Whatsit Wednesday - “puntzak frieten”

I remember years ago people in the US were refusing to eat French fries because of a decision that France had made towards the US. “Freedom fries” was all that anyone would eat. But the French fry has never been French. 

Potatoes are a staple of many a diet, also in Europe. The Irish struggled through a potato famine. The Dutch and Germans have mashed potatoes as a main part of a meal. But it was the Belgians who developed the French fry. It was a French-speaking Belgian, but it was a Belgian. 

In our area we call them “frieten” (free-tn). And although we definitely consider the Belgian “friet” to be superior to any other, we have to admit that the Dutch way of presenting them is amazing. 

At the many small little wagons that sell snacks, or the snackbars in city and town, one can get frieten in a “puntzak” - a pointed sack. It isn’t actually a sack. It is a bit of heavy paper rolled up. A small child might do the same to make a trumpet or a hat. But turn it upside down and it is perfect for holding frieten!

A puntzak full of warm frieten topped with salt and perhaps your favorite sauce - which here would be mayonnaise - and eaten with a tiny plastic fork is the perfect little meal. If you want a full meal, you get a square paper basket of frieten topped with chopped meat and onions. But you have to sit down to eat that. The puntzak is mobile. 

Whensday - Beginning of the Euro

We live on the border of two countries: Belgium and The Netherlands. We live in Belgium and the church meets in Maastricht, in the Netherlands. A river (which is 500 meters from our backyard) is the border. This means that we can shop in both countries with ease. The two countries sell different things and often have differing prices for the same things. Peanut butter is cheaper in The Netherlands than in Belgium, for example. 

When we first came to The Netherlands and Belgium in 1991 we had to make sure we had the right currency. I had to have a wallet with at least two section for the various bills from the two countries. I carried the coins from one country in the right pocket and those from the other country in the left. 

In 2000 that all changed when the Euro was finally implemented. A year before that our banks had been doing things in Euro as a sort of test. But the background and preparation for this change had been coming for a long time. The basis for the Euro was agreed on in the Maastricht Treaty on February 7,1992. At that time the 12 EU countries agreed on a common currency. We started meeting as a congregation in Maastricht this same month (which had nothing to do with this treaty, of course).

It took several years after the change in 2000 for us to get used to thinking in euro’s. The Belgian franc translated into 40 francs to 1 euro. The Dutch guilder was 2 guilders to 1 euro. We were constantly translating in our heads. But it was still quite clear that suddenly everything became quite a bit more expensive. A coffee that used to cost 2 guilders now cost 2 euro! 

But it has made things easier for travel. No longer do I need to carry around two different sets of coins or pay attention to which currency notes I am using. I can pay in any European country with the same currency and can easily transfer funds from one country to the next. The new century brought this new - what was it: ease or trouble? 

(Check out these Dutch coins. Yes, that is a 2 1/2 Guilder coin)

The body of Christ

When we first came to work in Maastricht we were so thankful for the people that God put in our lives, for how He was able to use normal couples to do mighty things in His power. Through the years many of those couples left. One sister passed away from cancer and her husband married another wonderful sister. They became an amazing couple in another city. Some couples became families and moved to other cities to be used by God there as they grew their families. It always felt a bit double - we were so sad to lose them to another place, but we were so thankful that God was using them in this other place. 

In the past year or so we have become the recipients. We welcomed a family back to the family here in Maastricht who had been here four years ago. We welcomed another family from one of the congregations in the North. Some sisters from other congregations moved to our area and have strengthened the congregation here. New people, coming from congregations elsewhere in the world, are now part of the family here. 

Each time we know that God is blessing us - either by moving a couple/family to another place away from us, but in His hands, or moving them to Maastricht and still in His hands. We know that if we are willing to listen to God and follow His lead, He will be able to use us mightily wherever we are. 

This past Sunday we welcomed Mark and Oneta Tornij back in Maastricht for a day. Oneta is the middle daughter of our sister Geesie. Mark and Oneta married here in Maastricht before moving first to Amsterdam and Haarlem, then to Germany, the Czech Republic and now Connecticut (Mark works in NYC). 

God is not in one country, He is everywhere. God is not restricted to using you and blessing you in one place. As a child of God, you can be useful wherever you are. The important thing is trusting in Him for your daily walk, wherever you are in this world. 

How has God used you in the places you have been? How is He using you now? 

O LORD, You have searched me and known me.You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.You search out my path and my lying down; You are aware of all my ways.  Psalm 139:1-3

Whodunit Wednesday - Race Car drivers

A need for speed - that’s what race car drivers have. I remember growing up hearing the names of Indy-car racers, hearing the title of a movie about the 24 hours of Le Mans and playing a simple game on a sheet of paper with pencils where we virtually raced “cars around the track we made. Racing was exciting. 

I remember names like Mario Andretti, Richard Petty, Niki Lauda, Emerson Fitipaldi, A.J. Foyt and the Unser brothers. 

Arie Luyendyk came along in the 90’s as a well-known Indy 500 racer. He was known as “the Flying Dutchman”. These days the names have all changed. In Formula 1, one of the names on everyone’s lips is “Max”. Max Verstappen is the son of former Formula 1 racer, Jos Verstappen. His father was known, but never did as well as Max. 

Since Max Verstappen is Dutch, much of the country has become followers of the sport. Groups of orange-clad fans show up at every race. And Max has done well. His racing style is explosive, challenging, aggressive. At the end of August he will be racing - along with all the others - at the Belgian Grand Prix which is held at Francorchamps, just miles away from where we hold our summer Bible camp weeks.