Cork and Ruth Albright
Missionaries to the Netherlands
October-November 2004

Ruth's Family News

Do we find it hard to be thankful? That seems like a silly question, doesn’t it? We who are God’s children should find it very easy to be thankful for what our Lord is doing in our lives. At the moment however some of my friends who are going through very hard times are finding it difficult to thank God for their circumstances. We must be very careful to be thankful for ALL that the Lord brings into our lives. When we have difficult circumstances we need to thank God and take courage. Acts 28:15b tell us “...he thanked God, and took courage.”

Family throb

As mentioned before, Angele is experiencing her first year teaching. We are thanking God for the job He has provided for her and asking Him for His courage to face each circumstance that comes up in her life pertaining to teaching. Sometimes she feels she is more involved in disciplining the children than teaching. She has had some frustrating days. The students are anticipating Christmas vacation . . . they do not realize how much their teacher is also looking forward to that break as well! Angele is loving teaching though. Amy is home again taking care of her girls. God provided a teacher to take over in her class within days of her talking to her principal about the decision to leave the school. We are wondering if God had her replacement standing by just waiting to take over. Well, of course He did! It is great to have her home again! Amos and Christina are so very busy in the Lord’s work while working full time . . . and Amos is still going to college at Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. We love hearing about the blessings in their lives!

Ministry throb

Our church family always looks forward to the Christmas holidays. During these days, we can talk about our Lord Jesus much easier since it’s the reason for the season. We do have to bring this fact to their attention but the door of opportunity to witness stays open a little longer this time of year. The church in Weert has a choir that sings Christmas carols at different locations around the city including a devotional time about the birth, death and resurrection of Christ. What other time of year provides us with such an opportunity?

Praise throb

Our biggest praise this month is the love response so many have shown us through several financial gifts sent to the mission office in reply to our request for help with the difficulty we are experiencing because of the difference between the dollar/euro exchange rate. As Cork mentioned in our last prayer letter, “Because of our desire to submit to God, I would like to convey to you how He has strengthened our faith through several churches and individuals who have responded to our difficult financial situation. We have received several one time financial gifts that will make it possible for us to stay another year on the mission field!!! An answer to our fervent prayers!!! As long as there are no major medical problems or other financial reversals we will be able to divide the received gifts over the next twelve months. God is strengthening us to bear up under our financial circumstances. Submitting to God is far better than taking things into our own hands.” We serve such a faithful and loving God!

Prayer throb

Please continue to pray for our financial needs. Also, by the time you receive our next prayer letter, I will have taken my language tests for this semester. There are five parts to this test: dictation, grammar, written, listening and speaking. The speaking section is always my weakest area. I am thankful that my teacher is not still saying, “Ruth, you are speaking English”, because of my strong accent. I have been working extra hard so I would not hear that comment so frequently. Thank you for praying!

Dutch throb

If you are interested in a word Bible study, I found Isaiah 9:6 such a blessing when I did a study on each of the names of Christ mentioned in this verse. In our Dutch Bible the reference is Jesaja 9:5 - “Want een Kind is ons geboren, een Zoon is ons gegeven, en de heerschappij rust op zijn schouder en men noemt hem Wonderbare Raadsman, Sterke God, Eeuwige Vader, Vredevorst.” We do wish you - “Gezegende Kerstdagen en een Voorspoedig Nieuwjaar!” (Blessed Christmas days and a Prosperous New Year”)

Cork's Ministry News

“If you want to find gratitude in this generation, you’ll have to look for it in the dictionary.” Well Cork, what is it to be . . . more gripes or godly gratitude? Here are some of my gripes: “Why me?” “It’s not enough!” “My colleagues don’t listen!” “I deserve more respect!” “They can’t do that to me!” “I have a right to be happy!” “They don’t appreciate me like they should!”

What I really and truly want to be is thankful! I would like THANKFULNESS, for favors received, for prayers answered, for benefits enjoyed, to arise from a grateful heart. Yet this falls far short of my God given privileges for today. My prayers should be accompanied by thanksgiving, before the answer comes, along with the petition. That is the faith that honors God! Let us be grateful that He will not blindly obey our requests. Let us give thanks that He will do only what is for His glory, which is truly for our good. If we realize only a little of our own folly and feebleness we will be overwhelmingly grateful for every apparent failure to get what we want, for there can be no doubt that it would have been bad for us and against what is important to God. We are instinctively appreciative when we get what we want, but let us thank Him in advance for sending only that which is in harmony with His will for our lives.

I am so thankful that God has not given me everything that I want but that He has made me grateful for what I have. We are truly grateful for our sending church and several other churches who have increased our monthly support in this time of financial turmoil in Europe. Would our Lord lead you to help us in this way as well? We are truly grateful for several churches and individuals who have given one time financial gifts that will make it possible for us to stay another year on the mission field!!! Otherwise we would be leaving a baby church on it’s own to return to the States. We are truly grateful to Bill Gross who has put us on the internet at www.corkalbright.com. He has developed the website and is paying for hosting it. Although it is not yet finished it gives a good indication of who we are and what we are doing. We are truly grateful for the church to the military in Soest (now disbanded due to the US military drawdown in Europe) that we started and pastored which has sent out men into fulltime ministry . . . one is now a missionary in Bulgaria. We are truly grateful for the godly Dutch pastors we minister together with. Both Miel de Rechter and Michiel Hollander and their wives and children are families who have stayed buy the stuff in often difficult circumstances. We are truly grateful for their churches in Roermond and Weert who stand for the truth and are committed to reach our generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are truly grateful for the new church in Valkenburg; for the men we are training and those who have accepted Jesus as Savior. And I am truly grateful for my wife, Ruth, and my three children and their partners and our two grandchildren. It is with thankful hearts that we commit ourselves to serving the God we love and the people we love in the land He has called us to. We truly have much to be grateful for and nothing to gripe about.

Please accept our warmest wishes for a blessed Christmas and a new year given to doing only those things that please God and have eternal value.