th e

trip

possible.

A special closing note must be added here in connection with this tr ip to Madras. While we were there, they were

experiencing a drought, and we sent out a plea for Christians to

pray

for deliverance from

the

discomforts of

this

at

the

hand of

God.

Recent

letters from folks in Madras joyed us with th e news that

the rains

have broken in sufficient amounts to

provide

green

growth

and

coolness once

again.

We sum it up in

the

words of

t^e lady

who came to helpwith

the

housework

each

week.

Sh e

is a

dear

sister

in Christ , became

a

close friend, and wrote

in this lovingmanner;

If

you

came in th is season

to

Madras you

would be feeling very

happy and

cool too. We are over our shortage of water.

PRAISE

GOD with us

and

folks inMadras, for

this gracious answer to

many

prayers from around the world, as we know Christians in America an d Belgium prayed for this

need

also

NEW HOME

-

NEW MINISTRY

Beginning July 7 we started living in Genk again, after 12 years in the Maas r iver valley area. Upon returning from our

service in India, we moved in

temporarily with

Henki's mother

until

we could find a home. We thoughtwe would bemoving to

Brussels to begin a new work there with a family immersed

as

a result of the Maasmechelen work. But when Henki

(wonderfully, and speedilyrecovered-see article: Last days in India. ) went to Brussels,he foundthehousehad beensold.

Though he looked around some more in the area, he found nothing he felt sui table for our needs.

We had several ideas of

other

places to

try, each with

different

possibilities

of service, within about a 50-mile radius of

Maasmechelen. We prayed

and trusted

God would

lead

us,

indicatingwhat

He wanted ofus during this nextphase ofour work

in Belgium. Within 8 days Henki found the apartment we now rent, much cheaper

than

other places and with several other

advantages,

including having a Christian landlord We were amazed at such smooth

and

quick resettlement

and

are truly

praising

God

for His grace.

Since

there

is already a

congregation

here in

Henki's

home town of Genk, we felt we 'd no t be

starting

a new work as in

Boorsem.

Instead of

being

involved with just one

congregation,

as in

Maasmechelen,

we

are

to be

serving

more flexibly. We

feel led to encourage weaker Christians wherever we f ind them. So fa r this

includes

visiting those less regular in church

attendance, helping in whatever way possible to encourage them in steadfastness

and

faithfulness. Through the yearsmany

have been immersed, bu t fallen into weakness so there are plenty to whom we can

minister

in

this

way.

Then, as we already

began

tofind ourselves involved while still in Maasmechelen, there

are

isolated

Christians

who need

special attention and encouragement. These are families hving away from

any

congregation, whom wehopebyworking with,

we wil l be able to encourage to steadfastness also. Of course, we also

hope

in these places to engage in evangelism, so in time

others

may

begin to worship with these pockets of Christians, so they will have local, regular fellowship, as the Lord blesses

and

prospers our

efforts.

Having

such a flexible ministry, moving

around

between several groups we also hope to

strengthen the

bondof loveand fel

lowship between various groups. Too often there is a spirit of separatism

and

partisanship between groups

and

individuals

which surely wasn't

the

intention of Christ, as clearly seen in His

teachings

and example. Hopefully as we move around

among

the

Dutch-speaking groups in Belgium

and

Holland we can encourage

them

to gather with one

another

so they' ll be

strengthened

to realize

they aren't just

small, isolated groups, bu t part of

the great,

wonderful family ofGod

as His

born-again

chi ld ren

It goes without saying, we are also sti ll involved in evangelism,

whenever

the

opportunity

arises. We sti ll have

our

Jule

Miller slide

studies to be used in this, and witness to those without Christ

of

the change He can and hasmade. S ince

we

ar e

living

close to Maasmechelen, we a lso worsh ip with them an d are involved in their activities regularly, though in a

more

flexible

way.

Ou r schedule is

very

irregular and i t involves a lo t of

traveling,

bu t we feel it is God's leading, an d have already

been b lessed wi th

sat isfaction of results and success in this new ministry of ENCOURAGEMENT.

Because of

th e

financial

bind

that is

causing

so

many

inconveniences

and

adjustments,

we

too

are

being affected. Someof

our supporters have had to discontinue support, others substantially decreased their giving. The fluctuating dollar value and


6/6

NEW

LIFE IN CHRIST

Beginning

seems tobethefirst

word

ofevery

article

inthii^j^letterso

far Here

we areattheend of

November, about

to

begin a newmonth-thelastofthis year.Thenw^ BEGIN atow year It doesn'tseem possible that

1983

isalmostended and

1984 isto

be welcomed.

