He volunteered:"My wife and I are not believers."We had been talking about America and Belgium, about the European Union and the economy, about socialism and capitalism.The discussion turned to religion.He knew that we were Baptist missionaries.Being a typical Belgian, I doubt that he knew anything about Baptists.He probably realized that we were some sort of Protestants.

He said that he and his wife were not married in the church.For him, that act symbolized a total rejection of any sort of religious faith.He shared that their daughter is in the "nonbelievers class" at school.(All students in Belgium attend religion classes in the public schools, and there is a class for people who believe nothing.)He said that their daughter would have to decide for herself when she grows up.He was not against religious faith.He was not in favor of religious faith.He was neutral.

I'm never prepared for neutrality.I expect people to argue their case for or against faith.I expect passion about something so basic and powerful as religious belief.Wonderful and terrible things are done in the name of religion.I expect people to feel deeply one way or the other.In Belgium most people feel nothing. They are indifferent about religious faith because they feel there is nothing of value at stake either way.

Several weeks ago I was taking to another Belgian.This man is a devout believer and a member of the church we work with in Oostende.He is quite reserved and reveals very little about himself, typically Belgian.But after a service one Sunday, he said something quite revealing.He commented:"Before I was a Christian I felt very little.I had no true emotions.Now that I am a believer, I feel things.Now I am alive in my heart."

I have come to believe that the indifference of Belgians to religious faith or any type of ultimate concern is really numbness brought on by the absolute and overwhelming secularization of the culture.(The dislocation and destruction of two world wars within 30 years did much to contribute to this secularization.)There is no real basis for hope or meaning beyond the daily comforts and joys of life.They go on living without any lasting or transcendent purpose.This works as an anesthesia of the spirit.The Belgians appear to be a very contented people.When in reality, they are a numb people, very nice but numb.

Jesus said:"I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly [John 10:10]."This is the ministry of Baptists in Belgium: to wake people up to the abundant life brought through faith in Jesus Christ.Our task is to make people dissatisfied, to make them want something more.

Your prayers and support enable Debbie and me to remain in Belgium and unsettle people, to awaken within them a hunger for something more, to make them "alive in their hearts."

Please share with us in the following concerns and thanksgivings:

• Pray for the Pilgrim Baptist Church as they write and adopt their first set of bylaws
• Pray for the women Debbie works with in the Red Light district in Ghent
• Pray for Pane, a Thai woman, as she learns Dutch so that she can get a job
• Thank God for a successful "March for Jesus" in Oostende last month.
• Thank God for the work of the Youth Committee of the Union of Baptists in Belgium

May God bless you in your ministries in your mission field,

Jim (along with Debbie, Ben, and Luke) Kelsey