Greetings from Amsterdam!  November can be a difficult month here in Holland.  However, I made a decision this year to spend the month deliberately seeking out the “Joys of November”—actively pursuing the small, significant moments of joy in an otherwise dreary time of year.  And up to this point (granted, we’re only a week or so into it), my journey of joy has been a great success!  It seems like God is already revealing Himself to me in special ways.  In case you’re interested to hear more, you’re more than welcome to follow my progress in the blog section of this website, but in any event, I just wanted to praise God for all that He’s doing in Amsterdam this month!

One recent “Joy of November” was the chance to have Geert-Jan and Anne van Dijk give a presentation of their ministry at a Zolder50 worship gathering.  Geert-Jan and Anne are dear friends who were a part of our home group for a couple of years, back in the early years of our church’s development.  For the last two years, however, this young Dutch couple has been serving as missionaries with an organization called Operation Mobilization—sailing throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans on a ship called the Doulos.  To help explain more of their mission and responsibilities in their first “tour of duty,” I’ve translated a brief excerpt from a recent update letter below:

Our ship has been sailing around the world for the last three decades.  The Doulos is the oldest passenger ship in the world and also the largest floating book store in the world.  We live in a community of 350 Christians representing 50 different nationalities.  Geert-Jan worked as the ship’s purser and was responsible for everything relating to immigration and customs.  Anne worked in the training department:  providing a discipleship course for the ship’s crew.  Besides this, we were also involved with practical projects and evangelism initiatives.  Because the ship is dependent upon book sales and the good-will of the local authorities, we do not receive any salary.  Instead, our friends, family, and Zolder50 (our church) support us with both prayer and finances.  Thus, the work is accomplished together with all these people—and without them, our work would not be possible.

It’s been a privilege to have been able to play a strategic role with their ministry and to serve as something of a “sending church” over these last two years.  I honestly don’t know how much credit we can take regarding their decision to serve God in this way (they were already Christians before they moved to Amsterdam and got involved with Zolder50, and in fact the vision to serve on a ship like the Doulos had been planted in their hearts some 10 years ago); however, there is nevertheless something gratifying about our church’s growing ability to not just see itself as its own mission work-in-progress but also as a real-live honest-to-goodness body of believers that can also send out its own missionaries and actively participate in the Great Commission—both here in Amsterdam and around the world.  From what I’ve seen and heard, this switch from “sent” to “sending” can be a very tricky transition for “young church plants.”  As such, I’m deeply encouraged to see people like Geert-Jan and Anne pioneering the way and pushing the envelope for our church to “go and make disciples of all nations.”

When they shared at our worship gathering on the first Sunday in November, it was fascinating (for me and the church) to hear Geert-Jan and Anne tell stories of their personal experiences aboard the Doulos.  Over the last two years, they were able to visit 15 different countries, ministering to vast crowds of people—as well as developing intimate personal relationships—which allowed for incredible opportunities to share the Good News about Jesus with people who would not otherwise have the chance to hear.  In every port, people would stand in line for hours to come aboard the ship (a book store with 8000 titles and half-million books on board is a huge attraction in these parts of the world), and in every port, relationships were established which led to faith in Christ.  It’s clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is using Geert-Jan and Anne in powerful ways.  I wish you could read the update letter that they recently sent out (though I’m not going to bother to forward it to you because it’s all written in Dutch).  You’ll just have to take my word for it:  it’s a beautiful testimony to how God has been using them.

Next week, Geert-Jan and Anne are going to be rejoining the Doulos in Singapore.  They’ve basically said that their dream is to work for the coming two years aboard the Doulos, hopefully followed by a brief time of living in the Netherlands, and then ultimately spend the rest of their lives in missions work!  Isn’t that wonderful?!?  I really hope that you will join with us in praying for these two young missionaries and seeking God’s blessing on their personal lives and on their work with Operation Mobilization.  They mentioned the following in their update:  “In spite of all the positive stories in our newsletters, life on board is not always easy.  There are little frustrations and miscommunications that are constantly keeping us from reaching our goals.”  And so, they ask us to pray with them.  And so, I’m asking you to pray with us, too!

Thanks so much for your role in supporting our family and sending us out to Amsterdam, so we can be involved in supporting and sending out others from the Netherlands to the ends of the earth.  We appreciate you.

Eric

P.S. - Below are some pictures from the van Dijks' most recent update.