A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
(Proverbs 31:10)

Greetings from Amsterdam!  We’re in the midst of a sort of springtime holiday season here in the Netherlands.  Within the course of a single month, we’re celebrating Queen’s Day, Memorial Day, Liberation Day, Ascension Day, 1st Pentecost, and 2nd Pentecost!  The kids spend more time at home than they do at school this month—which is kind of nice, but if you ask me, I would prefer to just have a longer, American-style summer break!  Anyway, the weather is lovely at this time of the year, allowing plenty of time at parks and playgrounds and café terraces.  All in all, this is a great time of year in Amsterdam.

This is also the time of year that we celebrate Mother’s Day, our Wedding Anniversary, and Marci’s Birthday—and that got me to thinking.  Through all the years of sending out monthly prayer letters, you’ve probably noticed that I (Eric) tend to be the writer in our family.  It’s something that I enjoy, and it comes relatively naturally to me.  Now, Marci is always the official editor for our prayer letters, double-checking them and providing suggestions for improvement before any letter goes out; but by virtue of her own preference, her role is typically limited to this.  Recently, however, Marci was asked to write an article for an internal publication within Great Commission Ministries, and I thought it might be interesting to share an excerpt from the article in this context as well.  Ever since we moved to Amsterdam, Marci’s ministry contributions in Amsterdam have been enormous—but they’ve been largely invisible.  Thus, to give you a sense of her life and ministry, I want to use the majority of this letter to quote from Marci, herself:

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Over the past seven years of living abroad, I’ve been grown and stretched in ways I didn’t expect.  Seriously. Everything from cooking without Crisco (how am I supposed to make my great grandma’s recipe without shortening?) to navigating the medical system through three surgeries involving my children.   In big things and in little things, I have had to learn that my security comes from Him alone.  Not in friendships, not in the comforts of home, not in cars or in the ability to communicate in an intelligent manner.  Him alone.

It may sound funny, but some of my biggest learning experiences have been with a bike.  Our major mode of transportation is the “bakfiets” (imagine the ice cream cart bike, loaded with children rather than ice cream).  There has been almost nothing so small that has evoked such anger in me.  Just picture yourself driving in your car with three small children, while at the same time doing aerobic exercise and being pounded by rain and wind instantaneously.  I have said many times to myself while riding, “THIS ISN’T NORMAL!”  And yet, I think it has been an amazing character-building experience. Who would have thought a bike could be such a tool of God? Many times I arrive at church thinking, “Okay, now I’m supposed to look spiritual with my hair plastered to my head and big sweaty spots on my shirt?!?  I have had to learn to let go, and focus less on myself. After all, it’s not all about me, right?  There are times, just today in fact, when I wanted to yell at the tourists standing in the bicycle paths and at the wind pushing me away from my destination.  I was exhausted by the time we reached church.  As I was peddling down the last road, I heard God whisper, “Didn’t you ask me this week to point out when you were being self-absorbed? Didn’t you pray, ‘Help me to recognize any form of pride or unbelief and to refuse it immediately, help me to be thankful’? …Well, Marci, you might want to review your thoughts right now.”  Ah yes, right, the world does not revolve around me. The tourists aren’t trying to jump in my way; the wind and rain are not a personal assault.  My kids have been safely transported to church. I have legs that are strong.  I get the chance to come and worship you freely.  Less about me; more about Him and what He’s freely given.  It’s been a learning experience for me.

One of the other major things has been trusting God with my children.  Not too long ago, Elliot shared in our small group that it can be difficult for him at school, being the only Christian.  He’s had to deal with lots of different beliefs and grapple with why he believes what he believes. Not bad things necessarily, just heavy things to see your 7 year old struggle with.  For Elliot, these things have pushed him towards searching God’s Word for answers.  After reading the story of Elijah and Baal, he thought he might challenge the Muslim kids at his school to build an altar to Allah and repeat the Bible story.  “Then they’d know once and for all who was the real God,” he said.  < Gulp. > We directed him to seek God for guidance (in the end, he decided against this idea).  Then there are the days when he feels overwhelmed and comes to me, his lips trembling and tears in his eyes, “My friends don’t want to hear about Jesus.  Mom, I don’t know how to do this.”   Today, with Elliot beside me, we were singing in church about how strong and amazing our God is. We were pumping our arms in a “Yeah, that’s our God” kind of way and grinning at each other.  God gently whispered in my ear, “See, I am redeeming this, He knows me more intimately because of these situations.”  With each child added to our family, I am learning to continue to trust His process in their lives.

I’ve had to learn to not be so self-absorbed.  Not so worried about what others think. I’m learning to listen for that gentle whisper and keep believing I will hear it, even when it takes awhile to tune into God’s voice.  I still have bad days where I want to only look at my situation and moan. There are the days when I have to pick up a missionary biography and remind myself of the sacrifice of so many who have come before me, that what I face is only a fraction of what others have or are facing.  I have to remind myself that my situation (real though it may be) is pretty darn blessed, compared with much of the world.  God is growing me, challenging me and teaching me.  I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

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What a wonderful woman God has given to me, to our children, and to our church!  As the Proverbs say, “she is worth far more than rubies.”  As members of our ministry team, would you please continue to pray for Marci, as well as for the rest of our family and for the ministry here in Amsterdam?  God is at work all around us.  There’s a lot happening between now and our abbreviated (five-and-a-half week home service) this summer.  Your prayer and financial support is a huge encouragement to us.  Thanks for everything!  We’ll be in touch…

Eric