Nr.151 ended with: “Yes, God Himself was at work, just wait, there is more to come, and looking back, I just thank God that we were allowed to be part of His wonderful working…………….!” (See richardandmarina.net).

There was real progress. New home Bible studies were started, I hardly knew where to go first or last. The man who had said, “you’ll never see me again” opened up his home for a study, amazing, isn’t? One night about 20 or so sat around the large table and this man’s brother attended for the first time. As he sat down I put a Bible in front of him on the table. He moved his chair back as though I had put something dangerous there. He pulled up to the table again, looked at the Bible, finally picked it up, turned it around in his hands, looked at all sides of it and said, “is this the Bible, the real one, because there are many Bibles, aren’t there?” And he continued, “isn’t this something, this is the first time in my life that I see a Bible.” Unbelievable! Here is a fine gentleman about 35 years old, living in a “Christian” country, having gone to church all his life and never seen a Bible. How is it possible? He became a Christian and a leader in the church, amazing!

I usually gave a study of at least 1½ hours, after which we had coffee and then question time started. What does the Bible say about the Pope? Is he really infallible? What about praying to mother Mary and to the saints? What about purgatory? What about the mass? And so on it went, like having another Bible study. We would go from one text to another and they were often so amazed at what the Bible taught. This would go on until 12 or even 1 o’clock at night, some would go home earlier, but others would stay asking questions, what exciting times indeed. Many became true born again Christians and then on a Sunday afternoon we would all go to Beerse to have a baptism. One couple knew they should get baptized but were hesitant and took their camper and drove south to France for a camping weekend, but the camper broke down and they returned home and were baptized the next day, praise the Lord. God’s Spirit was moving and every week some were saved. The words of Psalm 118:23 come to mind, “This was the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” But, ……….. there were problems too…………….! (Go to Musings).

Nr.150 ended with: “After three months this living room became too small and we had to start a second study in another place and living room, but that is for next time…………!” (See richardandmarina.net).

A wonderful couple in the ancient city of Ieper (Ypres), right in Flanders Fields, opened their home for a Bible study. At the end of WW1 there was nothing left of this city, but it was rebuilt and one way to enter it is through a beautiful archway, the “Menin Gate” with the names of about 55.000 fallen soldiers on it. Every night, since 1927, at 8pm the “Last Post” is sounded. Terrible battles were fought with hundreds of thousands dead and there are close to 150 cemeteries in and around the city, some with only a few graves, one with 12.000.

Now a different battle was waging, a spiritual one. A number of people from the first study came to this new one and brought friends and family members along. The man who had said, “you’ll never see me again”, attended also and became, together with his wife, a born again Christian. It didn’t take long before the large living room was filling up. What a time we had. It is impossible to tell everything that happened there, but one incident comes to mind as it really shows God’s intervention. The study was held on Sunday evening and one night I was not able to be there due to some other engagement. I asked a dear brother from another assembly to give the Bible study. I mentioned to him that there would be some new people present, so to make sure not to mention baptism, as this would be the first time for the two couples to be there, and it could just turn them off.

Well the brother came and gave the study, talking about Joshua crossing the river Jordan. A river has water, and sure enough he gave quite an explanation about baptism. I don’t know why he did this and how it could be that he had forgotten what I had told him. The lady of the house, who had invited the new people sat with her head down praying and wondering how the new ones would react. Nothing was said that evening, but a few days later she saw those people and carefully asked them about the study. They thought it had been real good. She, again very carefully asked what they thought about what was said about baptism. They looked at her with a blank look on their faces. It turned out that they had not heard that part, amazing, the Lord must have closed their ears! Yes, God Himself was at work, just wait, there is more to come, and looking back, I just thank God that we were allowed to be part of His wonderful working…………….! (Go to Musings).

Nr.149 ended with: “They agreed to have me come for four evenings. I drove home wondering who would be there the next week………..!” (See richardandmarina.net).

When I arrived at Tony’s the next week, I was surprised to see that they were all back except the man who had said “this is against the Church, you’ll never see me again.” But a few others had come along, which was encouraging. I continued with the study of the Gospel of John and we had a blessed time. Of course, as always, the question came up again, “how can you be so sure you are going to heaven when you die? Are you so much better than others? Have you done so many good works?” And again, as always, I smiled inwardly and at the same time felt so sorry for these folk who were so religious and yet had no assurance at all as to their eternal destiny.

What a privilege to explain the true gospel to them and tell them that I was no better than anyone else and that I had not done that many good works to earn a place in heaven. I showed them how that Jesus had paid my debt on the cross, and how forgiveness and eternal life were a gift from Him. In Eph.2:8-9 it says that we are saved by grace, which is God’s unmerited favor, through faith, in what Christ has done on the cross, and that it is not of ourselves, but the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. No one who enters heaven will be able to say, “I am here because I have done this or that.” All will declare, “We are here because Jesus died for us and rose again.”

