Monday was a long and tiring day. But, it was a good day. We started out packing for the trip and getting the car loaded. We headed south across the Netherlands in to Belgium. Our destination was about four hours away. Arriving at the home of our hosts, Roger and Lilly, we had the opportunity to rest a bit and get caught up with friends we met last year when Andrea and I were here on our anniversary trip. They have spent the last twenty five years ministering in this general area. They are renting a small house that is set on the edge of town. Across the field we can see cows grazing.
We enjoyed some good old southern hospitality as Lilly prepared a vegetable soup. It was really good. Then we drove for an hour or so to Liege. Liege is a large city. It was good that we had Roger with us to guide us. We would have never found the church without his help. I’m amazed at how twisting and turning the streets are. In fact, he said that years ago he was trying to find the building and asked a man on the street how to get to the address. He thought and thought and tried to give directions and couldn’t figure out how to tell them. Finally, he said, "I know how to walk there, but I don’t know how to drive there." That’s because of one way streets and crazy curves and circles. The church there is right in the middle of that large city. They have a perfect location (because it is where the people are), but are facing real problems because they don’t have enough space. The church is growing and right now they have two services. The pastor and his wife are excited about the things that God is doing. They would love to find a larger facility, but they are not available in that large city. So, they are praying for God’s provision.
George and I got to present the Bible Seminar in French for the first time. It was a challenge for him because he has not spoken French on a regular basis for three year. It was all coming back to him quickly. Roger was there to help out if he got stuck on a word. For some parts of the seminar he did the speaking. For others, I spoke and he translated. It all went well. Again, the people there were very open to hear and learn how to use the study Bible in their lives. They were very receptive and excited at the things they would learn as they study. As the people we present to realize the potential and value of the study Bible, they get excited. I think that they will be good "advertising" for others to use the study Bible.
If you have never spoken or taught through an interpreter, let me tell you that it is a real challenge. You have to speak a sentence and then wait for it to be spoken in a language you don’t understand. Then you have to keep your train of thought so that you can go to your next sentence. Try this some time. As you are having a conversation with a person, stop after every sentence and have a third person make some noise. Then pick up your conversation, again having the third person talk, "interrupting" you. That’s what it’s like to speak through an interpreter.
We arrived back home quite late. It was a long and tiring day, but very productive. So, this morning, because we didn’t have any reason to push things, we just slept till we woke up. Then we had a great breakfast of toast. The reason why it was a great breakfast is first of all the bread. The European bread is really good. Then we had a variety of toppings. One of my favorite is a chocolate spread. It works like peanut butter but is made of chocolate. It’s amazing. They also had another similar spread, but it is the flavor of one of the popular cookies in this area. I love the creativity of the spreads they make for sandwiches. Why can’t we have cookies and chocolate to spread on our sandwiches?
The pictures in today’s post are from last night. You can see the building the church is using. It is right in the midst of the large city. The people really love the Lord. We could feel a strong sense of God’s presence. I ended up the time by praying for them. We had a powerful time of prayer. It was exciting. That’s another of the blessings of this trip, to be reminded that all believers in Jesus are connected through HIM, even if we speak different languages.
We get to present the seminar tonight to another group in another church. We are going to discuss ways to do a better job in the presentation and translation. Each time we try to do it better from what we have learned.
Thanks for reading. I’ll attempt to write again tomorrow.
We enjoyed some good old southern hospitality as Lilly prepared a vegetable soup. It was really good. Then we drove for an hour or so to Liege. Liege is a large city. It was good that we had Roger with us to guide us. We would have never found the church without his help. I’m amazed at how twisting and turning the streets are. In fact, he said that years ago he was trying to find the building and asked a man on the street how to get to the address. He thought and thought and tried to give directions and couldn’t figure out how to tell them. Finally, he said, "I know how to walk there, but I don’t know how to drive there." That’s because of one way streets and crazy curves and circles. The church there is right in the middle of that large city. They have a perfect location (because it is where the people are), but are facing real problems because they don’t have enough space. The church is growing and right now they have two services. The pastor and his wife are excited about the things that God is doing. They would love to find a larger facility, but they are not available in that large city. So, they are praying for God’s provision.
George and I got to present the Bible Seminar in French for the first time. It was a challenge for him because he has not spoken French on a regular basis for three year. It was all coming back to him quickly. Roger was there to help out if he got stuck on a word. For some parts of the seminar he did the speaking. For others, I spoke and he translated. It all went well. Again, the people there were very open to hear and learn how to use the study Bible in their lives. They were very receptive and excited at the things they would learn as they study. As the people we present to realize the potential and value of the study Bible, they get excited. I think that they will be good "advertising" for others to use the study Bible.
If you have never spoken or taught through an interpreter, let me tell you that it is a real challenge. You have to speak a sentence and then wait for it to be spoken in a language you don’t understand. Then you have to keep your train of thought so that you can go to your next sentence. Try this some time. As you are having a conversation with a person, stop after every sentence and have a third person make some noise. Then pick up your conversation, again having the third person talk, "interrupting" you. That’s what it’s like to speak through an interpreter.
We arrived back home quite late. It was a long and tiring day, but very productive. So, this morning, because we didn’t have any reason to push things, we just slept till we woke up. Then we had a great breakfast of toast. The reason why it was a great breakfast is first of all the bread. The European bread is really good. Then we had a variety of toppings. One of my favorite is a chocolate spread. It works like peanut butter but is made of chocolate. It’s amazing. They also had another similar spread, but it is the flavor of one of the popular cookies in this area. I love the creativity of the spreads they make for sandwiches. Why can’t we have cookies and chocolate to spread on our sandwiches?
The pictures in today’s post are from last night. You can see the building the church is using. It is right in the midst of the large city. The people really love the Lord. We could feel a strong sense of God’s presence. I ended up the time by praying for them. We had a powerful time of prayer. It was exciting. That’s another of the blessings of this trip, to be reminded that all believers in Jesus are connected through HIM, even if we speak different languages.
We get to present the seminar tonight to another group in another church. We are going to discuss ways to do a better job in the presentation and translation. Each time we try to do it better from what we have learned.
Thanks for reading. I’ll attempt to write again tomorrow.
