Boonaerts Henki MaryEsther 1980 Belgium

7/24/2019 Boonaerts Henki MaryEsther 1980 Belgium

1/6

DDRESSES

B E L G I U M

F O R

C H R I S T

J ohn Mark

Mary

Esther

J ame s

Matthew

YQL

x i^Q 2 1980 MAY AUOUST

WRAPPING THINGS UP

Has

it ever

been nice

being

able

to visit so many of our supporters

and

thank

them

personally for

past

support, we have been welcomed so kindly -it'sthe warm welcome (hotweather) that we could do

without After mostly cool

weather

in

Belgium and summer highs

of

these

loo-i lo

temperatures have been something else

Added

to

the

joyof

seeing

supporters again

after six

years

in

most cases,

it

has

also

been

good

to

ge t

to

meet many

new

Christians. Hopefully

some added

support will arise from

some

of these meetings;

maybe even some recruits, in fact, inWisconsinwe made tentative plans for one tojoinussometimethe

beginning of the year. Be praying for these developments and looking for more news on this.

Now we

are on

the last tour of our furlough, preparing

this newsletter

from Arizona. We

hope

to

wrap

things up beforewe leave the States, inwayswe feellikewe'reon our last legs,tool Weplan a travelogue

and more details,

maybe even some

pictures, in a following

newsletter.

Suffice it to

say

for

now. we

thank

everyone

for kind hospitality and a wonderful

summer. The

Lord has blessed us with goodhealth

and

safe

travels

thus

far Itwill be good to

get

back to Belgium; our flight is reserved for September 28

at

8:30 in

the evening

from Chicago. We

have

enjoyed

being

in

the States once again and

wish

we

could

be wrapping up presents of appreciation for each you you. and not just wrapping up these last events

before

ou r depar ture

NEWS FROM THE

B-R-E-T-H-R-E-N

IN

BELGIUM

During our absence from Belgium we have been able to phone Christians there as well as Henki's

mother. We've had a few letters as well, with both

good and bad news.

Henki's father,

who

was

already

in the hospital when we left for the States, had been very

ill

Wegot tosee

Kina

after

sheand

her family

returned

to the

U.S., and

she

added

to the

other news that

Pa Boonaerts

had been awful

close to

death,

and they'd prepared themselves to that end. But. the Lord has

been

gracious to us once again and

spared his

life.

He

was

able to be home for the weekend, so we rejoice inhis strengthening health,

and

look forward to seeing

him

once again.

The

Christians

in

Genk

and Maasmechelen have

been

encouraging one another.

Summer months

have taken their toll in attendance there, as well as in

the

States, as

many

take

vacation

trips away from

Belgium. Weather there has

been

very cold, meaning stoves on most of the

summer

months, even

Christians were able

to

share

in a

two-church picnic which must

have

been

great. An

intern, Steve Petty

from Kentucky Christian College, even

preached

at Maasmechelen once in

our absence,

with Dennis

Mess imer t ransla t ing .

Probably the best news that

was sent

us was concerning continuingevangelism. The

ones

going out

with th e Jule iviiller filmstrips have been

able

to lead one to Christ,

whom

we'd not even met before we

left. It

must

have

been

a wonderful

experience

for

them

to immerse Michael

Janssen,

their first

convert.

Just before we came to

the States

a young couple, Nico and Carolin Peters (Caroiin is

the niece

of Roger

and Mia verstopped). was

also

immersed

making a total of 35 since April. 1979. May the Lord continue

to bless all efforts in winning souls and nurturing

them

in the

Christian way.

WHAT'S IN A NAME??

Looking at the letterhead (we're sorry not to have a new picture by now, but traveling doesn't seem to

be conducive to getting one )

and

the names included with our picture,

set

me thinking. Itseems strange

to see all long,

double

names for the

members

of

ou r

family, except Henki, pronounced like hanky . We

don't want

you

to

be

deceived, or think he's

been

slighted. That'sjust the nickname forHenkrick. his first

name.

His entire name is

Henkrick

Willelm

Mattheu Boonaerts. Especially

to help those

of

you

who

don't

know us personally, and have trouble deciding how

to

pronounce that

last

name,

it's like bone-arts .