“Yes, but we have always been told that we have to do good works to earn our place in heaven,” someone said. So I explained that the Church had turned things around, it says, do good works and you will  (maybe) go to heaven, while the Bible teaches that heaven is God’s gift and after we have received that gift, we will do good works to show how thankful we are. I sensed that some were really understanding this and I encouraged them to confess their sinfulness to Jesus and accept Him in their hearts as God’s gift.

The four weeks went by quickly and all were in agreement that we should continue, in fact, that Bible study went on eight years and often there were between 40 and 50 people present. After three months this living room became too small and we had to start a second study in another place and living room, but that is for next time…………! (Go to Musings).

Nr.148 ended with: “I get tears in my eyes when I think back to it, I sensed God’s presence. And much would be happening yet, within 5 years there would be 5 churches in West Flanders with many, many new Christians and it all began in this living room, unbelievable. Too bad I have to stop now, I’ll tell you about it next time………!” (See richardandmarina.net).

Before I left I told Tony and Christiane that they needed Bible study and I offered to come once a week to explain the Bible to them, which they agreed upon. But there was one condition, I told Tony that he had to invite all his brothers and sisters to come. He was the youngest of a family of eight. He laughed out loud and said that none of them would come, “they are all praying for me to come back to the Catholic church”, he said, as he did not go anymore and had quite a reputation. I left with the agreement that the relatives would be invited and I drove home wondering what was going to happen.

We had set a date and when I arrived that evening there were eight, either brothers and sisters or their partners. I was told some time later that they had come because of the tremendous change in Tony’s life, they could hardly believe that he had changed in such a way and it aroused their curiosity and so they came to see what had caused this transformation. I introduced myself and gave each one a Bible. For most, if not all of them, this was the first time they held a Bible. I took them through part of chapter one of John’s gospel and then asked whether they had any questions. It was quiet for a bit and then one of them said, “This is quite something, we have never had the Bible explained this way.” One of Tony’s brother’s in law said, “This is against the Catholic church, you’ll never see me again.” And he didn’t come back until some months later and he is now an elder in one of the churches, amazing! The funny thing was that I had not said one word about the church, hadn’t even mentioned it.

We had a bit of a discussion, not too long as most needed time to digest what they had heard that evening. I closed with prayer and then made a suggestion. I said, “What if I come for four weeks in a row and teach you the Bible, after which you can decide what to do, to go on, or, if you don’t agree with what I bring, to stop and you will never see me again. They agreed to have me come four evenings. I drove home wondering who would be there the next week………..! (Go to Musings).

Nr.147 ended with: “So, in a way, with a bit of a heavy heart I went again, wondering what I was going to hear this time! I could have never guessed what was going to come out of this, wait until you hear that…………..!” (See richardandmarina.net).

When I arrived at Tony’s house, the door opened and I received a warm welcome. The coffee was real good again and I enjoyed it. This time Tony wasn’t eating anything and I could understand him much better. We got talking about the Bible and I noticed a tremendous interest and sensed that God had been working in his heart. The matter of the poisonous trees came up and he wondered why his little pig had died, while he was o.k. I explained to him first of all that when Eve said that they were allowed to eat of every tree, except the tree of knowledge of good and evil, she was speaking before the fall, before they sinned, when everything was still “very good.” But after they rebelled and sinned against God, the whole earth was affected, in fact it says in Gen.3 that the earth was cursed and would bring forth thorns and thistles.

Then I told him that there were two possibilities why nothing serious had happened to him, one being that he had a very strong constitution. The other, God working a miracle and protecting him, seeing he had done this in innocence, and because the Lord still had plans with him. I said that I believed the latter to be true, God had spared him to give him a chance to be saved and to be used of God. Looking at him and listening to him, I wondered whether he wasn’t saved already, even though he did not really know the gospel. Is that possible? Well, it happened to me, I didn’t know the gospel, I just surrendered to God and gave my life to him and a tremendous change took place. Someone told me two weeks later that I was saved and I asked what that meant! When the gospel was explained to me I was just thrilled and I have learned that God isn’t in the first place interested in what’s in our heads, but what’s in our hearts. I had a wonderful time with Tony and Christiane that afternoon. I get tears in my eyes when I think back to it, I sensed God’s presence. And much would be happening yet, within 5 years there would be 5 churches in West Flanders with many, many new Christians and it all began in this living room, unbelievable. Too bad I have to stop now, I’ll tell you about it next time………! (Go to Musings).

Nr.146 ended with: “But now, what about West Flanders? Well, I received this phone call from Ingrid, the doctor’s wife in Peer……..!” (See richardandmarina.net).

