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7/24/2019 Boonaerts Henki MaryEsther 1980 Belgium
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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
7/24/2019 Boonaerts Henki MaryEsther 1980 Belgium
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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
7/24/2019 Boonaerts Henki MaryEsther 1980 Belgium
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.
7/24/2019 Boonaerts Henki MaryEsther 1980 Belgium
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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.
7/24/2019 Boonaerts Henki MaryEsther 1980 Belgium
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.
7/24/2019 Boonaerts Henki MaryEsther 1980 Belgium
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
from th e American
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 .