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 AGWM Personnel in the Netherlands, Steve Kramer, recently had an unusual opportunity.
Instead of going to a church service on a Sunday morning as they normally would, God had something else in store. As Steve explains, "He had a mission for us at the racetrack. We had been asked to pray a blessing in English and Dutch before the beginning of the Dutch Champ Car Grand Prix in Assen, Netherlands."
This is not the type of place where Steve is accustomed to ministering. It is a rough crowd. However, when God opened the door, Steve was eager to see what He would do.
Another challenge for Steve was that this would be the first time he would every pray in the Dutch language in public. The week preceding the Grand Prix, he recited the prayer for blessing hundreds of times as this is the last place that you want to make a grammar mistake.
Arriving the morning of the race, Steve's nerves kicked in as he saw 60,000 fans in the stands and heard the roar as the drivers made their preliminary rounds around the circuit course. The Dutch Champ Car Grand Prix was also being televised nationally in the Netherlands and around the world. It occurred to Steve that this was a "big deal" but was even more amazing was that he had the opportunity to proclaim God's blessing at such an event!
Steve goes on to say, "The time for the prayer came and I walked out on the podium that overlooked the crowd and the race cars lined up below. The noise of the engines had been deafening up until I begin to pray a simple prayer in Dutch, asking the Lord to provide safety and thanking Him for the chance to enjoy the sport of auto racing. It was a big surprise to me that the capacity crowd became completely quiet with reverence as I spoke with my best, thick Dutch accent, inviting God's blessing and presence. While I was praying, I glanced over at my wife Julie and we both shared the same sense of awe of what we were seeing.
For a brief moment, the presence of God had got the attention of people who had probably not given Him attention in a very long time."
This was "church" in the most surprising of places...
From Steve Kramer
AGWM Personnel
The Netherlands
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