Greetings from Amsterdam!  Or, to be more specific, greetings from the Transvaalbuurt (Transvaal neighborhood) in Amsterdam Oost (Amsterdam East)!  We’ve been back in the Netherlands for about a month now, following our summer in America, and it’s been nice to become reabsorbed by our neighborhood—the same place we’ve now been living in for over five years…

To give you a better picture of our surroundings (our immediate “mission field,” if you will), the Transvaalbuurt is geographically defined by a canal to the south, a set of elevated train tracks to the north, and major streets on the east and west. The neighborhood was originally developed around the turn of the 20th Century—and it quickly became a major resettling point for the city's Jewish population, after the original Jewish neighborhood in the city center had become extremely run-down. Interestingly, not only were the original inhabitants of the Transvaalbuurt predominantly Jewish—they were also socialists, serving as members and major advocates of the trade unions and idealistic crusaders for a new kind of government in the Netherlands.

Well, as you can probably imagine, in a neighborhood bustling with Jews and Socialists, the Transvaalbuurt was dramatically and tragically transformed during the years when the country was occupied by Nazi Germany. In fact, because the neighborhood already had such a high concentration of Jewish people—and because the natural barriers formed by the elevated train line on the north and the long canal on the south allowed the area to be easily policed—the occupying army systematically funneled large numbers of Jews from around the city and the surrounding countryside into the Transvaalbuurt, effectively creating a Jewish ghetto.

Then, on the evening of June 20, 1943, the occupying army completely sealed off the Transvaalbuurt.  Between eight o'clock and nine o'clock, the neighborhood was systematically emptied, as the residents of the Transvaalbuurt were loaded up in large freight trucks and then driven to the nearby Muiderpoort train station, where they got on trains that took them to the Westerbork concentration camp, where the vast majority of the former residents of the Transvaalbuurt were annihilated.  During the final years of the War the neighborhood was a ghost town, only suitable for increasingly cold and hungry Amsterdammers to seek firewood and whatever kind of food items might be scrounged.  The effect of the War on the Transvaalbuurt was absolutely catastrophic.

And yet, in the years since the end of the Second World War, the Transvaalbuurt has come back.  The neighborhood's 38 hectares (0.15 square miles) are now home to approximately 10,000 people (this is amazing to me, as my old hometown in Ohio holds about the same population in roughly 35 times the area!).  The neighborhood has one of Amsterdam's highest concentrations of young children (which, I guess, is pretty evident if one ever visits one of the many area playgrounds).  And as in the Transvaalbuurt's earliest days, the large majority of the neighborhood's population (64%) is—like our family—not of Dutch descent.  Many of the "foreigners" living in the Transvaalbuurt today are from Turkey and Morocco (in fact, I've heard an unconfirmed report that our street is home to the world's highest concentration of Berber Muslims outside of Morocco!).  We do most of our shopping at a grocery store that is staffed almost entirely by people of Pakistani descent.  The local butcher shop advertises itself as being a French, though it is owned by two brothers who are as Dutch as can be.  For fruits and vegetables, we frequent the Turkish market close to our house.  There's a video store around the corner that specializes in Bollywood films.  And a bit further down the road, there are Caribbean snack shops next to salons specializing in hair straightening.  It's quite the amazing neighborhood to me.

But what's most amazing of all is that it has become home to me and my family.  Our kids go to a neighborhood school.  We've developed familiarity with the shop-owners, who give us advice about how to best use their products.  We trade greetings with the Brazilian Capoeira crew that hangs around outside with our neighbors.  We rejoice with the Dutch / Polish neighbor couple on the other side who is expecting their first baby this winter.  And as time has gone on, we’ve begun to see more and more of the ministry opportunities that exist right here in our own neighborhood.  Ministry really does start with an individual life given over to God, flowing out into a God-centered family, flowing out into a neighborhood—to a city, to a region, to a country, to a continent, to the world!  Somehow, God seems to be capturing my imagination in fresh ways, thinking about how to live this out in day-to-day life, here in the Transvaalbuurt in Amsterdam Oost.  I’ve recently been taking more and more prayer walks through the neighborhood, and I’m actively wondering how God might use us in the Transvaalbuurt of Amsterdam Oost.  If you would, please pray with us.  And thank you, as always, for your support of our family and our ministry, which allows us to be in contact with our neighbors…

Eric

Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle
on a thousand hills... Call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.
(Psalm 50:10,15)

