May - June, 2019

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Meditation Book“Escrito Esta”

Year-EndFinancialSummary 2018

Empanadas deQueso

PaulPaulNorth American General Mission

Paul Magazine Volume 36-3 May - June, 2019In This Issue:

●Meditation … 2Rev. J. Den Hoed

●From the Mission Board … 2Rev. E.C. Adams

●Meditation Book “Escrito Esta” … 3Mr. G. Uijl

●Year-End Financial Summary - 2018 … 6 Mr. J. Van Brugge

●For Children - Empadanas de Queso … 10 Mrs. J. Van Beek

●For Children - Children of the Call - cont. … 11 Mrs. J. Van Beek

●From the Administrator … 11Mr. J. Van Brugge

●Mission Income … 12

●Budgets 2019 … 14

●Our Mission Family … 15

Paul: A bimonthly publication of the Netherlands Re-formed Congregations of North America. It describes theactivities of the North American General Mission(NAGM) and the experiences of the mission team.

Editor: Rev. J. Den Hoed 665 Vance Avenue FRANKLIN LAKES NJ 07417

Assistant editor: Mr. Martien Vanderspek

Administrator: Mr. J. Van Brugge 377 Poldon Drive NORWICH ON N0J1P0 Tel. 519-863-5765 Fax. 519-863-5875

Comments, articles for publication and editorial cor-respondence should be sent directly to the administrator.All financial support should be sent to the administrator.

All articles and pictures are copyrighted and may notbe used or edited without the express written permissionof the Mission Board.

The Board of the NAGM:President Rev. J. Den HoedVice-President Rev. P. Van RuitenburgClerk Rev. E. AdamsTreasurer Mr. Neil Stam

Mr. Gerald NeelsMr. Larry TeunissenMr. Henry de Kok

Your continued financial support is needed andgreatly appreciated.

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On Cover page…

Children buying empadanas duringrecess time.

Children playing a game

The Lord Jesus preached, saying, “How shall weescape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at thefirst began to be spoken by the Lord.” (Hebrew 2:3) Itis as if the Apostle Paul is saying, “Where will youhide yourselves when you have lived under thepreaching of God’s Word?” The Lord had so manydealings with you and then to die unconverted! It willbe fearful to have neglected all the callings and fallinto the hands of a living God. The Lord will say, “Ihave never known you, go out into outer darkness.”

How shall we escape in that day if we neglect allthe callings today? What will the end be if we do notconsider the day of grace, nor the shortness of it?

How swiftly it flies away. We live on, as if there willnever be an end. We fill the days to the brim withthe world and the pleasures of it till there is no timeleft to think of an approaching eternity. How shall weescape when we do not take heed and bow beforethe preaching of such a salvation?

In our day, we seem to hear, I am of Apollos,another of Paul. However, dear reader, we cannotdie with Apollos or Paul, but only when as a lostsinner, we may by grace come to know the words ofthe Lord Jesus: “I am the Way, the Truth, and theLife. And whatsoever ye may ask in My name, thatwill I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

“I am the way, the truth and the life:no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”

John 14:6

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Meditation: Imputed RighteousnessRev. J. Den Hoed

From the Mission BoardRev. E.C. Adams - Clerk

The months quickly go by. It has been Christmasand now Good Friday and Easter are also past. As wehope to commemorate Pentecost soon, may we begiven prayer that the Lord would pour out His Spiritalso in our day in our denomination but also uponour mission field. It all awaits His blessing! What ablessing it would be if we would hear more: “Menand brethren what shall we do?” That is a peoplewho have been pricked in their heart and see theyhave sinned against the Lord and who do not have allthe answers. They need to be led and shown that

only way unto salvation. He alone is the Way, theTruth and the Life.

As deputies of the Mission Board, Rev. VanRuitenburg, Elder Neil Stam and Elder John VanBrugge again conducted a deputy visit to our missionfield in Bolivia in April. In less than two weeks, theyvisited four locations in Bolivia where the Word ofGod may be brought by our team. While a detailedreport of the visit is always provided to the MissionBoard, you can imagine it is a busy time with all the

meetings with the consistory, school board, team andfamilies. They also visited various local families. Whilein Loma Alta they also held a meeting with the schoolteachers. Rev. Van Ruitenburg provided a topicreminding them what it means to have a ChristianSchool. This was well received and appreciated. Thenext morning we also attended the school chapelwhere Rev. Van Ruitenburg brought his message tomany children and teachers.

