Where oh Where Wednesday: Charleroi, Belgium, World

In 1996, 30 years ago, the world ended up watching a horror story unfold in the little country of Belgium. As the truth came out, people around the world lost their innocence and things everywhere, but especially in Belgium, changed. There is a sharp delineation of “before” and “after”. 

Our awareness of the situation came with signs that were hung from bridges across the highway on our way to camp. They mentioned Julie and Melissa, two 8 year-old girls who had gone missing. We had heard on the news about An and Eefje, teenage girls who had disappeared after a party in Blankenberge (on the coast). In the end, after everything came out, it was known that all four girls had died because of Marc Dutroux. 

Most of this all came to light after two other girls were freed alive from one of the houses that Dutroux had in an area of the city of Charleroi called Marcinelle. Dutroux had been caught after the kidnapping of Laetitia and finally agreed to show police where she could be found. He also gave the police another girl “for free”. Sabine Dardenne had been kidnapped earlier in the year and was still being held where Laetitia was being held - in a terribly small cage hidden from sight. The police had even been in the house and had not d=found the hiding place. 

Julie and Melissa died because at one point after kidnapping them Dutroux was in jail and couldn’t get out for several months. His partner, Michelle Martin, was supposed to care for them. She didn’t. They died of hunger and were buried in his garden. She had fed the dogs, but not the children. The horror story caused many things to change in the country of Belgium and around the world. 

In Belgium the police set up a unit specifically focused on finding missing persons. Child Focus was established, which helps in looking for missing children. The police themselves were reorganized, combining the federal police with the normal police so that there could not be any more miscommunication or turf wars among them, causing kidnapped children to be left to die. 

Even more, parents became aware that their children could be in danger. Julie and Melissa were just young friends, out playing together in the neighborhood. Julie’s mother went out at 6 pm to call her daughter to dinner but couldn’t find her. An and Eefje, although teenagers, were kidnapped as they walked along a road. After this summer of horror with Marc Dutroux, people everywhere realized that what happend in Belgium could happen anywhere - even in their own streets. 

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)