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Last days

vrijdag, februari 13th, 2009

Well the time is flying. I am already in my last days of my placement. It was fun! It was great! I learned a lot.

Most inspiring for me is the fact that I am involved with setting up a training for church planting for ‘lay’ people. The vission is that every citizen of the Netherlands will have a welcome church within 5 minutes walking distance. But also that every church would be contextualized to the situation it is in.

The thing I learned the most of: is the grace of Jesus is unbelieveable. Well in the end I believe it. But there is more than enough. Enough for everybody! And nothing is compulsary. Only to believe in Christ as your saviour! Not going to church on sunday, not doing biblestudy on monday; not taking care of the poor. No first believe! First trust Jesus! First seek the kingdom and justice of God and the rest would be given! And then maybe to return something for this big present you could go to church, or you could help the poor. But you could do something for God, something which fits you. And you do that because you are thankfull! Not to earn the grace! The grace of Jesus is given to you!

source: http://iamtrainingformission.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/last-days/

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Posted in Stage Maastricht | 823 Comments »

Haircut and church planting

woensdag, februari 4th, 2009

Did you know that cutting your hair could be part of church planting? Well I discovered last week what hair and church planting have in common.

Last week I had a haircut. I went with Tjerk a team member to the barber and I had a haircut. Usually when I have a haircut I talk with the barber and the barber will talk with me and this talking usually happens during the haircut. That is pretty straight forward.

Last week Tjerk was with me and he talked with the barber as well. And we went to men’s barber. This barber was in the centre of Wittevrouwenveld the neighbourhood where the team is planting a house church.
And while I had a haircut we talked with the barber about what we did in the neighbourhood and that we are a church but different then the big Roman Catholic church and that we work together with the Roman Catholic pastor of the neighbourhood. We explained that we are a kind of a family and that we meet together at someone’s home, we will have a meal etc.

Of course the barber talked as well. And she explained that all her family have shops or pubs in Wittevrouwenveld. And she did not understand why there should be another church if the big church is almost empty. Well at the end we made a new contact. And Tjerk will probably go her for his haircut when he needs one.

And only God knows what will happened in the future so hopefully she will accept Jesus as her saviour…

source: http://iamtrainingformission.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/haircut-and-churchplanting/

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Posted in Gemeente Stichten, Stage Maastricht | 1.022 Comments »

Having a tropical illness

maandag, januari 26th, 2009

It is a long time ago since I wrote on this blog. Mainly because I was busy with my placement and during the weekends with relaxing and being with my girlfriend…

But last week I got ill. I did not get any vaccinations for this tropical country, the Netherlands. Nor did they ask at the border if I had the right vaccinations. So as a dutchman I got a very common dutch sickness: the flu. Well I can describe how it feels to have the flu. I can describe what happens when you have the flu. But I will leave it up to you… Probably you already have an image with flu and I guess it is not a positive image, is it? Ok lets write about my placement.

Today two other guys arrived for their placement. They are from the bible college ‘De wittenberg‘. That is the bible college where I went before I came to Redcliffe. I will stay with them in an empty appartment, withouth any comfort. Just only a matras and that is it… Well its fine for me. A matras is enough for sleeping and during day time I will be busy with my placement.

There is some good news and bad news at the same time. My placement is now halfway. I have had three weeks and I have three weeks to go… But before returning to redcliffe I will have a week holiday and at the same time my girlfriend has a holiday. Well that is the great thing of a placement in the Netherlands: I can see my girlfriend more often.

Well just to close: some pictures of my placement.

p1050127My first glimps of Maastricht

p1080128The place where I stayed for the first three weeks.

p1140132This looks boring but this is church!

Source: http://iamtrainingformission.wordpress.com/2009/01/26/having-a-tropical-illness/

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Posted in Stage Maastricht | 1.173 Comments »

Church goes to the people

zaterdag, januari 10th, 2009

My placement in Maastricht is really good. The team is really good. They are friendly people and they work in the District Wittevrouwenveld.  They all live in this district. They have the vision of simple church. Everything should be simple and they are planting house churches, by going to the people and leaving them in their natural social networks. Usually when people go to church we expect them that they come to us, an inward movement. We expect that they make new friends in church and we take them out of the networks. In the vission of the team. The church goes to the people. They will meet in the house of the people and their old friends are welcome. The plan is that the gospel will spread through all those networks without that the people have to come to church - The church comes to them. So not on inward movement but an outward movement. Church visits the people at their homes.

So not the people go to the church but the church goes to the people.

source: http://iamtrainingformission.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/church-goes-to-the-people/

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Posted in Stage Maastricht | 903 Comments »

An early morning

maandag, januari 5th, 2009

It is early. It is dark. And the weather was similar to my placement last year in a sub-Siberian country. It is cold, there is snow. Not little. But a lot! I thought I planned my placement this year in a warm country, or at least compared to last year. My placement this year is in Maastricht, the Netherlands. I will do my placement with a church planting team in the city. I am looking forward to start my placement.

