Dear friends,
The season of Anticipation is upon us as we are well into the second week of Advent – yes, already! As we reflect on the first coming of Jesus Incarnate, we cannot help but to recognize how He comes to us each day of our lives as we pray to have “eyes to see and ears to hear.” (Mark 8) We readily see His hand at work during these past few months, and we invite you to rejoice with us for what He has done, and what He will do!
The Guiding Group
The new Guiding Group of SFC-Europe held its second official meeting! This team, representing decades of ministry to university students, is well-equipped to lead Students for Christ into the future. Please pray for Merja, John, Amy, Amanda, and Kennon as they grow in their respective responsibilities in the areas of Prayer, Training, Finances, Communications, and Networking. Once again, you prayed with us for this Transition Team, and the Lord has answered! We are excited about this next season, and anticipating new growth and collaboration to see this part of the world transformed by the influence of student faith communities.
Connect Planning
We recently hosted our next Connect Planning team at our home and spent two days together praying, planning, laughing, and eating a lot of chocolate. Connect is the most critical event of the year for us, and each year always seems to be better than the last. We will never know the impact that your prayers have made in the lives of students, as the influence of Connect goes well beyond the 7 days we’ll be together in the summer. Thanks for already praying with us as we contact speakers, teachers, and other volunteers to help train students and leaders to reach and train more students and leaders for the Kingdom of God.
Here are some details on how you can partner with Students for Christ in making disciples among the student populations of Europe:
To give, you can go to giving.ag.org/donate and enter account # 755109. Thank you!
Oh, Canada!
In October, Blair had an opportunity to teach and preach in French-speaking churches in New Brunswick, Canada with a team of AGWM colleagues as well as a former SFC-Belgium student now serving a large francophone ministry near Montreal. (pictured above with host, Pastor Luc)
The doors for ministry in this region have been flung open to us as the needs for pastors and especially student ministry are great. Please pray for us to have “ears to hear” as we discern the direction of the Lord for us concerning these invitations. For more info on the spiritual climate of French-speaking Canada, see this edition of Worldview magazine.
SFC – Rotterdam Retreat
SFC – Rotterdam graciously invited us to share at their retreat in The Netherlands. Blair shared on the “I AMs” of John, we both shared Our Story in another session, and Josiah helped with worship. But it’s the meaningful conversations that we appreciated the most. It’s always refreshing to spend time with students who love Jesus and want to see Him glorified in their lives!
Meeting Day
Each year on Armistice Day, November 11th, the Flemish Pentecostal church network meets for its annual Meeting Day. We attended with several colleagues, and enjoyed hearing the preaching in German, translated into Dutch, and then into English or French in our earbuds. Vive l’Europe!
The Origin of “Namur”
On a recent walk, we passed this small church at the foot of the Citadelle which we’ve done many times, but noticed this new poster explaining the origin of the name of the city where we live, Namur. In the 4th century, St. Materne, the bishop of Trier, passed this way and found a cave where this church now stands that served as a temple to the god Nam. He told these Nam-worshipers, “Your god Nam is the work of human hands: he does not speak!” Nam plus “mutus” – Latin for “does not speak” – became NAMUR. Thank you, St. Materne, for setting the record straight. The god Nam does NOT speak, but thankfully our God still speaks today, if we have “ears to hear.” (Mark 8)
Finally, we ask you to pray for our family as Josiah has made a decision regarding his future. He will be moving to Tulsa, OK in just a few short weeks to attend Oral Roberts University to study Commercial Music Production. We are trusting the Lord to continue to guide his steps, to provide for every need, and to prepare us for an empty nest. Thanks for praying!
With gratefulness and anticipation in the HOPE & PEACE of Advent,
Blair, Dina and Josiah