A lot of time and effort is provided by our missionteam for the work being done in Bolivia. They cannotdo this in their own strength and therefore they needyour prayers, that the Lord may bless the sowing ofthe seed. It is not about them, but about the message

that may be faithfully brought to the local people.Who can tell if the Lord would bless it to the savingof many souls in Bolivia. Those people need thesame as we do in North America. The number is notyet full and therefore the message needs to bebrought unto the ends of the earth. Many times itmay seem like plowing upon the rocks. However, HisWord will not return void. It is still encouraging thatthere is a desire and hunger for the Word. Why is ityet possible that many can yet be converted?Because “All power is given unto Me in heaven andin earth,” Matthew 28:18 The Resurrected King isable to great things, even today.

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As a mission, we have now for severalyears been working on our own Spanishmeditation book. As the writing andtranslating needs to happen in betweenother activities, it has proven to be quite achallenge to complete a book with 365meditations for a whole year. Therefore itwas decided to split the job: three volumesof each 120 meditations. That way the bookwill also be thinner and more affordable forthe average Bolivian person.

The first volume was completed by theend of 2016. Soon we hope to have thesecond volume printed. Next step will be tofinish the third volume and also print acomplete book with 365 meditations for a wholeyear. These are translated meditations of NRCministers and the mission team.

In the mean time we have had several positiveexperiences regarding the meditation book. It has

been used at our mission supported school, theUnidad Educativa Reformado Cristiano. Also duringoutreach activities we have handed out some. As it isnot a flyer but a book, we consider it wiser to notgive it away freely to whosoever walks by. If there isno interest, they may end up in the gutter. However,

Meditation Book “Escrito Esta”Mr. G. Uijl

once we may have a more serious talk with someone,it is a very applicable gift for someone who would liketo know more about our experiential teachings anddoctrine. In addition the meditation book issomething we can refer to during visits. For example,we visited a lady lately with whom we left ameditation book some months earlier. She spokeabout her bad habits regarding reading the Bible andpersonal prayer. I asked her at what page in themeditation book she was. She said she had only readten pages. Then we spoke about the benefit of astructural lifestyle in which we have fixed momentsto read and pray, and that the meditation book canhelp with that. When we returned later for a visit, thesame lady was very happy to tell us that she has beenreading faithfully and that it had helped her a lot.

Other people have told us that it is such adifferent meditation book compared to othersavailable in Bolivia. For example, new members who

would like to grow in their spiritual life reallystruggle with the lack of good literature. It ishumbling to see how happy they were with only ameditation book with only 120 meditations.

In Bolivia the culture is not focused on reading. Alot of people do not have more books than thebooks they need for school or study. Even worse, forthe poor people, books are too expensive to buy.

The Bible is also barely read. We have peoplecoming from other evangelical churches coming toour church. And if you ask them how much they readtheir Bible, often they say: “only on Sunday inchurch” or sometimes even not in church, becausethe minister would only preach about one certainBible text. It is surprising. We thought that only theRoman Catholic church do not motivate theirmembers to read the Bible, but it is almost the samein most evangelical churches in Bolivia. To stimulatethe people to read the Bible more, the meditationbook is also a good tool. Each meditation isaccompanied with a part of scripture to read.

In the children’s group and in youth group wefocus also on reading the Bible. In every activity welet the children and youth look for the differentverses, so they learn to read and use their Bible. It isvery important to know your Bible, also to stand firmagainst falsedoctrines. Maythat samehabit also beseen muchamong ourNRC youth.May the Lordbless His Wordand our dailymeditationbooks for ourinstruction andcomfort.

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We would like to express our gratitude to the Mission Board for your support and trust during our years onthe field. The Lord helped us through during these years and when we look back we may say: “It was good to bein Tarija.”

We would also like to thank the Mission Team for the good and fine cooperation and the unforgettablemoments during the team retreats.

We would also like to thank the readers of Paul for your support. Not only financially… We hope that theremay be many people who are on their knees for the work of the Mission and the missionary workers in thedifferent locations. Missionary work is not only done on the Mission field, but also at home.

