tosavA * ^ vmSN HENKI PIRST BEGAN pren.chins

^ ^ he often found it hard to decide on^ j}t the right text or topic for his sorir.on.

A Later it was just as hard to cut dovm his' • WOWTO . message to something short enough for one" gathering. It was often equally hard to pick

which of the topics he felt most necessary or uplifting forthe congregation.

Often his "better half" has a similiar problem with preparing the news reports. Sometimes it's so hard to decidewhich bit of news is the most urgent or encouraging. Thenthere's the problem of how to put it into the most conciseend understandable form for each reader. This month'sreport has been another of those dilemmas. Hopefully youwill remember this matter in your prayers. V/e trust youwill truly benefit from this report as well as understpndwhat we're trying to say. Kay God translate the meaningto bring the greatest honor to His name deep within yourheart.

Later it was just as hard to cut down hismessage to something short enough for one

yftnii 'PiVnatrV

PeperhofGtrnnt"^753600 Oenk

Janunry 1991 News Report

IN OUR LAST REPORT we told of 2 carloads of folks from our 4 Limburg churches goingto the inter-church BBQ organized by the Leuven church in the Ardenna campgrounds.We feel it is now the time to report a little more about the circumstances of the4th congregation coming into being. As you know, we began the work in the Kaas areathat moved nnd grew through the years, now owning their own gathering hall in Rekem.About 3 years ago though not completly begun under favorable circumstances as planned,a new group began gathering in Maasmechelen. They had a nucleus of some "Rekem"Christians but there have been conversions and other additions bringing growth asthey evangelize and reach out into the area. They also have their own facilitiesand continue to have some contact with the Christians of Genk, but on the whole theirrelation is very strained with the Rekem group.

For the most part since we began the process of shifting responsibality over to thelocal leaders we have made an effort to encourage the Christians to work out theirproblems with the leading of the Holy Spirit, VYe try not to interfere in their affairs unless they request help then do what we feel we can and should. The mostrecent situtation was so serious they felt the only solution was to discommunicateone of the brothers. He has been very unstable though has many capabilities to beused in a mighty way in the kingdom. Henlci did all he could to discourage such ^ras-tic action. It ended up splitting the remaining Rekem group badly. Instead of justdisciplining one brother, several other families also left and joined together withAlex. They began gathering in Lanaken and in the homes of different members for Sunday and mid-week meetings; so the Lanaken Church of Christ cajne about.

Because of all the hurt done from the first "break-off" still not being healed andsince no real steps towards restitution have been made by the Christians, Henkifeele it is necessary to try and do something about it himself. It will take a lotof patience and wisdom, prayer and careful work to bring these hurt and seperatedparties together. HOW WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS these coming months to be guided arightIn all the details involved. Waiting sometimes has a healing effect. Already havingwaited Henki can see some are to the place they may be ready to take steps to forgive.It's hard for folks on both sides to take the initiative step. At least there beginsto be an attitude of "all we can do is prayl'feel it was right to pray for one another.

There had been a time they didn't even

One of the Christians from Hollandthat has not only been a personalencouragement for us through theyears, but was invited Often to sharewith Christians in Belgluin alsobeen consulted in connection withthis last problem. Wany of youprobably remember mention of Cor andJets Van Ewijg (see picture) and theUtrecht Christians sharing with uson various occasions. For the Instfew years Cor has been suffering

with h©ftr"t trouble some otherko-nith uroblemn , Chriatni.'^o eve

2of the non-iSstrlInt oon^egitiSrofHasselt) went for the funeral. We sang anft prayed toeethe? on thrshour trip to and from, silently hoping this u.c.j *x*ou

restitution and complete healing among the fractured andhurting groups with which we»ve been workihte. Peace within Christ'spoay Is so much more important than any wajfare among the nations eolats pray earnestly for peace and healing, physical and spiritual.

SATAN MAY BE DISRUPTING God's children as wl can see from the "birth ofanother congregation." But it is also evident that God's spirit is at work in

in dartoess. In "The oiher World-Y/ide kingdom" report we told ofv^ious people under the influence of or e|^ controlled by the occult and spirit worldSf ""l?® agreed with HeW that it is more important to Lve peacemoM+v^o T + instance to insure the sale of a house or kitchen. Severalbefore shA Lfl®? n^ in the hospital with a nervous breakdown. Not longbefore she had told Henki that she had beei^ talcing Yoga. She even tried to convincehim of the advantages, putting on a cassette for him to listen to. He warned her hewas certain it was a dangerous way to open ^our mind for evil spirits to take control.She felt it would help her cope with the stress and \mcertainties of life and didn'tbelieve in the spirit world. Henki couldnlx convince her so said she'd have to experience it herself. In the hospital she vyas surprised and disappointed that the pressures had broken her. How glnd she was forHonki's unexpected visit. He once againhad the opportunity to plant more of God •s Iv/ord and principles in her heart and mind.Several months passed again then Henki sawiher in December. There had been changes inher: God's word had been at work! She had just had a bad month not selling any homeswhen folks in real need came asking her foij help. She had a real struggle since shehad once experienced bankrupcy and hard times made her cautious. In the end she helpedthose in need. She learned first hand the itruth of God's principle in Prov. 19:17,"He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and he will reward nim for what he^s done,"To her surprise and happiness just days lator she was offered a home that provided inher need for a home and buisness office . Her rent contract expired and this had alsobeen a worry burdening her. Now she was convinced God had rewarded her for her kindness though she assured Henki that had not at all been her reason for helping thefolks. Henki discovered she had bben praying a lot also. For someone that didn'tbelieve in a personal God just a higher power as she'd been taught through Yoga, thiswas remarkable I o- o »

P^om her outward appearance and other thing^ of her conversation Henki could tell somethings that had been important wern't first place in her life anymore. God was atwork changing her appitites and she seems td be on the right track now. Sometimes itis a long, slow process but when one can seei changes and share in such a transitionIt's so exciting. Satan is deceiving and misleading many, but God is at work. It'sgreat to see people turn to believe in God .1 "And without faith it is impossible toto please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and thathe rewards those who earnestly seek him." oif Hebrews 11:6 is being fulfilled in herlife. Our prayers can be that it may be complete and that soon she may be numberedwith the faithful of God's children! Also way for Henki's protection when he has toconfront Satan in this way.

1

WHILE TRYING TO BEST EXPLAIN the workings of God's spirit for thisreport a humerous incident comes to mind. You may wonder whathas happened to my EnglLish because of the strange phrases or

expressions used. Ad^itedly missionaries have trouble communicating in English' as they are forced to use the foreignlanguage of the counjbby where- they serve • Even with dictionaryin hand we often forget how it's done in America. On the

field the same hashing of that foreign language is going onbecause of their use of mglish.

The other day I needed eggs. At the market.80 I thought fresh egge would be better thaii

may have been the first

an older man had eggs from his chickensfrom the store. While he was packingthem for me I wanted to ask if they were Inflted from his own hens and that was the

intent of my question. Instead this is what (translated) came out of this mouth ofmine; "Do you have hens that lay eggs all W themselves?" And I have been prac-

years!: Don't jusf feel sorry for us missionaries, laughwith us sometimes too. Also keep us in youi] prayers because the reason for usbeing here and wanting to communicate is GOyou again for being such a supportative cuidways,

'S LOVE,. It must be understood. Thankimportant part of the process in so mr>ny

Hoping you understand,

V

AIiI DAY LONG there'sbeen a delicate almost

eerie mist as if a dome ofsnow was closing off ourworld from the blue sky. Nowit*8 snowing again, adding

another inch to the 5-6 inch• layer we'd received in the last few

feys. After many long months ofdrau^t in Belgium v/e had heavyrains causing the rivers to flood

the end of the year. This wasfollowed, after the New Year, with

several weeks of sub-zero temperatures thathave hit most of Europe as.indicated by manynews reports. It's the first time in years

It

OUnis iBaonaals

Peperhofstraat ^53600 Genk

FEBRUARY 1991 NBWS REPORT

that there's been such cold and so much-snow in Belgiian. We are actuallyenjoying the winter-wonderland displayed in the woods and heathers of ourpart of Limburg. Since we didn't have the opportimity to share news lastmonth about the Christmas program and other winter-seasonal activities, wethought to send it off .your way now.

THE JOINT CHRISTMAS PROGRAM was held in Rekem this year. It was reallyspecial and in ways a lot different from other years. The children ofthe Rekem church (there's isn't a Sunday school in Genk now) did their

best v/ith a CSiristmas narrative. Several played piece_^ on the piano. GabyKuypers also told a story'es.p^cially for the smaller ones but everyone enjoyed it as usual. Eddy VerstapiDen and a fellow music teacher , put on a"mini concert" playing several sa?t and piano duets. Eddy's father-in-law,Jenik Kottas gave a "magician.' s show" displaying talent not often, seen excepton such special occasions. After the refreshment jpause a small choir of theBopnaert's family represented the Genk church. We sang "How Great Thou Art"(in Dutch of course) and so we really enjoyed wonderful fellowship againtogether.

IT HAD BEEN A LONG TIME since Belgian Christians had heard any newsfrom Dennis and Linda MessinBr®s family who've been serving in SouthAfrica since they left Belgium. A news sheet with recent picture

was handed out at the Christmas program from them. They wrote thatthey had V.B.S. in July and 7 Ozark Bible College students in August. Theyhad other visitors and house guests including Dennis' parents from Florida.Though winters are mild in Johannesburg, all the children were sick andLinda couldn't figure out why! They have also grown so much that it's hardto believe Heidi and Sharon are talking Bible College after high school.The whole family attended a conference in Zimbabwe and Linda was to giveone of the ladies lessons. They also told of the continued fightingsbetween Zulu's and Kohozo's that has been in the news lately. The son ofone of their elders v/as murdered and they are sure it's a situation thatwon't be solved very quickly.

IT WAS NICE TO BE REMEMBERED with many Christmas greetings again. Theybegan coming early in December, and the last arrived Feb. 7th! Thelargest was a poster that almost covered the v/hole wall of thelargest room of ovir Genk home. A pretty winter scene from Denmark

brought greetings and news from Marco and Ulla. They wrote that "v/edid get married in Scotland and everything is fine." Others came bringinglovely and encouraging greetings from Taiwan, Drugu^, Greece and India aswell as Belgium and the U.S.A<! Thanks to everyohe who helped us .. 4...^feel warmly reminded of God's love once a^ain.

