The latest after a long 'silence'.

So good to be connected again. Have had real difficulty in learning how to use the blogsite well. This quiet Sunday afternoon I decided it was high time to overcome the mental block and try. Here we go.........

The narcisses are blooming and the forsythia is turning yellow also. Could not resist the temptation to buy some flowers for the flower baskets yesterday. The baskets are hanging near the back door. Great way to come home to. Will have to bring them into the house if there should be more frost.

Melvin is in The Netherlands working on the process to extend his residence visa there. Mariesa is sick in bed and the grandkids are with their dad, so the house is really peaceful.

We have been in the USA since last June. Have done a lot of traveling and have had the joy of meetings many of our friends again. Sharing what is happening in Europe has been challenging and rewarding. We have received much encouragement and love. What we are doing is truly a partnership venture. Our main ministry has become more sensitive, so it is better not to go into more detail. Suffice to say that the sons of Ishmael are loved by God and need to have an opportunity to know and experience Him.

Our days at home in Springfield are filled with loving our family, cleaning, cooking, shopping, picking up grandkids from school, doing homework with Liam, keeping the cars running and the bills paid. Proving God and His grace in the midst of the demands! Melvin can usually be found in his office, next to the house, on the phone and on the computer.

Am mentoring two dear ladies. Their lives have been so broken and extremely difficult. To walk with them is a privilege, although very time consuming and challenging. To see them grow in the Lord and in His Word is worth it all. I love them.

Talk to you soon again.

Continuing transitions

What a great way to communicate. Melvin and I are grateful and excited to serve at the Dutch Azusa Theological Seminary at the VU University Amsterdam. To be involved with the teaching and impacting of Dutch and international students remains a joy as well as a challenge. The multicultural and multinational nature of the school reflects so well the Europe of today. Students and faculty can practise their intercultural skills right here and now. To give expression to the Kingdom while learning and growing is our reality. To guide and direct students as they seek their own way in this secular and pluralistic world as contemporary Christians and contextually relevant servants of the Lord demands sensitivity, patience and a lot of faith. We pray to be filled with those on a daily basis. The school is seeking for ways to express our Pentecostal identity in a relevant and balanced way. Another challenge is the need to be increasingly partnered with and integrated in the Dutch AG movement and its churches. Azusa is the only Pentecostal and Charismatic Educational institution with a batchelor level in Theology and Ministry, but not subsidized by the government, so its financial position is a constant challenge. This has resulted in an already long existing lack of sufficient faculty and staff, causing overload on each one who serves, with all its consequences.
Another vision and ministry on our hearts: the development of a central national missions department at our Dutch headquarters in Urk which will serve the churches and lead to a much greater missions awareness, motivation and particiaption in worls missions by the Dutch AG churches.
And lastly (for now): the development of the national, newly started department for muslim ministries (MB) is in its intial stages. How we want to see that progress and begin to have an impact in this nation! We pray that it will prove to be a useful model for other European countries as well.
I know this is mostly ministry stuff. More personal things might follow in future Louise Highlights.