The Netherlands

Many of you prayed for my (Christy) time in the Netherlands, and I want to tell you what I came back with!  I wasn't allowed to take pictures at the conference itself, so it may look like I only did site seeing while I was there, but that is because I had to make up for the week of being deeply moved by dynamic people doing exciting things for Jesus in numerous countries around the world and not being able to capture them on camera (as if a picture could tell their stories)!  I was in a conference for four days, and in a Scripture engagement summit with colleagues working in another part of the world, a very difference context, for 2 days.

Here are some of the things that I was challenged or inspired by in my time:
The speaker David Watson challenged us in many ways:  "In the Great Commission God says "Go into all the world. All means all and that's all it means."" He challenged us to consider who we were discipling, who we were being mentored by, and who we were mentoring.  Discipleship is key to being obedient to Christ, and "obedience is God's love language."

I was also challenged by those around me who are working in very difficult circumstances, and being creative in ways they can reach out with God's love and message of salvation.

Biblical storytelling is something that inspired me as I became aware that 75% of the Bible is narrative! Wow! Why don't we tell more Bible stories in church and let God's Word speak...especially amongst the oral cultures where I work.

It was also exciting to be among the few representing West Africa and realize that we are on the right track with our Scripture Engagement Team!



Here are some tangible ways this trip has impacted my life and ministry:
I have started a one-year reading plan with an NLT Bible, and it is ministering to my heart.
I brought back some digital resources that I have been able to share with various people, and that inspire me with new ideas.
The Scripture engagement summit I attended gave me ideas of how we can organize our team to be more effective, to walk better with communities, and be more flexible.


Here are some pictures of what I saw after the meetings were over for my first visit to the Netherlands and Germany!

I visited my high school friend, Katja in Kostanz.

I love doors...they represent possibilities, mystery, adventure...and I like all three.  This one had a story, I'm sure.

Katja made special effort to make sure I got to eat pizza! Love the plazas and communal feeling in Germany!

Oh, my...I didn't know ice cream could taste so good!

Straw roof!  I could live here.

Now that's Holland!  Canals, cows, open spaces, big sky...and tall beautiful people!  This is my high school friend Neinke who has since won two Olympic medals in rowing with the Netherland team!

These beautiful young people brought me closer to the world I left behind in Cameroon.  They were small children when I taught them, and now are funny, delightful young adults!

Yes, these are tulips.  Ellen, mother of the kids above and the nurse of the Cameroon branch when I was there, took me to see the tulip fields on our way up to Friesland!

Smoothies with one of my first students in Cameroon and her mama.  Wow, God is so good...this young lady is truly an inspiration, loving Jesus and growing in him in a world that is swimming the other way!

Spring in the Netherlands!

I love Aldi, what can I say?  OH, and the beautiful church in the background is beautiful too.

4 glasses of already liquid milk a day was such a luxury!

My adviser from GIAL in Dallas was there!  I had no idea that EVERYONE thinks he's great and wants to learn from him...for some reason, I thought he was a well-kept secret source of wisdom...wrong!

Those are the Swiss Alps in the distance.  I could help singing, "Climb Every Mountain" several times and found out later my friend, Katja just thought I was crazy because she's never watched the Sound of Music!

A meaningful reminder in Germany that with so much beauty all around, there is ugliness that has left wounds in the hearts of the German people.  These small memorials can be found where individuals and families were forced from their homes and sent to camps in WWII.