ROBERT HAS .BEEN RETURNED to Grhana, His status as political refueeewasn't accepted after 3 years in Belgium. In the mean time Christian'originally, of the Rekem cong]pegation have been trying to adopt him.

QJhis is a very slow process and! they'd hoped to have him back "home"with them by Christmas* Now they're hoping for a tourist visa to allov/ himentrance to Belgium so final papers be processed and he can legally becomctheir son. We continue to correspond with Robert and keep involved in some othe proceedings. [

JOHN MARK'S WIPE SONIA is not longer studying to be a nursary teacherThere were just too many pressures with the studies, intern-lesson -

jpreperations, long hours comutdlijig by train, and bus, along with keepinghouse and so forth. The Genk ctoch recently decided to let them live

in the '^parsonage" facilities since it has been empty about a year. Thereis a hvimidity problem that will need ito be taken care of. Before they canmove some other repairs and redecorating will need to be done so the datefor their.move hasn't yet been set- ijit's hoped John and Sonia can keep aneye on the buildings and groimds as vjandelism is a growing problem in Genk.They also hope to organize youth acti{\y/ith the Leuven and other youth gathe

ities for this area, co-ordinating itifings and activities.

THE DUTCH LADIES MEETINGS h8-V€ grown and a.dvanced in several wa.ys .Now they are held every week, ' alternating in Genk (at Ma Boonaerts'home) and in sister Ba.kac's home where they've been held for years.

Since the one in. Genk is held in the afternoons some other Christiansisters are able to attend more regul^ly. We're expecting the recently retired principal of the School with thp Bible to come'after recuperation frotnan operation. Maybe the best sign of| grovi/th is the active participation ofthose attending. Usually each lady has shared a Scriptiire reading at thegatherings and we ssjig and prayed together. Occasionally Mary Esther alsobrought a lesson especially since the v/eekly gatherings began. , This hasdeveloped into several of the other Igtdies trying their hand at a shortlesson. So far they have been very "encouraging and informative. , It's v/onder-ful to see how God's spirit certainlyi does teach and guide His children sothey can be mutually blessed. I

WINTERTli/iE IS TRADITIONALLY GARNAVAL time. (Mardi gras) in Belgiiunalso. One evening when Henki was working late in Genk he heard anawful comotion outside his window. There v/as cussing and course

talk do he went to see what was going on. A hot-dog stand had beenset up to cater to the Carnaval parade-goers, and drimken, boisterous

customers v/ere talking and eating. Thp contrasts of the works of darknessand of those who v^alk in the light were obvious. "So let us put aside

the deeds of darkness and pmt on tlie axmor of light. Let us behaved.ecently, as in the daytime, not iii orgies and drunkenness, not insexual imm.orality ajtid debauchery, ript in dessension and .iealousy.Rather, clothe yourselves with the [Lord Jesus Christ, and do notthink about how to gratify the desites of the sinful nature." from Romans

13:12-14 are pointed words of Paul that warn us clearly. How wonderful tosee the world clothed in such a white |blanket of snow, reminding us thatthough our sins be as scarlet the blood of Jesus will cleanse them whiterthan snow! Once again we're moved to thankfulness to be here to share that"snow news" and that you so faithfully uphond us in so many ways in thistask.

Yours for being whiter than snow.

* % * .* *

LET'S GET

SOME OP THE WORST DAYS this

winter, during the Crocus vacation, a youthgathering organized to be held Feb. 9-11in Roeselare • James and his cousin Bart decided to take the invitation's challenge to"set school things aside a while" and enjoy aweekend with God*s word. They took the trainfor the .almost 4 hour trip and were glad to seeso many other teenagers had also convergedthe church on Rumbeeksesteenweg. Another ofthose present later shared this report:

Everyone was evidentally right on timethis year. Yeah, the youth gathering wasabout to begin. Check list; scarf, pa.iamas,Bible,, toothbrush—that should about do it.

(CljHst

yfaitiVconaerts family

Peperhofstraat 753660 'Genk

News Report March 1991

It was only to be a weekend,but it's still nice to be together 2 to 3 days.

Vl/hen Luc Huyghebaert (my uncle) annoimced the most important rule of thegathering was "doing everything together" I had to laugh a little, realquietly. But when when you respect such a regulation for 48 hours, youdiscover it is really quite fim and ...very instructive. Satiirday we hadthe lesson called "V/hat do you think about Paul's travels? Would we everwant to travel so far and sacrifice so much to be albe to spread thegospel?"

That afternoon we went to a film together. Then we had alesson from Ruus. Actually it was a discussion about e'wangel-ization. 0, I almost forgot!! Saturday v/e had done that also.With a map in haiid and a stack of letters we began stuffingmail boxes. It was in the form of an invitation to follow Biblestudies by mail. Today, Monday, we had a lesson:- "Reasons tobelieve"by my uncle. Among other things we discussed evolutiontheories. That was also the final lesson. After having eatenand sung a few songs together the weekend was finished. Whata shame, because it was. really great. But, what I learned waswhenever you want a successful camp or gathering or somethinglike that, there's got to. be'plenty of co-operation. And thatwas real obvious this weekend. The organization was really good

With all the snow and almost blizzard conditions, James'and Bart's train was delayed some on their return trip. Yetthey enjoyed it and the type of thing they learned enough,that they continue gathering with the youth. On several occasions adult Christians organize evangelization campaigns inother towns. James and other youth also participate, glad forthe fellowship and opportunities to develope their spirituallives. They also enjoy other gatherings that include gams-evenings, skating and other activities together with youngpeople their age.

WE'RE GLAD TO BE ABLE TO REPORT some more evangelistic activities this month. Henki has been seeing more of Jos Fredericks,the card-laying fortime—teller that kept calling him Marcel#Henki was even able to help Jos find another job and has hadseveral more opportvinities to discuss Scriptures with him.V/e're .grateful for prayers on his behalf and hope you'll con-

continue as the Word is bein^ planted in .th:|.s young man's heart •

Henki has also spent severalhours with 3?rans Nuyten (the "Prans fromHplland" whose daughter wanted to know

why the offer of .jldam was accepted and not the one fromEve.") Prans has moved backed to Holland and is living

in Maastricht, His wife has since left him and he's notseen his daughters yery much which has been discoup.aging

him. He's had some other problems that he's shared v/ithHenki. On his most recent visit Henki had another unusual opportunity tov/itness. Some Turkish and Moroccan Moslims wer® also sitting with themWhile they were talking. The conversation turned to Jesus as the Son ofGod so Henki spent the whole evening trying to prove this fact to themfrom the Old and New Testaments as Sell as discussing the Koran. It'sreally hard for Moslims to accept such a concept as God having a son..Sometimes the multi-cultural situta-^ion in Belgixim and Holland only makeswitnessing more complicated. Yet \ye leave it in God's hands to use- everyseed that's planted in whatever way or whatever time to grow and bringforth fruit though we may never be priviliged to reap them ourselves.

THAT WE DON '̂T AIWAYS GET TO BE acti"lely or directly part of the conversionor nurturing of those reached throu^ our efforts can be emphasized throughthe follov/ing episode. Recently there was a wedding held in the northernpart of the province of Limburg. The young lady was a convertea Moslimfrom Tiirkish background. Her name \^s Adeviya Teke and we hope you'llespecially remember her in your pr8(.yers. Tvirkish custom advocates drasticaction taken on those turning the back to the Moslim religion. Notmarrying the one who father or family arranges is al^ dangerous.

At their wedding her Belgian groom, Edwin Schroi.ien took the occasion as an opportunity to tell how he'd T3een v/on to Christ. About threeyears ago, a colleague of his had been killed while on night patrol duty.He had attended the funeral servicea role in the process that ended in

of this "Protestant" and that playedhim accepting Christ as Savior. The

yoomg man who had died was none other than "our" Luc Verstappen v/hosefuneral Henki held in Lanaken back in 1987- (Refresh your memory withour News Report of Jan. 1987 "He fought the Good fight...")

When his widow,. Cathy and his mother, Mia heard this at our ladiesmeeting recently, they were overjoyed that "his death hadn't been in vain."Can you imagine their feelings at that moment?! Well, it's for somethingfar greater than that, that we keep on with the work here, though mis-imderstood, tired, battered by Sat^, ....or even praised by men. Weknow one day we'll stand around the throne and we'll not be alone. Godwill say, "Well done, faithful sery^t!" Isn't that incentive for youto keep on also when there are doubis, discouragements, uncertaintiesor other trials that make you want -to feel like stopping? Keep onwhen the going gets rough. God has a plan and is working it out. Spreadthe word directly or indirectly, aiid encourage one another!'This is why we're so glad we're working together withyou for His kingdom. Isn't it the best way to gettogether.. .now.. .and later?!

PREPARING AN ^TICLE for the "Horizons" magazine along with some other circumstances ledto us getting the following report ready.You'll recoganize the first part when it appears in a May edition on Europe . Henki andffiary Esther worked on this together but sincethey are mainly Henki*s thoughts this specialissue of our News ReiDort is presented as himspeaking.. We hope you'll benefit from theinsight and information included. Hopefully it v/ill answer some questions you mayhave had. Maybe you'll learn some newthings about our mission and the fieldof BelgiiAm.

Clfdst

, 9{cn£i fBoonnerts

OPep^hQfstraat 75>00 GENK

jfePRIE 1991 NEWS REPORT

"IT'S A HARD NUT TO CRACK" is a sayingoften heard in Belgii;im. It can be usedreferring to any niAmber of situations,but it is also a very true descriptionof the evangelistic scene in .Belgiiom.It is often observed that socially Belgians are among the most polite peopleon earth. Handshaking is their specialty . It is said the handshake originatedin medieval times as an assurance that your right hand carried no weauon.Belgium has been overrun by so many other nations that perhaps Belgiansnave learned to want such assurance•

THOUGH THEY RiAY BE POUND to be polite they are hard to get to know, maybealso because of the centuries of foreign occupation. Many of the formersocial and religious customs are beginning to break down, but Belgians arealso known for taking to change hard and slow. Local uprisings and unreston the national scene attest to this. (+) With the Roman invasion of the

days of Caesar, the Catholic religion was brought tothe territory Icnown as Belgium# This is deeply rootedin the political, social and educational thought ofmost Belgians. It's said in Belgiiim, "The State saidto the chm-ch, 'You keep them dimb and we'll keep thempoor.'" Maybe in a way they even feel exploited bytheir own government and religion.

