ROCK VALLEY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

NEWSLETTER

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER, 2011

‚But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for

my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I

will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so

that the power of Christ may rest upon me.‛

2 Corinthians 12:9

The following is a modified excerpt of the sermon I preached at my Oma‘s funeral this past June: One particular weakness of Paul‘s was a ―thorn in his flesh‖ that was so painful that he prayed about it three times, pleading that the LORD would take it away. The LORD answered his prayer every time; it‘s just that the answer was, ―No, I will not take this thorn away.‖ It‘s not because God was being mean or cruel. He was actually gracious – the thorn was good for Paul – but Paul had trouble seeing how that could be. We don‘t know what that thorn in the flesh actually was. Maybe it was a sin or a temptation that Paul was strug-gling with, had repented of, but still found himself falling back into it. Maybe it was a particular enemy of the faith who kept coming to Paul and insulting or persecuting him. Whatever it was, the Lord had left that thorn in so that He could teach Paul (and us) a lesson. What does it mean to have a thorn in the flesh? Those of us who have worked with certain kinds of plants and flowers know what it‘s like to get an actual thorn in your hand or your fingertip: it hurts and some-times it even bleeds. But that‘s really more of an inconvenience than a real trouble. It hurts for awhile and we put a bandage on it but soon we forget it ever happened. It‘s not a thorn we‘re likely to pray about. For Paul‘s thorn in the flesh, maybe think more of what a porcupine quill is like. The pain from one of those is bad enough when it‘s stuck into your flesh, but it hurts even more when you have to take it out. It‘s the kind of thorn that drains you as long as it‘s there, and it makes it very difficult to go on with normal life. Whatever it was for Paul, for us maybe that thorn is an actual physical pain – arthritis or a bad back – or maybe it‘s a child with so many health problems that it‘s taking years to overcome. There are many differ-ent kinds of thorns, even spiritual ones. Temptations, anxiety, guilt – these things can get so overwhelming and debilitating that in desperation we cry out to God, but sometimes it seems like He does nothing about it. And then we get the additional temptation on top of it, the temptation to get discouraged and angry. Why won‘t you get rid of this, Lord?!?! There were things that my Oma struggled with in her life. She was a widow for more than 32 years. I never heard her complain about it, although I think Oma hid her complaints quite well. We all knew her opin-ions but the real thorns in her flesh she kept hidden from most of us. She came over from Holland with a young family, starting life in a new place with a new culture and a new language. She had struggles with growing old and the greatest one was her fear of being a burden on our family. That weighed on her emo-tions and her spirit greatly. Why did my Oma have to go through all of those struggles, especially in the last few weeks of her life? The answer is no different from the answer for why Paul had to endure this thorn in his flesh, just as it is for every Christian who suffers and struggles. And yet even if a Christian like the Apostle Paul struggled to know what that answer was, then it shouldn‘t surprise us when we don‘t have an immediate and practical answer for the question of why, or why this is taking so long. And that‘s because the Lord wanted Paul, my Oma, and you and me, to learn the lesson of our own weakness. Paul‘s comfort in that was very simple: when my weakness is made so very clear, that‘s when the Lord makes my faith in my Savior strong. When my Oma was struggling in her last few weeks, the things that brought her peace were her family praying with her, reading Scripture, and singing those old Dutch hymns. And even when her lifeless body was lying in front of us, about to placed into the ground, the ultimate sign of weakness, yet even there the strength and the grace of Jesus Christ was made perfect because Christ has been raised from the dead, and the Bible says that all who put their trust in Him will be raised, as well. Their weakness, even the weakness of death, is used to point us to Jesus, and one day that greatest weakness will bring the greatest glory to God when He raises them from their graves.

Rev. James Sinke

RVURC Joyfully

Welcomes

Two New Families to

Our Congregation!!

Rev. Sinke with the Halma family—Ryan, Brittany, Adam and Tobey on Tobey‘s day of baptism—9/25/11. Tobey seems pretty relaxed on his spe-cial day.

