My August newsletter shared a story about Multi Tone 7, which is the name of the hair dying product that introduced me to a new hair dresser and her husband, who said that ever since he was a little boy in Iran, he has known that he should follow Jesus. Yet this is not his faith tradition. I had given him details about our church, worship time, how to get there via public transportation, and I’ll admit that I was disappointed when I never heard from them. (For the record, I didn’t have contact info for them, since my hairdresser is a friend of a friend).

Fast forward two months, I need a hair update, so once again my friend takes me to see her friend. The husband is there again, tells me that his cousin, who now follows Jesus, will come with him to church on Sunday. Steve and I and our AIPC prayer team prayed faithfully that week. And I surely could have cried with joy when the two men came to church that Sunday. Praise God for H, the cousin, who is new in his faith. Recently Steve had the chance to hear his story of how he met Jesus. Again, as with so many stories that we hear about Muslims coming to Jesus, he had a dream. He sees a very bright light and a voice comes to him saying “come to me”. H. asked the voice “who are you?” and the voice answers “I am Jesus”.

Now we pause for 3 weeks. Steve and I, along with our Covenant colleagues Jared and Hannah, participated in a five-day consultation on how do we build bridges of trust that can then bear the truth of the Gospel message. It was affirming to see that some of the activities that we’re already involved in are really on track for establishing trust in relationships. We also came away with homework, in the sense of here’s all this new material; let’s go back to Antwerp and see how it works in our ministry setting. We truly thank God for those who partnered financially with us in order to be able to attend this important meeting.

During a very busy children’s church lesson just two weeks ago, we were interrupted by the arrival of a young boy who had come to church for the first time. So, it’s one of these kinds of moments in life: we’re both looking at each other, thinking “I know this person from somewhere, but can’t remember where”. As I was having my breakthrough moment of remembrance (he was my hairdresser’s son!), I was also realizing that this moment changes everything in my relationship with this family. They are now seeking us out, the body of those who follow Jesus. What great rejoicing when I got to the coffee hour and greeted my hairdresser and her entire family!

The 3-5 year olds were all looking very angelic on that Sunday morning as we all waited in anticipation of sharing the story of Jesus' birth. It was the one day that "Miss Barb", along with Pastor Steve, gave the kids permission to run in church. Now, before you think that we've gone nuts here in Antwerp, it was a special "once in a lifetime" permission for the Advent drama. The script went like this: after the angel appears to the shepherds and shares her lines (and for the record, she was also looking quite angelic and performing with perhaps a bit of dramatic flare!), the next line from the narrator said "and suddenly there was with the angel a great host of heavenly beings saying". The angels just had to run into church, the script said "suddenly!". The kids had great fun, the parents and congregation were delightfully surprised, and the children then burst out with "Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to men!" What a precious moment to see the littlest ones in our lives proclaiming such great news to the Antwerp International Protestant Church.

As we were leaving to disrobe our little angels, one of the 4 year old girls said "Miss Barb, Jesus came to earth at Christmas time. And Santa Claus also has a birthday on Christmas". I guess we still have some work to do. But the stage has been set in Antwerp for many to ponder what is this mysterious thing that happened so many years ago, when Jesus came to earth in a stable born as a little babe.

We asked you to pray with us for the outreach event at the local refugee center which happened on Dec. 6th. This is a huge outpouring of love from our congregation as families prepare gift bags and then throw a party with homebaked goodies and lots of time spent just hanging out with the residents at the center. There was plenty enough food, loads of volunteers from AIPC who dedicated their time and energies to making it a festive afternoon. But most importantly, many conversations took place, sharing about who we are, why we come and share such love and care with the families. There was a large population of unaccompanied teenage minors, mostly young men, who participated in the afternoon. We went home exhausted, but rejoicing for all the contacts that were made with these young people who are seeking for peace and safety in life, and we know that this peace and safety can only come from Jesus.

As we move into these next weeks of Advent, the weekly schedule slows down a bit since so many families travel during this time. It allows more time in our schedule to invite some of our friends from the residential centers for asylum seekers into our home to share the joy and the good news of Jesus' coming to earth. Please pray with us on December 19th, when 2 dear friends who have come to church and are seeking to know Jesus will be with us.

FAITHFUL PRAYER