I and my family would like to express our thankfulness for your consistent support over the past 15 years as well as the ministry teams from your congregation who have assisted us in our work in Europe. It was a joy to be with you during your recent 50th anniversary celebration I got a chuckle from watching my son and his cousin, who is also an MK (Connor White), trying to play kickball after the picnic that day. Kickball is rooted in baseball which is not commonly played in Europe. I realized that I had assumed that kids, especially my kids, "just know" how to play baseball.

Working in a cross-cultural educational setting, I find that all cultures have things that they expect the others to "just know". For instance, there are European believers who would not tolerate the wasting of non-renewable energy sources. There are North American believers who would look at a congregation of 20 people and plan how to grow it to 200 members. It is not my intention to make blanket statements about cultural blind spots but rather to point to the benefits of collaboration with our brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world. At times we walk into a situation, assuming that they "just know" how to do something, or that we "just know" what needs to be done, when in reality, by working together, we can find effective ways to proclaim and exemplify Christ's rule in our lives.

At the seminary, I teach as well as disciple students. Debby has a music ministry through playing piano and giving lessons to students. We also open our home to the students and share informally the blessings of the Lord and His calling in our lives. Currently, there are 155 students from 23 countries across Europe and the Middle East enrolled in the seminary. Typically, our students have been involved in ministry and come to us to sharpen their skills and knowledge.

In addition to my role at the seminary, I have been assisting Greater Europe Mission as they help sharpen the focus of country-level teams. This involves bring all the GEM missionaries in a given country together to strategically plan, based on their skills, experience and contacts, how best to use their resources as well as help them think through recruitment for future ministry.

We are currently in Wheaton on furlough and plan to be in the USA until June 2008. Our children are in public schools where Nic is in 7th grade and Selina is in 4th grade. We are looking forward to the next time we will be with you to learn about baseball, soccer and what God is doing in the world today.

In Christ,