THIS IS THE KIND of information gleaned from historybooks and tourist guides. They are just a few thingsto help paint the picture showing that when (foreign)missionaries come with a "new gospel" they are going

to meet with resistance. Our own every day experiences confirm this. But making the nut even__harder to crack is the^ melting-pot effect that

+An invisable line dividesBelgim almost where the twokinds of lace join on our mapthis month. This is used toshow that North are Dutch speaking and South, though largerterritory, a French speakingminority "lives. Thus is represented one of the nationalmatters indicating Belgians nottalcing to change auickiy.

A statue of Ambiorixwho bravely resistedRoman invasion alongwith other Belgian 'tribes that were fi- .nally overthrown is proudly disjplayed .in longeren.about this at a. very young age •

;prisoners of war and migrant workers have broughtto parts of Belgium. This is what we as Christians

Belgian children learn

are confronted with in the area of Limburg where the Lord brought us to'serve, Trying to turn hearts to a living, intimate relation with God andHi.s son Jesus Christ is strange, new, and different from the Roman Catholicteachings, only complicating the situation.

RETURNING TO BELGIUM with ray wife and son I was taught 4 years in BibleCollege in the States. It was explained: This is the calling program, youspend so many hours on this, and do that,.o I tried knocking on doors likewe*d done in the States. Knocked 'til my hands were blue. In the beginningwe tried to stuff tracts in mail boxes. It didn*t do very much good. V/etried so nsny things. If it doesn't v/ork out, what do you do? Just sitdown? No. You're going to have to try some other angle. You try to starta Bible College, training people to make specialists ofthem. Not .iust once but several times. With differentmissionaries working in Belgium, Soon we were to dis- Tftcover here in Europe, even though I was a European it . ^^just doesn't work out like in the States. It took U - Teight years and only winning about 13 to Christ to '-w ' ^finally discover what "worked" in our area. But that ^r; T"is another story. •• ?IN THE MEANTIME with the small congregation God let ushelp start, I also tried to have a typical one-manministry. I did the calling and visitation, I preachedthe Sunday sermon and taught the mid-week Bible study, picking up most ofthe members, marrymg and biirying them, counseling and acting as socialworker and all the rest, I was a jack-of-all trades cramming 20 years ofwork in 10, if I were to count all the hours, (Something else almost allthe books say about Belgians is reference to their zeal to work ajid gustowith v;hich they tackle their ,iob!) In the gatherings I did everythingpray, preach, lead the service, have the communion meditation and pass outthe emblems. The people were eating, eating, eating and were starving whilethey were, eating.

THEN WE WERE HAVING a study on what the first Christians did when theygathered. V/e came to the passage in I Corinthians and suddenly it hit me,I was doing the wrong thing. I began to see that maybe Paul meant hereit's not MY JOB ONLY to work in the church, but the whole church's. I wasafraid I v^as going to be without a job if I had to advocate and put v;hat Iwas studying to practice. Yet it was a challenge, so we slowly started en-coiiraging the men to pray, to read a Scripture, to TDarticiioate in various

ways . Soon we did without the "sermon" to make timefor this spontaneous learning-sharing time trying

to impliment this passage: "What then shall webrothers? V/hen you come together, every-

^ hymn, or a word of instruction,a revelation, a tongue or an interpreta-

^ tion. All of these must be done for thestrengthening of the church." Before long

different ones even ventured more than ,iustto read the .Scripture but gave a comment ofexplanation—then a lesson, and so it grew.

I even came to the place where I.discovered this one-man ministry was totally wrong. I don't think it is Biblical at all because it BLOCKS the workingof the Spirit of God, I began to see there were so many people gifted inthe church. They had also received the gift of God's spirit but theycould not use it because of the "paid man" doing it all. By giving themthe o-pportunity to express themselves and be lead of God they began to seein w. -t way they were gifted. So emergeo teachers, evangelists, and pastors within the group. The group grew and split so that now there are3 congregations all standing on their own without the one-man paid ministersystem. We have influenced other congregations that are also applying thisin their gatherings as,well.

^ IT'S NOT THAT THERE havn*t been problems. ',Vhere 3destroy. There are still problems—that will takelots of work and patience to get solved. Nowthat I am freed from the traditional church min-istry, I can move more freely amon^?; the congre-

these problems. Now I*m trying to see what God'sl̂eading will be in finding the rieht method andIN THE MEANTIME, we hope to begin w?orking with the

"mother congregation" in Genk where the one-man ministryis still ingrained in the system. Mavbe v/e'll even be

allowed to see the necessary changes made in our life-time, maybe not. Butwe try to go back to the Biblical way of every organ functioning for thegood of the whole body. Then v/e should once again see growth as intendedby God's spirit and we trust there will also be niimerical growth as well.YOU|LL HAVE TO AGREE it's no easy field in Belgivun to bring the message ofChrist. Finding the way to reach folks for Christ is one problem; convincing Christians to continually search the Scriptures to be guided and directed, even in more new ways is another. .Teaching and waiting, hot)ing andwarning have all gone into the efforts in our work in Belgim. "it's a hardnut to crack? "vVell, we're working with the hearts of peoT)le end God's lovewill woo and win them to His kingdom in the futwe as it has the past.SO MANY PEOPLE LIKE TO have control of things. In a way. that was how itwas the first years of my mission ministry. I was afraid if I kept onteaching so many changes, I'll soon be without a job..,_.giid what are .peoplein^the States going to think? "You're not doing ajiything more if you'renoi. prea.ching and rtmning the church." In the beginning j'̂ ou TDreach andteach so you can send reports with,all the facts and figures to the supporters back home. Otherwise we're going to loose our finances to be s.bleto stay here. But, no, that's not the purpose to all our working. IT IST0_ SERVE GOD. If the churches in the States want to sup-oort us or not,this is my job as a Chrif^tian. If they agree, that's good, but if theythink I need to do more of this, or that, like in the States maybe, I say,"Sorry, no!" my is this? Because my obligation is not to churches, butfinally to God. I know,the Christians (not only in the States, but alsohere) don't always know what is necessary or best .. .but God does and He isin control.

IF SOIvlEOKE iTOULD ADVISE me, "You should do this, or that.,,'* I'd say, "Comeand look first at the need, then we can talk about it. It's hard to talkfrom the other side of the globe about how it's supposed to be done." Thisis what I consider my ,iob. I don't know if it is what the Christians inthe U.S. expect. Maybe they expect something different but this is what Ithink I should do, what I'm convinced God has lead me to do, I feel obligated to continue in this manner.

BESIDES LIKING TO HAVE CONTROL, some may be afraid others Twill believe and teach something wrong. Is God only workingwith us? Do we have a monopoly on God's word? Of course .|\not! His promise is that not even the gates of hell will \prevail against His church. If the "native Christians" ^do or teach som.ething wrong when the missionary is not 'present, God will even make it clear to them by His . .spirit that is living in them like in us. iVe don'thave to be afraid or over protective but pray and ^shift responsibality to where it belongs.

BUT THERE IS ANOTHER ASPECT to our ministry also.It has to do with the treatment of the Catholicchurch of the people in Belgium creating a euecial

; ^.•. j'. ^

God lead us into this ministry. vVe rfealize now lookingback over the years He knew the need| the situation and theresoxirces and used us. We cannot coiiipare the work of a preacher^^or the: situation here with what is usually taken for granted as thesystem that has developed and is successful in the States. It is so

=very different. The kind of work that we do is not only preaching.We, try to help the jpeople also. In the past the Catholic churchhas^always been so to speak, preachink the gospel—being involvedin their spiritual ministry, the ritukls, ceremonies, holding Smass, etc. But they do not really do anything to be with thepeople and help them. There isn*t personal involvement nor isa personal relation with God taught.

It what we,try to do more. Not just preach to them, but show themthat the word is alive through trying to help people. For example, (we've?? similar! situations over andj over to know it .just isn't theCatholic way" around here at least) if someone is in need and goes to iihe

priest he doesn't take the tme to talk with them or do things likecounseling. They would simply be sent to some government^agencyor private organization t<^ provide their needs.SO, to most of the people jwho come our way, we could say, "We'll

preach to you the gospel, then you go yoxir way." It's like qay--trouble, we'll pray for you and God blessVou.

Good-bye." This has become our ministry and we've had all kindsof people in our home as house guests and helped others in simi

lar ways in the years we've lived here. Because of it we have sufferedmany losses, financial and in many otjlier ways, we"have been spent and our

^d sacrificed. |people have been dishonest and takenadv^tage of our kindness and meeknesi. The church folks have alsosutfered many of the same things as W '̂ve involved them on manyoccasions. ^Sometimes people have spoken evil of all these efforts."^ JBut as I Pet. 2:19, 20b, 21 says; "Pqr it is. commendable if a man ^be^s up under the_pain of unjust suffering because he is con- ^

suffer for doing good and you endure it,.co^endable before God. To t:^is you were called, because^ist suffered for you, leaving you jan example, that you shouldfollow his steps." At least they could see: We stand behind whatr J talking aboui the gospel but we are tryingto help them in the gospel. I •' q

w a 9 to 5 calling prograin, with suit and tie, knocking on doors.^ someone needed to talk, drivingthe lawyer, trying to fish o^t legal matters; looking with some®

^ home, as well aa y|^.siting the aick, the house-botmd orDerieved. It means dropping everything to counsel someone in the middlej . Of the night at their home when karital problems arise, or putting utik someone persecuted for their faith when they've been kicked out of

their home or wandering the Streets. Oxir evangelizing ministryor calling program isn't q.4ite the same as many in the States.

lAi A ^ A A A^^ 1a a ^ i: ^ « * -

4

We teach folks, help them^ as we can, keeping our home openand let God take care of the rest.

