Wild Wonderful Wednesday - Walking on La Gileppe

One of the places that we take our kids while at camp is to a dam called La Gileppe. It is not far from camp, so if we need to drive several times in order to get the whole group there, it is possible. This dam was opened on July 28, 1878 by King Leopold II of Belgium. It was originally built to give water to the wool industry in Verviers and was considered one of the strongest dams in Europe at the time.

Atop the dam is a quite impressive statue of a lion. It looks off into the distance toward what at the time would have been the border with Prussia. The city of Eupen, the capitol of the German-speaking area of Belgium, catches this glance of the lion now. Germany is still not far away. The statue is made of sandstone and had to be de- and reconstructed in the 1970’s when the dam was heightened. 

Although at the time people made fun of the engineers for over engineering the dam, the caution that was taken then has been important in more recent years. In the Spring of 2021 the Ardennes experienced what weathermen were calling a “water bomb”. The area received more than 20 centimeters of water in 48 hours. This was far more than the many little rivers and creeks, which usually simply pass by and through the various villages and campgrounds in the area like a gaggle of geese. Instead, the waterways became raging rivers, flooding villages, cities and any campground in its path. 

Everything happened very quickly. At the dam, they weren’t sure if they should release water or not. In the end this became quite a discussion. It didn’t really matter to many down stream from the higher waters. Everything was overrun. Our colleagues were down at camp the morning that it happened and were awake early enough to escape on time. 

This week we will probably visit the dam with the kids from camp and walk the length of the dam talking about water, nature, keeping aware and the care that God has for all of us. And we will have a good look at the giant lion statue before heading back to camp. 

Bible camp birthdays

Since Saturday last we have been down at camp. This was actually posted early, along with the Wednesday post, because I knew that we would not be able to post normally. This time of year is always busy with Bible camp - and it is often the time that I get to celebrate my birthday. 

I remember as a kid that I was alternately happy and sad that my birthday was not during the school year, but instead during the summer vacation. That meant that no one from school really knew that it was my birthday. It also meant that I didn’t get to celebrate it in any way with school mates. But on the other hand, I didn’t have to celebrate it with anyone I didn’t really want to. So that was a blessing. 

Here in Belgium (and in the Netherlands as well) birthdays are times for the birthday boy or girl to invite people over and serve them. One should usually stay at home because people will be calling to wish one a Happy Birthday. This who come over (and they are often expected to simply come over) are to be welcomed and served coffee and tea along with cake - by the birthday boy or girl. When you are young you bring small treats for the whole class if your birthday is during the school year. 

I have seldom had to do any of this. That is because I am usually down at Bible camp on my birthday. The Benjamin week is usually the 4th week of July, which would include my birthday. Although I do not always direct the Benjamin week (or teach), I have done for quite some years. In fact, the first summer we arrived I taught the Benjamins. 

This year Benjamin Camp starts on Saturday, July 27. So I will have welcomed the campers with a small treat and they will probably have sung for me. There will be others during the week who also celebrate their birthday. The beauty of such a day is that you are with good friends in a beautiful place celebrating a life with and in God’s love. 

In the congregation in Maastricht we pray and sing for those who have celebrated a birthday the week before the Sunday. Of course I will miss “my” Sunday since we will be at camp. But I expect I will still be “put in the circle” the Sunday after we get back from camp. It is good to know that we are part of family in so many places. And it is exciting to know that God is willing to have used us and still uses us in so many ways wherever we are. 

The photo is of my birthday in 2012. I am the crazy guy with the crown. You can see more photo’s of that week by clicking on the photo)

Where oh Where Wednesday: Paris Olympics

In just 2 days the Olympic Games will begin in Paris, France. The plan is to have the opening ceremony along the Seine river, which runs through the city center. Preparations have ben extensive, from trying to make sure that the water is clean (several events will take place in the river) to trying to make sure that no one will be able to cause any Upraor during the opening ceremonies. This has meant basically closing down large parts of the city center - often even to those who live there. 

