Greetings from Amsterdam! I don’t know about you, but we are in a very busy season of life and ministry right now. In the last month or so, I’ve enjoyed some very fruitful ministry opportunities in both large groups and small personal interactions, I’ve participated in two week-long conferences (outside of Amsterdam), Zolder50 celebrated its five-year anniversary, and our family celebrated a birthday (can you believe that Elliot is now six?!?!). It’s been quite a bit to take in—but what makes us feel especially busy is the fact that we’re now only about a month away from our three months of home service leave (a.k.a. furlough, a.k.a. deputation) in the United States!

It’s actually been quite an adventure getting everything prepared for our home service leave. In particular, we’ve had some problems arranging for Elliot’s leave from the end of the current school year (which, in the Netherlands, goes all the way until the first week of July). Although Elliot’s teachers and school administrators have been very helpful and supportive, we encountered quite a bit of resistance from city government officials (there’s a very long, but interesting, story here illustrating the complexities of cross-cultural life—but if you really want to read all about it, you can get the entire story on my blog at http://www.ericasp.com/blog.php/2008/03/30/america-or-bust). Suffice to say: in dealing with the Dutch bureaucracy, we’ve almost felt like Moses imploring for Pharaoh to “let our person go!” The whole process has taken over two months—but in the end, just about a week ago now, God provided a way for us to go.

We were very relieved to figure out a solution for our home service leave—since we felt we really needed the extended time to connect with ministry partners and with our families. But to be honest, it’s been frustrating for me. I’m normally a very planned and precise person; therefore, to have been forced to maintain a holding pattern for so long—only to have everything come through in such a way that we end up with just one month to plan for everything—has been very, well, “stretching” for me. In this uncomfortable position of being stretched, however, God has recently encouraged me with a reminder of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt (particularly Exodus chapters 11-17). Can you imagine what that must have been like? After 430 years of settling in—generations upon generations of establishment—the Israelites were converted to a nomadic existence overnight (literally!). And yet, the exodus was not a traumatic experience for the Israelites (though they were sometimes tempted to remember it as such); rather, it was a glorious miracle memorialized in song and dance and ceremony! And though I’m sure there was some stress involved with mobilizing the nation of Israel (we’ve got enough troubles with our family of five!), God not only provided their bare necessities on that one fateful Passover night: He plundered the Egyptians for every kind of material resource they would need for the coming four decades! Isn’t that encouraging?!?! At least I know that it helps me to check my thoughts when I feel tempted to groan about having “just” one month to prepare for a “whole” three months in America… God is good, and He provides everything we need at the exact moments in which the needs arise.

Looking back, God provided plenty of reminders of His goodness and provision during Zolder50’s five-year anniversary celebration as well. As we swapped stories about the last five years, we recalled that we’ve gone through numerous leadership crises, financial crises, personal losses, and other various hardships throughout the past five years—and yet, we’ve survived by the grace and abundance of God! And now, we have a beautiful, living, rooted community of faith here in the center of Amsterdam that continues to grow and influence the city for the Kingdom of God. I wish you could have been there and heard the stories of the various men and women in Amsterdam who have been positively affected by the ministry of Zolder50 (if you are interested, though, you could watch a picture slideshow from our anniversary weekend celebration on my website: http://www.ericasp.com/blog.php/2008/03/16/z50-1st-5). It’s so beautiful to see the ways that God has provided and protected our community.

And I’m even more encouraged to think about everything that God will do in the future. I think of one young woman who’s studying International Development at the University of Amsterdam who “just so happened” to be at one of our worship gatherings when I was teaching about Jesus’ strategies for helping the poor, dealing with the world’s economic systems, and trusting God (Matthew 6:19-34). And even though this woman still has a lot of questions about faith to overcome (primarily relating to her Austrian Catholic upbringing), I trust and pray and God will provide a way for her to know and trust Him fully… I think of another friend (a mother of one of Elliot’s classmates) who is understanding more and more of the gospel—through divinely led conversations with me, Marci, and another good friend of ours—but who still needs to feel some special, super-natural sense of direction from God. And even though her doubts are persistent, I trust and pray that God will provide a way for her to know, in her deepest being, beyond all shadow of doubt, that He is real… I think of two young Dutch men who are feeling God’s pull on their lives to commit themselves more fully (perhaps even vocationally) to the work of evangelism and church ministry. And even though there are still a lot of questions regarding the practical details, I trust and pray that God will provide answers to all of their questions and a clear path for the future…

Again, in my own situation—and in the lives of those around me—I am reminded: God is good, and He provides everything we need exactly when needed.

Thank you for all of the ways that you embody God’s provision for our family and our ministry! You’re a great encouragement to us. It may take me a bit longer than I would like for me to get organized and get to the point when I can contact you further, on the personal level—but I sincerely hope that I get to see you this summer, while we’re back for our home service leave. If you have any particular questions or comments relating to our home service leave, please feel free to contact me through any of the means below. God bless, and hopefully tot ziens (until we see you)…

Eric