• churches grow and the Christ-T+ ^®?sJ^®''' J^®«'? re8ulted^brlng-4orth,fruits, others can see theresults of these contacts and axe convinced that people are being reached

® througl^ our lives. The world is watchingD attitude has anaffect that has brought fruits to His

i! most may never be l^nown to u? to be able to "reportglory knows and will brin^ fruits in His own timing to His'^2Jf facet that ithe Catholic way of thinking hasaffected o^ life and ministry in Belgium. Things are so dishonest anddeceitful that the government takes ili for granted folks lie and cheat.

It took us a while even to realize they didn't think _ f]and act under the same "Christian influence" as we!But we found, out, for example: filing tax forms...especially of self-employed. They are certain younever file everything honestly so automaticallycharge for what they figure you have witheld. InBelgium you are GUILTY until proven INNOCENT. Thetrue Christian attitude and action is just unknownto them. They cannot believe some can literally,truthfully report something, or v^ork volenteerly,for example. Because of past dishonesty, all nowhave to suffer inclufiin^ the innocent.

THE REASON I HAD TO FIND some job was to supplimentthe insufficient mission support from other Christ-i^s. Living on gifts I was automatically considered "self-employed" putting us into a category demanding higher payments for social-security,hoRpitalization and health insurance, etc. On the other hand v/e were disqualified from various compensations received by other v^orkers such aschildren's premium, vacation money, year-end bonus, etc. This brouf^ht ourfunds into a defecit.

TRYING TO SET UP some kind of small "self-em.ployed" Job to suppliment ourU.S. gifts also took some fimding until it became "self-supporting." Itbecame a viscious circle with continued devalua.tion of the dollar anc decreasing support of the States-side Christians due to their inflation, un-em.ployment problems, and misunderstanding of our situation. This simplycontributed further to our monthly defecit.

THEN I y/ENT TO FIND OUT about the possibility of unemployment if bad gotto v/orse • I was informed that as self-employed I had to wait three yearsafter regristration before payments would be received on which to live.t Again the result of the dishonesty and system in Belgium. They

reason: self-employed always have extra funds stashed awayillegally or in a foreign bank. The terra in Belgium when thegovernment tried to get compsjiies to expose or retvirn fundsto Belgian banks was' "white-washing" their "black money."

We were forced into a situation that knocked the breath outof us. It leaves us almost completly improtected, as sup

port decreases to a point we can hardly live on it, leavealone "run the mission buisness" on a full-time basis.

WHEN YOU'̂ RE YOUNG, you don't think about retirement needs.Often you're mis-informed or ill-informed. You figure social securitywill be sufficient, and God will provide but you don't think about thedetails. After all you're spending all your time an'̂ effort evangelizing,nurturing. .but...getting "a day older" and e. bit wiser maybe, I beganthinking, "Ye^, I've been working 20 years but we don't have anything tofall back on if something v/ere to hf=5ppen."

Upon investigation I discovered that as self—employed, the Belgian socialsecurity is about $120.00 monthly. I realized, "This won't work. It'sso low it would hardly pay rent, les-ve alone provide for two on which tolive." As if our situation vvasn't frustrating enough we came to the rude

awakening: it was taken for granted that self-employedha.ve savings and investments on v/hich to live whenreaching retirement age. Obviously with our gifts-

^ income we've never been able to invest in any kind^ y of supplimentary pension fimd. This contributed

—^yWgr~~~/ V" fact that I felt I needed to work som.emore to provide for these future needs. That left

some less time to spend on what is usually consideredmission work®

YOU B^iCrlKKING TO GET the _picture? Well, the last straw came when theGenk tax office decided to tax our gifts. Officially NO gifts can betaxed but they applied a twisted interpertation of the fact that we "live"on the gifts so they must be considered income- They are able to demand

^ taxes anf^^ of course continu-

try and to d© something about it ourselves^^ We^^SSBaESlHHLIi^Hi 1 could have pleaded with U,S. churches: "Send

more money to pay our taxes," but I didn^t feelright to do that and thought I needed to work it out for myself. I aic«n'tfeel obligated to bother the U.S. chizrches with the problem. Besides Iwasn*t sure they would linderstand if we tried to explain the situation.Could they even help because of their own changing, imcertain financialscene? We tried to keep quiet about it, after mentioning the problem andtried to work it out ourselves . We have already paid some back and currenttaxes going into debt and being forced to live on a less-than-minimi;imbudget. Almost all time for any structured fulltime mission work hasdisappeared.

SOMETIMES IT SEEMS LIKE a hopeless situation. Possibly nov/you have a better idea of how it is in Catholic Belgium.It|s not at all that we try to degrade the religion, but•t^is.;is' how it is here in what is sometimes called a"Christian country." Of course they have many good q;ual—ities and many Catholic priests and nuns especially, sacrifice much for their faith,and humanity. ,"Father Dam-iaan" left his fatherland Belgium at age 19 and livedamong lepers in the Hawaiian islands doing much to helpthese people even internations,lly,

MMIAAN

JUST LIVING HERE IN THE DARKNESS of deceit, our light shinesV"?/^ forJesus. Sometimes our light almost gets snuffed out just

41 trying to live here! V/e know other missionaries who are having?ii (''I "to go to court because of the tax situation. Their lawyer is' J horrified at the inconsist?ncy of information given to various

missionaries coming to Belgium and that gifts are taxed in thisM way. If they win the case it may make it better for other rais-V sionaries .. .if not.. .v/ho knows!?

IN ALL THIS WE'VE COME to realize something else. Though I had earthlyreasons for going to work to help supply our material needs it would seemGod has had His hand in this also. That shouldn't be surprising, though!He is the one who is in control all along anyhow. Somehow it almost seemsPhil. 1:12 "Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to mehas really served to advance the gospel" that Paul penned when in prisonapply to me being bound to a job to suppliment income. It is of coursedifferent, yet I ha.ve definitely made contacts I'd never otherwise havebeen able to make. Many doors have been opened that we never dreamed ofoThe gospel seed has been scattered. We just hope you will continue tostand behind us as we try to continue. We feel obligated to keep on aswe are though it may be using different methods than expected or preferredby others. We are doing our best and what we feel is God's leading for us.If you choose to continue to help finance our work, great and thank you.If not, you are still our co-workers because we are all members of the bodyof Christ and we love you.

tiVITH ALL THIS IN MIND there's one last thing we'd, like to 7share. Sometimes it takes all we have just to keep ourlights shining—our faith strong, in such ooressive and overwhelming darkness and lawlesness. Dear brothers and sisters,we need your support in every form. Help provide the"electricity" that's needed for us to keep"shining. Don'tlet it turn into "static" somewhere along the way or we'llbecome useless. Hopefully this "extra edition" along with

our monthly reports will continually bring maximum understanding of oursituation, keep you better informed to pray and be encouraged in YOURspiritual lives. In this way we try to send along some fuel to keep YOURlights shining 'til Jesus comes. Please kee-o this and re-read it severaltimes as you get other news and try to understand: work in Belgium is hardand we work with handicaps and defecits but there is a sniritual need inBelgium. That's why we're dedicated to serving in Belgium for Christ.

DID YOU KNOW hazelnut's and almonds are used a lot in Belgian cooking?Don't be surprised though if you don't see much peanutbutter here. It'snot very popular here but you can find it in stores in Holland nuitereadily, ftlaybe you'd like to try the follovving recipe sometime, Belgiansare also great chocolate lovers. One of their favorites is somethingsimiliar to frosting, but it's prepared especially for sx)reading on bread.Add a paste from grinding hazelnuts or almonds and you'll have somethingvery typically Belgian. Or try some coconut—or ,iust use it plain on yournext sandwich for breakfast!

Chocolate Bread

Melt together in a panand mix

Mix and add to themelted mixture

I 3/4 c. margarineII oz. milik chocolate squares11 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 1/4 c. sugar1 1/8 c. milk2 eggs

Pour into .jar and keep refrigerated until use. Best to siDread atroom temperature.

2(9o

a lot lately. We reallyincluded in the May 1991Mrs. Coral Mings.* It suFelyand news that warm the heart andprayer and concern for the Jewish

PARTLY BECAUSEof the Gulf War,

the Jewish nationhas been in the news

appreciated the letterHORIZONS magazine by

gave some insightsencourage morepeople. Sooften one may have stereotyped ideas or maybe even

prejudices for a certain race. Let's not forgetthese poeple and the fact that Christ came to betheir MESSIAH as well as ours.

RECENTLY WE READ this about Antwerp: Concentratedin and around Antwerp, the diamond industry remains one of Belgium's greatest specalised sectorsdespite competition from foreign diamond^cuttingworks both new and old. It has a number ofskilled workers capable of making the entirerange of products in demand, from the gem stones to every kind of diamondtool. An industry in the manufacture of instruments and tools for the cuttershas been built up that has acquired for Belgium a world-wide reputation forthe very highly specalised range of instruments she is able to supply.HENKI WAS WALKING down the Vesting Street in Antwerp where one diamond dealerarter the other has his store. So many of them are Jews as they are among theshrewedest buisness men in the world and many have settl-ed in Antwerp. Henkistood outside the store windows and the thought went through his mind,

These guys are always going forth doing their buisness, making deals with theircustomers. That seems to be all that fills their.lives. I wonder if they really

'chosen people' but if you talk with them theyjust want to do buisness. For the rest they don't want to mix

with you or talk other subjects."

Before that, when helping Gerard soon after Luce Ver-stappen's death in '87 I had also met several Jews. At thetime I'd witnessed, encouraging an active faith'in theliving God. Since that time especially, the Jews have beena burden on my heart.and I long to be able to win some of

God's chosen people to the Messiah.There is one young Jew I met over a yearago during the time I was learning the ropesof realtry. I can't remember how we firstmet, but it must have been quite 'coincidental" asking directions for an address.One thing lead to another and in time afriendship has built up. I try to visithim as often as I can when I'm in Antwerp.

On this particular day in May I wentagain to visit my Jewish friend. Hedidn't converse long about buisnessithis time, but closed the shop door'almost right away. He said he wasn't

satisfied with himself on two counts.Of course I was curious to know what

he meant by that. He said, "In thefirst place I feel like I'm bound,I don't feel free at all. I'm so

'Israel Trust In Cod"billboards were erectedin Israel duringthe Gulf War.

wrnmiii.

