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Thank you so much for supporting my first trip to Belgium! Through this trip, I grew in my love for the Lord and others, as well as for the country I spent two weeks in.
This trip felt like a very big socializing adventure (with some really great food and architecture), and it was so exciting to meet the people God put in our path each day. With a team of 19 (and then only 10 for the second week of our trip), we were able to initiate 227 conversations, 157 of which were spiritually-focused, and even shared the entire gospel 87 times! While Belgians are not known for discussing religion, nearly everyone I met was very open to the topic and interested in hearing about my own faith. Amazingly, many people were willing to share their phone numbers and follow up with us afterwards. We are praising God for all of the interactions we were able to have in such a short time.
Belgium is very unchurched right now, but I have a lot of hope for what God is going to do in students there in the next few years. I learned in one of my disciple-making classes at college that it takes an average of 14 interactions with the gospel before someone believes. Most conversations I had with Belgian students were only the first or second interaction they had ever had with the gospel. My prayer is that these interactions may spur them to ask more questions and begin their journey of seeking God.
Our time was mostly split between the universities in Leuven and Antwerp. We also visited Brussels, Mechelen, Ghent, and Liege.
KU Leuven is the oldest university in Belgium, founded in the 1400s. Most of the conversations I had on campus were extremely engaging and intense. We talked about everything from systematic theology to climate change to death penalties to metaphysical realities. Through that, I learned to rely on God to give me patience and gentleness while discussing each difficult topic. I appreciated the students' honesty and civility in each conversation, and was encouraged by their interest in relating spiritual topics to their everyday concerns and thoughts. Despite the tough topics, I genuinely felt a connection with each student I talked to, and kept thinking, "If only I attended KU Leuven, we could be friends!" But all the more reason to return for future trips 🙂 I highly enjoyed the relational aspect of the evangelism we did.
At the University of Antwerp, we spent time discussing culture with classes of linguistic majors, and then went on various tours conducted by the students throughout our two weeks there. The tours were a fun part of our trip, as the students were in charge of doing whatever they thought would be interesting for us. Our goal during these tours was to bring up spiritual topics when possible, but mostly build relationships. My tours involved walking around a Belgian mall, eating multiple Belgian waffles, seeing a castle, a river, and the oldest road in Belgium, and eating Belgian fries dipped in mayonnaise.
In Brussels, Ghent, and Liege, we did some touring and prayer-walking. Both Ghent and Liege are without ministries. We spent a lot of time praying for the people of the towns. We prayed that God will send Christians to Belgium who have a desire to start churches in these cities. We also prayed that we will find Christian students within these towns that our missionaries in Antwerp will be able to disciple and help grow, that they too might also lead in their communities.
I was most encouraged by our time in Mechelen, where we joined an impromptu worship night put on by a Christian seminary student and his friends. The students there were so passionate about following Jesus and sharing their faith with their friends.
As our team met Christians in various ministries and engaged in a church Bible study, I realized that the body of Christ is a real thing; every believer I met felt like a long-lost family member. They were encouraged by our work and presence in Belgium during those two weeks, and I was encouraged by their boldness and commitment to their faith, which can be a lonely task in Belgium.
The verses I found most important during this trip are from Paul's address to the men of Athens, who had an altar "to an Unknown God." In Acts 17 he says "This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I'm telling you about ... His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him - though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist" (vv 23, 27-28). In a country that contains only 2.5% Protestant Christians, God is still working and present.
I feel very honored and thankful to have been a part of this trip. Thank you for your prayers and financial support as I went. Please join me in continuing to pray for Belgium and the work being done there, that God would send his Church to live and serve among the Belgian people.
With gratitude, Aravelle