Roadside Assistance - Issue 8.1

Be still , and know that I am

God.Psalm 46:10

2 Whats Inside?

6PageCorrectly Handing the Word of Truth: Reformed Hermeneutics Today ~David Pol, Hamilton, ON

12Page

Short Story ~Tyler Bouman,Canboro, ON

3Page Editorial: Being Adults ~Jeff Poort, Caledonia, ON

10PageRoadquest: Contentment: Easier Said Than Done

~John Boekee, Hamilton, ON

17Page

Innerviews: Cornelius Broersma ~Iwan Borst, Hamilton, ON

8Page Creative Highway ~ Gratitude~Alina Van Goor, Hamilton, ON

What This IsRoadside Assistance is a forum for Reformed youth. A forum is a place where people talk together. So listen and read, but go ahead and write something as well. We would like you to send your articles, poems, and art, and well do our best to include them in the upcoming issues!This particular forum is a place for discussing faith matters, encouraging one another in the faith, passing on Bible knowledge, building and expressing our beliefs as Reformed Christians, sharpening hearts and minds, stimulating reading on Bible-related issues, and educating each other.Do you want to write for RA? Email us your articles and maybe your work will appear in an upcoming issue!

3Editorial:Being Adultsby Jeff Poort ~ Caledonia, Ontario

Working for a magazine that is specifically devoted to young people, the title of this piece might seem a little out of place. But I want to think about this distinction which we have in many Reformed Churches between young people and adults. This distinction works itself out into separate bible studies, separate speeches, and separate conferences. But is it healthy?Reading Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris opened my eyes to what the culture around us is telling us about teenagers. These teenage authors argue, and I agree, that the world has lowered its expectations for people from the age of 12-19, and that these lowered

expectations are even creeping up into the 20 and 30 year-olds. Our expectations today are that a good teenager stays out of trouble, does not do drugs, and follows the rules of the house. Parents would be happy with a teenager like that. But these are all negative expectations. Avoid this. Stay away from that. Teenagers are not expected to do positive things and are rarely pushed to go out and do something worthwhile.It used to be that teenagers were ex-pected to contribute significantly to the family as a whole. In a less prosperous time, they would go out and get a job for after school and Saturdays. There would be a couple spare evenings here or

there for homework, but extra time was at a minimum. Thats not to say that teenag-ers arent busy today. There are all kinds of after-school clubs and sports which take up a lot of time. The bottom-line, however, is that many of these activities can more be seen as forms of enter-tainment, even if they are healthy ones.What ends up happen-ing is that there is a large group of people in their 20s and 30s who have spent their entire lives entertain-ing themselves. They spend their extra time playing video

4 5

games and keeping up with hockey and bas-ketball and the Olym-pics or reading all the latest fashion maga-zines and watching movies. If they have a job, they dont care about it, and they have no ambition to do any-thing with their lives. These people skipped the all important step that they were sup-posed to take in their early teens (13-14) of actually growing up, of becoming an adult and taking on long term responsibilities and projects.I found it interesting that the word teenager never existed 70 years ago. It is a new word which has been used to distinguish a separate age group which never before had been distinguished. Teenagers were just considered adults.

They may be growing and maturing yet, but as a whole they were supposed to start doing things that adults do: work, taking care of their own things, looking after themselves more. Teenagers back then were expected to be responsible, to be gearing up for their careers and to be helping out their family wherever else possible.But today teenager is that age where we are expected to have fun, to experiment with all kinds of things, to have mood swings and just figure out what life is all about. We get to start doing things on our own time, and hopefully we grow up eventually. As Christian young people we should see this change in

society around us and determine how to react to it based on the Bible. What we find in the Bible is that each member of the congregation is called to be a part of the body of believers and is necessary for the body to function well. Paul says, Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. (1 Cor 12:14). The eye cannot say to the hand, I dont need you! And the head cannot say to the feet, I dont need you! On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. (1 Cor 12: 21-23). Paul does not make any age distinctions, as if the older people are the only ones who

are parts of the body and not the younger. No, the young people are needed for the body to function well too! Involved young people are needed for a congregation to be healthy!As Reformed young people we have it pretty good. Throughout our childhood we learn a whole lot about the Bible and what it actually says. We are taught how the whole Bible works together and how all the books of the Bible show us about God and his plan for his people through Jesus Christ.When we get into the teen years then we have a foundation already on how to live and act in the church and in the world. We know what kinds of things are helpful for

the church community and what our roles are for working in this world. We should not look at our teen years as the time when we get to do as many fun things as possible for ourselves. As Christians we should see these teenage years as years when we have the chance to do a lot of great things for others. It is in your late teens that you will actually have the time to actually go on mission trips or help out at a camp in the summer or organize programs or a get-together for your congregation. It is in your teen years that you dont have the commitments to a spouse or kids which allow you to start up projects which benefit the church or those in need in our society.