Amazing, what a short telephone call can bring about! Ingrid called me and asked me to visit a couple in West Flanders. The woman, let’s call her Christiane, was a pen friend. Once a year she and her husband, let’s call him Tony, would go for a weekend to visit Ingrid and Phillip in Peer. They had just been there and the doctor and his wife had really talked to them about the Bible, and so they went home with a Bible under their arm. Now Ingrid called to say that Tony was reading the Bible and whether I could go and visit him and his wife. I said I would do my best and hung up. But to be honest, I wasn’t so happy about this, as I was so busy already and now having to go to West Flanders yet too? It just seemed a bit too much.

However I went and was invited in. Christiane made some good coffee which I enjoyed while Tony told me about his experience with reading the Bible. He was eating either a turnip or carrot, I forget, and so with his mouth half full and in his West Flanders’ dialect he was talking to me. I must confess I had a difficult time understanding him, especially as his story just seemed so strange. He was telling me how he had started reading the Bible from the beginning and understood that God had given us trees and plants to eat. In fact, in chapter three of Genesis Eve says that they were allowed to eat from every tree except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Tony had a garden and in the back he had some trees and bushes, a couple of which were very poisonous. Seeing God had said we could eat from every tree, Tony thought he would try that out and ate some of that poisonous stuff, also giving some to a small pig in the barn. That same day it died, but Tony, except for some cramps, was all right. I didn’t quite get it all and follow his reasoning, but somehow he became convinced that the Bible was the word of God. I’ll come back to this later.

After a while I had finished my coffee and left. While driving home I told the Lord that I didn’t know what to think of this and that He would have to look after these folk. But some time later Ingrid phoned again and asked to visit them again as both of them seemed interested. So, in a way, with a bit of a heavy heart I went again, wondering what I was going to hear this time! I could have never guessed what was going to come out of this, wait until you hear that…………..! (Go to Musings).

Nr.145 ended with: “But let’s now go back to East Flanders, and yes, also West Flanders (Flanders Fields) where amazing things were happening……!” (See richardandmarina.net)

You can well understand that with all that was going on, we were busy people, driving to Beerse, Limburg, Eeklo, Maldegem, Ghent and other places, to speak at meetings, hold Bible studies and visit folk. So we were very happy when the Lord sent others to help. It is a bit difficult to write everything in chronological order and therefore I will be going back and forth a bit. I mentioned in the previous episode that Martin and Lydie Symons went full-time in 1981. Now we go back a bit because in 1979 the Lord sent a couple with two children from the USA to help us in the work. I had gone to visit them in Texas to talk over everything and I spoke in a few churches there. That was at the beginning of January and it was cold in Belgium.

We had a sink in our bedroom, but no heating. One morning when Marina woke up she heard water running and found that the water pipe had broken because of the frost. The water was running down the wall into our large living room and the carpet was soaked. Water was also running outside from underneath our front door and forming a layer of ice there, and I was in Texas! Marina phoned a friend who came and turned off the water. Then she and our three daughters tried to soak up the water with sheets and towels, but it didn’t work. Thank God, several of the new Christians came over for prayer meeting that evening and helped her. All the furniture was moved and the rug taken out and hung over a strong rope in our back shed, what a job! When I returned from the States everything was back in place; thank God for a good wife and willing friends!

When Hal and Marion Threadcraft arrived in Belgium, they stayed with us for a little while until they were able to rent a house in Gentbrugge. Of course, they had quite a time adapting, coming from Texas, which is the second largest state of the US, to a little crowded country like Belgium. And they had to learn the language, which is not easy, but they did well and soon they were very much involved in the work. More about them later.

But now, what about West Flanders? Well, I received this phone call from Ingrid, the doctor’s wife in Peer……..! (Go to Musings).

Nr.144 ended with: “Until now the workers had come from outside of Belgium, but now God had something else in mind! Exciting…………..!: (See richardandmarina.net).

Let me re-introduce you to a couple, Martin and Lydie Symons, the first ones in Peer, Limburg to accept the Lord and be born again, see nr.99. They opened their home for Bible studies and I had many wonderful times with them and a number of people, especially youth became Christians in their home. After the Peer assembly had been started Martin became one of the leaders. He had a job in a meteorological office and had quite a flexible schedule, so that he was able to do a lot of studying. Both he and Lydie were (and still are) very active and together with another couple started a drug rehabilitation program which would eventually lead to a ministry called Bethesda, which is still going except that someone else is leading it.

In 1979 I talked to them about going full-time in the Lord’s work, but they were not ready for that yet. We kept praying for this and in 1981 they took the step. Martin quit his job and started working full-time for the Lord, trusting Him to supply their needs, as we missionaries were doing. This was a real step of faith, as one can well imagine, and family and friends had their doubts about this. This was really unheard off, to leave a good job and start doing this “religious work” without a salary?! But the Lord was faithful and provided for them, even though they had some difficult moments. But they are now able to say with the apostle Paul, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” Phil.4:11-12.