Rock Valley URC Welcomes Tobey Ryan Halma

Congratulations to Ryan and Brittany Halma on the birth of their healthy baby boy, Tobey Ryan Halma! Tobey was born on August 26, 2011. He was 8 pounds, 1 ounce and 20 inches long at birth. Along with his parents, he was welcomed home by his big brother, Adam. Proud grandparents are Rainer and Diane Van Bemmel and Rick and Paula Halma, all of Doon. Tobey was baptized on September 25, 2011. Rev. Sinke preached from Deuteronomy 6, under the theme ―God claims the comprehensive love of His covenant people.‖ We were reminded of the awesome responsibility to diligently teach our children to love the Lord with all of our being. At bap-tism He gives us His ensign...His flag. He claims us as His own, and He ex-pects our allegiance and deserves the total love of our hearts. It is our prayer that Tobey‘s parents will be granted the wisdom they need to raise him in the fear and love of the Lord, and that we, as their church family, will always be faithful to support and help them in this joyful task.

The Laman family—back row- Brenda, Brittany, Caitlin, and Bill;

Front row—Matt and Ashley

Meet the Laman family, who come to us from the Heritage Reformed Church of Hull. They make their home in Rock Valley, where Bill is a Carpen-ter, specializing in drywall finishing. He stays busy with the Fire Department, Bible Study and attending his daughter‘s games and watching hockey. Brenda is a Caregiver/ Coordinator at Whispering Heights. She keeps busy attending Bible Study, watching her daughter‘s games and doing the Mom things. Ashley is working on a Nursing degree at NCC and also is a Care-giver at Whispering Heights. Brittany is a senior at RVHS and is busy with volleyball and basketball. She keeps busy working at Pizza Ranch in her spare time, and of course, hanging out with her friends. Caitlin is in 7

th grade.

She enjoys playing volleyball, basketball and playing her trumpet in band.

Meet the Vis family, who come to us from the Redeemer Re-formed Church (RCUS) of Golden Valley, Minnesota. Dennis and Karen Vis both grew up in Sioux County. Dennis was born and raised in Rock Valley and Karen on a farm near Middleburg. They met at Western Christian and were married in 1975. After Dennis graduated from Dordt College in 1977 they moved to the Twin Cities. They have two sons, both serving in the military. Jeremy is in South Korea and Joseph is in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Dennis and Karen moved back home to Rock Valley in October of 2011. Dennis is employed with Attema Marketing as a Sales Repre-sentative and Karen works in customer service at Peoples Bank. They feel very blessed to be members of Rock Valley United Reformed Church.

Every mom feels like she‘s changed so many diapers she could do it blindfolded, but that turned out to be trickier than expected! The race was on between Brittany and her mom to see who could diaper that baby faster. (Brittany‘s team won.)

Autumn was receiving a

bridal shower, but it‘s never too early to start practicing the skill of diapering,

Autumn!

Brittany, Autumn and Kelcie get ready to open their shower gifts.

Bridal and Baby Showers

It was a beautiful Saturday morning on October 1, 2011, when the women of RVURC came together to honor our newest mom, Brittany Halma and her new baby Tobey, and our two new brides, Kelcie (Groeneweg) Underland and Autumn (Vande Kamp) Laman. Brittany received a baby shower and the new brides received grocery showers. We played some games that turned out to be a little tricky. First, the new brides donned aprons that held many every day kitchen items that you would think we would all know and be able to remember. They paraded past us, and then it was up to us to remember and identify what these handy-dandy little items were. Short term memory isn‘t everyone‘s strong suit! The other game we played was a race. We divided into two teams, and then raced to see who could diaper the baby the fastest...blindfolded! We had a delicious brunch and a lot of fun as we supported one another as women in the various stages of life. Best wishes Brittany, Kelcie and Autumn!

Following our morning worship service on Sunday, October 9, we came together again in the Youth Room to enjoy a ―Pot Luck‖ Congregational Dinner. Once again our cooks didn‘t disappoint us, as there was a bountiful ta-ble full of food to choose from. We were able to enjoy a delicious meal and to visit and laugh with each other as members of the same church family. We are thankful to the Lord for the many good times He pro-vides for us!