QunU 'Avnrtcf

PeperhofstraatGenk, Belgiuro '

JVhE 1991 NEWS REPORT

note next page, please.

• ^ "

ft

restless.""In what way," I probed deeper, "In what way do you feel bound?"

My friend indicated there seemed to be something missing in the Synagogue fellowship. He admitted maybe it was just an idea he had, butit left him dissatisfied. The second thing upsetting him was thathe wasn't married.

Now, you've got to realize, just about two weeks before that, Jan (ourdiabetic friend we've written about often) had also apporached usabout a similiar problem. He'd heard about a group of singles that

gathered about every two weeks. Not being an outgoing person Jan asked me to accompany him the first time to the meeting. I had gone along to find that it was a finegroup of Christians, the group having been started a few years ago by a couple who'dexperienced similiar lonliness. They knew the need and mininster now to others withthis lack in their lives. Cathy Verstappen (Luc's widow) has also found friendshipand security with the group. I was able to tell this now to this Jewish man. Aftera few minutes thinking about it he said, "That's really nice. There with the Christians... it's not like that with us. That's what's missing in our fellowship. There'snot a single one that cares about another. I need to have more Henk's from Genkaround me with that kind of attitude."

I further encouraged him to pray about his restlesness and ask God to show him theway. Then the first Psalm flashed into my mind and I mentioned it. At this thevyoungman went to the back of the store and brought his Hebrew Bible saying something about,"That's my grandfather's Psalm." He began translating directly from the Hebrew intoDutch as he had done on several other occasions. After discussing it for a while hesaid, "Normally I have to give other people comfort, but this time you have comfortedme!" jI think there must be something working in his life.

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT if Henki didn't have to spend so m^ch time working tosuppliment support from the States so he could spend more time with folkslike this? Please join us around our Father's throne concerning this matterand others mentioned in this report. We are so dependant on the prayers andsupport of you all, realizing that "without' Jesus we can do nothing!"

THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN for yourmake the Messiah known to Jew

care and concern as

and Gentile alike.'we struggle together to

There were so many good articles in that May 1991 issue ofHORIZONS that we hope you will be able to acquire a copy and read it

carefully. So many pertinant things by Dr. Patricia Bonner aboutreturning to the States for "furlough!" Of course some that don't

t us at all, too!! We're in the process of trying to plan forfurlough soon, so maybe it will help us all out in some of

he preperations for that. -Thoughts shared by folks in Francecould have been about Belgium, so similiar are the situationsin Catholic and industralized countries. We hope you canbenefit from insight in that field and understand ours is sovery similiar. -Then that "Need Extra Support?" articleon page 11. CAN WE ENCOURAGE YOU to consider seriously theoffer there to hlep us in our long-lasting financial short

age?? Pray about it and r-e-m-e-m-b-e-r us please.-Of course we hope you benefit greatly from the twoarticles we submitted. Maybe ideas ficm that Horizons

issue and our past news reports can be used for V.B.S.or camp mission emphesis or the like. Some extra one

time support gathered to send for the work in Belgiumwould be great. God bless you as you consider

all these points.

Pf 0^ "rt -lp.J'

L E B R A r E

HIS!i/'

Htnki ^ignzd up /:hli iatt. _.. — Tsstuxstion of antiques" t^on

returning from the class one evening he reviewed his lesson over a cup of-coffee-in a local restaurant. A friend 'of Henki's youngest brother came and joined him. Wadjou '(with his girl friend) wanted to know about Henki's jazzband playing days since Wadjou remembered Henki and hisonce famous group. Since Henki couldn't really remember .much about it anymore, Wadjou then wanted to know what he

doing now-days? Hfe'd heard Henki had become a "doming'the Dutch title for preacher. Henki'was i/n7erii£tely d)le to ^show them from, the Scriptures that a "domineering figure" L5!E . ' Report •doesn't fit the structure of the church Jesus'built andexplained the intended work of evangelists, teachers and shepherds in the church ending withthe fact that Henki considered his job that of a teacher.

i-L- Herki know in no uncertain terms he didn't believe in all that, so hMd. bearwith_ the existance of God trying to encourage them to believe through Moses and the otherproRhets._I tried from all angles to prove that God existed before we could start about

Oesus," Henki explained when telling about it. Oust recently someone diedrather suddenly that Henki thought Wadjou may have known about. Henki usedthis to point out how short and uncertain life really is and that got the

. , , girl friend's Interest. They discussed the difference between the spiritualand physical world. But NO, Wadjou didn't believe in all that either. "The ground in and it's? 1^® Then he asked, f'Now you've really got to tell me truthfully, Henkido you really believe that? Do you really believe in re-incarnation?"-

_ • "Absolutely not,, that's a completly different matter," Henki assured this young man.But there.are other alternatives, so from'the angle of the spirit world and that life ispopiDle jithout human bodies, Henki once again began to try and convince them about the existence of God. He told them about a spiritist who's son had been Wadjou's Kharati teacher.Some of the tough guys of a gang Henki used to run with had experiences with this man and amoving table and other things that convinced them of the spirit world. Henki cautioned themI mnot tellim you to go there, but it existsi Because God says not to go there we must

Obey. Surely He wouldn't warn us about something being dangerous that doesn't even exist?"brought them to the fact that Wadjou had been to a fortune teller six times and

everything said had been true. The girl admitted, when Henki pressed a bit farther, that noteverything the fortune teller had told others had always been true, so again Henki was ableto show them proof of the falsehood. He assured them that that couldn't'be from God since HEalwap tells the truth and not sometimes, or part of the truth. He always tells the truth forGod is TRUTH. ^

discussed the different kinds of bodies given the fish, birds andothw beings, each adopted to their realm of existance and how we'll receive a ressurect-ed body that's adapted to the realm we're to go to. Henki pointed out some things aboutthe difference between force and spirit showing that when it is goal-oriented it requiresu2 I 7 indicates personality not just power. So they came back to the lessonsHenki had just had and hovj searching for the truth and authenticity of paintings andartists is similiar to one's search for the truth in the Scriptures. You can't just take^*^1 * K word, but it's best to investigate it yourself. That had been one reasonTOnki had gone to the States, to find out about the validity of the Christian Scriptures, and

^ things like that, he told them. Wadjou said he also wanted to knowmore aoout it and left Henki showing excitement to look up Oohn 20:30-31 that would give himmiracles and wonders were done by Jesus. Henki had also seemingly generated

matters more deeply and they said they'd have to get together againsometime, under,better conditions than in a restaurant. y y y

While all this was going on, some people moved away from near their tatdfevidentally being disturbed by their discussion. Another man whom both Henki andWadjou know came in and though he didn't join them; Henki noticed had listened

quietly to a lot of what they'd said. Henki remembered his wife died not long agoleaving him with small children. You never know what will come of all

the seed that has been planted. Sometimes you expect great things fromone "garden" only to discover growth where you'd not really planned or

. expected any. And, like with Jesus' parable, often the wicked one comesand sows weeds that overcome the young, tender plants. We hope you'll joinwith us in praying for fruitful growth.in hearts where the seed has beenplanted so glory can be given Him and increase to honor His kingdom.

rt^-Clinst

«yficnti Awkwu

Pepertxrfstr. 753600. Oenfc Beig.

a 0^1

J'-

ALL THESE HAPPENINGS and some other chance meetings with acquaintancesas well as experiences at the antique restoration class have encouraged Henkito press on with a project he bagan this aunmer. He has begun revisions onthe Jule Miller Bible study slides that we*d used with so much success andfruit in the church-planting and nurturing days in the I-taas river area. Hefinally found the booklets with the narration and pictures of each slide inthe study, that has been packed for our move last November. Now he*s readingthrough them and considering the best changes that need to be made to makethem more effective in our area and meet the needs of those we've come in contact with recently. In the Old Testament section he hopes to add more aboutthe prophecies about Christ and emphasize the exlstance of God» We*ve discoveredthe Importance, first-hand in many practical situations, of the truth of Heb. 11:6that "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes toHim imjst believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him!"

For the New Testament portion Henki finds it important to add much more emphesis onthe life and diety of Christ. He also plans to make 10 lessons from it combining itwith the lessons about the manuscripts and how the Bible came into eKlstance, thus alsoemphasising the Holy Scriptures.

So far Henki has plastered the room in the basement of his-work space that he plansto set apart for this preperatlon. .Some work lias also been done to level the floor, butthere's still lots to be done. Electricity still needs to be run and installed for maximunusefulness; and a door hung. .It is a basement facility under an apartment building in Genk,.so the sounds of cars and shoppers, etc. must also be insulated out, so that is another majorjc^ and expense anticipated. It will take plenty of planning and preperation, but these areHenki's present plans to keep him busy the next few months. We hope you'll not only keep

these matters in your prayers, but the folks who can eventually be reachedthrough such a tool, PfO you'll open your pocket-books. We encourage specialprojects to be organized to help fund some of our expenses in getting the

recording and new slides taken ar*j all that will be included in this bigproject.- Folks from several other congregations have also indicated theirdesire to use such studies, so we feel the project is actually pressing so we

hope you will respond genersouly.

SIWCE WE'RE CHAWGIMG TO BT-MOWTHIK REPORTSbecause of the rise in postage, we want to

close this report telling about some of our sufiimer activities.SISTER BAKAC (several slides of her in our new set) in whose home the ladies gathered

every two weeks for their study left our area May 9th. Her health had gottien so bad herdokter and daughter didn't feel it advisable for her to continue living alone. It was anawful day saying goodby's, and her home has sirtce been sold so memories will have to suffice,of the spiritual blessings that generated from her strong Christian influence from that placeChristians from this area have made the 2 1/2 hour trip to visit her on different occasionsthis suimer. She had exploritory cancer surgery in Sept. but she is beyond help so is backwith her daughter's family. The latest we've heard is that the Lord has answered our prayersthat she^s not in much pain, but her heart is really with the Christians in the Maas area!Ladles gatherings continue to be held one week In the Maas area and one week in &nk. Thegroup continues to grow in nurrtiers, spiritual maturity, end through a bond of love.