I must say that I have an awful lot of respect for them and I can’t stop thanking the Lord for them and their faithfulness in the ministry. It is a tremendous joy when people come to know the Lord. It is also a joy to see them grow in the Lord and become mature Christians who take on responsibilities, such as teaching Sunday school or Bible studies, becoming youth and camp leaders or church leaders, etc. But then to see some of them answering the call of God and going full-time into His service is an even greater joy. And Martin and Lydie would not be the only Flemish people who would answer God’s call, others would follow, in fact there are now more Flemish workers than outsiders, praise the Lord.

But let’s now go back to East Flanders, and yes, also West Flanders (Flanders Fields) where amazing things were happening……………..! (Go to Musings).

Nr.143 ended with: “Are you part of a church with such a vision? If not, talk to your church leaders and encourage them in this. Wonderful things can then happen, as we saw in Limburg………!” (See richardandmarina.net).

Yes, let’s get back to Limburg now for there were some interesting developments. As there was real growth in East Flanders, the same was true in Limburg. I still went there quite regularly, and also to Beerse, as our good friends and co-workers Martin and Marjorie Luesink felt led to go back to Canada, where Martin looked after Henk Gelling’s farm for a year and then moved to Regina, Sask. Marjorie felt responsible to look after her mother who was not well. Martin worked for the Canadian Bible College there. They raised five children of which the older one is serving the Lord in Greece with her husband. The youngest daughter is a pastor’s wife in Alberta. But of course, their leaving Belgium meant extra work for me in Beerse. I will come back to this at a later date.

The Gelling’s returned to Canada in 1978 after they had finished their period of three years, to which they had committed themselves. But because the church in Koersel was still quite young and small, the Gelling’s, together with the elders of their assembly, decided to go back to Belgium for another three years. By 1980 they realized that they would be staying in Belgium a lot longer and decided to go to Canada and sell the farm. I remember Henk saying something like this, “What are chickens compared to the eternal souls of people?” In July of 1981 they returned to Belgium and to this day, July 30, 2015, they are still there, praise the Lord. I have an awful lot of respect for them, making such a sacrifice and we thanked God then and continue to thank Him now for them and their ministry.

As the work in East Flanders grew, so also in Limburg. During this time another couple, John and Marga den Boer from the Netherlands, who were working with the Belgian Gospel Mission, decided to join forces with us. They were instrumental in starting three small churches, two of which later on merged so that there are now two still functioning. In 1996 they went back to work with the Belgian Gospel Mission and are still with them up to this day.

Until now the workers had come from outside of Belgium, but now God had something else in mind! Exciting…………..!
(Go to Musings).

Nr.142 ended with: “Maybe we ought to get back to that, or, as time goes on, we may be forced, due to persecution, to go back to that, as is already happening in many parts of the world. Are we preparing for that………?” (See richardandmarina.net).

Yes, that living room evangelism really worked. People who were not willing to come to a tent meeting right in the town square, or stand listening at an open air meeting where everyone could see them, had no problem with coming to someone’s living room. We would often start with a small group, but it would soon grow and become so large that we had to split and start up another study somewhere else. That’s also the way it went, at least in the beginning, with church planting. Just to use our home in Lovendegem, east Flanders as an example, we started with a Bible study, which grew into a church in our home. As more and more people were added to the church, our house became too small and we went to a building in Eeklo.

Because a number of people from Ghent were coming to Eeklo, I started a Bible study in Ghent and soon we had enough new Christians to start an assembly in someone’s living room in that city. When that group grew we had to rent a building. At the same time the church in Eeklo continued to grow and I started a Bible study with a number of people from Maldegem. That study grew and the people who became Christians came to Eeklo for the Sunday morning service. After some time, a group split off and a new church was started in Maldegem.

Our Sunday meeting was very simple, singing, Sunday school and a communion service, which we called the Lord’s Supper, or the “Breaking of Bread.” Different ones would take part and after the emblems had been passed around, someone would give a brief message. Because we did not need a pastor for every church, as all were encouraged to participate, we were able to start new churches quite rapidly. Teaching was done during the weekly Bible studies.

Most of our churches came into being through a healthy “hive off” from an existing church. Right from the start of a new church, I would tell people that God wanted us to have babies, meaning new Christians, but also new churches. I still believe that. Every church should aim at starting what is sometimes called “daughter” churches. Every church should be a “mother” church. Church planting is the fastest way to evangelize the world, and the world needs to be evangelized, it is in such a mess, only God can change things when we allow Him, but there has to be vision for that. Did Jesus not say, “I will build my church?” Are you part of a church with such a vision? If not, talk to your church leaders and encourage them in this. Wonderful things can then happen, as we saw in Limburg………! (Go to Musings).