Europe 2011 Journey

We couldn't have imagined a trip to Europe even 3 months ago. That was not anywhere in the plans...or our plans I should say. God had been speaking for so long but could this be right? We questioned and prayed. When the invitation came to join an exploratory team to visit European cities in hopes of planting a church we were excited! But where would the money come from? Where would the kids go? But, as we prayed through the details we felt peace with the decision to go. The arrangements all fell into place for the kids - thank you Jesus and loving grandparents willing to fly. Then there was the money. Shortly after sending many many letters and getting few responses the money started coming. Praise God, all the money we needed for Europe was there 2 weeks before the trip. Just another confirmation:) And so the story goes...

We arrived in Amsterdam tired but excited to see the city. Unique doesn't even come close to describing this city:) As small town folks we were in awe of what we saw in Amsterdam. Beautiful streets with canals, architecture and some very interesting people. Here's a shot of the square where there was much hustle and bustle most times of the day.














As most of your know, The Anne Frank house is located in the heart of Amsterdam. We were told it was something to see but had no idea the sobering effect the visit would leave on us all. Now having a different perspective on how the Dutch and many others felt after going through such a horrific time seemed to give us a new level of compassion.

In all our Amsterdam exploring we had three valuable visits with three different missions organizations. All the missionaries were very open about Amsterdam/Rotterdam being a very difficult place to evangelize and rarely seeing people interested in Jesus. They continue to ask God for new methods and new ways of sharing that make the gospel relevant to the city.

We continued our journey to Brussels, Belgium. For the next 3 days we would run hard going from morning until evening covering as much of the city as we could. We didn't expect for Brussels to hold such exciting and unforgettable experiences for us all. The highlight I would say was finding out that our hotel was directly across the street (literally 30 feet) from a house where over 70 Afghan refugees had been staying for months. We were honored to connect through an organization called Serve the City in Brussels and had an opportunity to hear the moving story of their leader (who spoke wonderful English). Our hearts broke as we listened of the terrifying journey to get out of his war-torn country and his fight to gain asylum in this unfamiliar country he had been dropped off in. We all left that night wanting to do more but not
knowing what.
After a go-ahead from Serve the City we were able to come back a couple days later and deliver 7 bags of groceries! To our delight they invited us in for tea and we stayed for 2 hours as Casey & Heather (our leaders and traveling companions) showed pictures of their journeys to Afghanistan. They marveled at their homeland now so far behind them but still so close to their hearts as they asked lots of questions. It was an unforgettable time of fellowship that ended with Casey getting to pray over them. On a side note, I am relieved to say that I drank my first whole cup of tea EVER! It would be rude to refuse so saying a quick silent prayer I accepted the cup and down it went!
Another evening in Brussels we were able to team up with Serve the City again and serve hot soup and bread at the train station downtown. It was a time of practically showing people God's love and opportunities to talk with those who were curious as to why we were in the country (including other volunteers). Here's a little tidbit about Serve the City. They open up serving events to Christians and non-Christians. This way if you are a Christian volunteer your service is two-fold. You minster to the people you're serving as well as the people you're serving with. Conversation comes very naturally. Here's an example of how that plays out...Andrew and I served closely with an older man named Pedro. It was his first time serving with Serve the City and as we walked around the station handing out soup we both talked about how we heard about Serve the City. When we were out of soup and ended the night he offered to show us all where our train was and ride with us awhile. While on the train Casey and Andrew were able to share Jesus with him and pray over him. He was very interested and listened intently, not having heard of God's love in this way. He wanted time to think about everything that had been said but when we got off and turned to wave good-bye Pedro just kept looking at the tract deep in thought. What an opportunity!

The last leg of our trip was to Bombarral, Portugal. Outside the quaint little town our church has a place for missionaries to stay when needing a retreat. It's such a needed area in ministry because of the strain and stress most families go through during their years in full-time ministry. It's a place to refuel, reflect and get prepared to be sent out again. Scott & Jenni Robinson and their two sweet girls live down the street and run The Haven. They are wonderful people who love Jesus and serve him and others well. They were our hosts during our time in Portugal and did they host! We were able to enjoy some fun times eating at local restaurants, witnessing to townspeople (I know that sounds like movie language), visiting the queen's summer palace, going to the beach and enjoying our first tastes of gelato (a delectable treat)! We also spent quiet time and verbal time processing the first part of our trip and sharing our passions and desires to serve. Our time was so valuable there and meant so much to us.

To us this was a successful
exploratory trip. We learned about each culture, the Jesus level in the cities according to missionaries, and simply got our feet on the ground. We walked away with so much information, words from God and wonderful experiences. Thank you all for your support, your love, your encouragement and being the hands and feet of Jesus to us in this journey. We have many other stories to share so if you'd like to hear more please give us a call or shoot us an email. We'd love to share more about what God's doing in us and his heart for Europe!