Answers to Place the Face: Morgen Anderson & Mary Kate Postma

The Youth Group kicked off it‘s season by joining the area URC Youth Groups in Sanborn for what‘s being called ―Stand and Deliver‖, based on Romans 1:16a. The idea behind the ―Stand and Deliver‖ outing is to get our area URC teens together every three to four months for a time of fun activities and a chance to get to know one another just a little better. We played kickball games and ate pizza, and Rev. Donovan gave us some words of encouragement. Our next ―Stand and Deliver‖ outing is scheduled for January 14, 2012. We have been pretty busy as a group on our own, as well. We ventured out to Pumpkinland to tackle the Corn Maze. We all tackled it; the kids all con-quered it; and the leaders…..got lost! With the help of our parents and other great volunteers, we sold, assembled and delivered over 500 sub sandwiches. Thanks again to all of you for this successful fund raiser! And then there was the Commu-nist Run. The leaders only managed to catch two—the rest made it to the safe houses and to the final destination—some early, some late! We enjoyed hot chocolate and treats afterwards. We‘ve also been watching a DVD Teaching Series by R.C. Sproul called ―Choosing My Religion‖. This series addresses the false belief that there is really no absolute truth, and that what we believe as Christians is no more valid than what anyone else believes. We‘re having great discussions about the importance of knowing what you believe and why it‘s true, and about how a correct belief in the truth of Scripture influences not only how we live, but our culture as well. Thank you all for your wonderful support of the Youth Group.

Sometimes naughty, sometimes nice! Youth Group members are Jade Heynen, Brittany Laman, Lindsay Kats, and Jared

Heynen. Leaders are Loren Kooiman and Carla Groeneweg.

On a beautiful October morning, October 22, seven people from the Rock Valley area drove to Bonesteel SD with supplies for the day. We paused before we left to ask God for His blessing on our travel. The group from Cozad NE (about 25 adults and youth) also brought supplies and activities We all arrived at 11:30AM and unpacked the foods items and prizes we had with us. We delivered a trailer load of furniture from JFA and a load from Cozad to be given to the different families of the Native Americans. Before setting up for the afternoon activities we had a prayer for God's blessing on our day and then ate our sack lunches. Soon we were busy getting things ready for the afternoon's schedule. We noticed when we got there that we had only two tables for both the adult‘s and the children‘s activities. Their pastor drove back to Bonesteel and rented some tables from the community center. Soon we had the tables we needed and everything was quickly put into place. Due to the beautiful weather, the children went outside and did the activities Cozad had planned for them. The children really enjoyed doing the crafts. Each of these crafts had a story of the Bible or a story to encourage them to learn more about our Lord who loves all people, not just white people. Of course they loved being outside, and really enjoyed the different projects that they did and got to take home. The adults enjoyed playing Bingo and receiving gifts, donated from JFA. At 3:00PM the games and children's activities ended. We were then blessed by Alfred's brothers and cousins with a musical program. Their songs of faith were inspirational, and we had the pleasure of hearing their cultural Christian music and hearing their testimonies of faith. We enjoyed the program (even though it was long). Later we had to remind ourselves this is their culture and not ours. Someone from our church reminded us Sunday "that we were in their camp, not they in ours". Supper was served at 6:30 (pork loin, scalloped potatoes, carrots, bread, cookies and bars). Shortly before 7:30 we had everything cleaned and packed up. We returned back to our various towns and homes. Most of all we praise God for His blessing of safe travel and the relationships we are slowly building with our Native American brothers and sisters in Christ. Matt. 25:34-36; 40 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me'. When they question when this happened Jesus replies, "And the King will answer them, ―truly as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it for Me."

Sharing the Good News in BONESTEEL, SOUTH DAKOTA

The Van Zanten family: Dick & Alberta Moorlag, Albert & Harriett Van Zanten, Rev. Tony & Donna Van Zanten, Cornie & Wilma Van Zanten, John & Mary Van Zanten, and Vernon & Geneva Van Zanten.

When it‘s Thanksgiving time, many of us pause to count our blessings and reflect on how much the Lord has blessed us. The Van Zanten family has been blessed in a unique way, and they took some time to give thanks and praise to God during their annual reunion this year. What makes them unique is that Cornie and all of his siblings, aged 71 to 83, and their spouses are all still living, and all six couples have been married for at least 50 years! That is truly a blessing to praise the Lord for! Cornie said that when their brother suffered a stroke several years ago, they all realized they needed to be more intentional about getting together on a yearly basis, and they do not want to take anything for granted. They have been getting together now for a few days every year for the past seven years. We rejoice with you, Cornie and Wilma. Truly God is good! Thank you for sharing!