You

know, there

are

the

fine-arts,

medical

arts,

industrial arts,

and,

the bone-arts

- Boonaerts

While we're on names and

nicknames,

this may be interesting also.

John

Mark's Turkish

friend's

mother

cannot pronounce

his

American

name,

so

it

comes out

Stom mark

which

inDutch

happens

to

mean

dumb mark ,

and

James

comes

out Chips That reminds me. my brothers l iked to slur my

long

name Mary Esther together fast,

and

it

came

out Mustard which l

always

liked more than what lots of

my classmates called

me

- Fatty, otherwise I'vealways preferred MaryEsther, saying Mary,

Mary,

Quite

contrary, if

you

call

me

Mary

If

you

call

me

just

Esther. I won't

complain

though.

Did

you know

all your s is ters in Christ in Belgium retain their maiden name, legally,

even

after

marriage? We won't confuse you with all those extra names, though, whenever more are immersed.

That

is why Roland appears on our

address stamper

to

those

of you with

whom we

correspond from


2/6

Medaryville Christian Church

Box

140,

South Jefferson

Street

Medaryville,

Indiana

U.S.A. 47957

Non-Proilt Organization

U.S. Postage

Medaryville, Ind.

PERMIT #4

Belgium besides the newslet ters . Having been married in the

States,

and being more familiar with

American

customs, I

always

sign

my

name

Mary Esther

Boonaerts.

so confuse myself and Belgian

authorities when rm s uppo se d

to

answer

that

Roland is

my

name Some

things

are just too

hard to

ad jus t to . 1 guess

Of

course

in Bible

t imes,

names

often

had meanings

and

were

given

expressly

fo r

the meaning.

My

Grandma Rothermel

had

received her n ame Zoena from her father who

h ad b ee n

s tudy ing Greek,

and

gave

her this

name from the Greek

word

for life,

saying

May

she have

life, and

have

it

abundantly

Indeed

she

did. serving her Lord

almost

50

years

in

India, and living

to

be 96

years old.

Surely

you know

Je sus mean s

Jehovah i s Salvat ion , a s it's Hebrew

equivalent ,

Joshua. Do you know

what

your

name

me ns

AFTER

A-L-L THESE YEARS

Afew yearsago the need arose forsomeone to helpour forwarding agents, John and Eileen McDonald.

Melvin

and

Loueila Roller answered our plea published

in

the

HORIZONS

magazine

and though we'd

not

met

them, because of various reasons, we felt

le d

of God to accept them in part-time capacity.

Since

then, they

have taken over complete

duties of forwarding

and

corresponding

agents

for

the

work in

Belgium

for

Christ it would

seem

most unusual Mary Esther having

grown up in India

that they

have

also,

due

to several

unusual circumstances, become agents

for George

and

Mary Varughese of Kerala.

India This is of course a heavy load for them, but they have graciously

said they

will

continue

in

this

dual

capacity as long as the Lord gives them strength. This latter bit ofinformation we had not realized until

our arrlval to th e States this summer. They felt iiwould

be

best to

explain

the situation personally, and we

a dm ir e t hem

even

more fo r t hei r gene ros i ty .

A

4. .

; 1 -^

The first meeting-the Boonaerts and the Rollers finally met at Lincoln,

Illinois o n J un e 5.

Melvin

and Loueila came

to Lincoln, Illinois to pick us up after a short visit

with

Mary

Esther's brother's

familyand another short get-togetherwith her folks William and Jean Roland,on furloughfromIndia.We

felt itespecially nice that

we

not only got to

meet

them forthe

first

time, but

some

ofthe familyas well. It

was so nice to spend June 5th until the 20th with them on their northern Indiana farm, getting to know

them and their family, friends, and share with the congregation where they attend services. We

so

appreciated their hospitality then, and other times we were in their area, making their home sort of

base

between

tours.

We

want to make public

this

tribute to them and thank them for their

helpfulness and Christian spirit, far above and beyond what could be expected. We hope you too will

share

words

of thanks and

encouragement whenever

you

have

occasion to correspond with them.

Praise God,

and

thank Him for Rollers,

and other

forwarding agents

who

are indeed a vital link between

the

supporting

churches and missionaries.