The Olympics have been in Paris before. This will be the third time that Paris has hosted the games although the last time was in 1924 - 100 years ago. Paris also hosted the games in 1900. So it has been awhile. Paris has plenty to offer as host city, but there has been quite a bit of competition those the event until more recently when cities have come to see how expensive everything can become. 

In 2024 there will be a total of 32 sports planned for the competition. Some newer sports include 3x3 basketball (which first appeared in the 2020 games), breakdancing (first time this year), karate, sport climbing and surfing. In earlier versions of the games in Paris, people could have competed in croquet, polo, or even tug of war. 

This year several events will be hosted in some unique venues. The equestrian events and modern pentathlon will be held at the chateau de Versailles. Beach volleyball will be contested in a venue built at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Archery, athletics and road cycling will take place next to Invalides (where Napoleon is buried). At the Place de La Concorde you could watch 3x3 basketball, breaking, BMX freestyle cycling and skateboarding. 

Interestingly, some of the events will not be in or even near Paris. Surfing will be contested in Tahiti. Several of the soccer (football) games will be played in Nice, Lyon and Marseille. The sailing will also be hosted in Marseille. But the tennis will of course be held at Roland Garros, in Paris. 

For many tourists, this organization of the games in Paris was a sign that this year was not the best to visit the city. Many people figure that the city will simply be too busy because of the games. Interestingly, the prices of hotels and bed and breakfast accommodations has hit almost rock bottom because of this reality. It seems that Paris will have fewer visitors than normal this summer. 

We will be down at camp for much of the games, but the rest we will watch online from a distance. We will be watching Belgian, Dutch and American athletes in various disciplines. Which sports do you enjoy following the most?

Working together

This past weekend we heard that the congregation we attended from the first Sunday of our married life has decided to merge with another congregation in the city. South 11th and Willis church of Christ has been one of our supporting congregations for most of the time that we have been here in Europe. And they were a shaping force in our Christian lives, being a very mission-minded congregation from the beginning. 

We are so thankful for the time that we had with all of the members there (and the contact we will continue to have). And we are thankful for the other congregations that are part of the web of support that God has placed around us. This past month when we visited Stephan and Natalie to meet Sophia and celebrate her birthday, we made it a point to visit the Green Valley congregation who we had visited in the past when we were in Indianapolis. It is always encouraging to share the love of God with our brothers and sisters around the world. This time Scott was able to preach one Sunday and teach on another. 

One of the things we talked about while in Indianapolis visiting with Green Valley was how to help missionaries on the field and what the relationship between missionary and supporting church can look like. We mentioned how encouraged we were when our supporting congregation in Long Beach, California shared that they are always praying for us. While we of course need funds, it is the spiritual support that we feel immensely . 

We have enjoyed this kind of support and family from the congregation in Muscatine, Iowa as well. We have been hoping for years that Rudy and Pam Schellekens might even visit and use the time to reach out in the Netherlands. Rudy and Pam both worked in Rotterdam and The Hague in the past and are also a major influence on our lives serving God wherever we go. 

Our relationship with the Woodbury congregation in Woodbury, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis-Saint Paul) started many years back and has continued throughout our time here in the Netherlands and Belgium. We actually began with a congregation which later merged with the congregation that - together - became Woodbury. We try to follow the goings on every week by keeping up with the weekly bulletin and even sitting in online once in awhile on the men’s breakfast. 

These relationships have taught us and the members in Maastricht about how we are all a family of God, working together wherever we are. The church in Maastricht also shares with us financially and spiritually. Most recently, when they understood that we were losing some financial support due to changes in the US, they raised their level of financial help. This was something we also were thankful for in Abilene, Texas when we picked up a new family in the Oldham Lane church of Christ. 

Besides all of these congregations, we also have various individual donors who not only send us funds, but more importantly keep in contact in various ways, supporting us spiritually. We are a family, working together. As we are preparing for a week of Bible Camp (we are directing the week for the youngest kids), we are thankful for a team made up of members from 3 different Dutch congregations, serving kids from all over Belgium and the Netherlands. 