Does God expect Christians to vote? It is our contention that it is the duty and responsibility of every Christian to vote and to vote for leaders who promote Christian principles. God is most certainly in control, but that does not mean we should do nothing to further His will. We are commanded to pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-4). In terms of politics and leader-ship, there is evidence in Scripture that God has been displeased with our choices of leadership at times (Hosea 8:4). The evidence of sin‘s grip on this world is every-where. Much of the suffering on earth is because of godless leadership (Proverbs 28:12). Scripture gives Christians instructions to obey legitimate authority unless it contradicts the Lord‘s commands (Acts 5:27-29; Romans 13:1-7). As born-again be-

lievers, we ought to strive to choose leaders who will be themselves led by our Creator (1 Samuel 12:13-25). Candidates or proposals that violate the Bible‘s commands for life, family, marriage, or faith should never be supported (Proverbs 14:34). Christians should vote as led through prayer and study of both God‘s Word and the realities of the choices on the ballot. Christians in many countries in this world are oppressed and persecuted. They suffer under governments they are powerless to change and governments that hate their faith and silence their voices. These believers preach the gos-pel of Jesus Christ at risk of their own lives. In the USA, Christians have been blessed with the right to speak about and choose their leaders without fearing for themselves or their families. In the USA, in recent elections, about 2 of every 5 of self-professed Christians took that right for granted and did not vote. About 1 in 5 self-professed, eligible Christians are not even registered to vote. In our day and age, there are many who want to drive the name and message of Christ completely out of the pub-lic arena. Voting is an opportunity to promote, protect, and preserve godly government. Passing up that opportunity means letting those who would denigrate the name of Christ have their way in our lives. The leaders we elect– or do noth-ing to remove—have great influence on our freedoms. They can choose to protect our right to worship and spread the gospel, or they can restrict those rights. They can lead our nation toward righteousness or toward moral disaster. As Christians we should stand up ad follow our command to fulfill our civic duties. The Iowa Caucus will be held at the beginning of January, 2012. Take some time to research the candidates, asking God to give you wisdom to decide on a candidate and then attend the caucus to vote for that candidate. Anyone can attend a caucus, but you'll need to be a registered voter. Watch the newspapers for the exact date, time and location of the caucuses. Each precinct holds their own gathering. One source of information is www.ktiv.com where you can find a list of the candidates and how the caucus process works. Look for this under "Featured Reports"-Decision 2012

Reprinted with permission from GotQuestions.org

Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert Cherie Groeneweg

2 boxes of 12 ice cream sandwiches 1 jar of butterscotch ice cream topping 1 8 oz. cool whip 1 pkg toffee bits or you can use crushed Heath candy bars Line 9x13 pan with 1 box of ice cream sandwiches, spread 1/2 jar of butterscotch topping on sandwiches, then sprinkle 1/2 bag of the tof-fee bits over this. Repeat--sandwiches, rest of topping, spread cool whip over this, top with toffee bits and freeze.

Caramel Bars Carla Groeneweg

3/4 cup melted butter 1 cup flour 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup oatmeal 1 tsp soda 1 tsp salt Mix together until crumbly. Put 3/4 of the mixture in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake 10 min. @ 350 degrees. Melt together 35 caramels 4 tbsp milk 3 tbsp margarine Put on top of crumb mixture. Sprinkle 1 cup choc chips over caramel layer and top with rest of crumbly stuff. Bake on 350 degrees for 15 min.

Sunrise Breakfast Pizza Carla Groeneweg

8 to 10 eggs 3 tbsp milk salt & pepper to taste 1 tbsp butter or margarine 10 frozen white dinner rolls, thawed 10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled 2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add milk, salt and pepper. Melt butter in a skillet; add the egg mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until eggs are set. Remove from heat and set aside. Place dinner rolls on greased baking sheet and flatten/roll out to make 1 large crust. Spoon egg mix-ture evenly over crust. Sprinkle with bacon and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

While They Were Sleeping It was an evening like any other. Ordinary men were doing an ordinary job. Shepherds were ―keeping watch over their flock by night‖ (Luke 2:8). Was it chilly? Were they tired? When angels appeared with news of a Savior, had the shepherds been talking about their troubles or sharing a good joke? How quickly, how mysteriously, how unexpectedly an ordinary night became the turning point of human his-tory. How remarkable that God chose to set his great rescue plan in motion when only a young couple was paying attention and only a few shepherds were awake. God‘s work is sometimes so secret we may wonder if He‘s there at all, or if He cares. The Christmas story tells us that God works out breathtaking plans for our lives in the dark, often while we‘re sleeping or going about our ordinary routines.

Bible Quiz Some parts of the Christmas story, as commonly told, aren‘t actually recounted in Scripture. Which of the fol-lowing details is recorded in the Bible? 1. Mary rode a donkey to Bethlehem, and Joseph

walked alongside her. 2. Angels announced that a Savior, the Messiah (or

Christ) had been born. 3. There were three wise men. 4. Shepherds and wise men (or Magi) worshiped Baby

Jesus together in the stable. 5. None of the above.