S PEC IAL

NOTE - The

Rollers

have offered

to

help

us

sell

our

automobile

after we

return

to

Belgium. It is

an

olive green, four door, 1972 Chevy impala. We've

been

getting about 15 to 16 miles to

the gallon, air-conditioning running all the time, and we've really enjoyed good service

and

comfortable

riding. If

anyone

is

looking

for

something

in this line,

please contact

Rollers at

above U.S. address

or call

them at (2 19) 826-4264. Funds will

be

needed shortly after

arrival

back in Belgium to purchase

transportation, so we

hope

to use what we get out of

th e

Impala towards that. Thanks for your help or

i n t e r e s t

in

t h is m a t te r


3/6

Medaryvllle

Christian Church

Box

140,

South

Jeffe rson Stree t

Medaryvilie, Indiana

U.S.A.

47957

FIELD ADDRESS

Henk i Boona e r t s

Lou is Me r ci e rl a an 35

Maasmechelen

3640 BELGIUM

Vol . X, No. 3

Mary Esther

J o hn Mark

J am e s Mat t hew

BELG IUM

FO R CHR I S T

Non-Profit Organization

U.S.

Postage

PAID

Medaryvilie. Ind.

PERMIT

4

FORWARDING AGENT

Melvin Louel la

Rol ler

Route

1, Bo x 92

Burnettsviile, Indiana

U.S.A. 47926

Sept-Dec.

TRAVELOGUE of 1980 Furlough

TRIP

How do you go about giving a report of a 116 day trip? You are bound to forget someone or something very

important Therefore with the following article, especially for those of you whom wedid not get to visit this

summer, we would hke to give some details of our trip to the States. Probably the rest of you who read this

newsletter,

and

those whom we did see will also be interested in these facts,

and

amused with some of the

happenings.

On the days of

June

3

and

4going to the States,

and again

September 28

and

29when wereturned toBelgium,we

were upfor our travels about 24hours each: sitting, standing, walking (orrunning to catch a train orbus before

we'd be late ) or waiting on delayed transportation, before we could lay down to stretch out for a good

night

of

sleep. Of course the rigors of travel to foreign countries aren't nearly what they used to be, and weare thankful

and

fortunate

no t to have weeks or

even

months of travel

(even like Mary

Esther

used

to have when they

went

to

India

years ago). Jet lag, and

the

drastic time changes take their toll, and it is always good to be someplace you

can

call home and be with friends instead of amongst s trangers

and

often impolite,

rough

persons.

We praise

God

fo r safe

and

modem travel.

Wewere glad during our various tours

this

summer, to have met friends, and professors from our College days,

and several

missionary

friends

in

at

least 26

differenttowns

we passed

through.

We were also

able

to

visit

Mary

Esther's family, saw

her

pEirents once

at

her

brother's

home,

as

well

as

once more

in

St. Louis. We

also

saw her

aunts, uncles, and cousins;

as

well

as Henki's

sister, Kina

and her family

(see insert page for more on this).

As fa r

as

churches and

supporter s, we were able

to

visit

al l but

one

of our most regular, faithful

supporting

groups

(those

who have

been regular

in

at least the last

six

years).

The one

we did

not get

to is

in

SaultSte. Marie,

Michigan. They

had started supporting us after a visitduring our furlough in '73-'74 when wewent to

visit

college

friends

who were ministering with their congregation at the time. We just couldn't

route

a tour

that

fa r

north

in

the short time we

were

in th e States,

especially

since

we

didn't know many on the

way,

nor were ableto

l ine up

any

other speaking dates between

Indiana

and there to help

make

the

trip

more worthwhile. Weare awfully sorry to

have

had to leave

them

ou t

as they

hold a special place

in

ou r

hearts, and they

continue to support us

though

we

were

unable to v is it them

but

that

one t ime

in

1974

We

hope our

readers will especially remember this

group

as

they support us, and we extend our apologies, and thanks to

the

saints of

the

Rosedale Community Church.