As Christians, then, we should not get sucked into this teenager mentality with which the world so often tempts us. We are called to use the time that God does give us to do good things for him and for others, not waste our lives on ourselves. When we do this, we are different. Then we can be lights in this world, going against the culture around us and raising expectations for ourselves. We can show to others that teenagers do not have to be teenagers. We can be young adults who are taking on tough tasks and starting our lives off right. When we do this, we represent Christ in this world in a beautiful way.

Start children off on the way they should go,

and even when they are old they will not turn from it. ~Proverbs 22:6

6 7Correctly Handling the Word of Truth: Reformed Hermeneutics Todayby David Pol ~ Hamilton, Ontario

This past week, I helped to push out a van that became stuck in the snow. After-wards, when I was telling my housemates why I was late, I said, A lady got stuck in the snow ahead of me, so I got out of the car and pushed her. Taking that sentence alone, it can be inter-preted in many differ-ent ways. Literally, it could be understood that a woman was stuck waist deep in the snow and I jumped out of my car, walked over and pushed her over. Someone who under-stood that sentence in that way would be taking my sentence literally, but not taking into account what is going on in the mean-time. What actually happened was quite different (I was helping

a woman get her van un-stuck). However, their literal interpre-tation made me look mean-spirited instead of helpful.What is exactly meant by the word literal? While the listeners interpretation of that one particular sentence was literal, was it right? How about when we apply this to the Bible?Some of you may have heard about the Hermeneutics confer-ence that took place not too long ago. From the January 23rd to the 25th a conference took place in Hamil-ton, Ontario. The title of the conference was, Correctly handling the Word of Truth: Reformed Hermeneu-tics Today. What is Hermeneutics? One dictionary describes hermeneutics as, the

branch of knowledge that deals with inter-pretation, especially of the bible or liter-ary texts. The aim of the professors (both from our Seminary and the Netherlands) who presented at this conference was to try and explain how we, as christians, must approach the biblical text.Why does this matter? To understand any written text requires hermeneutics. It requires a presuppo-sition; a way that you look at the text and decide to understand it. Take Genesis 1, for example. Will you take its description of events as literally true (six day creation)? Or will you choose to un-derstand it differently? That is one of the texts that was discussed at

the conference. Anoth-er text was 1 Timothy 2, which excludes women from serving in positions of lead-ership in the church. Understanding these passages properly is fairly important when you look to work out Scripture. What is even more important is the reflection your interpretation (herme-neutic) has on how you understand our salva-tion: Jesus death on the cross for our sins and his resurrection on the third day. Will the interpretation you take lead to discredit-ing parts of Scripture? If so, the resurrection account is very dif-ficult to trust and if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (1 Cor 15).

Those are significant words. If you misinter-pret what I said about helping out a woman who got stuck, I might be insulted. If you do not interpret Scripture properly, every pastors preaching is useless and so is your faith. That is why it matters.Through the righteous-ness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ we have received a precious faith. The study of and in-terpre-tation of Scripture is not something to simply leave to theologians. It is what feeds our faith and it is through the Bible that the Holy Spirit himself works faith in

our hearts. Lets pray that we never come to a place where our own interpretation of Scrip-ture would lead us to a place where our own faith becomes useless. Rather, lets pray that it would always be pre-cious and dear to us.While there is much more that we could get into, I will stop here. Hopefully this

will increase your desire to learn

more about the proper interpre-tation of Scripture.

Rev. R. Bredenhof s

summary of the conference can be found in the Clarion. The two public lectures themselves can be found at this link:

Rather, lets pray

that it would be precious and dear to us.

http://canadianreformedseminary.ca/general/conference2014.html

GRATITUDE: (grat-i-tood)a feeling of appreciation or thanks; the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday? ~ Anonymous ~

FAST FACTS

* According to the University of California, grateful people are happier by 25%. (http://www.karenmccullough.

com/?p=1875&option=com_wordpress&Itemid=58)

* Recently, scientist have found that grateful people have stronger immune systems and lower blood pressure; more

joy, optimism, and happiness; act with more generosity and compassion; and feel less lonely and isolated. (http://

greatergood.berkeley.edu/expandinggratitude)

MEMORIZATION:

INSPIRATION:

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4

Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 106:1

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything with, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. Thats why they call it the present. Bill Keane

The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live. He has penetrated

the whole mystery of life: giving thanks for everything. Albert Schweitzer

I only deepen the wound of the world when I neglect to give thanks. Ann Voskamp

We can give thanks in everything because there is a good God leading, working all things into good. It is safe to trust!

