Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s
will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
(Romans 12:2)

Greetings from Amsterdam!  I must confess that November is not my favorite month of the year to be living in Amsterdam.  No Thanksgiving; no American football classics; no reverent hush of the season's first frosts and snows… just a dark and dreary descent into the gray, rainy, Dutch winter.  But not to sound too depressive, we also have reason to celebrate these days!  We have officially made the transition from a single Zolder50 community to the circles and squares of two neighborhood church communities...  And, after more than a year of waiting and wandering, we've finally been approved for official use of the H88 (our "new" ministry facility in the heart of Old Amsterdam) and started holding our worship gatherings in this beautiful space.  Of course, in each of these items there’s a whole story that could be told (multiple prayer letters, in their own right)… but suffice to say, it's been quite the adventure, getting everything aligned.  We're glad to see God pulling everything together.

For this month’s prayer letter, I actually want to focus on something that happened thousands of miles away from Amsterdam.  From October 19-26, I had the opportunity to participate—together with eight other Amsterdammers and two Filipino missionaries serving in the United Arab Emirates—in a special intensive course for international missionaries, sponsored by Equipping Ministries International (EMI), in Cincinnati, Ohio.  In case you’re not familiar with EMI, their website (www.equippingministries.org) offers the following self-description:  “EMI equips churches and ministry organizations in proven, outward-focused relational skills that YOU can put to work right away - empowering effective outreach, leadership, and all kinds of ministry.”  And from my own observations, it seems that EMI’s strength comes from its focus on basic inter-personal skills which provide a foundation for building relationships and ministering in any environment.

Indeed we found this “International School of Service” (which consolidated the materials from a number of EMI’s core curriculum) to be a highly effective tool for equipping ourselves for ministry in Amsterdam.   We learned (and practiced) things like listening skills, conflict management skills, skills for evaluating our belief systems, fresh approaches to evangelism, and more.  We covered a lot of information; in fact, at times it felt like drinking from a fire-hose!  Still, it was an incredibly educational week.  We brought back a number of the materials which we hope to use for training other leaders within Zolder50 (one of the great strengths of EMI’s material is its transferability).  And as we have opportunities to process, assimilate, and apply the lessons learned in Cincinnati, our ministry should be immeasurably benefited from these interpersonal relationship skills.

In addition to learning a lot, we had some fun in the process.  I especially enjoyed showing off my home state (at one of its finest times of the year) to my friends from Amsterdam.  We got to visit some of my old friends from Bowling Green (who have also become familiar to the Amsterdammers through short-term missions trips) at their Fall Get-Away.  We got to go shopping in a real American mall.  And perhaps the most interesting cultural experience was our visit to the world’s largest flea market.  Thanks to the generous people at EMI, we were fed some good food and put up in beautiful homes, and we got to experience all of the best that America has to offer.  Not surprisingly, the team that we brought from Amsterdam was able to grow closer together, as we saw each other in different environments and practiced our interpersonal relationship skills on each other.  It ended up being a very special week.

If you would, please keep praying for our assimilation of the concepts we learned at EMI—both on the personal level (for each individual participant) and on the ministry level.  We’re particularly hoping that God will use these materials to equip our home group leaders during this season of transition in our ministry and the subsequent increased responsibility on their part.  We also want to trust that God will simply make us more healthy and mature as a church community, through applying the lessons that we learned in Cincinnati.  Your prayer support for this would be very much appreciated.

On a separate note, I just wanted to give you a heads-up that we will soon need to focus on raising financial support to cover the increased costs for us becoming a family of five and for accommodating an unfavorable trend in the dollar/euro exchange rates.  I plan to give a more complete update on our needs (and our strategies for meeting these needs) in January’s prayer letter, but in case you like to think in terms of year-end giving, I just wanted to let you know that we will likely need to raise between $500 and $800 per month in regular (ongoing) financial support and approximately $15,000 in special gifts throughout the coming months.  If you would like to contribute toward meeting these needs in any way, it would be greatly appreciated; just let me know, and I can follow up with you personally.  And, for the record, even if you can’t offer any further financial help at this time, please know that your prayers for God’s provision would be highly valued.

Thanks for everything you already do to support our family and our ministry.  We’ll continue to be in touch…

Eric