With thj&beginningofa'ltpw yeSf

there

are

usually

many new beginnings, resolutions andplans.

We

hope themost

important things

in

1983 were

brought

fp

a

succfi fesfufcompletion

inyour

life

andthe

Lord willgive you

insight

and strength in all newbeginnings,of

1984.

A\spe'Cia^

THAj^

KSand salute toall

who completed,

with

much

sacrifice and

struggle on the part of many, that promised or decided to bb

given in support

of

th e mission work here

in

Belgium. . . or

wherever

the

Lord may direct us Yours will be blessings

an d

satisfaction

of

doing God's will, we are certain.

And Godis indeed a Godof changes and new beginnings, most powerfully and profoundly seen in the beginning ofa new

spiritual life after the new birth

in

Christ. While we were in Madras, three were added to His body

at

the

Anna

NagarChurch.

Duringourabsence, threewerealsoimmersedat theMaasmechelen congregation, tobringthenew

life.

Sincewe'vebeenback,

we've seen a dear oldlady also decide to begin-again in a way more pleasing toGod. How wehope each congregation, each

member

of these congregations, indeed each

member

of Christ's

universal

body may

continue

to be found faithful in

proclaiming this wonderful message of

new

life, beginning again in Christ.

At a recentgathering with the Genkcongregationthe messagewas about the oldand newmanand howChrist can bring

changes according to His will. We'd like to share some of this messagewith the hopes it willencourageyou to know Christians

inBelgium areproclaiming this message ofnew

beginnings

iind trying toput ittopractice in their lives. Thismessagewas

delivered inDutch so translation is sometimes

hard,

but we'hope

you

get

the main

message. The middle-aged man.

Evert

Wijman,who brought the message, is not an ordained minister, or evenan elder ordeaconofthe congregation. He's had no

special training to preach, but

has

the training ofChrist andiyears ofexperienceliving and growingwith His Savior. Please

pray for him and other Christians like him where workers are few while the harvest and need is great.

People that are so touchy

are

to be lamented, because

they are slaves, imprisoned by their own SELF, that is

blind, unreasonable, unthinking, and without grace and

mercy. Through theirquerulous, discriminatingspiritand

resistance many others

have

also been made s laves

to

Satan.

Considering this

fact

it can be easily

said

that

whenever such peevishness is allowed in one's heart , in

whatever

amount

hereby one is

giving

a foothold to the

devil. Eph. 4:26

has

this to say about that : 'In your

anger do not sin:' Do not let the

sun

go down whileyou are

still

angry, and

do not give

the

devil a foothold.

The body also suffers from these evil reactions. Hereby

th e

nerves

are

terribly tormented so nervous breakdowns

develop; arteriosclerosis

and

obstructions

in th e

blood

circulation arise .

Many o ther phy sic al

and

mental

sicknesses are caused by pettishness. Most of

the

psychiatrists realize the bad results

that

revenge brings to

the mind and nervous system:

but

few of them know the

Biblical

remedy.

The only

healing

for thi s s ickness of

touchiness

and

peevishness or irritations is to accept people

and

circumstances as they are. This can only berealized if we

submit ourselves

to God, as did Jesus on the

cross

when

he

demonstrated, Father, not my will, but yours

Pettiness

can be controlled, conquered by subjection. If we

submit

ourselves then we lay off the old man

and

put on the

newman . That' s thebeauty

of

the words in Eph. 4:22-24,

Youwere taught, with regard toyourformerway oflife, to

pu t off

your

old self, which IS being corrupted bydeceitful

desires; to be made new in the attitudeof yourminds;

and

to put on the

new

self,

created

to be like God in

true

righteousness

and

holiness. With

this

new

attitude

and

action we will be able to fulfill

the

words ofMatt. 5:39: Do

not resist an evil

person.

That is the only way to escape

th e egotistical pettiness

that

har dens t he

hearts and

makes thoughts cold,

and

wants to se t God

out.

In other words, instead of the old way of action, wherein

was much touchiness and sudden retaliationor resistance,

we now

must

live a life

in

submission to God,

and tha t

24

hours a day, every day,

and

7days a week. (SeeRom.8:7;

James 4:7)

Since the Lord

taught

us how to

have

victory over

irritations and touchiness we can say, Thanks be to God

He gives us th e victory through

ou r

Lord

Jesus

Christ.

