when you are having a good time and are busy at the same time. I have had the opportunity to preach three times and tomorrow I am asked to pray for the graduating students at the Lutheran Bible school graduation. Last Sunday we worshiped at Worro a small village where Evangelist Obediah is placed. They were having a send off for him since he has taken a position in a village near Abuja (Nigeria’s Capital). Obediah has served in Niger State among the Av’adi people for 15 years. He will be missed for his positive attitude and his energetic work. I include pictures and video from the send off.

He preached from I Timothy 3 and parts of chapter 4 commending Obediah on his deligence in his work and the good example he set for the CRCN. Most people would agree that Obediah built up the church and Christians in Classis Niger.

Everyone was having a good time singing during the service.

At his new place Obediah will be only four hours from his home on the Plateau (near Jos) compared to 11 or 12 from here.

We all enjoyed the worship, fellowship, and the food. I left home at 9:30 AM and arrived back at 4:00 PM, it was a full day! We were blessed and thankful to send this faithful evangelist on his way to his new position. Praise God!

A PRAYER LETTER FROM REV. CASE AND GREMAR VAN WYK

Associate Missionaries with Christian Reformed World Missions.

Po Box 748, Newaygo, MI. 49337                                                                                                                                                                        cgvanwyk5@gmail.com                                                                                                                                                                                               http://www.heavenhigh.org

You may support us at crwm@crcna.org

Pray:

Pray for the Warari Bible School beginning a new class in Sept., one class for Hausa speakers and one in English. Pray for Jolly the Principal.

Pray that the  political unrest is resolved. Pray for Christians and Muslims.

Pray for the Church, for her members and for the people of Nigeria.

The Bible School.

At the beginning of Nov. we will be leaving for Nigeria. We are scheduled for a six month stay to teach, encourage, provide continuing education and help people to acquire good medical treatment skills for their own families and for those in remote places. The school is starting a new four year Hausa class and is starting a class in English as well. We have been involved in continuing education for pastors, evangelists and for church leaders currently working in the field. Timothy Leadership Training materials are being used effectively to that end.

The students at the Bible  School come    from three different tribes, together they make up about five hundred thousand people. They come from many different backgrounds and different levels of education.

This is the first Prayer Letter we are sending out this year. We ask that you pray for us and for the people of Niger State. We ask that you  take the opportunity to encourage us and as the Spirit moves and God gives the ability to support us financially. We will be serving for six months at a time for the next couple of years and longer as God opens doors. Along with teaching, preaching and medical work we will be helping the church to adjust to less mission and missionary involvement. We need you to partner with us, we are not able to do this without your help and prayers. Praise God!

Lunch time for the TLT class

God is good all of the time. Amen?

We thank God for this opportunity to work in Niger State, Nigeria, We thank God for you! For your prayers! For your encouragement! For your financial support! As well prepared as we are we cannot accomplish this assignment without you! Thank you!

Missionaries have worked in Niger State, Nigeria for close to twenty five years. When the last missionaries, Matthew and Laura Lanser assigned to work in Classis CRCN Niger State were led to leave the field, Gremar and I proposed a two or three year transitionary  period as CRWM phases out physical and financial support. We are motivated  to help this struggling emerging church to continue meaningful development and ministry with reduced outside resources.  We are privileged to be appointed as associate missionaries to that end.

God has uniquely prepared us for this important role and we continue to look to Him for guidance. We have retired and have volunteered in Niger State for four months for the last three years.  We have planted a church (New Community Church Newaygo) with CRC Home Missions (5 yrs.). We have worked in the traditional CRC Church. in North America (6 yrs). We have worked in Nigeria for CRWM in a variety of positions from 1973 to 1997 (20 yrs.) with a four year break for Calvin Seminary. Gremar worked in Nigeria as a nurse / midwife until we were married in 1977 and still volunteers her medical skills. The Hausa language, used by the church in Niger State we know well and have worked with for many years. This part of Niger State is a remote and a difficult place to live but we have lived in remote places of Nigeria in the past. We look forward to developing more friendships and learning more about the culture.  We have connected with the people of Niger State, and along with Paul we say: “we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well” I Thess. 2:8

We came home to Newaygo from Nigeria  at the beginning of May. How sweet it is to sit on our deck at Heaven High. How difficult it is, the people we miss in Niger State! We came home on time, we did not know but I was told I had experienced a heart attack, I felt something was wrong. The cardiologist said “you are here on time and you are going to the hospital now!” The main artery to my left ventricle was 99% blocked. They repaired the blockage with two stints. Nothing short of a miracle:  not only the repair but that I survived with that much blockage. It gives new meaning to the statement that life is short and we need to use the life God gives us for his honor and glory. That is what we do but now with much more thanksgiving! Did we feel welcome coming home? Yes! New Community Church was praying for us and thankful along with us, the medical care was excellent from Dr. Olivera to the doctors at the Grand Rapids Heart Center and at Spectrum Hospital. When we left the hospital the next day after the procedure our nurse prayed with us.

It felt like home when NCCN asked me to stand in for a guest pastor who became ill on the morning of Father’s Day. I picked  “The Parable of the Lost Son” Luke 14: 11-31. Jesus tells this parable along with two others  “The Parable of the lost Sheep” and “The Parable of the Lost Coin”  in response to verses 1 and 2 of Chapter 15 in the gospel of Luke.  1.” Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.” 2. “But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.