Ann Voskamp

Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grows. A proud man is seldom a grateful

man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves. Henry Ward Beecher

The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest. William Blake

Creative Highway by Alina Van Goor ~ Hamilton, Ontario

10 11Roadquest:Contentment: Easier Said Than Doneby John Boekee ~ Hamilton, Ontario

Our culture lives life in the fast lane. Fast cars, fast food, fast phones, fast computers and so on. We want everything now or sooner. We are an impatient society. Good, bad and otherwise we live out the adage, time is money. Although there may be some good sides to doing everything as quick as possible, there are certainly also some negative aspects to this attitude. For one, I think it makes time go by quicker. When we live our lives in a hurry, it goes by in a hurry. Another significant downside of this lifestyle, is that it makes us less content. We as Christians also want everything ASAP.

Lately I have been doing some

contemplating on what I want to do with my life. It is good to plan for the future, but the problem is I want to get where I want to go right now. I want to be done school and have a solid permanent job today. Perhaps you too are in school and want to be done. Perhaps you are not in a relationship and wish you were. Perhaps you are in one and want to be married. Maybe some days you, like me, just wish you were further along in life.

So what is the problem with this? I think part of the problem is that when we are not content, we do not serve God to the fullest with each day. If we are just wishing for tomorrow to come, then we can easily miss opportunities

that God has given us today. It would seem then that the solution is clear. We are to be more content. We need to more at peace with the situation God has placed us in each day. This, however, is easier said than done. We read in Philippians 4:11-12, I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. What an amazing thing for Paul to say! I know I certainly fall far short of this. In 1 Timothy 6:6 we read, But godliness with

contentment is great gain. God wants us to be content. He wants us to be at peace with His way, His timing and the circumstances He gives us. But again, this is one thing to say, and another thing to do. So my question today is, what are some things we can do that will help us to be more

content? What are some specific, practical suggestions for being more content in our daily walk with the Lord? Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they

shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:30-31. (ESV) Please leave your thoughts and comments on our facebook page!

12 13Short Storyby Tyler Bouman ~ Canboro, Ontario

A short Dutch girl with long hair that fell in curls upon her shoulders was pumping her bike pedals with a burning pain as she mounted a hill on her way to school. She was late for class again because her mom didnt wake her up on time and her hair just wouldnt go right and her mascara kept smudging. As the girl crested the hill, her front tire hit a rut and the bike fell over, tossing the girl into the ditch. Her open knapsack spilled all her belongings out of the bag. She let out a scream of frustration and quickly began to put all of her stuff back into her bag. As she went to grab the last textbook out of the grass, she noticed something under the bush beside her. She

grabbed the strange object and threw it in her pack and set off to school again. As the day passed, she quickly forgot about the object.

That night as she was in bed about to go to bed she went to grab her book out of her schoolbag and accidentally grabbed the object instead. It was a light object wrapped in a ragged cloth, originally white but browned with age. She sat on her bed and began to unwrap the mysterious cloth to see what was kept inside. As she peeled the last layer of cloth off, she found herself holding a tiny book with a plain brown leather cover and a red ribbon with a clasp at the end that could keep the book closed. She eagerly pulled off

the clasp to see what was inside. As soon as the clasp separated and the book fell open, the room filled with an eerie glow. Golden rays shot out of the book as well as beams of what appeared to be black light. The clouds suddenly thickened over the house and the girl stood transfixed with the book upon her lap. She looked down and saw that the book only had two pages. One page was a plain golden color and had a small brown cross in the very center of the page. The other page was filled with all forms of strange depictions all black on top of a dark grey background. In the center of that page was what appeared to be the number 6 stacked on top of itself three times, colored red. The

girl slowly reached down and touched the small cross design on the first page. Suddenly a quiet hum filled the air and a silver mist surrounded the girl. She felt like she was floating inside of a cloud for a moment. She looked down and suddenly the fog began to lessen.She could see the ground again and then saw a strange glow on it. She reached down and picked up a little golden stone that looked like a marble. She rolled it in her fingers, amazed at the beauty. When she looked up again her heart stopped beating for a few seconds. She stood in complete amazement, not flinching a bit for at least a minute. Then she finally released a breath after realizing