Answer: 2 (See Matthew 1:18—2:12 and Luke 2:1-20.)

WATCH OUT!

YOU MAY BE THE

NEXT FACE ON

CANDID

CAMERA!

YIKES!! What is this, Fright Night? A scene from a horror movie? No, it‘s just Lora with a face full of dirt and wild hair from a windy afternoon of working in the field. Editor‘s note: I consider this ―payback in full‖ for all the embarrassing photos of everyone I‘ve put in the newsletter over the years!! Bet you didn‘t think I‘d use it, did ya? LK

On two Saturday afternoons in November you could find us ―Pickin‘ & Grinnin‖ - picking up corn to earn some extra money for the CEC. As usual, we made hard work seem like...fun...right?

Remembering a Happy Day

that was a gift from God.

A beautiful Sunday afternoon in September was the perfect time for Ryan Heynen to ―break out‖ of Whispering Heights and go for a joy ride with his sweetheart, Michelle. Some friends loaned them the convertible for the afternoon, and Ryan was able to get out, feel the sun on his face, and enjoy some time alone with his wife. It was a testimony to the fact that some of our greatest blessings come in the simple things of life. Editor’s note: After the newsletter was written, the Lord took Ryan home to be with the Him. The pain of saying goodbye to Ryan is still new and raw, yet we can take pleasure in remembering the happy times we enjoyed with him. He now knows joy and delight that none of us can yet even conceive of, and you can almost see that huge smile of his as he now walks the streets of gold. Having this assur-ance gives us comfort. LK

‗Twas the night before Christmas

When these babes, wrapped

in pink, First made their

appearance, Who are they—

now think!

(Answers can be found hidden

somewhere in this newsletter.)

Did you know that Jay and Doris Kragt have a new grandson? Lucas Haden Hilbrands was born August 29, 2011 to Alissa and Nolan Hilbrands. He was 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long at birth. Along with his parents and grandparents, Lucas was welcomed home by big brother, Noah. Congratulations, Jay and Doris!

"Angels watching over me..." Those words from an Amy Grant song came to mind recently for Peggy Van Maanen. After putting on 95 miles with something rattling on the underside of her car, she finally got it to the mechanic. When he put it up on the hoist, one of the back wheels fell off - the strut had broken in two. How often do we pray asking God to keep us safe, and at the end of the day take that safety we've been given, for granted? Peggy is grateful to God for sparing her from a serious acci-dent. She will also no longer say she's going to drive her car ―until the wheels fall off‖ because she now knows that can actually happen!

Did you know that we have Super Bowl football players right here at RVURC? Bryce Groeneweg, Daniel Kragt, and Grant Kooiman were part of a football team known as ―The Green Street Hooligans‖, and participated in the Sheldon Flag Football League this fall. The ―Hooligans‖ suffered only one loss all year, in a very close game; but otherwise they won every game they played. They then advanced and won the league ―Super Bowl‖. The guys had a lot of fun! Good going, you guys!

Did you know that the voice students from Dordt College participated in the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition at Drake University in Des Moines on Oct. 28 & 29? Freshman Rachel Kooiman, Junior Maria Bouwkamp, and Senior Sierra Tiegs advanced to the Semi Finals division, where both Rachel and Maria received Honorable Mention Certificates and cash rewards. Congratulations!

Do you know the story of the palm tree we have at church? Some years ago, while visiting relatives Jerry and Sandy Kats in Escondido, CA, the Kooiman family was fascinated by their first glimpse of palm trees. ―They‘re really a nuisance—they spring up in the cracks of our church parking lot, and we have a hard time getting rid of them‖, they were told. Still, the Kooimans thought they were cool. So, while working around the church one time, the Kats pulled three little sprigs out of the cracks of the Escondido URC parking lot and sent them in the mail to the Kooimans. One of the sprigs didn‘t sur-vive the US mail, but they managed to get two of them to grow in their basement, until a door didn‘t get closed all the way one winter night and one of them froze. But, they grew this palm tree from a two inch sprig to approximately a 4 foot tree, and now his member-ship has been officially transferred from the Escondido URC to the Rock Valley URC!! In the words of Charlie Brown, ―It never was such a bad little tree...it just needed a little love!‖

So you think you know everyone in our church pretty well, huh? Well, can you guess who these members are?

(The answers are found elsewhere in this newsletter.)