May the Lord help the missionaries and volunteers in Loma Alta, Santa Cruz and Tarija, together with theirfamilies. May the Lord also help the ministers, elders and deacons in our congregations in their responsible tasks.Dear friends, if you look at yourself, you might lose all courage. That is understandable and even necessary. Butthe Lord will fulfill His promise as stated in Scripture:

“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold:them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice;

and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.”(John 10: 16)

Thank You So Much!Fam. Van Grol

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Year-End Financial Summary - 2018Mr. J. Van Brugge

It is the command of the King of His Church: “Goye therefore and teach them…” While that is adifficult task, especially upon the mission fields, yet itis a wonderful task, to proclaim the message of Lawand Gospel to people who have not heard of itbefore. All these people also have a soul for eternity.When the Lord gives a little love in the heart, we willdesire that others would also be called from darknessto His marvelous light. The Lord is willing to use menfor this responsible task. May we then be given a trueprayer for God’s servants but also those on themission field. This impossible task is not in theirhands, but the Lord will prosper His own Word andcause. May He also receive the honor and glory for it.

In order to operate a mission field, yourdonations are appreciated but also needed. Theexpenses are many, but thus far the Lord has inclinedthe hearts of many people to support the work of theNRC Synod. The North American General Mission hasbeen delegated that mandate, and therefore a fullreport of our work and finances are provided to theSynod.

For 2018 our income increased by 11.6%.However, our total expenses increased 21%. This ismainly due to the additional families now on themission field. Yet we were able to meet all ourexpenses for which you are acknowledged. The manydonations received in the church collections, schooland ladies aid fundraising and the many gifts fromindividuals, have made this possible. The Lord is to beacknowledged for providing the means. In thefollowing pages you will note that our budget for2019 is also increasing due to the additional familieswe have on the mission field and the relatedexpenses that come with that. For 2019 we expectan increase of 5.7% in expenses. Therefore your usualstrong support in the annual Pentecost collectionswill be most appreciated. It should be noted that all

income and expenses in the financial statements arerecorded in Canadian dollars.

The following pages provide you with a summaryof the audited financial statements of the NorthAmerican General Mission prepared by MW & Co.Our accounting firm has audited all income andexpenses and found all matters to be in order. Thefull audited statement of our registered charity willbe provided and reviewed at the Synod of 2020. Therecords in Bolivia are also audited annually by BDO.The Mission Board receives monthly financialreports from the team, and in addition, when deputyvisits are done, an independent check is also doneon the records in Bolivia.

May the Lord of the harvest continue to providethe means, but also that many prayers may be sentup that His kingdom may come. It is encouragingthat, at times, we may continue to hear and noticethat the Lord is working with His spirit, also upon themission field. To Him be all the honor!

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For Children

Empanadas de QuesoMrs. J. Van Beek

Children, on the mission field we eat different foods. It isrecess time at the UERC, the school in Loma Alta. As soon asthe bell rings, the students run out of their classrooms to theback of school, where a little metal shack is set up. Inside,Doña Julia has arranged her goodies to be sold – little bags ofmilk or juice, which the students just bite the corner off andsuck on, cookies, and the best snack of all – empanadas!

The students are supposed to line up one by one, but whenthere’s fresh empanadas, who wants to wait? After all, theycould be gone before you get to the front of the line! So,students gather at her little window, pushing and shoving a bit,holding out their two-boliviano coins in order to get an empanada. If they’re fortunate, the students will getone shoved into their hands with a napkin, to help them wipe their greasy hands afterwards.

Empanadas are a type of cheese turnover. Mmm… The outside dough is crisp, and the inside has warm,gooey cheese. Of course, Dona Julia can’t put too much cheese in it – that would ruin her profit! But that’sok…it’s good either way.

Maybe you can convince your mother to make empanadas as well!

Empanadas de Queso Recipe

Ingredients:4 cups flour2 teaspoons salt1 egg2 tablespoons oil1-2 packages of 4 Cheese Mexican shredded

cheese

Mix the first four ingredients well untilcrumbly, and then add 1 cup of warm water – thedough should be tough. You may have to add just alittle more water if necessary. Dump the dough onthe counter top and roll it with your hands to mix it. Then roll the dough into approximately 25-30 balls,depending on how large you would like them. Thedough is then supposed to be put in the refrigeratorfor 2 hours to make it cold.

Roll out each little ball into an oval with a rollingpin, and put the cheese on one half of the dough,leaving the edges clear. Fold the other half over andclose the edge. Try to ‘braid’ the edge – a trueBolivian art! Hold the empanada in one hand, andwith your thumb and pointer finger, start on oneside of the empanada. Pinch the edge, and then foldit over, creating a “braid”. Repeat this until theentire open edge is braided.

Then, in a pan, heat vegetable oil and fry theempanada until it is golden brown. Let it cool andsprinkle some sugar over it if you like. ¡Provecho!

