July 18-20 was a busy and productive time of ministry for the Oostende congregation. Marcie Huson traveled to Belgium from England and brought Hannah, a 16 year old member of the youth group at the Garstang Free Methodist Church. Marcie is no stranger to the church in Oostende since she provided wise and capable leadership during the time when there was no missionary presence here. Everyone loves Marcie here, so we decided to capitalize on her visit by building a whole weekend around her time with us. (I took advantage of her willingness to teach and preach) An added bonus to the weekend was a visit from David, Suzanne and Lydia Betz, friends from our church in Ypsilanti, Michigan. They managed to squeeze a visit to Belgium in-between vacationing in London and Paris.
The weekend included a larger than usual crowd at our Diksmuide Bible Study on Friday night, a youth gathering on Saturday night including games, tacos, and Hannah sharing a personal testimony, our Sunday worship service complete with a large spread of international dishes, and the grand finale was “ Pannenkoeken Night.” Yes, we ate………….a lot!............and……….. the diet begins…………………………….soon! We even managed to squeeze a little sightseeing in as well! (refer to the pictures of the weekend)
We think that God may be up to something! There is a growing friendship and partnership between the Garstang Free Methodist Church in England and De Poort Free Methodist Church in Oostende, Belgium. We hope to continue to strengthen this partnership through shared ministry opportunities on both sides of “the pond.” We are already looking at some possible dates in October for a ministry team from the Garstang youth group. This could be the start of something really good! Healthy Churches with resources coming along side and working together with new church plants around the world. Churches living in relationship with other churches, wow, that sounds biblical. (refer to the book of Acts)
Todd and Deann Miller
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