Schipol Airport in Amsterdam
Donna, Reba and I awoke this morning to discover that our Amsterdam team’s flight was going to be two hours delayed. That almost meant that Reba’s return flight to the US today was going to be equally delayed. Actually, the extra time enabled us to be a bit better prepared and get Reba to the airport in plenty of time. We hated to see her go, but her responsibilities were completed and she will be preparing a report on the potentiality of student mission work in Eastern Europe.
Two hours late but in good spirits, fourteen people emerged from customs ready to explore and discover all that awaits them here in Amsterdam. The later arrival meant that their hotel rooms were ready by the time we got there a bit before noon. They all dropped their luggage off and we headed out to give them a basic orientation to the city core, walking to the Anne Frank house and stopping along the way for a quick but tasty lunch.
I have been bringing groups of people here for well over twenty years and am always amazed at what God does in individual lives. Each morning I will be teaching topics ranging from a biblical foundation of missions, culture, people groups, art history, history of baptist and other separatist groups in this part of Europe and the history of several key missionary movements in history. We will also talk about what all this means to each of our lives.
Some of this is material offered in our Shepherd School of Ministry, but some is unique because of our location here in Holland. Those who have had the same material in Shepherd School always comment that there is something about hearing it in the context of another culture that causes them to hear it from a totally different perspective as though it were for the first time – like the light goes on!
Looking back over these many years I believe that this time here in Amsterdam has been one of the more fruitful endeavors in which I have been involved. People have found their place in God’s mission, others have understood the mission for the first time. Still others have learned to see their own lives and their own cultures from a totally different perspective. Missionaries, pastors and other leaders have been revitalized, stretched and challenged.
Wednesday I was meditating on this simple but eloquent passage.
LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever. (Psalms 131:1-3)
What I saw in this psalm was a sense of awe at who God is and a realization that he is the one who does it all. As I reflect on some of the wonderful things he has done on this Amsterdam trip over time, I realize that I don’t have to figure it out or analyze it – that would be too great or too high for me. I just realize that God is the one who does what he ordains to do.
Like a weaned child, I don’t have to clamor constantly to get God’s attention or get what I think I want or need from him. I have learned to quietly trust in him, to put my hope in him and know that he will bring to pass what he wants to bring to pass. I’m just blessed to be a small part of the process and want to savor every moment of it.
I am very excited to see what God does in our lives during these next few days. I’ll let you know.
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Join me each day as I share what's bouncing around in my head and heart. I wish I had time to sit down with each of you over a good cup of coffee, but at least we can thank God for blogs! Oh! I'll take the coffee, too, whenever I can!
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