The boys and girls (and adults) in Bolivia like theempanadas. Many people in the world do not haveall the good food you may receive. Therefore, alwaysappreciate what your parents give you. When yousay or think, “I don’t like that,” think about the manychildren in the world that do not have enough foodevery day. The Lord still gives us so much,undeservedly.

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You know you are a missionary child when you flewbefore you could walk; you can’t answer the question“Where are you from?”; you speak with authority onthe subject of airline travel; you know how to pack;your life story uses the phrase “Then we went to…” atleast five times and last but not least, you can usetwo or three languages in the same sentence.

Continued from last issue…

What are some positive things of living in Bolivia?Rebekah Maljaars: One of my favorite things about

Bolivia is even though we might be foreigners, theBolivians are always helpful. Some other positives arelearning a new language, being able to experiencenew food, a new culture and interesting animals!

Jenna Van Brugge: Some positive things of living inBolivia are the people I’ve met and gotten to know,the places I’ve seen, the unique experiences I’ve hadand just being able to talk and understand anotherlanguage.

Colleen Van Brugge: You become bilingual, and canride in the back of pick-ups through a city. In SantaCruz and Loma Alta the weather is usually warm year-round, so you can do summer activities all year. Life isnot as fast-paced as it is in North America.

Len Uijl, who is an avid bird watcher: Very nicenature and animals.

Jozua Uijl: In Bolivia I don’t feel shy, because weknow everyone much longer than in theNetherlands.

Anneruth Uijl: Knowing other languages, getting toknow new people who come to church and seeingthe changes from them not knowing the truth tonow coming to church.

David Maljaars: I really like living in Bolivia. Thereare some things that are more relaxed, like we canride in town in the back of a truck. I like the wallaround our house and bars on our windows becauseI feel more secure. I also like that I get to meet newpeople and learn to understand them. It has beenneat that we can visit different places.

Kendra Maljaars: Being able to have eye openingexperiences and learning a new culture.

As children, they each learned a new language.Especially the younger children just “picked it up.” Itcomes naturally….and they often know the languageeven better than their parents with perfectpronunciation!

Next time we will continue the interview with themissionary children, to learn how their experiencesare different than their parents, and how we canhelp them when they move back to North Americaor the Netherlands.

For Children

Children of the CallMrs. J. Van Beek

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Bolivia Projects Income March - April, 2019Friends in:

Chilliwack Tarija $ 115.00 New Jersey School in L.A. 350.00 Lansing Collection 575.00 Michigan Gift 200.00 Grand Rapids Tarija 200.00

Total for Bolivia Income March - April $ 1,440.00

It is always busy here in North America, but alsoon the mission field. Families Uijl and Maljaars arelooking forward to their furloughs in the comingmonths. That means many arrangements need to bemade for all the work they do for the months theyare gone. Family Van Brugge hope to move to Tarijafrom Loma Alta in July, just in time for the furlough ofRev. Maljaars. Mr. and Mrs. van Beek are adjustingwell to their new surroundings in Loma Alta. Mr. VanBeek has been working closely with Mr. Van Bruggeto ensure a smooth transition takes place in LomaAlta. Mr. Daniel Van Zweden has completed his yearin Bolivia as a teaching volunteer. His efforts to assistthe mission families was appreciated. In the future,Mrs. Glenda Bron will teach the mission children inTarija.

The faithful support of the many ladies aids inthe past season is much appreciated. We realizemuch time and effort goes into your fundraisingefforts and you are to be commended for that. Thevarious schools throughout the year also contributea nice amount to help support our mission field inBolivia.

The income and expense summary for 2018 isalso recorded in this Paul. Once again the Lord hasprovided for all our needs. Most importantly, maythere be many sons and daughters born in Zion. Thatis our hope and prayer.

From the AdministratorMr. J. Van Brugge

Pentecost 2019On June 9, the Lord willing, the congregations again hope to commemorate Pentecost. May something of

the same Spirit be experienced in our congregations and families. Then there will also be a desire andwillingness to support the work of the North American General Mission, which has received the mandate of ourNRC Synod to bring God’s precious Word to the remotest ends of the earth.

We heartily recommend to you this work to be remembered in your prayers. It is about the extension ofGod’s Kingdom! Then there will also be a willingness to share in the abundance that we may receive. Thereforeyour donations are appreciated but also needed.

