Before our site visit to the Netherlands, we were mildly unclear as to how many congregations there actually were in the Church of God in the Netherlands, and how many we would be working with.
For a variety of reasons, a question we had before this site visit was this: How much involvement and partnership will we have with one particular congregation, in Landgraaf? This congregation easily fits the mold of the Traditional Church, and we just didn't know if they were going to be receptive to our ministry with them.
That question was quickly and
decidedly answered upon arrival in Holland.
Not only did we learn that this congregation had volunteered to host the Unity Service on Saturday evening, but they had also volunteered to host the Fellowship "Bbq" on Friday for pastors and spouses.
The pastor of this congregation is a young man named Bert. His father was this congregation's pastor before him.
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| L-R: Bert, Dan, Jaap |
The bbq was held at Bert's house, where his wife showed off her amazingly-gifted culinary skills. But that's beside the point of this story. The point of this story is what occurred during Bert and my first (second?) meeting.
Upon entry to his house, I made my way through the room meeting everyone and introducing ourselves.
What happened that evening was so anointed and Spirit-filled that, in truth, I don't remember the specific order of these events.
At some point after the initial greeting time, Bert pulled me aside and this conversation ensued...
* * *
Bert: "Your face, when you came in our door, I told my wife I know you. We've met before."
Me: (Stunned) "Huh, No, I don't think so."
Bert: "No, really, I remember you. We've met before. I heard you speak."
Me: (Thoroughly Perplexed) "Huh?!? Are you serious? When? Where? I really think you're thinking of someone else."
Bert: "No, it was you. I heard you speak one morning. We've met. I know you. When I saw your face, I remembered."
Me: (Shocked) "Uh....how is that possible? Where did we meet? When was this?!?"
Bert: "In Anderson--"
Me: "--You've been to Anderson!??"
Bert: "Yes, for Walter Froese's....(something that I didn't catch because I was so shocked and trying to piece together the impossibility of what he was saying)"
Me: "Why were you in Anderson??"
Bert: "I was there for Walter Froese's celebration. I was on my way to Edmonton (Canada)."
Me: (Absolutely Shocked, spinning the wheels of my brain 100 MPH or 160 KPH trying to figure out if this really could have happened) "Where was this? Where did we meet? Where was I speaking?"
Bert: "At the school. At the seminary."
Me: (Thinking 'Oh my gosh...Could this really have happened? I did speak at the School of Theology Chapel once. But that was only one time and that was in the spring of 2010') "Bert, when was this? When did we meet?"
Bert: "It was in 2010. In February or March."
Me: (Absolutely stunned) "Oh my gosh---I remember that. I preached one time in the Seminary Chapel, and it was in March of 2010. I can't believe this..."
Bert turned to his father, Jaap, and excitedly relayed this conversation in Dutch. The look on his father's face was absolutely priceless as he, too, sought to accept the absolute impossibility of this true "coincidence."
* * *
What is absolutely amazing is that this happened, that these series of past circumstances compounded to spark a connection and partnership in the present and into the future.
In 2010, two months before I went to
Berlin with a class led by
MaryAnn Hawkins (which in a very real sense got this whole thing started), I was asked to preach in the School of Theology Chapel by the Dean of the Chapel, MaryAnn Hawkins. On this one particular day, a random young man from the Netherlands (related to Gustav Jeeninga) named Bert Hage happened to be in the congregation as he was visiting retiring Church History Professor Walter Froese in Anderson, on his way to Edmonton, Alberta.
Two and a half years later, that young pastor of a Church in the Netherlands would remember the other young pastor who spoke in that chapel service in Anderson as being the same young missionary who walked through the door of his home in Landgraaf.
The two young ministers would instantly bond, recognizing that God was very much a part of their meeting.
Christy and I (and Sofie, of course) left the Netherlands believing that we are going to have as strong of a partnership with this congregation as we are any of the other congregations we are going to be working with in the Netherlands.
Thanks be to God for his creativity, his imagination, and his timing (which always seems to amaze...).
For those interested in hearing that SOT Chapel Sermon, here's a
link.
For those interested in supporting our ministry in the Netherlands, here's a
link.