Somestatistics concerning our trip are

that

weonly

had

tomake two major changesin our announced schedule,

and added several morespeakingengagements than originally planned. We stayedovernight 4times in a motel,7

times with family (either Henki's orMary Esther's), 35times in different Christians' homes,and even5times in

the car to get to the next placeontime, as wellas 3 times inBibleColleges, and 1veryspecialtimein theOldFolks

home where Grandma Rothermel spent the

last

years ofher life on earth. The boys especially found that a treat,

and enjoyed the attention from all the grandmas and grandpas That means ofthe

days wewere in the

States, westayed in 50different places, slept on 50different beds At least 7 ofthe 35Christian families turned

their

home over

to us in their absence,

and most

of them total strangers to us --or

should

we say, we to

them.

What

a wonder to

belong

to God's family

Weenjoyed

and

got fattened up at 13 potlucks and fish fries, went to 25 different churches, where we didn't

know

more

than

two

families of the congregation or supporting group (though they were supporting us

i n many

cases),

and

were able to

visit

30 of

the regular supporters

(of

the

last

10 years).

That

made

a

total

of83 times,

at

least, that Henki or Mary Esther told of the work in Belgium, including sharing with folks in old folks homes, etc.

as

well

as church

groups, or

individual

supporters. Besides that, the boys were

also

calledon to

answer questions

or

talk

for Sunday school or youth groups. Wewere also able to share 4 times

with

camp or V.B.S., made at least 98

phone calls,

and

wrote

around

164 letters or post cards in connection with

the

trip.


4/6

page 2

Each

of

us

suffered

a little

s ickness due to

the

unusually

hot

summer, more

time changes, and

similar

stress

due

to traveling. Henkihad

the

worsttroublewith hay fever towards

the

endof

the

trip, withsinus trouble, headaches,

and watering eyes. Almost immediately

after

we return^ to

Belgium

thatwas healed. He

didn't seem

tohave any

recurrence

or

t rouble due to

his bout with th e shingle^

just before

going

to

th e

States Praise

th e

Lord - and

we

spent almost

$600.00 on special

health

insurance

for

the months

we were

in

the

States, since

our

Belgian

insurance didn 't

cover us outside

Europe.

Only 4 times did we have any car trouble, mostly minor repairs - once installing four new tires to insure

safe

t ravel out to

Arizona

and back.

That

was still cheaper than f lying out

as

originally planned Several other

problemswereactually a collapsed exhaust pipe

that

weididn'tpin-point until back inBumettsville, thanks tothe

Rollers' friend, Mike,and their son-in-law, Tom Weare ppglad to announce havingbeenable tosell our car since

our return ~all in all saving on not having to rent while in the U.S.which would have about tripledour expenses.

Only one

time

did we

run

out of gasoline,

on the last

leg_| f our

trip

~

not too bad an

average

in over 14,000 miles

traveled in th e green Impala

There

were

many

firsts,

especially

for

the

boys.

For

th;^

first

time,

they saw

an

Americanmail

box,

andaState

side

V.B.S.

closing program. Greyhound buses, got to ijide a riding mower, see a pledgeof allegiance, see an

elevator

in a

church,

sleep on a wooden pew in church (in Belgium we have

individual

chairs), smell skunk (and

get

all

excited every

time thereafter when they recognizp^

it

again ),

and

enjoy Captain Kangaroo among some

other new T.V. shows.

Theyalso ate

their

first

T.V.

dinners,

listenedto a

bandin

a

park, saw an egg

factory

and

went

fishing

~

James caught the

most

and John Mark the largest

fish. They

saw their

first

lightning

bugs (fire

flies), attended an

American

funeral,

played with bamboo

poles,

went

to an

American

school, and got to ride on a

school

bus, saw their

first

canyon, the Oak

Creek,

near the Grand

Canyon,

and

went to

their

first drive-in theater.

Also they got lost for

their first time, which

they

hope wijlf

be

their last. Henki helped

bail hay and do other farm

chores for the first t ime -

he's

always

had

a dream of having a farm,

but

we

just

couldn't get

him

to

stay in

the

States on th e Rollers' farm He enjoyed picking strawbemes in a commercialpatch, and went roller skating, also

a first

for the

boys. Mary

Esther

got

the

first

sun burn in

th e

l s t

s well .

her life, after

living

15 years in

India,

and hopes it'll be

Some other things

that

kept us

busy

during the summer that may be interesting or noteworthy are that we

helped the Rollers (foronce)to staple, address, sort, and mail newsletters; got used to somewhatdifferentdriving

a h-u-g-e car,

for one,

with

automaticshift,

different sigjis, and some changed

traffic regulations

after

six

years;

