Edgebrook Covenant Church

… from December 2011

As I (Steve) sit in my father’s cozy Minnesota apartment, surrounded by mementos and memories of lives well lived, I give thanks. What a blessed heritage is ours!

• To know the love and support of family
• To share the warmth of enduring friendship
• To be a pilgrim in God’s world and a citizen of Christ’s kingdom

This is a year of home assignment/sabbatical for us. Barbara and I are enjoying visits with family and friends, supporting congregations and new mission contacts. Although our mailing address is Chicago, we have already put over 8,000 miles on our borrowed (more…)

… from November 2011 

On the eve of this Thanksgiving, here are a few words about life as it happens for us here in Chicago. Thanks once again for your encouragement and interest in ministry among the refugees/asylum seekers and immigrants in Europe.

As I’ve been in the classroom this fall, sharpening my skills for ministering to the Muslim world, I have revisited my high school senior English class on numerous occasions. Mrs. Kruse, who was voted teacher of the year in Chicago, would have us take notes on our different reading assignments in (more…)

… from April 2011

A reflection on language….

Oh, mankind, what trouble we got ourselves into at the Tower of Babel. It still disrupts our lives to this day!

Can I share an example?

As if becoming a new believer in Jesus isn’t already challenging enough, let’s add to the equation: you are coming from a background where Jesus is only viewed as a good person and prophet, your mother tongue is different from your wife’s mother tongue, and your friends who invited you to celebrate Resurrection Sunday are speaking English.

Now, add to that mix another follower of Jesus who also comes from your home (more…)

… from March 2011

If you invite them, they will come….

We offer huge praise to God and thanks to Bonnie and Eric Sparrman for their week long ministry blitz with us in Belgium in early March. While Eric retreated with Steve and Jared, Bonnie cooked up a storm in several kitchens and brought a smile to all who shared around the dinner and dessert table. After the guys returned from their pastoral retreat, their next assignment was to put a new roof on the garden shed. Belgian weather cooperated for the entire week, and we are now proud owners of a new roof, and shared (more…)

… from February 2011

Just in case Valentine’s Day isn’t your thing…..

There are many ways to express love in our world, and sometimes a ministry team just has to jump on the calendar and say “it’s a party!”

Pink cupcakes, lots of hearts, hot glue, candles for a bit of atmosphere, pink/red/white in abundance, lots of laughter, verses from the Bible present on the table (“love is patient, love is kind, love forgives, love always hopes, love always perseveres”). The only missing element, music, showed up a bit later when one of the Albanian women from Kosovo used the tunes on her mobile (more…)

… from December 2010

I could begin this newsletter with a list of things that keep a missionary in Belgium busy, which looks like this:

• Covenant colleagues Jared and Hannah helped us in hosting Thanksgiving dinner with our Belgian neighbors, none of whom had ever celebrated this important American holiday. It was great fun to introduce them to the tradition of Thanksgiving but more importantly what we celebrate as followers of Jesus, as people in close relationship to God, who have so much to be thankful for!
• Baking cookies with the women at the local refugee center in preparation for the Sinterklaas party that (more…)

… from October 2010

Gone are the summer days; that was the theme of my last summer fun update in August. I knew that I was heading into the fall seasons, which starts with a jolt each year as we shift into the school year and into the yearly program with the women’s group at the local center for asylum seekers. Just as I was getting settled in…..

DETOURS….and what God can do with them

A family emergency brought me quickly and very unexpectedly to the US for two weeks in mid September. It was good to be a support to my youngest sister (more…)

… from September 2010

Dear friends who care for immigrants and asylum seekers in Belgium,

It’s now fall greetings that we’re sending you from Belgium, and life is busy on all fronts. We’re back into our fall program with the women at the local center for asylum seekers, full swing into the new season of small groups, youth activities, and life in the church, and are enjoying yet another rich phase of visiting with families and sharing Bible stories to those who still have not heard the truth about Jesus.

We’re wanting to check in with you all and the congregations that you represent (more…)

… from August 2010

We went to Egypt, and didn’t need our passports! Whether you were a child or adult, with or without residency papers here in Belgium, we (32 kids plus a very enthusiastic group of teen and adult volunteers) went to Egypt together and learned about the life and times of Joseph….going from prison to the palace.

We learned that we are all the children of God; that God has a plan for us, a plan for a hope and a future; that God gives us forgiveness and that forgiveness is so important; that God gives us wisdom when we need it (more…)

… from June 2010

So, here we are, back in Belgium again, doing the jetlag thing, loving life and the chance to be with family and friends in the US for several weeks of vacation in May. It was a sweet time of being with family and friends, celebrating high school and college graduations, high school musicals, family birthdays, and just vacating from our life here in Antwerp.

Steve went on ahead to the US in order to participate in a pastors’ spiritual renewal retreat. He vacated well from Belgium, didn’t think about reading church emails or business as he spent time with God (more…)

… from April 2010

In whatever language you say it, the word “Stop” is an important word to understand. Sometimes “Stop” will prevent an emergency. And sometimes “Stop” can be a word spoken from God, to usher you into a new phase of life and ministry.

My “Stop” sign came on March 6th, when I was ushered into the local hospital’s geriatric/ neurology ward. Funny thing: I had just turned 50, and my first impression was: wow, I got really old really fast!! Praise God that my symptoms resolved, the doctors found a few things worth taking care of, and I’m back at home (more…)

… from March 2010

On turning 50…

Well, a girl only gets to turn 50 once in life, and I did it!    I never figured, however, that 3 days later I’d end up in the hospital with symptoms that made one think of a stroke, and proceeded to get admitted for 5 days to the geriatric ward.    It’s like “do not pass GO and do not collect $200 (or 200euros, worth a little more these days!), just get old quickly in 3 days and hang out with the elderly.

Praise God that nothing came out on the scans and bloodwork that indicated any true symptoms of a stroke. (more…)