Greetings from Amsterdam! We’re settling into life in the Netherlands, in just our first week back from three months of home service leave in the United States. We’ve had a lot of unpacking to do, a lot of mail correspondence to catch up on, and a lot of physical adjustment to the six-hour jet-lag (with three small children, this can be quite the ordeal!). But things are starting to come together. The kids’ new school year starts this week: Olivia just starting in Groep 1 (a bit like Kindergarten) and Elliot moving on to Groep 3 (roughly equivalent to the American First Grade). The rest of Dutch society, too, is starting to transition from vacation season to “business as usual.” So now we, too, begin the process of readjusting to “regular” life and ministry—which brings both feelings of satisfaction and sadness (anyone who’s ever been on vacation or a long trip can probably relate to this mixed bag of emotions). So far, everything seems to be going about as well as can be expected. All the same, we would appreciate your continued prayer for our family’s transition. The trans-Atlantic transition can be a tricky thing...

Now that we’re back in the flow, I’ve got a lot to catch up on, in terms of my regular ministry responsibilities: meeting with home group leaders to re-establish our coaching relationships and hear what’s been happening in all the various branches of the church’s family tree… resuming management of GCM’s staff team in Amsterdam… blending back into our home group and other friendships within the church—as well as picking up where things were left off in building relationships with friends outside the church… I’m actually really looking forward to getting back up to speed. I feel like I’ve recently been affirmed by God and by others that we have an important and valuable role to play here in the coming season of life and ministry in Amsterdam. However, that being said, I’m not completely ready to “put on the blinders” and plow ahead into full-time ministry here on this side of the Atlantic Ocean— because of one basic reason:

We haven’t yet secured all of the necessary funding.

The support-raising portion of our home service leave went remarkably well, actually. We succeeded in raising over $1500 in monthly support and over $15,000 in special gifts (which is absolutely incredible for the two months that we invested in this direction this summer!). We’ve seen clearly that God can and will provide for our family. At the same time, we still find ourselves needing approximately $500 in monthly support and $5000 in special gifts. And considering the momentum that was built up this summer, I feel like I have to make sure that these needs are fully met before I can fully commit myself to ministry responsibilities in Amsterdam (there are actually still a few loose ends remaining which I hope will develop into further support). This may mean devoting several hours per week to the telephone and keeping strange hours that will perpetuate the experience of jet lag.  But it’s better than letting all the fund-raising momentum drop now and then having to “crank up the machinery” again just six months from now.

There is, however, another possibility. A possibility that involves you responding to this prayer letter. I’m not usually one for doing the “direct ask” via prayer letter. For one thing, it’s not the most pleasant kind of letter which you, our ministry partners, like to read. And for another thing, it’s not typically the most effective way to raise support! At the same time, I don’t want to vaguely hint at our need (i.e. “please pray for the rest of our support to come in”) without coming straight out and sharing the practical ways that you could help to give us the final nudge that would put us at 100 percent of our support goal.

So here’s my request, my humble plea… and then I promise that I will leave the rest up to God’s Providence and more direct conversation (i.e. over the telephone)—so that future prayer letters can be more about sharing stories and painting pictures of the ministry in Amsterdam that will help you to pray more effectively for us. For this month, though, please read the following, and respond as you feel led:

• If we’ve already talked this summer and settled upon the maximum limit of your giving, then please just realize that we are extremely grateful for everything that you’ve done and are doing for our ministry! From this point, please just pray with us that the rest will come in…
• If you’re currently supporting our ministry but we didn’t get a chance to personally connect this summer (sorry about that!), would you please consider if you might be in a position to increase your giving to GCM, on behalf of our family’s involvement with Zolder50 in Amsterdam? Even if you could increase by just $5 a month or $10 a month, your extra support would be hugely appreciated!
• If you’ve just recently connected with our ministry in Amsterdam—whether through sharing a cup of coffee over the summer or just filling out a contact card somewhere along the way—could it be that you are in a position to financially partner with Great Commission Ministries, to allow us to be involved in full-time ministry in Amsterdam? We have people who give $5 a month, and people who give $500 a month—and pretty much anywhere in between—and we are extremely grateful for each and every part of our ministry team.
• If you’ve been praying with us and for us for awhile (maybe a former supporter, or someone who’s previously given a special gift, or a prayer partner), I’d like to ask for you to specifically pray if God might have you commit to helping with some of our financial need. I don’t arrogantly assume that God would have everyone help us in this way. But I feel confident that God wants to provide for us somehow.

In any event, we would appreciate your prayer support during this period of tying up loose ends and transitioning back into ministry in Amsterdam. If you do feel inclined to help with some of our financial needs, please let me know (a simple two-sentence e-mail response is plenty), and we can dialogue from there! Tot volgende keer (until next time)...