MIOIAEL AND CARKEN KURYLAK of the Rekem congregation had been without children the first 10 years of their marriage. God blessed and answered prayers withTWINS on July 121 Kevin and Eveline were 2 months premature and had to be takenC-section, but are now safe and healthy at home. Michael and Carmen had been ableto finish building their new home and move in shortly before the twins were born.

wunesse^l^

^ Solwaster but was also gladwith flvlnn^iire school. He passedbPhain ^ S "ext grade (praise God and thanks for prayers on histlu lLT his eaml^rto ride to school

OOW MARK AND SONIA were able to get moved to their new apartment home at the Genk•• • chruch facilities. Their new address, since Ouly 21st is WINTERSLAGSTRAAT 266 BOX 1,3600 GE^6<, BELGIUM. They were able to participate in a special meeting at the campgrounds

this fall, organized for young couples, as well as took in part of the family-week at camp this summer. They're working on organizing a "youth weekend"to be held in Genk in December; so that's going to be a big "first timeevent" for them and the Genk Christians alike!

BEN, Henkl's youngest brother, and his faiHy returned to Belgium afteralmost two years in the States. They kept their arrival a surprise and

just in time for their youngest sister Efi's wedding the following Friday,July l2th. Henki officiated at the wedding. Efi had gone_through the pain of anunfaithful husband and divorce so we rejoice she's found a Christian partner.

Ben realized he couldn't run from his problems and responsibalities and took the advice ofthe Peachtree City (Georgia) brethern to .take steps towards restitution. How wonderfulthat God continues to work'in and on hearts of believers and non-believers alike. Ben'sfamily is fixing the upstairs facilities of the Genk church "parsonage" so will be"Box 2" as nei^bors for Oohn and Sonia sometime this winter, OV. Their return has been aboost to the Genk church's fellowship, as may well be imagined, but their sister Kina andfamily is again left alone in the States. She and the children plan to be in Belgium forSusanna's wedding in November. She is the third daughter in the Boonaerts family, (Herson Bart often Joins Oames for the outh activities, and daughter Petra also attended campthis year. Susanne also had the misfortune of an unfaithful husband so had to rear herchildren alone.)

^ROBERT, the first refugee from Ghana that was in our home, was able to return to Belglijn' with a tourist visa. Alex and Hendrika Voorjans are in the process of adopting him, butthat is a long drawn out porcess. The latest word is that he is under Belgian law, but hiscourt case frir adoption has been postponed. He wants so badly to get a Job and becomeactive in the-church here in Genk, so won't-you Join us in praying for thesedesires of his heart, and that the adoption will be finalized soon?K PETER AW3 CATHY IGNATIUS stopped for a short, sweet visit on their way^from the States back to India.on July 27th. They took greetings and a

quick letter from us to Mary Esther's parents, now working in Madras andwith the David Rees Leprosy Hospital so they see eachother regularly. Itwas such a blessing to catch up some on activities of the area where we helped serve for6 months back in '83.

^^It was a special treat to spend some time with DAVID SHELTON of I.D.E.S. on his wayto Africa and back to the States. Unfortunately,' and we still don't know how it

happened, the long planned meeting with folks from a supporting congregation in Arizonadidn't happen. We'd SO looked foward to it and had made several preperations. The slideprogram announced with the brochure as our last news report are the fruits of that effort.We're always so blessed with such visits, planned or not, and hope you'll always make aneffort to include one with us if you're ever in Europe. The bond of love and fellowshipin Christ is to sweet to be missed, and we need eachother, don't you think!?

ON SEPT, 27th Henki had'to make a trip to the police station in Genk toreport the theft of our car. They didn't give him much hope of everseeing it again, telling of a band stealing on weekends to dismantle

vehicles, taking them to once "iron curtain" countries before they •could be found. With all the drugs, theft and vandelism in Genk, Henki

began making other transportation arrangements first thing Monday. Whenat the police station, to get papers for another car on Oct. 8 he was

called into another office. Our car had been found and we got it backsafe and sound-! Only, an old polardid camera and a box with some papers and towels weremissing. It had been drivena lot so the fuel tank was completly empty and there wasn't adrop of oil in it anv more, and it had been smoked in heavilv. God has been unbelievato..gracious in protecting us and returning our badly needed transportation so quickly!

THE LAHAK^N congregation have-five-converts since their beginning Just over a year ago.On oct 5th, four of these were immersed in the Genk building with great rejoicing. Thereare some definate steps being taken towards healing and restoring the hurt end division tha^resulted fron\ various problems. It's a continual wonder to see how God can use our human 'iOblunders and weaknesses yet to bring glory to His name and kingdom. It brings to mindRomans 2:4, "Do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience,not realizing God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" We are compelled to respond, NO,we rejoice in His kindness over and over; and gladly share all this news with you brethernas proof!

May we never forget His kindness every morning, and show true thankfulness to Him andeachother as well. We are grateful for your ev6ry act of kindness and supportin the continuing work for His vineyard here in Belgiun.

Trustify to report more next month,

n-r^

Li 1̂ smk^l ' 11 n

"THaeotiaut ^Anx^iiiutCHURCHES OF CHRIST OR CHRISTIAN CHURCHES

If.:

WM. STANLEY BOUCHARD. EX. 01. 5065 WHIMSICAL DR. 80&17C. G. LILLIE. CO-OIR. & OFFICE 2589 EAST PIKES PEAK #U-108, COLORADO SPRINGS. CO 80909

PHONE (719) 597.1258PHONE (719) 634-1937

OCTOBER 1991

STAFF

WM. STANLEY BOUCHARDExecutive Director

CHLOTIELDE Q. LILLIECo-Director, Treas.

SHIRLEY RIGOROffice Mgr.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

OR. E. RICHARD CRABTREEChairman

SHIRLEY RIGORSecretary

RICHARD TIFFT

FLORENTINO SAVALACHARLES PONCELOWKING COLE ;HELEN MAXEYGERALDINE SPELLMANGENE GIBSON

Dear fellow church planter:

We praise God for your interest and support forthis ministry of planting New Testament church.e.s _ln _the Rocky Mountain region.

The area just West of the Airport in ColoradoSprings has a population of from 60,000 to 80,000 residents. Many of those people have no church afficia-^tion whatsoever,. We have used direct mail, 21,000 ,brochures, door to door calling, and prominant news- ,paper advertising to reach out to those people. We /have experienced some success with 45 additions over/the first several months of our existence. ^ .

We ask you to pray for us as we develope ourplans for reaching out with the Gospel of our Lord.When we are in a position to secure land in District 2we will have access to school buildings in the area.One building in particular is right in the middle ofour target area and has a beautiful auditorium, witha theater arrangement and confortable seats. When wequalify to rent that facility by having a buildingsite in the District, we plan to use a telephone survey to reach additional prospects.

Four of our young military families have alreadybeen transferred to Alaska, Germany and Hawaii. Wehave a world-wide outreach already.

We are very interested in the works at Falcon &Sterlingand ask youjto join us in prayer that the " ~Lord of harvest will provide just theikind of workersthey need to reach out with the Gospel of Christ.

May God bless you for your concern,

Stanley Bouchard for R.M.C.M.

Jfm:

V'*®-!!"'.''

WM.flChnst

•ytenJb

Peperhofstraat 753600 Genk

APRIH: 1991 NEV/S REPORT

HOW MANY TIMES HASN'T Henki been heard to asksomething like, "I wonder why I keep runninginto people like that?" He was referring to "drug users, unemployed, •jail-birds" and thelike; those who are often called the down 'Boonacm^^j^trodden, the down-and-out, outcasts, or skum tt, t_ j? a. j. 5?^of society. It may be more piesant to be . ^eperhofstraat 75drawn to the rich, able to enjoy their fancy APRIIt 1QQl NEV/S PT^POPTfood and furniture, or associate with those APKliJ. lyyi JNhWb EFFORTwho've got-it-made financially..intellectually. Isocially.,..

MAYBE THE ANSWER lies in what Jesus said for those who accused Him of"receiving sinful men" and being a "friend of sinners." Several passagesare recorded by Divinely inspired writers, but we bring attention nowto Luke 5:27-32 and Luke 7:33-34:

33For John the Baptist cameneither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has ademon.' ^The Son of Man carneeating and drinking, and yousay, 'Here is a glutton and adrunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners."' ^^But wis-

The Calling ofLevithis, Jesus went out

and saw a tax collector by thename of Levi sitting at his taxbooth. "Follow me," Jesus saidto him, 28and Levi got up, left.everything and followed him.

29Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, anda large crowd of tax collectorsand others were eating withthem. 30But the Pharisees andthe teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complainedto his disciples, "Why do youeat and drink with tax collectorsand 'sinners'?"

3']esus answered them, "It isnot the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. have notcome to call the righteous, butsinners to repentance."

eatand drinkwith tax collectors THROURH MANY CIRCUP-'ISTANCES, to numerousand'sinners'?" to relate in any detail, through the

3!]esus answered them,' It is last few years often having a chain-not the healthy who need adoc- reaction, Henki has become a friend,

•come to call the righteous, bu! helper and li|tener-to-troubles and•sinners to repentance." lamentations of many such unloved and

unlovely people. Some we've mentionedin previous reports (so v;e repeat theirnames so you'll continue to intreat on

their behalf), some are Christians, some still need to yield to Hiskingship, some we've lost contact with wMlle some he asees most regularly. In order to protect their pride Sst •and privacy v/e won't go into details of theirsituations, but v/ill share some general informationand names of Henki's contacts. You can .join us inpraying for them and bringing them with compassionand concern before Father's throne.

