I was walking home this evening when I saw this stenciled onto the bike path. A literal translation from Dutch to English is:

Set your light on.

What an appropriate reminder, I thought. Not just for cyclists during these dark winter months, but especially for us Christians. The days seem dark for many. Some chafe at Corona-related restrictions. Others mourn loved ones lost to Corona. Some wonder why one candidate was declared the new US president. Others wonder why the current US president refused to admit it. We Christians have been given the perspective of eternity. We have been given the Light of the world. 

The people who lived in darkness
have seen a bright light.
A light has risen
for those who live in a land overshadowed by death. 

Matthew 4:16 (God's Word translation) 

It's fun to see these kids playing MOSAIC

Would you like to play Mosaic, too? 

How-to video available at:  Davar on YouTube

Written instructions in Romanian, English, and Dutch available at: Davar: Bridging to Literacy. 

Many thanks to Vasilita, for leading this children's club;

to Coco for translating this game into Romanian;

and to Alina for being the voice for the Romanian version.

Een kwartje voor een karweitje

Three little kids stood by the door, calling out, "Een kwartje voor een karwietje!"  (literally, "a quarter for a chore"). It's a Dutch custom that doesn't occur all that often. But I usually have a small chore ready. In this case, they got a trash bag, disposable gloves, the promise of a quarter each if they filled the bag with litter. The littlest one, a boy in a "Pete" costume, held the bag. 

Pete helps the Dutch Sinterklaas distribute gifts. Tomorrow evening is pakjes avond (package evening) when people exchange suprises (gifts) with gedichtjes (silly poems). These children were small enough to still believe that the good Saint Nicholas was the one who brought them. 

The trash bag they brought back was not very full. But in the spirit of the season--and because of a lack of change--they each got a whole Euro instead of a quarter. 

Wishing you all much joy, whether or not children surprise you at the door!

A Chain of Thankfulness

When our children were still too young to write, we started making a thankful chain in preparation for the American celebration of Thanksgiving. We cut strips of paper large enough for the children to draw on. Then, each evening after supper, We each put down at least one thing we were thankful for. 

It's a family tradition we've continued. The chain starts out with just a few links. In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, it continues to grow. Guests at the thanksgiving feast are invited to participate. 

Our thankfulness does not end with Thanksgiving. Sometimes the chain becomes part of our Christmas decorations. 

And sometimes a portion of it wraps around our family bulletin board all year . . . until it's time to start the next thankful chain.

This year has made us stretch our thankful thoughts. There will be no guests. There's been a lot we were not grateful for. But as you can see, even this year we have linked one thankful thought after another. 

With grateful hearts,

Keith & Mary

God at Work . . . even through a forgotten passport

 This story happened back in 2008. But things like this are still happening today!

“It was a blessing from God,” Alina said. We got to know Alina when she was working as an au pair here in the Netherlands. Her employer had a business in her hometown in Romania. One Sunday he had taken the train to Schiphol to return to his business. Once at the airport, he discovered he didn’t have his passport. “He never forgets his passport,” Alina emphasized. He had just gotten back to home to pick it up when Alina received word that her grandmother had passed away. 

Because a family member drove Alina's employer back to Schiphol Airport, Alina was able to ride with him. Once their flight landed in Bucharest, she was also able to ride with him the 400 km to her hometown. This saved her a lot of trouble in a time of great grief. God works through many things . . . even a forgotten passport.

HAPPY KIDS

          Why are 

          these kids 

          so happy?

They were having a great time,  

playing games  (Tag Trio) 

 

and learning about God at a Bible club

 

led by our friend and ministry partner, Zoltan.

F10 Tag trio

 

Needed: space to run around.

 

Activity:

One person stands in front: Number 1.

Someone else  holds his/her hand:  Number 2

Ask the group, how can we make 3 from this? Yes, another person will hold his/her other hand: Number 3

These three are “it.” Everyone else runs from one side of the play area to the other. The three holding hands try to tag them. The three must keep holding hands for the “tag” to count. Once everyone has been tagged, another three are chosen to be “it.”

 

Note: It is possible to do the same game with another number–a “culturally significant number” or  whichever one you want to focus on.

Halloween or All Saints?

This is a true story. You can decide which day it suits better: All Hallow's Eve or All Saints' Day.

Lidia* was the oldest "sister" in a Baptist church in Moldova. Like many Romany in her village, she lived in a sort of compound with several houses built around a small yard. Her grown children lived around her and looked after her. However, her grown children did not share Lidia's new-found faith. On the surface, they were Eastern Orthodox. In reality, they followed Romany traditions which focus around gathering baxt (good fortune) and avoiding things that would drive away baxt. Part of this included honoring the dead. Graves are dug twice as deep as normal and first filled with all kinds of luxurious drinks, from cartons of juice to vodka and wine. Then all kinds of fruit is added. Not just common variety garden fruit, but imported fruits like pineapples and kiwis. All that extra space is filled with grave goods, rather like a pharoah's tomb. The funeral is also elaborate with a procession through the village. Family members will have stockpiled gifts like blankets. Periodically the procession pauses to that these can be distributed among the village, ideally to the poorer households. This does not end with the burial. There are well-maintained picnic tables with benches in the graveyard for future times of remembrance. As older church members generally do, Lidia eventually passed away. Her family was distraught with grief, as families generally are. The Baptist pastor was waiting to see what they would do. He knew and the family knew that Lidia had wanted a Christian funeral. The night after Lidia's death, her eldest daughter had a vivid dream. Lidia came to her. Lidia said that she was in a beautiful place. She described how wonderful it was. She said "your father," her husband, was there, too. She hoped that each of her children and grandchildren would join them there some day. And she wanted a Christian funeral. All of her children heard about this message from their deceased mother. Lidia had a Christian funeral. May her children follow her in the choices they make. *Name changed for privacy reasons.