But for now, it is still early. I have to catch a train at 6:18AM and the journey will take almost 3 hours. Two hours later, still dark outside and more snow then home, the ticket collector came and asked for my ticket. That is fine. But I had to move to the front part of the train because this part was going to Heerlen and I had to go to Maastricht. By the next station I went out to walk forwards to sit in the front part of the train. (I could not do this inside the train :-( ) But I was halfway walking outside to the front part when the train left and at a station in the middle of nowhere I had to wait for the next train. Lesson for today: never trust ticket collectors but keep smiling.

At 10 o clock, an hour delay due to the weather and other adventures. I arrived in Maastricht. But nobody was waiting for me. Although I had sent an email with the time I would arrive. So I gave my supervisor a phone call. But he was not answering his phone. After half an hour I called him at home where is wife answered and told me he should answer his other phone. Ok. I will try again but no answer. After several other tries my supervisor answered his phone and picked my up from the station. He said he did not expect me so early. Oh that was disappointing. I explained I sent an email but he never received that email. Strange…

Now in the afternoon everything is fine. I have a nice place to stay, with a nice guy who lives in the middle of the district of the project and I know I am going to like this.

Source: http://iamtrainingformission.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/an-early-morning/

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Posted in Stage Maastricht | 1.043 Comments »

Einde van de kerstvakantie

zaterdag, januari 3rd, 2009
Jaap op de skies

Jaap op de skies

Het is alweer het eind van een lange en leuke vakantie. Het einde van 3 weken kerstvakantie. Een tijd om oude bekenden weer op te zoeken, en ook een tijd om met een speciaal iemand door te brengen. Een tijd om in Nederland te zijn. Alhoewel… Van de 3 weken zat ik 1 week in Oostenrijk op Wintersport met mijn familie. Erg leuk. Het was de eerste keer en het was supertof.

Het was een toffe vakantie waarbij aan het eind mensen om mij heen een voor een geveld werden door de griep. Voorlopig heb ik het nog niet gehad. Nu de vakantie voorbij is; is het uitkijken na een nieuwe ervaring ik ga namelijk stage lopen in Maasstricht bij een interkerkelijk gemeentestichtingsproject. (dat is wel een woord voor galgje).  Ik heb er enorm veel zin in.  Ik zal  over mijn ervaring nog wel eens bloggen. Een deel zal in het Engels zijn omdat ik ook een blog voor school ga bijhouden: http://iamtrainingformission.wordpress.com/

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NRG

woensdag, oktober 1st, 2008

Sinds kort heb ik ook een stageplek en een kerk gevonden waar ik naar toe ga. De stageplek is voor een avond in de week. Ik help mee met de jeugdgroep NRG (spreek uit: Energy). Dit is de jeugdgroep van de Anglicaanse kerk hier op de hoek. Dus daar ga ik ook op zondags heen. Want dan zie ik de jongeren ook op zondags. Het is wel goed om ze vaker te zien dan alleen tijdens de NRG-meetings.

Ik heb ook nog een minder belangrijke reden waarom ik naar deze kerk ga. De kerkdienst begint namelijk om kwart over elf en het is vijf minuten lopen. Nou dat komt ideaal uit. Want er zijn maar twee dingen moeilijk in het leven, naar bed gaan en eruit gaan. Goed je vraagt je dus af wat heeft dat nu te maken met de kerkdienst. Nou het uit bed gaan wordt makkelijker als de kerk later begint. Ik snap trouwens ook niet waarom de zondag rustdag is als je er vroeg uit moet om op tijd in de kerk te zijn; die al om 9 uur begint! Het lijkt wel op een gewone werkdag. Vandaar dat ik ook wel blij ben dat de kerk om kwart over elf begint.

Goed waar was ik gebleven. Ik schreef iets over mijn stage. Of ten minste dat was mijn bedoeling. Vergeef me mijn afdwaling van de kerk.

De NRG-meetings zijn op zondagavond. De eerste keer hebben we de film back to the future gekeken. En de tweede zondagavond hebben we de film besproken op hun theologische thema’s of ten minste aanknopingspunten. Ik dacht dit gaat moeilijk worden. Want het zal vast over de film in het algemeen gaan en over leuke scenes in de film. Maar niks bleek daarvan waar te zijn. De jongeren pikten het op alsof het niks was. Ze haalden overal een diepere betekenis uit en dat werd dan een thema voor het gesprek.

Met deze stage wil ik onder andere ontdekken hoe het engelse kerklandschap eruit ziet. Het kerklandschap verschilt heel erg met dat van Nederland. Dus het lijkt me wel leuk om dat te ontdekken vanuit de praktijk.

Daarnaast wil ik ontdekken of het leiden van een jeugdgroep iets is dat bij me past.

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Posted in Blog | 1.126 Comments »