-we-dadrive on theame-side-in

Belgium,

so thatatleastyasn't

an adjustment);

Henkt(whoabout^ve up trsdngf

and Mary Esther

had

to getused to theAmerican

typewri^r

keyboard

again,

we

were

about eaten

up

offand

on

all

summer by mosquitos,

saw

and smelled oil wells in southern Illinois and Texas, werein a pretty

bad

hail storm,

and an absolutelybeautiful thunderand lightning storm in the

desert

of

New

Mexico

and

Arizona. We saw the 4th

of July

fireworks,

and had

a

tour of the

Standard

Puhil^shing Company, found several Belgian and

Holland

settlements, and even enjoyed some home food and forgot the diary (with important addresses, and all this

information)at a Shakey's pizza place, so had to drive packseveral miles to retrieveit

We

also

visited

several places of interest in connection

with

Mormon history, saw the

cement

and fiberglass

grave containers being lowered into

a

grave, and saw th e Shelbyville lake

and

dam,

and a film

on it s

development.

We saw several Amish settlements, and got

in

on a Farm

Bureau

meeting,

were

introduced to

Shaklee products,

and had

a surprise Tupperware

party in

absentia,

and one

silentone) with

about

$140.00 worth

of gifts,

plus extra

for shipping costs - so here's a special

thanks

to

the

Ferguson

ladies that

made it possible.

i '

Herby

Goes Bananas is one ofthe

only

movies wegot tp see to

help

unwind us,

and

th e

boys

nicknamed

some

of

thebeds

we

sleptinas jello-beds maybe notmuch different

from

thewaterbeds

now

so

popular,

huh

One time

there was such abad

storm

wehadtowaitan

hour

toshowj theslide presentation, when the

electricity

finally came

back

on,

and

once

thewind damaged

trees

badly.

Henki d

theboys

began

learningthe

Greek

alphabet,andthe

boys

had to

study some

on

their Dutch and

French

lessons

to keep up on

missed

school

days. Mary Esther learned

how tomakeLouisiana chicken gumbo while in Texas, we allwentacrossintoMexico

while

in ElPasoafter

visiting-theiiew

Bible-college

there.Henki

andMary^Eistther^speeially^njoyed reading several-back issues of

newsletters telling

of how th e work

in

Belgium

was begi^n ~ telling

of hi s

father, elder

Boonaerts

and

we

even

found some pictures including Henki He was also ablie to go calling several times with preachers where we

visited,

s it i n

on

a

board meeting,

and

get involved

in

witnessing,

and

other activities of churches where we

visited. We were even able to witness

a few immersions,jand share insome Bible

college chapel

services. Mary

Estherhelped in a quilting circle andlater theladiesevenpt herpick outsomequiltstotakebackforuseinc-o-l-d

Belgium. Thanks to

you

ladies,

also

'

We

even

hada

few shopping sprees

to

get

things to

take

|back

with

us, then

packed severalboxes

for shipping to

Beglium, go t interested in gyro-copter hobby helicopters with several folks, and developed about 8

rolls

of film of

all our activities. We went to

th e

Cincinnati zoo where Henki

had

been with

his

new bride 12 years before, toured

several museums and

dairy

farms, and saw

theState Caijitol

inDes Moines, Iowa; andwent to

a

few more special

places

of

interest

in

St .

Louis

since

that

is

where

both

he

ys

were born.

So,

as

you

can

see, our summer was filled with

just

about every

possible

k ind o f activity, spiritual and

secular

Besides keeping

a

daily

diary,

making letter notations and other jottings, it took

about three

days for

theseactivities tobecompiled forthis

travelogue.

We hclpe you

enjoy

this report ofthe lighter sideofthe life of

missionaries

on

furlough.


5/6

Sept.-Dec., 1980 page

3

Insert

No. 7

Special

PRAYER REQUEST

Insert

Isn't it

wonderful

t obe able to

share

together in the Kingdom of

God?

We

share

these requests

fo r

prayer, in the

hope

you'll

pray,

but

also le t

us

know

of

your

special

requests

so we

can share

together with

you

even

more.

