Workers

I wanted to take some time to write about the workers at the branch of L'Abri. they are great and their diversity is what makes this time with them so special:

Henk and Riana Reitsma (39 & 38), and their two daughters: Babette and Ariella (8 & 6) are from South Africa.Beautiful girls with long dark hair and big blue eyes! Actually, Henk grew up in The Netherlands, but them moved to South Africa where he met Riana and where their family lived for a number of years (15, i think). Henk has eight years of schooling afer college and is one of the smartest men in the widest range of topics I have ever known. But that knowledge is also coupled with an intense love and kindness about him...he has a great sense of humor, and he works as hard as my father in manual labor (which, for those of you who know my dad, know is HARD). he is a remarkable man, and he is Jade's mentor for the summer. His wife Riana, Henk told us over dinner one of the first nights we were here, should have a tatoo on her forehead which states "driven to serve." and he would be correct...she loves to serve and is one of the greatest cooks i've met. (which also, sadly, means that i don't do much cooking here and instead have been cleaning bathrooms and raking grass....but that's ok : ) Babette is a tomboy and Arielle is a little princess. Henk is somewhat of an expert in Theology all the way to Nano-physics (i still don't know what that means even after he explained it to me...something about studying the smallest particles in existence) and he's a strong advocate for life issues. Did I mention that All four of them are fluent in Dutch, English and Africanse...and HEnk could hold a very strong and steady conversation in French, German and a number of African dialects. Theyboth attended seminary , as well, in St. Louis at Covenant. Amazing.

Beryl is a single lady who lives in the same building structure as Rob and Christa. She is from England and is in her mid-50's. she just had her uterus removed because of cancer just days prior to us arriving. so she has been resting alot! but she is a kind, laid-back woman and worked in horticulture for years ans years so her apartment is stockful of beautiful plants and flowers...she is what you would call a woman with a "green thumb" to the extreme. and she knows everyting about plants, so it's neat to chat with her about these things. she recently found out that they removed all the cancer so she is not needed any more radiation or chemo! praiseGod Almighty for that!

Rob and Christa Ludwig are the other family who live on the grounds. Rob is American (and attended Wheaton for 2 years!) and Christa is Dutch. Thye met many many years ago at the Swiss L'Abri and then re-met in seminary in St. Louis (Covenant). Christa has her master's degree in Psychology. They moved to the Netherlands together to join Henk and Riana at the Dutch L'Abri about 10 years ago (they are 36 & 38). At that time, Rob started taking Dutch classes, and he is now fluent. They have 4 children...seriously could take the prize for "cutest collection of kids" EVER. emily and reuben are twins (5, i think) miriam is 3 and guido is 9 months. Guido is the happiest baby i hav ever seen and laughs a big, belly laugh that is the most joyous sound you have ever heard. miriam is a feisty on and says "mama" and "papa" at least 5,000 times a day...and it never gets annoying because she is so dang cute! Christa is a wonderful cook, too and i know i have already gained weight by the amount of bread we all eat at every meal (homeade bread, might i add!) and cheese...ah, the gouda cheese! and we even eat chocolate.hazelnet spread (nutella) and dark chocolate sprinkles on our toast in the morning. it's ridiculous. but henk says most of the women come here too skinny (he included me in this, which just goes to show what a weird and distorted concept i have of my size that i think i'm big), so it's good to put on a few pounds. i would have to agree with him...this food is too good not to eat!
anyways, rob and christa....oh yeah, rob is my mentor, and already i have been reading things and listening to tapes that are just what i need (more about that later). Christa's parents are in charge of another, smaller, branch of Dutch L'Abri in Utrecht, a larger city nearby. oh yes, and they have a dog named Zine. i don't seem to be allergic., and he is cute, so that's good.

Grace is a cute girl from Massachusetts who was here last term and is the "helper" for the summer. She is 18 and very sweet. other than her, we have been the longest guests here so far. a few people have come and gone. a girl named Verena was here from Munich, Germany for a week and has left. we will stay with her for a night when we go to germany. this weekend three guys have arrived: two younger from locally and an older man who seems to be homeless who came from germany but said he is originally from Northern California. i'm sure we'll be hearing moreof his story...

We are in "the sticks" and it takes a lot of effort to get anywhere...so we just bike places or stay here, because we are surrounded by apple orchards and rose plants and goats and GREENness. we like it here.