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Belgische Evangelische Zending Mission Evangélique Belge
Issue 35 : April - May 2013
BEM info
News from the Belgian Evangelical Mission
Lost in wonder again We have just celebrated the extraordinary festival of Easter, celebrating the victory of Christ over sin and death. I hope that, for each of us, it was a time when we marvelled again at how great is the love of God for us. I hope our love for Him and our desire to serve Him have been renewed. I have been reading Psalm 24 again. This is a psalm that brings us back to a perspective on life that we forget all too quickly. 1. It ALL belongs to God. (v.1 and 2) ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.’ V.1. Too soon we see ourselves as owners of these things. We talk about what we have and what we want – ‘my car’, ‘my house’ etc., or, ‘my wife’, ‘my husband’, ‘my children’- forgetting that it is all a gift of God and that it all belongs to Him. If we were more conscious of that fact, perhaps we would not only be more thankful but we would also live life differently- seeing it in the proper perspective. 2. It is ALL of grace (v.3-6) ‘Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place?’ (v.3). None of us can claim to have a pure heart, clean hands, to be innocent of any lie. No-one can approach God. But He came to us in Jesus. By His death on the Cross and His resurrection He gives us a pure heart and He declares me worthy to come before Him. Let us never forget the grace of the pardon that God offers us in Jesus. This will keep us humble. 3. It is ALL for Him. (v.7-10) ‘Lift up your heads, O you gates, be lifted up you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.’ (v.7) God is the great King. He does not want just one part of us. He wants all of us. The gates must be lifted up higher to welcome Him. Are we ready to continually open our hearts even more so that God might occupy the whole? May we be more and more conscious that everything comes from God. He created it all. He has forgiven us and He wants all of us. May we be lost in wonder again before Him and seek to live a life that truly glorifies Him so that the world will see what a great God we serve, a God worthy to receive our praise. Luc Salsac
www.bez-meb.be
Co-workers under the microscope We have put the Norton House staff, also called ’the office people’, under scrutiny with some of the questions from the ‘Proust Questionnaire’ (well-known in Belgium from a French TV programme).This questionnaire is said to reveal the personality of the person concerned. In the B.E.M., a small organisation compared to all the other secular institutions, we are not afraid of comparisons and the Norton House staff agreed to participate. One particularity of the Mission is that when a candidate is accepted his or her spouse immediately joins the Mission. If you do not already know them yet –keep reading. If you think you know them –you may discover something that will surprise you. And just look at the answers on our website too (www.b-e-m.org)!
Peter -Office manager - Age 48 - Born inAalsmeer (NL) - Married to Annette, 3 children
Gerrit
Kristel
Ba
- Handyman - Age 58 - Born in Strijen(NL) - Married to Karen, 2 children
- Secretarial and administration work - Age 35 - Born in Uccle - Lives in Schaerbeek.
- Accountan - Age 59 - Born in Be - Married to sons
What is your motto? Make Jesus the centre of your life.
To allow those who are gifted for the task (evangelism) go forward, we take care of the rest.
Do it, even when it is difficult.
Live to do th
What is the best trait Faithfulness in everything. of your character ?
Ask someone else.
Organisation.
Being a good
During the weekends, I like to make up nice little dishes. At home my tiramisu and my chocolate mousse are popular.
Every year I go on a mission trip to Slovakia/ Hungary with my wife. I also like helping in my church in Zaventem.
I like walking, keep fit, photography, travel et giving a helping hand with the Kruisbanier (an evangelistic newspaper).
In South Afr I was younge rugby. Now more readin music, and p grandchildre
I appreciate Henk van Binnendijk enormously. Despite his fame, he is still a humble man.
Johan Lukasse is a man for whom I have a great deal of respect. He is hardly ever angry, and when it does happen he does not show it.
An adventurer travelling around the world, discovering new lands and other cultures.
Ian Smith, a f minister of R politician and I admire his h the different character.
How do you relax ?
Who would you have liked to be ?
From left to right:Wilfried Goossens, Luc Salsac
Meet our directors
arry
nt
ellville(Z-A) o Coreen, 3
Coreen - Hospitality for missionaries - Age 58 - Born in Heidelberg (Z-A) - Married to Barry, 3 sons
Eunice - Public Relations (FR) - Age 27 - Born in Lobbes - Married to Yann, 1 daughter
Jannes - Pastor/PR(NL) part-time - Age 48 - Born in Groningen (NL) - Married to Mathilde, 4 daughters
Ciara - Public Relations (NL) - Age 23 - Born in Lokeren - Lives in Gent
he will of God. Always have a smile for others.
