Surrendering Our Steering Wheel to God

On the website and social media of (F)Luister Nederland, we previously shared how God spoke to Niels & Eline, calling them—together with eight others—to travel through Europe in campers for six months to share the Gospel on the streets, especially among young people. Armed with an original theatre production and plenty of musical talent, the creative group set off in May on what became the Track of Nomads.

Eline:
“After saying goodbye to our family and friends, we quietly started heading south in April with our baby son Silas (0). On the way, we told each other—and God—that we wanted to be open to the people He would bring across our path. That already started at a campsite in France. Our neighbor was listening to an interview, and I (rather boldly) asked him what he was listening to. That led to a beautiful conversation where we were able to share about our faith. At that moment, we knew: it has begun. Let’s go!”

Niels:
“On May 1st, we met the rest of the group at the grounds of an international school just outside Madrid. We were supposed to stay there for 2.5 weeks with our campers, but it turned out the arrangements hadn’t been made properly, and we had to move to a cold, unwelcoming parking lot. Meanwhile, our contact person had arranged something new and called us saying she’d found a much better spot. Just an hour later, the police came and told us to leave the temporary parking lot. That timing felt like a wink from God.

After that, we got to work preparing the theatre production. The script was ready, but there was still so much to do. Those weeks were tough. It was a constant balancing act between working on the performance and spending time with God. And when we found out we couldn’t get permits to perform in public, we really had to improvise.

In the end, we went into Madrid without the show and managed to host a beautiful event. We didn’t have a permit for speakers, but we did bring our instruments to jam, and within no time, people started gathering all around us.”

Eline:
“Our message time and again was: ‘We’re not here to ask for money for our music—we’re here to give a gift. And that gift is God.’”

This led to some truly beautiful conversations—one of them with a transgender person who had felt unwelcome in church, but did feel welcome here. He even came back the next day, during a spontaneous jam session we were allowed to host on a rooftop terrace. Moments like that often happened without any planning on our part.

During our time in Valencia, we came to the realization that we were far too focused on what we wanted, instead of seeking what God wanted to do. We were so eager to put on a great performance, but it left us exhausted! Letting go of the original theatre piece was really difficult because we had invested so much time and energy into it. But in the end, God didn’t need the show to use us.

And that became clear, because after a group conversation about it, we once again felt God’s guidance more strongly. One of our contacts felt very strongly led to walk through a particular neighborhood. It was a place full of anarchists, and it had a dark, heavy atmosphere. In that neighborhood, there was a shared community garden—and that was the exact spot where we were allowed to host a festival the next day. We would’ve never ended up there on our own, yet those were exactly the people we felt called to reach. That moment marked a turning point for all of us: If God wants to take a different route, are we willing to let go of everything?

Niels:
“After Valencia, we continued on to Marseille, with a stop in Barcelona. One of the couples had to stay behind for a while due to camper trouble, and I was asked to proclaim the message at the event. My first reaction was immediately, ‘No way.’ But after a couple of days of reflection, I realized: in a way, it actually fits me. After praying about it, I felt the confidence to go for it. Later we reflected that God had already spoken to me before about stepping more into speaking.”

When we arrived in Lausanne, we finally felt a sense of rest. God clearly guided the event there too. After three songs, the rain suddenly came pouring down and we had to tear everything down—but we still had such deep and meaningful conversations. So many local Christians were encouraged, reminded that they’re not alone. Even the next day, standing by the beautiful Lake Geneva (with speakers this time), we made more powerful connections.

Eline:
“Especially after seeing the need in Marseille—the darkness, drug use, and crime—we felt a growing desire to bring all these experiences back with us to the Netherlands, because the need there is just as urgent. We’ve come to understand that hearing God's voice also means being open to what He wants to give and learning to move with Him.

Now that we’re back in the Netherlands and our tour has come to an end, we clearly see how God keeps confirming that the Netherlands is truly our mission field. We’re really excited to see what else He has in store!”