> Rangers, > > With a lot of interest I have read Bob Simon's forward about the situation > of missionaries in Belgium. For the past four years, I have been studying > at A/G's Continental Theological Seminary. Even though I graduated last > May, I now live at only few kilometers distance, and still have regular > contact to the people there. Many of the A/G missionaries in Belgium have > become personal friends. So please regard the following comments as coming > from a not exactly uninformed source. > > In order to avoid false rumours, I would like to clarify the following > point: > > 1. What we are seeing here at the moment is not a surprising movement of > the Belgian government against Christian workers, who are suddenly > considered "undesirable". Rather, it is the LAWFUL enforcement of a legal > situation that has been present since 1999. The suddenness of the events is > to some degree also connected to the previous ignorance of the local A/G > staff about this legal situation. > > 2. The "International Christian Academy", where the four expelled > volunteers were working, has to be seen from a Belgian perspective not as a > missionary ministry, but a private school, where teachers consequently have > to hold valid working permits. The same might, according to Belgian laws, > prove applicable to other branches of the local A/G enterprise, > specifically those whose functions could equally be performed by regular > (tax-paying) Belgian workers. > > 3. The action of the Belgian government is neither "sudden" nor against > missionaries only. Rather, it is part of the current policy, which is > consistently being enforced in all parts of the country. Also, the action > is not linked to religious activity, but rather to problems with legal > status, specifically the lack of a valid working permit. > > 4. Up to this point, the leadership of A/G's Division of Foreign Missions, > under the direction of Europe Field Director Rev. Greg Mundis, have been > handling the situation calmly and with the necessary amount of wisdom. In > cooperation with Belgian lawyers, they are reviewing the situation with > government representatives. My encouragement for you is to continue praying > for your missionary brothers and sisters, but to refrain from spreading > rumours about the situation, which can only be damaged by that. To be > understood correctly, I am not referring to the previous post as a rumour. > But, even being here in Belgium, it is hard to take an unbiased look at the > issue. If you want to inform other brothers and sisters about the issue, > please refer them to the official press releases of the A/G or to Rev. > Mundis ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > > Official press releases can be found at: > > http://www.ag.org/top/news/news_article_template.cfm?ArticleID=5976 > > http://www.ag.org/top/news/news_article_template.cfm?ArticleID=6001 > > For those interested, the Belgian TV report is available in French on the > Internet: > http://www3.rtbf.be/rtbf_2000/bin/view_something.cgi?id=0064128_article > > Finally, I want to encourage you to take these events as a new incentive to > pray for Belgium. This country is in great need of the Gospel of Jesus > Christ! > > Greetings from Belgium. > > -- > God bless you, > > Toph > > ------------------------------------------------------------- > Christoph Fischer > Student of European School of Evangelical Theology, Leuven, > Belgium > Eifelstrasse 3 - 71083 Herrenberg - Germany > Phone +49.7032.33556 > -------------------------------------------------------------
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