WILL YOU BE PRAYING for those with the follov/ing orsimiliar problems:-obsession to gambling, drug users, alcohol and

substance abuse-(ex)-prisoners, criminals, suicidal-divorcee or with marital or relationship problems

-bankrupcy, unemployment, shiftless-binrdened with depression, financial needs, fears, insecurity and

incapability, frustrations-refugees, aliens, foreigners, the lonely

ASK FOR GOD'S GUIDANCE and help for Several folks v;e don't even know (orremember) the names of while you also keep these before the throne ofgrace by name:- men -

Jean . Pierre Mark GuleGianni Pino GerardAt ilia Jan ( 2 x) GuidoGabriel Jos GuyHorst Frans ChrisAlexander Theo BernardHassin Robert ( 2 x) WillemEvan Jean Paul PeterHarry Mano CorLaurent Georgie Leo

- women -

Irene

BessIllianneYvonneSofie

Dulce

Martha

WHILE IN .PRAYER REftlEMBER Henki also that hemay be active in sharing his faith scj) thathe will have full \mderstanding of everygood thing v/e have in Christ. (Philemon 6)Pray also "that whenever he opens his mouth-he may be given words to fearlessly make knownthe mystery of the gospel as he should." (Eph.6:19) And, pray that God' may open a door for Hismessage as Henki proclaims the mystery of Christ inus, the hope of glory!. (Col. 4:3; 1:27)

WHY DOES HENKI KEEP RUNNING into people-like "that?" Maybe God sent themto us because He knov/s we can empathize.. .having v/alked the same road (insome of the previously mentioned needs at leasti!) making us more capableto point the way to the WAY. It also gives us the opDortimity to fulfill Paul's exhortation in Rom« 12:16, "Do not be proud, but be willingto associate v/ith people of lov/ position. Do not be conceited." In sodoing, we also find ourselves in good company, for we know among othersPaul and Jeremiah, Hosea and Jesus were personally acquainted with such^jriefs and troubles. We can also join our desires for the sa-lvation ofthe lost and upbuild the brethern as^/e agree to anproach the Fatherwho v/ill provide according to the promise in Matt. 18: 19-20'. Maybe italso helps keep us more conscious ofiour pvm sin and need for the clean-sinrg~TOood of Christ. This has been; the case lately also: we've beenespecially aware of ovoc sin and drawn to the need of Jesus' blood forourselves. May this ever be what motivates and spurs us all on our way:to be kept near to the cross of the Friend of Sinners!

KatsulaIn^ejaPhilomen

Aurelia

MagdaDorisAntoinette

CELEBRATE

^ :<?,i flM ' U N

HIS

Hznkyc 4Zgne,d up th.i6 {^all^o take some courses in the restoration of antiques. Uponreturning from the class one evening he reviewed his lesson over a cup of-coffee in a local restaurant. A friendof Henki's youngest brother came and joined him. Wadjou(with his girl friend) wanted to know about Henki's jazzband playing days since Wadjou remembered Henki and hisonce famous group. Since Henki couldn't really remembermuch about it anymore, Wadjou then wanted to know what hewas doing now-days? He'd heard Henki had become a "domine"the Dutch title for preacher. Henki' was iirtiBdiately able to 4. « i.show them from.the Scriptures that a "domineerina"ficure" * *" Oct. 1991 News Report ^doesn't fit the structure of the church Jesus built andexplained the intended work of evangelists, teachers and shepherds in the church ending witlTthe fact that Henki considered his job that of a teacher.

•4.U 4.U in no uncertain terms he didn't believe in all that, so htertd be^with the existance of God trying to encourage them to believe through Moses and the other° angles to prove that God existed before we could start about— Jesus," Henki explained when telling about it. Just recently someonediedpther suddenly that Henki thought Wadjou may have known about. Henki usedthis to point out how short and uncertain life reaUy is and that got the ~

46* . , friend's interest. They discussed the difference between the spiritualand physical world. But NO, Wadjou didn't believe in all that either. "The ground in and-it'sfinished! he was certain. Then he asked, "Now you've really got to tell me truthfully, Henkido you really believe that? Do you really believe in re-incarnation?"

"Absolutely not, that's a completly different matter," Henki assured this young man.But there are other alternatives, so from-the angle of the spirit world and that life ispopible without human bodies, Henki once again began to try and convince them about the existance of God. He told them about a spiritist who's son had been Wadjou's Kharati teacher.Some of the tough guys of a gang Henki used to run with had experiences with this man and amoving table and other things that convinced them of the spirit world. Henki cautioned themI mnot telling you to go there, but it exists! Because God says not to go there we must

Obey. Surely ne wouldn't warn us about something being dangerous that doesn't even exist?"That brought them to the fact that Wadjou had been to a fortune teller six times and

everything said had been true. The girl admitted, when Henki pressed a bit farther, that noteverything the fortune teller had told others had always been true, so again Henki was ableto show them proof of the falsehood. He assured them that that couldn't be from God since HEalways tells the truth and not sometimes, or part of the truth. He always tells the truth forGod is TRUTH.

4.K u discussed the different kinds of bodies given the fish, birds andeach adopted to their realm of existance and how we'll receive a ressurect- ^ed body that's adapted to the realm we're to go to. Henki pointed out some things about 5Cthe difference between force and spirit showing that when it is goal-oriented it requires %intelligence and indicates personality not just power. So they came back to the lessons ^Henki had just had and how searching for the truth and authenticity of paintings and ^artists IS similiar to one's search for the truth in the Scriptures. You can't just take ^another person's word, but it's best to investigate it yourself. That had been one reasonHenki had gone to the States, to find out about the validity of the Christian Scriptures, and

t I things like that, he told them. Wadjou said he also wanted to know_more about it and left Henki showing excitement to look up John 20:30-31 that would give him~miracles and wonders were done by Jesus. Henki had also seemingly generated

^ matters more deeply and they said they'd have to get together againsometime, under better conditions than in a restaurant.

mur,

a os'f

uMlmi

(Cl)t-ist

mm^5S

yfcnii 'Bcottoerts

Peperhofetr. 753600. Genk Belg.

t While all this was going on, some people moved away rrom near tneir tatevidentally being disturbed by their discussion. Another man whom both Henki anWadjou know came in and though he didn't join them, Henki noticed had listened

ijuietly to a lot of what they'd said. Henki remembered his wife died not long agleaving him with small children. You never know what will

the seed that has been planted. Sometimes you expei^e "garden" only to discover growth where you'd not:ted any. And, like with Jesus' parable, often the

and sows weeds that overcome the young, tender plants. We hopwith us in praying for fruitful growth in hearts where the seeplanted so glory can be given Him and increase to honor His ki

all THESE happenings and some other chance meetings _wacquaintances as well as experiences at the antique restoraticclass have encouraged Henki to press on with a project he begarthis summer. He has begun revisions on the Jule Miller Biblestudy slides that we'd used with so much success and fruitin the church-planting and nurturing days in the Maas river in fhoarea. He finally found the booklets with the narration and pictures of each slide in thestudy, that had been packed for our move last November. Now he's reading through them andconsidering the best changes that need to be made to make njj®^g3tamen"sec1and meet the needs of those we've come in contact with recently. In the Old Testament secihe hopes to add more about the porphecies about Christ and emphasise theWe've discovered the importance, first-hand in many practical situations, of the truth ofHeb. 11:6 that "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes toHim must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently ^ ^

For the New Testament portion Henki finds it important to add much more emphesisthe life and diety of Christ. He also plans to make 10 lessons from it all, combining itwith the lessons about the manuscripts and how the Bible came into existance, thus also

« roc in tn. b.,«nt of Ms »tk sp.oe Wat h. plarto set apart for this preperation. Some work has also been done to level thethere's still lots to be done. Electricity still needs to be run and installed for maximuusefulness; and a door hung. It is a basement facility under an apartment building in Genso the sounds of cars and shoppers, etc. must also be insulated out, so that is another majob and expense anticipated. It will take plenty of planning and preperation, but these aHenki's present plans to keep him busy the next few months. We hope you 11 not only keep

these matters in your prayers, but the folks who can eventually be reached• ^ through such a tool, WD you'll open your pocket-books. We encourage speci

oroiects to be organized to help fund some of our expenses in getting therecording and new slides taken and all that will be included in this big

orolect • Folks from several other congregations have also indicated their/ "Xm t^esire to use such studies, so we feel the project is actually pressing so

/W) will respond genersouly. _SINCE WE'RE CHAWGIWG TO BI-MOWTKLi' REPORTS

because of the rise in postage, we want to j.. .!.•_ close this report telling about some of our summer activities.^ SISTER BAKAC (several slides of her in our new set) in whose home the ladies gatherec

every two weeks for their study left our area May 9th. Her health had gotten so bad herdokter and daughter didn't feel it advisable for her to continue living alone. It was anawful day saying goodby's, and her home has since been sold so memories will have to suffof the spiritual blessings that generated from her strong Christian influence from thatChristians from this area have made the 2 1/2 hour trip to visit her on different occasiothis summer. She had exploritory cancer surgery in Sept. but she is beyond help so is batwith her daughter's family. The latest we've heard is that the Lord hasthat she's not in much pain, but her. heart is really with the Christians the Maas areaLadies gatherings continue to be held one week in the Maas area and one week in Genk. Thigroup continues to grow in numbers, spiritual maturity, and through a bon •

MICHAEL AND CARMEN KURYLAK of the Rekem congregation had been without child-ren the first 10 years of their marriage. God blessed and answered prayers withTWINS on July 12! Kevin and Eveline were 2 months premature and had to be taken ^C-section, but are now safe and healthy at home. Michael and Carmen had been ableto finish buildino their new home and move in shortly before the twins were born.

