Ideas have Consequences

Five seniors from Eastwood Christian School embarked on a two-week journey in March that traced the ideas that produced Western Civilization to their European roots.  Abby Morrison, Amy Trumbull, Soren Geiger, William Harmon and Justin Eidsmoe, accompanied by John and Dawn Geiger and Leigh Morrison, began in Rome where the ideas of ancient Greece, Christianity, and the Renaissance can be seen in amazing clarity and contrast.

They then traveled to Marseilles and Aix-en-Provence where they met MTW missionaries Nelly Vos, Patty Moore and Martine Wessel. They ate couscous and discussed the spiritual climate of France and the history of the Huguenots.  They visited the seminary supported by our Presbytery and met some of its students.

In Paris the group was greeted by David and Kathryn Lohnes, Eastwood members and World Team missionaries, and their colleagues Carl and Caroline Kishbaugh.  After a two-day “field-trip” to the Normandy beaches and Mont St. Michel, they enjoyed a day of rest and worship in their small church in Andeville outside of Paris.  You would have enjoyed watching our seniors as they sang “Isaiah 43” (Do not fear for I have redeemed you),and spoke through a translator to a group of about 20 children on the joys of growing up in church.

After two days in Paris, it was off to the Alps where Francis Schaeffer’s son-in-law, Udo Middelmann, met our students and showed them evidence of the Reformation in Switzerland. He also introduced them to the very mountains that were home to his wife and her family for over 50 years. And, of course, there was the SNOW!  Did you know you can begin on a slope in Switzerland, catch a lift and get off on a slope in France?

Before leaving Switzerland we visited Basel where we sat in the living room of Ellis Potter, colleague of Francis Schaeffer and a L’Abri worker for several decades.  In true L’Abri fashion, the conversation ranged from the Beatles to Buddhism to the validity of the typical Christian testimony.  Then it was off to Germany for a Thursday evening Study/Fellowship with Stephen Spanjer and Rob Piscatelli.

The last day was spent with Stephen visiting a concentration camp called Natzweiller.  The camp stood in solemn contrast to the beauty of the Alps and the majesty of the cathedrals and castles we had so recently been enjoying. Our last night was spent discussing reformers over schnitzel with noodles, climbing to the top of a ruined castle and sitting in the living room of a harpist as she played an original song she had finished only that afternoon.

As Francis Schaeffer often said, reality is like a keyhole and Christianity is the only key that fits.  Ours is not a private faith as the French believe, nor a relic like the ones we saw in Italy.  Our faith explains man’s capacity for gross evil and his incomprehensible ability to achieve great beauty.  The God who is there has spoken; His idea for mankind was sealed at the resurrection, and we must structure our lives to reflect that truth.  A watching world wants to know if these ideas we espouse have consequences, and our lives must  cry out with a resounding “Yes.”

Aix Seminary, Aix-en-Provence in France

Rome, Italy Colosseum

Won by One Ministry with Stephen Spanjer and Rob Piscatelli-Train Station in Mulheim, Germany

Mont St. Michel, Normandy, France

Marseille, France