Realizing that God works through community, through a body, using the talents and resources of many to help even more come to life in Him - this is immensely encouraging. We are thankful for a mighty God who can use us all in so many ways to do His will, wherever we are. 

(Photo of a Sunday evening class in Muscatine, Iowa last year)

Whensday: Tomorrowland

You might not think that music would have that much to d with small countries. But both the Netherlands and Belgium are or have been home to some of the bigger names in certain genres of music and continue to host festivals that entertain hundreds of thousands of people every year. In our area in the Netherlands, Pinkpop is held every year on the Pentecost weekend (which is why it is “pink”, for “Pinksteren” or Pentecost). 

In Belgium Bruce Springsteen just played at Werchter, just a stone’s throw from where some of our members in Maastricht live in Belgium. And the largest or best known electronic dance e festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Tomorrowland is being held this weekend and next in Boom (pronounced like “home”), Belgium, just outside of Antwerp. 

These weekends are a time to look forward to for music lovers - or at least for lovers of this particular style of music and entertainment. It is a festival where dj’s are king, playing dance music for everyone present. The festival is held on a recreational domain. Many people from around Europe and further plan for and look forward to this weekend as the height of their calendar.

For those whose tastes don’t reach to dance music in Belgium there are plenty of other things to do in these weekends. Belgium has a National holiday on July 21 (there is a Walloon holiday and a Flemish holiday as well on other days). In the village of Spa near our Bible camp they have a French-language music festival, usually during the week that our oldest teenagers are doing their week of camp. The Belgian Grand Prix for Formula 1 is also just around the corner in Francorchamps in the weekend that we will be beginning our week of camp with the youngest kids, the Benjamins. You can hear the whine of the cars whenever you are outside - a different sort of music.

Summer days

I look forward to any day when the sun is shining. The grass grows very quickly in the back yard and needs to be taken care of, but one cannot mow the lawn on a wet day. Pulling the weeds on the driveway, on the other hand, is easily done in the rain, although it is not very pleasant. Keeping up on these kinds of activities are normal things for the summer. 

Summer in Belgium can have some very warm days. And since we are not that used to warm, a “warm” day can be anything from about 80 degrees Fahrenheit on. We may even get several days in a row of these sort of temperatures and then the weather men and women will speak of a heat wave. But most of the time it is going to be comfortably warm and we will try to keep up on house maintenance. 

Summer is also time for our Bible camps. We have always been involved with the camp weeks. Since returning last week from our quick visit to the US to meet our granddaughter, Scott has also been down to camp to mow the grass there. That is a bit more of a task than our backyard, but just as necessary. The camp weeks will begin next week and the camp terrain needs to be ready. Since we are within a 50 minute ride to camp, we are glad to be able to help with many things down at camp. We also drop down to take care that the trash is put out on the days to be picked up. In this way camp is ready for all of the activity coming up. 

Our other activities usually hit a bit of a hiatus for a few months. Our weekly Bible studies go on hold as most people head off for vacation or are busy with camp weeks, as are we. Other tasks, like caring for people and bringing them to hospital, do of course continue. This doesn't mean that we drop all contact. We continue to write, call, email and communicate with all of the people with whom we have been studying and talking. 

This is also a time for planning and preparing for the time after the summer. We have a youth day, a family day, a day for singing and a day for the church together all set on the calendar for after the camp weeks. Some of these are activities for the churches to encourage fellowship and growth in faith. Others are times that we can reach out to the people around us with the good news we have found in Jesus. 

In the congregation we are working on dealing with some changes in the make-up of the congregation. One of our families has moved away while we have had new people move to the city. Since Maastricht is a university city, we often get people who are here for a short time while they are studying. There is also a military base close by, so we may also get military members for a time. We are always thrilled with how God blesses us with these shorter visits and look forward to how we, too, can bless these people while they are here. 

What do your summers look like? How does God use you in these warmer months? 