(I

Cor.

15:57)

The Lord

Jesus taught

us, and demonstrated also,

that

by

humility we ca n have victory over

irritation

and

touchiness. He

s ai d i n Matt.

-

4:38, 39: You have

heard

that is

was said, 'Eye fo r

eye, and

tooth for tooth. ' Bu t

I

tell

you.

Do

not

resist

an

evil

person.

Touchiness or

peevishness is t he r es is tance

and

opposition we

feel

coming up in us

if

one thing

or

another comes

in

conflict

with the selfish

will of

ourfa llen nature, the old Man.

Only

th e

old

man

reacts

in this manner . The newman

that

has

the same nature as the Lord Jesus, doesn't

find

it

i n t he

least

important to

protect

or defend himself, as does

the o ld man

Annoyance

and

exasperation

come

from

our

self-will,

that self-centered I that raises

itself up

and

places

itself

in

the

place

of

God.

And this

precarious place

naturally

must be scrupulously and jealously guarded.

Grumpy, bad temper

and

resistance are equally quick

an d deadly

as

the

bite

of

a

poisonous snake. Nothing

can

better illustrate our selfish piqued reactions than th e bite

of

a snake.

Sooner or l at er

they will kill us.

Only the

uncrucified

old

man

allows

such pettiness.

The

new

man

instead has

put on the new self, which is

being

renewed in knowledge in the image of

it s

Creator. (Col.

3:10

NIV)

There was

never even the slightest

resistance

in Jesus

ou r Savior,

although

He was desp ised and rejected by

men,

a

man of

sorrows,

and

familiar

with suffering,

and

al l else prophesied

in

Isa. 53:3-7 an d fulfilled in th e life

written about in the gospel accounts. Yet He could say:

Do

you

think

I cannot call twelve legions of angels?

(Matt. 26:53 NIV)

If the Lord Jesus

had

felt evenfleeting hate

towards

His

enemies, l ike that so often demonst ra ted among His

followers in relation to each other, there would have been

no restitution for

our sins

or forgiveness. And,

as

long as

grudges

and

resentment and cranky displeasure

and

complaining remain in our heart, t her e will no t be the

slightest

blessing capable offlowing

through us to others.

Revenge is a venomous poison. It is a spirit from hell

that

gives no audience to God

or entrance

to heaven.

Just

like the

skunk

makes

its

presence known by the repulsive

stink,

so

growing peevishness

produces

a

spirit

of

hell

fire

and

brimstone. This spirit ofdispleasure and bad temper

is so horrible that it will, in

it's

own

due

time,

completely

possess

a

person like other demons

We hope ifyou havehad any

troubles

withthe

cropping

upofthe oldman oranything

stemming

from bad temper anda

complaining attitude, you will BEGIN AGAIN. If you have forsaken your first love(Rev.2:1-5), remember the height from

whichyouhave fallen and repent If youhear His voice (Heb.3:7-15), donotharden yourhearts, but see toit that noneofyou

has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. Beencouragedwith these words so you may not be

hardenend by sin's deceitfulness.

LAST

DAYS IN

INDIA

Backtracking a little,we'llincludesomenewsaboutourlast days in India. HenkileftMadras terminatingthe

work

at the

Center,on May20, in an effortto try and sellourvan. Hefeltit wasn't veryadvisabletotravel backthroughIran afterwhat

we'd

experienced

on

ourway

over.

The

rest ofthe

family

folloW^ to

Delhi

after

Weesners

returned,

sowe

couldwelcome

them

backto

Madras

At

Henki's advice,

we

left

Delhi since

he'dha^ togoonto

Nepal,

stillinan

effort

to

sell

thecar.

(He

hadto

leave it there, and

will

probably have to return

some

other time, if he cannot get it

sold.

Several men of the Genk and

Maasmechelen congregations are anxious tojoinhim,sothe family won'tbe

accompanying

himprobably. We arewaiting for

God to

work

ou t al l these details.)

Mary

Esther andtheboys

went

toMussoorie,

where Mary Esther

hadattended

boarding school during

her

childhood

years.

It was most enjoyable seeing places and even some faces after so many years. The change in temperature was also most

welcome

after

th e heat o f the plains.

Returning to

Delhiwe

were finally reunited with

Henki,

gotflight reservations, andextension for ourvisa-these andmany

boonaerts henki maryesther 1983 belgium

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