that she had been holding it for over a minute. That strange stone she held was not the only glowing, golden object. The girl found herself in the middle of a room with a floor made of golden bricks and walls of pure glistening bronze. Hanging from the ceiling was a large chandelier of crystals casting a glow that filled the room. The walls were studded with enormous rubies and each corner of the room had a small statue of a maned lion with an emerald in its mouth, made of solid gold. But the girl didnt even notice these details. All she saw was a giant throne on a small stage at the front of a small stage. The throne also was plated in pure gold with ornamental arm

rests. Sapphires that seemed to be filled with unending depths of water studded the whole front of the throne. A long rod of silver lay against the thrones right arm rest. The rod curved around on itself at the end and half covered another sapphire molded into the end. Peacocks walked around the front of the throne not seeming to notice the girl at all. A silver dish sat upon the seat, filled with pomegranates and figs. The girl stood in complete awe not even knowing how much time was passing.

WAKE UP! With a groan the Dutch girl opened her eyes and groaned. Back to school again. She quickly got ready for school, grabbed her lunch from her mother

14 15

and set off on her bike to school again. As she began to climb up a hill she stopped and parked her bike. She began to remember a strange dream she had last night. It seemed strange to her because it was so life-like. It seemed more like a memory, because it was so clear and detailed. Yet, it was too strange to ever be true. She continued on her way to school and tried to forget about her dream. Yet, it plagued her all day and she could not concentrate on her school work at all.

That night while she was sitting on her bed and thinking about last nights strange dream, something from deep inside told her to look under her bed. She reached down and

pulled out that small brown book, clasped shut. It wasnt a dream. She hesitated only for a moment and unbound the clasp. The book fell open. Her eyes rested upon the small cross again and she began to lower her finger to touch the cross again and then she stopped. A thought, like a small worm entered into her brain. She wanted to go to that glorious place again but that thought, a thought of curiosity, made her turn to the other second page. She already knew what the other page held and she began to wonder what new impossibilities and adventures the other page could hold. She instinctively touched the red sixes. That same familiar feeling filled her and she found herself

surrounded by a fog again. This time the fog was darker, and thicker, and colder. As soon as the fog began to surround her she began to wish she never chose to explore the dark depths of the second page. A numbing fear filled her and she began to shiver. The dark fog half cleared, just enough so she could see her new surrounding. She was standing on a cold platform of black jade. It was just wide enough for her to stand on. The smell of sulfur filled the air. Waves of midnight water flowed around her. Rumbling noises echoed from all sides. Across the water she could see an area of molten lava forming an island that rose out of the dark waters. Black spirals rose out from

the land high into the black, thundering skies above. A light rain fell but when it hit her she didnt know if she was really feeling anything at all. Occasional high-pitched screams filled the air. The island was half covered in a forest of solid black trees that held no leaves. Ravens flew overhead. She shifted uncomfortably

and shivered, not entirely out of cold. She just wanted to leave and be back in her bedroom, but she could not get off the small platform. Smoke curled out from the island and the edges of the island glowed a dull orange from lava that oozed out into the cold waters, casting a black steam.

The platform began to crack and dark, scaly snakes poured out around her legs. They looked up at her with eyes burning with an intense red. She screamed as they coiled around her. The water beside her stirred and all she could see was a long body of scales. Red and yellow eyes began

17Innerviews:Cornelius Broersma by Iwan Borst ~ Hamilton, ON

For this edition of Innerviews, Iwan Borst interviewed Cornelius Broersma, who with his wife Mindy has recently returned to Canada after working for Adoration Christian Centre in Haiti for two years.

Roadside Assistance: To get started, can you introduce yourselves? Broersma: My name is Cornelius Broersma. I work as a teacher at a local school. Together with my wife, Mindy, I have two adorable kids: one as old as six and another just shy of twenty-one months. We have recently returned from a two year mission in Haiti where we helped Adoration Christian Centre. RA: What is Adoration Christian Centre? Broersma: It is a project that was started by Randy and Karen Lodder in 2006. They set up a school for grades 1-6 in a poor neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. This project continued to grow and more students were enrolled and higher grades were added to the program. Now they have 330 students in grades 1-9 and have partnered with Word and Deed. In the coming years they hope to add the final high school grades to their program as well. All these students come from some of the poorest homes in Haiti and would have never been able to afford education if Adoration had not been set up in their neighbourhood. Now they received Christian education from great teachers.But Adoration is more than education. Twice daily the students are served a meal at the school so that the students do not have to fight hunger while they are in the classroom. Adoration will also help local families build houses so that these students will have a home to live in. In order to accomplish all this, Adoration employs people from the local area and gives them a source of income. Currently the Centre has 50 people employed doing various tasks, from cooking

to appear from the edges of the forest. The ravens began to circle. She screamed and suddenly she was back in bed, blankets hugged close and shivering. She was sweating and panting. She flicked the light switch and peered under the bed. Nothing was there. She went back to sleep and tried to forget about her horrible nightmare but couldnt sleep.