MOAN PALARZ(mentioned in the June report) acted as mediator.between two of his feudinnanH^h^ h '̂fh M died rather suddenly of lymph-gland cancer. Both heand his brother Wadek (also immersed in the Genk church and former miner with Henki) havereally taken the passing of this brother rather hard. Prayers are really necessarv forthem. Wadek had a BBQ on his farm grounds this summer and several of his neighbors werewitnessed to different Christians that were also present. Wadek along with Eddy

f church gave a Christian^ music "concert" toclose off the fellowship, and the children helped build an evening bonfire.spent Aug. 5-11 at the Christian Bible camp in Solwaster but was also alad

- lui juL ciL Llic McdiUy zuu Uuilny his sumiiibi' vaualiuii Pruiii schuolr—^Henra^the next grade (praise God and thanks for prayers on his^ r

this VM? J 5"^ himself a moped with-ttis-earnings to ride-to School--Inonf i He also enjoyed a visit from his best friend Rudy of the Leuven church Henki-spent-most^f-June --Aug.Hielping M^-parents •ge1r-theirH<itchen-inov^ -STd^nlamed- -Thev-hac^on • ? ? home closer to the Leuven church and they've since moved since Olickhas gone into retirement. The youth.gathered-in their home one evening rlcentl^^ ..

able.to get moved to their new apartment home at the Genk "3600 BFi rri iM®' Th addrps, since Ouly 21st is WINTERSLAGSTRAAT 266 .BOX 1,GENK, BELGM. They were able to participate in a special meeting at the campgrounds

this fall, organized for young couples, as well as took in part of the family-ho hiir ? summer. They're working on organizing a "youth weekend"to be held in Genk in December; so that's going to be a biq "first time

event" for them and the Genk Christians alike!

f youngest brother, and his fanily returned to Beloium afterwere lust in timp Tnr States. They kept their arrival a surprise andJulv 12th HpnM wedding the following Friday,mfaithfni hnchonH i i? wedding. Efi had gone_through the pain of an

Ben rPflHTori hoV rejoice she's found a Christian partner. ~the plachtree Citv fG^nrnfp? and responsibalities and took the advice offhaf PnH 4-• (Georgia) brethern to take steps towards restitution. How wonderful 'continues to work in and on hearts of believers and non-believersTike Ben'.;''Box 2''̂ L upstairs facilities of the Genk church "parsonage" so will bef^ily^i ^^^^^h's^ellCwship^arS^wLrbl imSiS4d?^but^theL''Iister^W

SI ZcSurt case ?o? he is unde^BLgIaf^aw, but hitactfvp ?n fh= h U ? postponed. He wants so badly to get a job and hcmfte

®° won't you join us in praying for thesedesires of his heart, and that the adoption will be finalized Sstopped for a short, sweet visit on their way

qScHettL f?^f I"dia^on July 27th. They took greetings and awith thf nfw-H 2 . Esther's parents, now working in Madras andwas cM^Ih m Leprosy Hospital so they see eachother regularly. It ~Tenths back®in''83 activities of the area where we helped serve for•^tn SHELTON of I.D.E.S. on his wavhaooeneS Jhf tn'' Unfortunately, and we still don't know how itrtfSS?? k' planned meeting with folks from a supporting conareaation in AriTnnadidn't happen. We'd SO looked foward to it and had made severL oreSions tSpprogram announced with the brochure as our last news reporHrrthffrSitfSf'thl? P?fnSeffort'tr?nc?MHp'®""'-ri''̂ not? anfho^e yoS'll^Lafsltein S^is? Islo sweet T^® of love anS fellowshipto sweet to be missed, and we need eachother, don't you think!?

^ ON SEPT. 27th Henki had tp make a trip to the police station in Genk-to»-^report the theft of our car. They didn't give.him much hope of ever ^seeing it again, telling of a band stealing on weekends to dismantle ^

vehicles, taking them to once "iron curtain" countries before they .could be found. With all the drugs, theft and vandelism in Genk, Henki

began making other transportation arrangements first thing Monday. When

safe and sound;!

at the police station to get papers for another car on Oct. 8 he wascalled into another office. Our car had been found and we got it back —Only.an old polardid camera and a box with some papers and towels were ~

missing. It had been driven a lot so the fuel tank was completly empty and there wasn't adrop of oil in it any ..more, and it .had been, smoked in heavily., .God^hajs .been unbelievablygracious in protecting us and returning our badly needed transportation so quickly!

0^ THE LANAKEN congregation have five converts since their beginning just over a year agoT^On oct 5th, four of these were immersed in |the Genk building with great rejoicing. Thereare some "definate steps being taken towards healing and restoring the hurt and division thatresulted from various problems. It's a coiiifinual wonder to see how God can use our humanblunders and weaknesses yet to bring glory t;o His name and kingdom. It brings to mindRomans 2:4, "Do you show contempt for the rij.ches of His kindness, tolerance and patience,^not realizing God's kindness leads you towai^d repentance?" We are compelled to respond, W,we rejoice in His kindness over and over, and gladly share all this news with you brethernas-proof! 11

May we never forget His kindness every morning, and show true thankfulness to Him andeachother as well. We are grateful for your every, act of kindness and support -in the continuing work for His vineyard here in Belgium.

Trusting to report more next month, .

lived inway fromthem in quitevisit. Before lont-^since what theytheir furnitureof Antqinette' s M.S« ejid the fact Laurent had STsent time in .jail, thesearrangements were not suitable. They'd been sleepin:?^ in their car aJidwere looking for someplace to live until they could find a hom.e to rent.

Since it was so la,te,-3>id it had been freezing nights, there didn't seemf3ny other solution than to squeeze a larger-than-normal single mattressbetween the cupboard and desk in the office snd bed them d.ovm for thenight. Before Jsmes was off to school the next mornin^^, the fire-worksbe^sn: they v/ere. . arguing snd intimidating eachotber pnd became sophysically brutal th^t the nei^-hbors and Boonaerts had to call thepolice E?nd intervene. This wasn't the first time tiolice had beennecessary we soon discovered, as just a week before in the shonriinfcenter in Genk they'd also hpd to mediate between the cou"nle •

j)uraNG THii: nm

this bi-jnonthlyreport v«/as bein^prepared we hada bi/? interrut)-tion that so.-disrupted us anddemandefii our attention that itcouldn't be fin-

• ished. Instead"of what was pre

viously planned weshsre the following

;Lepisode.

YOU PROBABBY REMEM-ber us mentioning

_ _ Antoinette (whostayed with us several months in theapartment that- we

before moving to Opf^labbeek and we visited with Rolands on theirIndia the l^^st [time) and her husband Laurent. iVe'd'hot seen

some time then one evening rather late they csme for athey let it be known thej'" had been without a home

+

+

+

+

'd been renting was sold. They'd gotten rid of most ofs.nd were "living" in a student-room in Hssselt • Because

Ilk* j

• %*»* %* \

?f(uU 'Avn<Wft<

Peperhofstmat y53600 Genk

Kov.-]Dec,. 1991 News Reiaprt

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + 4

Laurent had been to a social worker to try and get some counsel.in;? andhelp, Antoinette v»'3s to /?.o the a-fternoon they were at our home. The•police contacted them and another a-BOintment wps made in our homeinstead since Antoinette was frirhtened to ,^0 anywher© with her husband.It wasn't until a,round 7 tha.t evening v;e had some peace and semblence

of normal life again. Police escorted Antoinette with asocial worker to take her to a "wom?ns shelter." They wereto be temporarily seperated and receive some guidance tohelp dQt their marriage back to,<?,ether again, f.avbe Laurenthadn't had enough rehabilitation after his time in jail...or other thincs that upset his emotional make-up.

HOV/ THEY NEED JESUS in their lives in a possitive and power-Vful v;ay. Of course they were directed to rnd confronted bythis fact in various ways v/hile they were in our home . V/e

hope in their time of deen need they may truly senrch forHim. In the mepintime we want to thi^ink you ail once.

ngclin for m^ilcin/^ it po«sil)le lor u« to hr.vc n. homo here in Del£<ii'jii. Itniepnsy though our facilities ore much s"inller pnd less conducive th?>n inOpglabbeek, we ore o.blo to minister to needs of those in clarkness nrounOus. At the time of yepr when so nipny are tliinking about the fact thatthnre waS no room for IIIM in the inn, we hope there IS room for Him??nd "the lenst of these" in your hefirts .

"Since I have you in niy hef3rt...nll of you share in God's proce withme" pre wontlcrful v/ords P.?ul shared with the Philippipns (1:7) that seemto sir»ply to our relf^tion with each of you our supporters pnd rope-holders. Praise God that we c^n feel this way about you, nnd th.*^t youshpre possitively and practically in spre^din^^ Christ's q.ffpc'tion toothers in need. Thnnk you a^oin for your every evidence ofsupuort {?nd concern, including several ^hristmos ^reetinpsthat have cheered us, end other acts throughout 1991.

As a result of this ©scapade we h^ve some dams/^e to thehome that we're sure Laurent and •Antoinette won't beable to reimburse* As a project su/^gestion we hopesome extr^ funds can be forthcoming to help with thedamages and some other renovations still needed on our home sincemoving to Genk. The dollar hss been de-valued a^5;ain a lot this yesr fjndprices just keep sky-rocketing. Any extra generosity would be /;;reatlyappreciated at this time.

ALOh'G i/ITII OTHSn Fi?AYKR RlSgUESTR you oen glean-from this letter, we a«kyou to envoke God's specific direction and, blessing on some problemsend weighty decisions we have to be making the next few months inconnection v/ith furlou;ih next year and some other matters. Ple?ise befaithful in bringing us to the throne of grace end encov.rpging us sov/e won't succumb to the Devil's schemes but come out victorious inJesus. "It hs'S been granted to us on behalf of Christ not only tobelieve on Him, but nlso to suffer for Him, (Phil. 1:29 '"^nd 4:23)

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be withyour spirit"

LoueMa Roller

Rt. #1. Box 92Burnettsvllle, IN 47926

Dear Supporters,

February 3, 1992

Melvln and I began working aa forwarding agents In Missions In 1968. The pastfourteen years have been so rewarding as we served the Lord through our work withHenkl and Mary Esther Boonaerts. Your support through prayer and finances hasindeed made their ministry possible. I would pray that your continued support would /enable the Boonaerts to carry on In Belgium. The Importance of a forwarding agent Is f.-very great! They must be the link between the Christians here and the missionary onthe field. Clear, timely communication and accounting are two necessary parts of afor-wardlng agent's ministry.

Mrs. Linda Klmmel, a sister In Christ andj personal friend of Mary Esther, hasaccepted the challenge of being the new forwarding agent for the Boonaerts. Herchurch family has agreed to support her In this ministry. The MedaryvUle ChristianChurch (Indiana) has been so very faithful and helpful - Thank-you. After March 1,1992, please make aU the checks payable to the FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH-VICTORVILLEand send to: '''

Linda Klmmel '11090 De Anzo 115

Phelan, CA 92371

Words cannot express the thanks I give to God for you all. Your prayers, cardsand support have truly blessed me and my family. Please remember how vital you areto this mission effort. Keep tt up as the Lord blesses the Boonaerts In Belgium!

In His Service,

Louella Roller