Singing and praying

One of the ways that we have enjoyed helping the churches in Belgium and the Netherlands is in singing. In Maastricht we get together every first Friday. On the 3rd Wednesday we are in Eindhoven and every September we get together with the church from Cologne and others. Last year we also started driving up to Haarlem to help with the singing there. 

In August our first Friday song was at a time that one of our young men was at camp, so we went to their house on the Sunday to talk about and practice some tips for song leading. It is always exciting to see young brothers willing to learn how to lead the singing in a congregation. Anyone excited to sing for the Lord is a blessing to the congregations they attend or visit. And our First Friday singing was special as well, as we practiced some songs we will use in a neighborhood outreach this coming Wednesday evening. 

We look forward to September when our first Friday singing will mix with the singing with Cologne. Each year we hold a day of singing in either Cologne, Maastricht or even Liege or Eindhoven. This year we will meet in Maastricht. We will use this opportunity to also reach out in our neighborhood. This week (Wednesday, August 19) we are also organizing a Gospel Workshop for the neighborhood and hope to meet some people from the neighborhood who also love singing. 

One of the things that we will continue to do even whien we leave the country is to help with this singing. We hope to continue recording songs for the Youtube channel and more. 

In the meantime we remain in prayer for the various places in the world dealing with some pretty nasty natural disasters. There is flooding near our son in Indiana (and elsewhere), the largest fir in Belgian history burning just miles away from our Bible Camp (and other fires elsewhere), earthqueakes in Colombia and Indonesia, and much more. This is not counting the ongoing suffering due to war. And still we know that God is mighty and able to help in all of these situations. 

(Photo is our First Friday singing in April at our house)

Whensday: August 11, 1999

The special glasses are sold out in all of the stores. Just the other day someone realized that they might need them and went looking. Not a pair of glasses to be had in all of the stores in the area. Everyone is ready to watch the eclipse this year and it will be different than last time. 

The last time that an eclipse was so prominent in Belgium was on August 11, 1999. We were busy with our Bible Camp weeks, as always. That week would have been during the Family Camp. I remember how often the topic was discussed in the news. First that people should be careful and use the correct type of glasses. Stories abounded then as now of people who had not taken the precautions and damaged their eyes. 

But on August 11, 1999 the weather was the biggest wet blanket. It was a cloudy day and brought a bit of rain. The eclipse was to have been at 100% and was to be seen best in the Ardennes where we have our camp. It got a bit darker, but since it was a grey day anyway, not many people noticed unless they were aware of the eclipse and waiting for it. 

Today, August 12, 2026 the eclipse will be at 90% in Belgium and the weatherman calls for clear skies. As a matter of fact, the news was telling people this time not to charge their cars on Wednesday, or run their airconditioning (which most people in 1999 didn’t even have) because the eclipse will reduce the amount of available electricity by about 1.3 megawatts. Of course the eclipse will show up in the evening from about 7:15pm.

I will be down at camp during the day, but will be back home at the time of the eclipse - teaching a Bible study online. Have you ever experienced an eclipse? Where were you? What did you think of the experience? 

(Photo is of eclipse in 2003, but similar clouds as in 1999)

On the Family Side…

One of the reasons we will be moving back to the US, or one of the blessings we will enjoy, is being closer to family. This includes, of course, being able to be grandparents from closer by. Our granddaughter will be a car ride away. We hope to be able to see her and she us more often than we get to see one another now through video connections. 

And at the end of our Home Assignment, we of course also heard that we will be becoming grandparents a second time - for Sean and Jill’s baby. Although we will certainly not be within driving distance of New York, the possibility of seeing granddaughter number two will be exciting. A continental flight will be closer than an international one. 

We of course do not yet have any specific dates or times for when we might be able to see one another, but the wheels are moving. We are talking to moving companies, are putting the house up for sale and are trying to get rid of the accumulation of “stuff” from 35 years. How much stuff can one gather in that amount of time? More than enough. 

We were glad to be able to see almost all of our family as we traveled during our Home Assignment. It will be interesting to see if the distance, although it is closer, is actually closer when we move. Reality remains that one has to be intentional in getting together with family and friends. When our first neighbors moved across the town, they said farewell, knowing that it would not be that easy to find time to see one another - and that was simply across town.

But we look forward to enjoying the little moments of the grandkids. We have already seen granddaughter nr. 1 before walking and talking and now well on her way to talking up a storm and running wherever she wants to go. Granddaughter nr. 2 is due in January, so we are praying that all goes well and we get to meet her soon and start making these memories as well.