As she left to school the following morning, she was confused about her strange dreams. She decided to block them out of her mind. They never happened.

While she was at school her mother cleaned out her room. She threw out a small brown book and

some old ratty cloths that she found on her daughters floor. She kept the small clasp and ribbon.The book was thrown out, opened to a page without the clasp to keep it shut.

16

18 19We have different

gifts, according to the grace given to each of

us..... if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching,

then teach....

Romans 12:6 & 7b

They live with a

true joy and a contentedness with

what they have and do not

have.

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(providing 330 students with two meals every day!) to teaching and taking care of the school grounds. RA: How did you end up joining Adoration in Haiti?

Broersma: We have been friends with Randy and Karen for a long time. In 2011 they approached us since Adoration was looking for a couple to help manage various parts of the project that were going on at the time. We had been there before and now that this opportunity arose, we did not need much time to think: this was one of the doors the Lord opened. We applied and got the job.

RA: Can you give our readers a quick summary of what your job at Adoration entailed?

Broersma: A portion of my job involved the mentoring of the Haitian principals at Adoration. I would help the principals evaluate the teaching that was being done and provide them with advice on how things could be improved or changed. Adoration wants to provide good quality education and is always looking for ways to improve the curriculum and the manner in which the students are taught. The Haitian model of teaching stresses rote memorization and repetition, but Adoration wants to see the students engage the material and make it their own. It was great to look at the teaching and curriculum in order to help develop the program.I also stayed in touch with the former students of Adoration. The older students are sent to other schools to finish their education. It was good to keep in touch with them and keep them connected with Adoration and help them if possible.

RA: What were some of the greatest challenges and joys of doing overseas mission work, particularly in Haiti?

Broersma: One of the greatest challenges that you notice right away is the language barrier. Be prepared to speak French! Another thing is the lack of punctuality. Meetings rarely start on time and being an hour and a half late is nothing to worry about. This way of life clashes with our culture of deadlines and meetings and strict schedules. For the rest, Haiti has beautiful weather and gorgeous beaches that make adapting less difficult. Besides, the people that we could meet and the work that we could do were richly rewarding. God has used Adoration to change the lives of Haitian youth, who now can find jobs and be part of a church community. It is great to see these young people mature and come to Christ and go out to tell their friends about the gospel. RA: What is it that Adoration offers that Haiti really needs?

Broersma: They provide good quality teaching from great teachers. But above all they look out for their community. They show their love for the community by always seeking new ways to help the various people that live around the Centre. Adoration is there to make a lasting difference. You can see the appreciation the people have for Adoration in the fact that some students have finished their studies and end up working for Adoration themselves.

RA: What have you appreciated most from working in Haiti?

Broersma: In a country that is marked by poverty and natural disasters, you might think it would be hard to find joy and happiness,

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yet this is exactly what you see in so many Haitian homes. They live with a true joy and a contentedness with what they have and do not have. It really makes you realize that we are richly blessed and that true joy and happiness does not depend on the things we have.It was also great to work with the people at Adoration. They would always be there to help you and would go the extra mile. It is not hard to feel at home in such an environment. RA: What advice would you give a young person who is interested in helping Adoration?

Broersma: They can donate funds to Adoration Christian Centre, sponsor a child or go on a short term mission trip. You can find more information online, following the links below. There are usually two short term missions each year. You can also contact Randy and Karen and do some fundraising for the various projects that are

going on throughout the year. Another unique way you can help is by sending French reading materials to Adoration. The earthquake in 2010 destroyed the library so that Adoration is currently looking for books to rebuild their library. So they would be happy to receive good reading materials. Maybe you could find a French copy of your favorite book and send it to Adoration. Another option would be making a care package for Randy and Karen. It is an easy, one-time commitment that is greatly appreciated by the families working in Haiti. We speak from experience and would gladly help you put a package together. But above all you can pray. You can pray for the project, the Lodders, students and the church plant in Port-au-Prince. Pray that Adoration may continue to do their work in Haiti and give the children there an education and a future.

Links: http://adoration.net/

http://www.wordanddeed.org/

ContactRoadside Assistance Magazine

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The BoardIwan Borst (Editor)

Jeff PoortJohn Boekee

Stephanie VisscherAlina Van GoorAlyssa Tuinstra

Design: Caitlin Hamoen