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Mission Income March - April, 2019Classis East Norwich Paul $ 7,955.00 Norwich Prayer Day gifts 3,350.00 Brant County Ladies Aid 11,410.00

Classis Midwest Grand Rapids Ladies Aid Dinner 7,600.00 Sioux Center Collection 1,990.00 Waupun Collection 1,394.00 Sioux Falls Collection 765.00

Classis Farwest Picture Butte Ladies Aid 28,000.00 Fort Macleod Ladies Aid 20,000.00 Chilliwack Prayer Day gifts 6,720.00

Other - Friends in: Brant County Gift 500.00 Norwich Gift 150.00 Alberta Gifts 300.00 Michigan Gift 100.00 Michigan Gift 1,250.00 Iowa Gifts 100.00 Rock Valley/Sioux Center School Fundraising 11,306.15 Norwich Rehoboth School Fundraising 8,361.10

Total for March - April* $ 111,251.25

(Expenses for March - April $ 221,986)(*No currency exchange and calendar payments included in above amounts.)

We regularly are requested to provide information for those who are interested to bequest an amountto the mission. The registration of the North American General Mission is 82815 4476 RC.

Those who wish to donate funds directly to the bank account of the North American General Mission arerequested to contact the administrator for a SWIFT and IBAN code.

Spending of funds is confined to Mission Board approved programs and projects. The Mission will at-tempt that all contributions designated towards a Board approved program or project, will be used as designat-ed, with the understanding that when the need for a program or project has been met, or cannot be completedfor any reason determined by the Mission Board, the remaining contribution designated for such a program orproject will be used where needed most. The Mission is committed to supporting the various projects and there-fore the donated funds will assist the Mission with these costs.

Please detach and mail with cheque to:

Mr J. van Brugge, AdministratorNorth American General Mission377 Poldon DriveNorwich, Ontario

Canada NOJ IPO-14-

Bursary Fund: This fund helps support the costs associated with approved students attending University after they haveattended our school in Loma Alta. Some of these students have now returned to the Loma Alta area. When in SantaCruz, they continue to attend our church services there.

Bolivia Christian School: Donations toward the cost of the school will not only help to pay for the operation of the schoolof approximately 140 children, but also the religious courses taught on a daily basis.

Elim Bookstore: The costs associated with the sale and distribution of bibles and sound reading material in various waysin Santa Cruz.

Tarija: Donations towards the costs of opening a new mission field.

Lujan: Donations towards the costs of opening a new mission field.

Other Bolivia Needs: This would also include the donations made to medical organizations that take care of the medicalneeds of the local people who we refer to them.

Total Goal for 2019 $175,000 Collected $41,883 (24%)The above represents donations given specifically for the above projects.

✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ ✉ I/we, ___________________________, wish to support the following project(s).....

___ Bursary fund $ ________

___ Bolivian Christian School $ ________

___ Library-Bible Shop in Santa Cruz $ ________

___ Tarija/Lujan (circle desired) $ ________

___ Other needs $ ________

Bolivia Projects 2019

Birthdays:

JanuaryJan. 26 Naomi Van Brugge (11)Jan. 27 Sophia Van Brugge (17)

FebruaryFeb. 4 Mr. Steve Van Brugge

MarchMar. 15 Anneruth Uijl (07)Mar. 21 Jozua Uijl (09)Mar. 27 Nathan Van Brugge (09)

AprilApr. 13 David Maljaars (06)Apr. 14 Mrs. Elske Van Brugge

MayMay 2 Hadassah Van Beek (16)May 16 Mr. Jeff Van BeekMay 25 Leah Van Brugge (13)May 27 Marte Uijl (13)May 31 Rebekah Maljaars (04)

JuneJune 6 Mrs. Eline Uijl

JulyJuly 13 Abigail Uijl (15)July 24 Len Uijl (05)July 24 Mr. Guido Uijl

AugustAug. 4 Jenna Van Brugge (03)Aug. 13 Kendra Maljaars (02)

SeptemberSep. 5 Mrs. Glenda Bron

OctoberOct. 2 Mrs. Laura MaljaarsOct. 28 Colleen Van Brugge (04)

NovemberNov. 2 Mrs. Jolene Van Beek

DecemberDec. 5 Rev. E. MaljaarsDec. 17 Sophia Van Beek (17)

Our Mission Family

Mailing Addresses for our Mission Family:

Loma Alta and Santa Cruz, Bolivia: Tarija, Bolivia:Fam. J. Van Beek and Fam. G. Uijl Rev. E. Maljaars, Fam. S. VanBrugge Miss. G. Bron

Mision General de Norte America Casilla 5728 Casilla 273 SANTA CRUZ Bolivia TARIJA Bolivia

Please contact the administrator before sending any parcels by mail.