Whatsit Wednesday: Inline skates

When our boys were young, they loved skating. Stephan liked the skateboard, but also loved inline skating. We had our hands full making sure that they were safe as well as having fun. We don’t see as many people with inline skates anymore as fashion has moved on to something else. But skating in general is very well loved in the Netherlands, although it is most often done on ice. 

Still, it is interesting that the first inline skate was developed by a Belgian in the 18th century, depending on what you accept as a real inline skate, of course. Jean-Joseph Merlin from Huy (not far from where we have our Bible camp) was an inventor and watchmaker. He designed the first rollerskate in 1760, but did not take out a patent on it. 

When you look at who invented the rollerskate, you come out at a certain James Plimpton. He took out a patent in 1863 on the four-wheeled rollerskate that many of us older folks know from our childhood days. But the design from Merlin was easily a hundred years older at that time, although it was an inline model. There were even covered roller rinks in England in 1824. 

The idea of being able to skate was of course a much older idea, since people had been ice skating for quite some time. It was the need or desire to be able to skate when there was no ice that may have pushed Merlin to design his skate. And that was also why the skate looked more like a typical ice skate. The wheels were in-line so that the skater could also turn the foot and push off, just as with an ice skate. 

Inline skating is considered more a sport for long distance. Despite its popularity in various countries around the world, inline skating is not yet an Olympic sport, so we will not be seeing any of it this summer in Paris.  

Getting ready for the summer

As we return from a wonderful visit getting to know our granddaughter, we are turning our sights to the various activities planned for the summer. Mostly this means our summer Bible camp weeks. I will be directing the Benjamin week (8-11 year-olds) and will be teaching at the Family Camp week. 

We are excited to be working with a team for Benjamin camp that is mostly made up of members from Maastricht. We will welcome our young Ukrainian couple as counselors for the first tie. Our colleague, Karla will be teaching, together with a sister from the church in Eindhoven. They make a great team and have worked together before. We will have Karla’s daughters in the kitchen together with a sister from Maastricht who will help out. Shirley will be there as acting nurse and help as well. 

We have a full group of young kids coming for this week which will focus on the miracles of Jesus. We had to close registration for the boys because we were full. The girls side is also almost full. This means, for our camp, that we have 25 campers, but doesn’t not count a few more that we are getting who will be staying in tents for a few days. These kids will come from all around Belgium and the Netherlands. 

It is exciting to be able to take part in these camp weeks. One of the things that I do with camp director is give church members a chance to learn and grow as helpers and servers. Getting a good team together is always a challenge, but the week ends up being a wonderful time to grow together. It is also so exciting to see the campers discover God in new ways and have examples of people who know God and follow Him in our daily lives. 

For a lot of these children, camp is a time to see friends that they may not see at any other time in the year. It is also a time that they will be challenged to do things they might not do at home. So they will try new foods, clean up in the kitchen, make their own beds, keep the bathrooms clean, and learn how to work together with other kids. They will also be challenged by the lesson material about who God is and what He truly means in our lives. 

There will be 4 weeks of camp this summer. The older teens (15 years old and up) begin in the 3rd week of July, followed by the Benjamins. The Teens (12-14 year-olds) start in August followed by the family week. Keep each of these weeks in your prayers - the camp teams and the campers attending. 

We know that there are camp weeks all over taking place as well and have been praying for them. Our Ukrainian couple who will be counselors have returned from Cam Amerikraine (held in Poland this year). We know of groups meeting in Colorado, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. What a blessing these times can be. We pray that God uses each of these moments mightily to touch hearts for faith in Him. 

Whodunit Wednesday: The tallest people in the world

According to a recent study and nay other studies throughout the years, the Netherlands has the tallest people in the world, generally. That doesn’t mean that the tallest man or woman in the world will be from the Netherlands. It does man that in general you will feel pretty short if you walk around in the Netherlands. 