Eric

I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who
follow your precepts. The earth is filled with your
love, O Lord; teach me your decrees.
(Psalm 119:63-64)

Greetings from Ohio! We’ve just gotten back (to one of the places that we call) “home” in Shelby after a 10-day trip through 8 states, covering a total of approximately 3000 miles. Our “Great American Road Trip” truly was a great experience which allowed me to fall in love with my native land all over again. With our own eyes, we saw America the Beautiful: its spacious skies, its amber waves of grain, its fruited plains (I would have included the "purple mountain majesties," but I don't really know if the Dakota Badlands and Black Hills would really qualify as such)... In any event, our time here in America for home service leave this summer is already resulting in memories which we will likely hold onto forever. Everywhere that we’ve been this summer, we’ve been charmed by the American people who would have to be considered as some of the world’s most generous and hospitable. We’ve had a wonderful time, and we’re glad that we still have one month left to enjoy the whole experience (before flying back to Amsterdam on August 5).

You know what’s funny, though? No matter how much I rekindle my love for my American “home,” I can’t help but simultaneously feel pulled back toward my other “home” in Amsterdam. I think about the beautiful café terraces alongside the canals. I think about the city parks filled with picnickers. And most of all, I think about our friends and spiritual family in Amsterdam—especially those Christian brothers and sisters in the Zolder50 community. I keep up the best I can with blogs and e-mails and the occasional phone call or computer instant-messaging opportunity… But obviously, it’s not the same as being there. Our summer absence has been hard in some ways… but also strangely helpful. My prayer life, in particular, has benefited from this extended period of separation from my church in Amsterdam. I’m almost constantly thinking about the people from our home group, the pastors-in-training group, the staff team… and my memory of these people fuels my prayers. Of course, my prayers are considerably boosted by receiving e-mails like the following message, recently sent by a friend in our home group named Steven:

Hi all, How are you doing? I have been a bit down lately because I felt like I fall short in many ways (guilty) and that I am not doing my best to change (guilty). Fortunately, God is a forgiving God and He is not leaving me and He provides with everything we need. Once I realize that and apply Him and His will in my life again, things are going the way they suppose to and I feel more real and relaxed… My home group, and more closer my life group, is a big help for me to see God at work. It is good to know there are other people in my life with different backgrounds (and) problems but the same love for our Lord Jesus. There at the cross is where we can bring our hurts and is the place where our healing is. My lesson from the last few weeks is when God is showing me things that should be changed I should not try to fix things myself, but should let Him touch and make it possible. Being or trying to be in control over situations, people, habits and emotions is something different then letting them go or embracing them. I can say with Paul: "So I find this law at work: when I want to do good, evil is right there with me.. who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!” May what we do and who we are not be a worldly structure, but founded in Jesus Christ and His name. Be blessed in Him!

Doesn’t that make you want to pray, too?!?! I really do hope that you will pray for Steven, as I have been doing. Some of you may have heard me talk about this young man, in general terms, as I’ve traveled around sharing the story of our ministry in Amsterdam. He is a beautiful example of the transforming power of God’s grace. His life used to be tied up in drugs and criminal activity in the city—and yet, to talk to him today, this would be the last thing that you’d expect from someone so mild-mannered and soft-spoken. God is definitely at work in his life!

Just a week before leaving Amsterdam, Steven demonstrated some of his Christ-like selflessness and thoughtfulness by typing up a kind of “letter of recommendation” for me to pass along to you (without me even asking him to do this for us!). I figured that this month’s prayer letter would be a good chance to pass that along to you:

Hi, I am Steven from Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and you are or can be involved with Eric Asp´s ministry. Eric Asp is an overseas pastor here in Amsterdam who has become a very important person in my life and he is not alone. The most High brought him and a few other good Americans in my life in sinful Amsterdam. I was far away from God, but after 37 years denying God and living with a hardened heart I was brought God's love through Jesus Christ and was brought to my knees and got baptized. I would love to be able to express myself for what the body of Christ means to me… I have seen miracles happen through it and would like to meet each member of the body if I could to thank (them each) in person, but for now these words are all I can give. It is so powerful to me that my Christian life after a strong conversion is stabilized with a person given to me like Eric who has grown up knowing our Lord. Eric's teachings and being makes me want to live out the Christian life and follow up on what I believe and am committed to. Without Eric our community would still be centered around Jesus, but him being there made for some people all the difference. God is making changes in Amsterdam and with good people, good things will happen. May (you) know the deep satisfaction of having made a difference. Thanks for your prayers, love and guidance.

I can’t say it much better than that. Thanks so much for your support of our family and our ministry! Please pray with us for God’s continued work in Steven’s life, and also for the last month of our home service leave in America. We’ll be in touch!

Eric