Again,

I

tell you t ha t i f two

of

you on earth

agree

about anything

you

ask for,

it will

he

done for you by

my Father

in Heaven, (Matthew 18:19, NIV)

1>- ANIKA

Aftera kneeinjury,hospitalization, and subsequent slowing

down

in spiritualityof

CARTUYVELS

this young lady, Anikahas continuedherhigher educationinanotherarea soisnow

studying fervently to be a teacher. Her

parents,

though

th e general

attendance in

Genk has declined

drastically

in

th e

past years, are once

again

morefaithful in gathering

with

Christiansin Genk

for worship. Some

contact

with young

people

of

Maasmechelen

has

l et us

see

that

she

is

again

more

active

and

interested in

things of

th e Lord.

Recently she

phoned that a

friend ofhers

at school

wanted

to be

immersed. Lucy

had asked to be immersed

of

th e

ones

who had initially brought her to believe, but

they

considered this an

unimportant act. Having read in

th e

Scriptures

and

talking withAnika,Lucy

decided

she definitely

wanted

tobe

immersed.

A service

was already being

planned for

others

to be

immersed,

so she

was

able to

join

us, and

morejoy

was added to

that

evening We hope new concern for her

sister in

Christ and

added

joy of

serving

Christ this way

may help Anika and her

parents

to renew

their

faith and t ru st in

God

and His kingdom.

2) SAM AND KINA They have returned to the States as most of you know afterjust

over two

years

SURFUS

ministering with the congregation in Genk. They have settled in Riverdale,

Georgia, where Kina sings in the choir and Sam is teaching a lesson Sunday

evenings. He is working fo r

a

real estate agency and

they

are

getting

adjusted to

their

new life

down in the

warmer

South.

Henki

and Kina's

father

( elder Boonaerts

to

any

of

you

who followed news

of

the French Christ ian

mission years ago) passed on f rom this

life

on

December

19 after a

long

period

of

illness. Kina was

able

to come

for the funeral, just missing

seeing Pa

once

again

by a few

hours,

when herplanewasdelayed. Thusshe was

able

to

spend

Chris tmas with her

family

in

Belgium.

The

congregations

in

Genk

and

Maasmechelen

contributed

'generouslytoirelp^Surfus' repay theTnoney Ihey

Ixadto

borrow for herplaire'fare. They hope tdvisltThends

arid

family in Europe

as a

family,

as the

Lord wil ls

and funds

are saved.

3)

GASTONAND When

we

returned to

Belgium

this fall one of the recent

converts

Paschal

EMMIE

Vandendriessche,continued giving the study for the mid-week service. This left

KUYPERS

Henki free from having to prepare for that study, and able to do some more

evangelism. Since we knew

Gaston

was only home Wednesday evenings (he is

taking night classes while unemployed)

we

thought

we'd

try

to

show the Bible

study

slides

at

their home

these

evenings. They

were

willing and with

th e

exception

of

one

evening,

Gas ton was home

to

view

th e

different

lessons. The children, ranging in ages from 12 to

just

under 2 years, were also present usually,

and

often showed

signs of enjojdng the study. The series

has

been completed, and Gaston feels he is still young enough to have

plenty

of time to

repent later. Emmie

still

holds

that

since the two teach different things,

we and the

Roman

Catholic church,

she

cannot know which is actually the truth --so she ll

stay

with her presentmanner ofworship.

Please continue to pray

that

they will see the futility of their ways and thinking, and

that

the Spirit ofGod may

convic t t hem o f s in

4) LUCIEN

Once

again we have lost contactwiththis former convert Often Henki

would

see

REYNAERTS

him at

the hospital in Lanaken when he

went

to visit

his father after

our return to

Belgium. He

showed signs

of bitterness

and antagonism

towards

the

church though

we had tried to be

patient and

loving in al l ways,

visiting

himwhen he lived in Eisden, and encouraginghim to be

faithful. Since then,

he

has left

the hospital

and

not

moved back

to

Eisden, so we

do

not

know

where

he

lives. His

brother, Pierre,

had

caused much trouble

in

the church during our

absence andhas also

discontinued

attending

services. It seems his main concern

was

to getwhat

material

help out of

the

group that he could, no t reallybowing

to

God's way

of life. He has lied and misconstrued the

Scriptural teachings

and helpfulness

shown

him

throughout

the

years so

th e

Christians no longer feel

he

is sincere in seeking after God. I t is indeed sad after so

many years of

struggling

and sacrificing for him, his family, and

brother

- but

the

Lord shall repay. We justhope

he, too, will repent and see the error of his way and humble himselfbefore God, sincerely. The entire Bible study

slides have been shown in

his

home, but his wife will not

submit

to a new

way of

life, either.