The mean height for men in the Netherlands is over 6 foot. For women the mean is above 5 foot 7 inches. This simply confirms what I have always felt. I am not short. I know that I was pretty proud when I could say that I was taller than my father. He was always saying that he was 5’10” and a half. The “and a half” was important. I am just above 6 foot. And my “little” brother is taller than I am. But that didn’t matter when I came to the Netherlands. 

Almost any time that I am standing in line at the checkout of a grocery store or walking down the streets in beautiful Maastricht, I am towered over by the people around me. Young Dutch men, older Dutch men, and not a few Dutch women are at least as tall as me and many are easily taller. It is no problem finding a large size shoe in the shoe store (although I only wear a 10.5 or 11). 

Of course for Shirley this presents other difficulties. Shirley is petite. The Dutch women are not. So finding clothes in the Netherlands is not always a simple task for a smaller woman. Our colleagues are in the same boat as we. Ruud is a Dutchman. Although he has “shrunk” in the last years due to health challenges, I always remember looking up to him (he is 6’5”). But his wife is only an inch taller than Shirley. 

Down at our Bible camp we had inherited the beds from the Dutch army. We got them for a good price because the Dutch army needed to buy new beds. It seems that the typical Dutch man had gotten even taller. So even though the beds we inherited were longer than normal, the new beds the army was buying for their soldiers were even longer. My colleague has always had to order a special bed that will be long enough to keep his feet on the bed. He even had to special order a walker as he has come to need one. 

Although this height has sometimes helped the Dutch in sports, it has not always translated into victory. There have been championship men’s and women’s volleyball teams at the Olympics, but not that recently. Basketball was not a common sport in the Netherlands until modern history, so it is only recently that more Dutch men have started playing and breaking through. Women’s basketball is played more in Belgium than in the Netherlands where women’s cycling, ice skating and field hockey are more important. 

Genes, healthy food and healthy societal norms have all contributed to this truth. When I first came to the Netherlands, drinking milk was a given. The whole country was built on dairy and dairy products. Milk, cheese and more are part and parcel of the Netherlands, just like tulips and wooden shoes. 

Birthday

June 29, 2023 was the first day of Sophia’s life out of the womb and in the world. It was an amazing entrance. A storm caused the electricity to fall out in the middle of the birth, so Natalie had to continue in emergency lighting. Then a c-section had to be performed and it wasn’t the easiest of c-sections. But finally Sophia was there. 

We were so thankful for this little girl’s coming into our family. Our first grandchild. We had been with Stephan and Natalie just a few weeks prior but were back in Belgium by the time Sophia was born. IN the past year we have fed hungrily on every single picture that was shared. We thrilled at every little moment we could see her while on a video call with Stephan. 

And now it was time. We have spent some wonderful days getting to know this amazing little girl. She laughs and smiles with abandon, waving coquettishly and vigorously shaking her head “no”, although she probably doesn’t yet know that is what it means. 

Sean and Jill arrived on Friday from New York City to celebrate as well. They brought their little dog, Pierre, with them. Pierre got to know Stephan and Natalie’s two dogs - Mochi and Teddy. More importantly, Sophia got to meet Pierre. Sophia loves finding doggies. It’s one of her favorite things. 

Saturday was Sophia’s big day - she turned 1 year old. All of Natalie’s family were there, including Sophia’s cousins, Lilly and Lila. There was lots of conversation for the adults. There was birthday cake for Sophia. She was rather dainty in comparison to some 1 year-olds and their cake eating. She did not like the whipped cream, giving a sour look and a quick shiver of the shoulders. 

In the end we had some wonderful conversations, got pictures of all of the families together with the birthday girl, and enjoyed the time together. Someone had remarked that I of course would have written a song for her for this special day. I had not thought of it until the comment, so sat down and got something ready that could be easily repeated and used for all of those who love her every day. It has been fun singing it to her each day and seeing her eyes light up at hearing it.  

We are so thankful that we were able to share this special time with our granddaughter and our family. It is exciting to get to know her better each day. We look forward to the last few days we have together before heading back to Belgium. And we look forward to the coming video moments when she will know who we are, who she is talking to (or who is talking to her).