Rejoicing in God the better To be His disciple- this is a to glorify Him. daily occupation.
Try to follow your aims.
d listener.
Creativity.
Encouragement.
Independance.
rica, when Reading and gardening. I er, I played also like to daydream. it would be ng, listening to playing with my en.
Making music, film editing, doing something creative, taking a walk, having a good conversation with my husband.
Sport, reading, listening to and making music, handicrafts, cycling and going on holiday.
In good weather, I enjoy going for a run. I like travelling, especially across Europe.
former prime Rhodesia,a d a sportsman. humility and facets of his
I take the example of those who know what real hospitality is. I would also like to be better able to show my friends that I love them.
Barnabas. He always saw the potential of everyone. He can often be taken for someone insignificant, but that would not matter to him.
I am content to be who I am. For just one day, I would like to be in the shoes of an athlete, Cavendish or Bolt.
Optimism.
A grandmother to my grandchilden in South Africa.
It will probably not be news to you that Wilfried Goossens is our Director for Dutch-speaking Belgium and President of the Mission Board. However you may not know that, before joining the Mission,Wilfried was Chief Engineer on vessels for a Flemish ship-owner. At that time, he led a team….. of mechanics. In 1981 he joined the ranks of the Mission, since when he has seen things once dreamed of: the creation of a Bible Exhibition, Christian Bookshops in Flanders and in Wallonia, young people’s camps in Limauges… In a few years’ time, Wilfried will retire and pass the baton to his successor. “In the future, I hope to take time for everything I haven’t been able to do up to now, travel with my wife, spend time with the family. Perhaps I will begin in a new ministry abroad, but not, of course, in the leadership. I still feel young enough to serve the Lord.” He adds. Luc and Suzy Salsac joined the Mission in 1996. They have two children, Thalia who is 15 and Loann who is 13. Together with Arla Bracke they form the pastoral team of the Mission post in Herstal, a church planted in the early 90s by the Zanders among others. In September 2012, Luc became Mission Director for French-speaking Belgium, a function undertaken in parallel with his ministry in Herstal.
The BEM abroad ABC in South Africa ABC supports the Mission’s evangelistic campaigns. Our vision is to bring the gospel to the whole of Belgium. We seek to make the Christians in South Africa aware of the spiritual needs in Belgium. In order to do this, we visit churches and supply them with newsletters and prayer subjects concerning the Mission. We have existed now for 20 years and the team consists of four members. We also partner the ECV and the VEG (two evangelical denominations in Flanders). It is our desire to reach more folk in South Africa in order to send more workers out to the field. We thank the Lord for the privilege of participating in the advance of the Kingdom of God in Belgium. The UK Board in the United Kingdom The British Council usually meets three times per year. Our task is to ensure that financial gifts from the UK are transferred to their designated recipient, mostly but not entirely the Britsh staff members of the Mission. We also decide on the designation of other gifts. In recent years for example we have supported capital projects in bookshops and at the Camp. We answer all enquiries sent to us by e-mail or to the BEM post box, and we distribute the English language edition of BEM Info to supporters in the UK. The number of supporters is in slow decline, as we are losing older supporters who are not being replaced. We try to keep informed about BEM workers, and pray for them in their various situations. The US Board in the United States of America * The U.S. board of the B.E.M. represents the Mission in the U.S.A. and looks after the transfer of gifts intended for Mission workers. It also makes our projects known and helps to advance the Kingdom of God in Belgium by sending short-term teams. In addition the U.S. board helps .B.E.M. workers to establish a network of supporters. It is through the U.S. board that American candidates apply to join the Mission long-term. * read more about the US Board on our website: www.b-e-m.org
Onze Hoop in the Netherlands Onze Hoop is the organisation that transfers gifts from Holland to workers in Belgium and other countries. At the same time, we send out a bi-monthly newsletter about missionary activities in Belgium. The committee is made up of a chairperson, a treasurer, a secretary, a coordinator for the barges and one other member. We are an ANBI institution which means that donors can obtain a tax reduction on their gifts. We also participate in various events in Holland sending volunteers, where appropriate, to represent B.E.M. We are continually seeking new contacts for BEM Info, folk with an interest in advancing the work of evangelism in Belgium. Our members are advancing in age and their number is diminishing somewhat rapidly.
Belgian Evangelical Mission UK P O Box 617 EPSOM KT17 9JQ E-mail: BEMUK@b-e-m.org Lambermontlaan 158 - 1030 Brussel +32 (0)2/241.30.15 - information@b-e-m.org
Belgian Evangelical Mission - UK is a member of Global Connections (Formerly the Evangelical Missionary Alliance), a registered charity (no.247192) and a registered data user.