PLEASE

NOTE :

In the last insert page for prayer requests there was a slight mistake.

Through

the years

we'd

not numbered

these,

and

thought it would be a convenience to doso in order to keep themorderly for future use

and

comparison.

Unfortunately that number (the

first )

was

incorrect.

It should

have

read

No. 6 (not 5) so

this one is

No. 7 as

it

should

be . Please

excuse th is s light error.


6/6

Fl yi ng to and from

th e

U.S. by

Icelandic, we

once

aga in boa rd ed

modern

jet

planetransportation

for

the

major

part

of

ou r

travel to the States.

We also

had

train,

bus.

a nd c ar

travel

f or t hi s p ar t of

th e trip.

S U M M E R

S N A P S

The re were man y firsts, especially

for

th e

boys. Amongthem,

getting

mail

from th e American

mail

bo* on an

Indiana

farm,

was a surprising long

walk compared

to

ou r mail box being

at

theedge

of

ou r

yard, a few feetfrom

th e

house

Th e 72 Impala

took

us over

the

most

of our t rave ls , all the way to Arizona

an d back -- about

14,000

miles. Here

wea r e in

f ron t o f No tz s home, who ha d

visited us while

they

were in

Europe

visiting their

son

and his family in the

military in Germany.

Last moments with ou r

fonvarding

agents spent a few days before leaving Chicago, and in

t he h om e of on e of

ou r

former professors, Don Har gr ove, now minister of Richton Park

chu rch

Quilting with the

ladies

of a Dorcas

circle wa s a special for

Mary

Esther,

s ince there aren t any ladies groups

ye t

in th e Maasm eche len

chu r ch .

After

being

awake for more than 24

hou rs , we had many su rp ri se s waiting

fo r u s a t h o m e

in

Maasmeche len .

So me

of t he welcoming party, and pan tr y

supp l ies shown

in

ou r

kitchen.

Mary

Esther, John

Mark. James an d

Henki

saying

good-bye to Grandpa

(Opa) Boonaerts in t he Lan ak en

hospital

just before

leaving

forthe

U.S.

(See prayer insert.)

. . T he NUMBER of th e DISCIPLES MULTIPLIED . .

Since Michel Janssen, reported in

our

last newsletter, was

immersed (bringing

th e

total converts since

April

1979 to 35 ,

there have been

nine

more

who have

been

obedient

in

this

act, bringing the total

to 44

With several

of

th e

families also come children.

While

we

were

in

th e

States, Marie

Jeanne

(and

Peter)

De

Droog

welcomed

their

first child, daughter Evie into their home. Since then several more babies

have

joined the families of young

couples:

Roberto

to

Donna Telia and Tzino Martini, Kevin

to

Carolin

and Nico

Peeters, and

Bartje

to

Josian

and PaschalVandendrissche.

Luc

and CathyVerstoppen are also awaiting their

first

addition.

After

many years

of 2 to 4

children

in th e

congregation,

we are

now

abundantly blessed

with

22

under

the

age

of 15, though not all

attend regularly. The small hall in Maasmechelen is bursting her seams and we are t ruly in need of another

gathering place fo r worship,

education

and fellowship.

We hope to

report t he names of the n ine

brothers and

sisters

noted above, and tell of some other additions in

t he n ex t newsletter. Please continue to pray fo r al l a spec ts o f the

congregation

-- God s kingdom in

the Maas

Valley

area

-- as you wait f or more

news.

PLEASE

NOTE:

Since our

return

to Belgium, we ve had a few

changes

in our address and telephone number.

Though

we ve not

moved, please be

sure

to include

these

differences from now on:

Zip

number -

3640

and Phone number -

O il 760

3 3 7 .

Documents

Boonaerts Henki MaryEsther 1980 Belgium