” The painting “The return of the Prodigal Son” 1669 by Rembrandt, he had sketched and painted this theme since 1636, ( See Wikipedia) is the culmination of his life’s work, he died two years later.

Look at the painting closely. The book: The Return of the Prodigal Son. A Story of Homecoming. by Henri Nouwen is his response after days of sitting in front of and studying this painting. His first response when seeing it: “It’s beautiful, more than beautiful .  .  .  it makes me want to cry and laugh at the same time   .  .  .  I can’t tell you what I feel as I look at it. But it touches me deeply.”  p. 4 prologue.

Lets look at the Father. His stance, one of humility and compassion and vulnerability. His masculine hand is on the son’s shoulder, a fathers touch, the famine hand on his back gentle, and affirming, a mother’s touch. The father is not alone. There is a woman standing behind him, most people think it is the mother and is supporting the father. The son is humble, submissive, on his knees but before the son can say a word the father excepts him, is hugging him and ordering his reinstatement. The son is raged, shoes worn out, his head looks wet like a new born child. It is a new birth for him yet he has held unto something of his former position he still has his sword. The other two figures are much different then those described so far. One is a servant, the man sitting. The other appears to be the older brother. Both have there hands tucked away obviously not willing to reach out. The Son stance is rigid, condemning and disapproving of the whole scene in front of him. Given the situation who should we identify with? Of course we identify with the son on his knees receiving forgiveness and acceptance from the Father even after his bad choices and subsequent sin. That is all of us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ” Romans 3:22-24.

Once we are forgiven by the Father and accepted we are not only free but are to be like the Father. Is not the church the body of Jesus in the right here and now of our lives? Yes! Like the prodigal son forgiven, our transgressions remembered no more.  We are called to be as the Father to forgive and accept each other and those like us,  sinners, forgiven sinners. The older son is much like religion today hands tucked away obviously not willing to reach out. The Son stance is rigid, condemning and disapproving of the whole scene in front of him.  He did not squander God’s blessings, he did not leave the church. he works hard and continues to do so, like so many church members, leaders and pastors but we are missing out on the celebration of new life! We want salvation our way but the Father is the example. Jesus tells this parable for the church today. God says to us ³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” Praise be to God!

For the last two Saturday nights we have showed the video Samson and Delilah. It has been a challenge to preach on it at Mahula. The overriding theme of Judges is: Israel’s unfaithfulness, God’s punishment, Israel’s repentance and God’s  subsequent Salvation through chosen and God empowered leaders (judges).

Samson is such a person delivering Israel from 40 years of oppression by the Philistines. He judged Israel for twenty years and is one of the heroes of the faith (Heb. 11:32). The Judges delivered God’s people from their enemies but it was by the power of the Holy Spirit; again and again we have the statement in Judges, “The Holy Spirit came upon him”. Samson however was a loner who seems to be more interested in women than rescuing his people. His parents were not aware that this interest in women came from the Lord.  Further, the movie depicts him as a reluctant leader and savior, more interested in love than war. I think that was the case, he retaliated only when attacked and when he was wronged and treat unjustly. God used him however to put an end to Philistine  domination of Israel.

What are the lessons for us today? First, God is in control! He chooses and prepares some very unlikely and flawed persons. Secondly, the Holy Spirit comes upon  God’s chosen people in a special way. The work of the Spirit is mysterious and unpredictable, given at times when God deems it important. Third, Gods empowering is directly related to our faith.

The work of missions in Nigeria  and every other country hangs in the balance. Commitment to missions  in our churches (CRCNA) is faltering given the lack of support for the denominational mission effort.  Now is not a time to doubt!

The questions are here before us. Are we in the U.S. as Israel was at this time (Philistines) being influenced and sometimes dominated  by a secular, materialistic, and Godless culture?  Are we more interested, as Samson was in selfish ambition and self-gratification? It God still able to use the church as he did Samson to free us from slavery? Yes! Yes! and Yes! God will use us, I have no doubt!

“God help us to discern what is needed to proclaim your Word and Salvation, and empower us with a powerful faith and with your Holy Spirit. So that we are set free to help others taste freedom in Christ! In His Name we pray! Amen”.

THE STORM

It was hot and muggy at the beginning of April and it stayed that way through Easter Sunday. Normally, we have some rain at this time of the year, we had prayed for a little rain and relief of the heat that goes with it. It threatened rain for a couple of days but when the rain came it also brought the wind, typical this time of the year. However, this time there was a lot of wind;  we could hear the pan (corrugated steel sheets) starting to come loose and saw pieces of it flying by the windows. Thankfully, there were only a couple of strong  gusts but still half of the porch roof was gone. Twenty pieces of pan, facer board, five pearling, all gone in a second or two; we found two pieces of pan two hundred yards away. In all our years in Africa this is the first time part of  the roof came off the house we stayed in.  The experience showed us how helpless we are and it does not take much to completely unnerve you, I had visions of the whole thing coming off.  That is what happened to four of the church houses in our classis, all or parts of roofs came off that same day. Thankfully no one was hurt.

We had a lot of rain that day and a little bit since. We hope and pray it is the beginning of a good farming year.