Where oh Where Wednesday: Lommelse Sahara

Just about 30 minutes away from where we live we can visit the Sahara. Not the Sahara which one would find in the north of Africa, but the “Lommelse Sahara”. This is an area that has become a tourist attraction and national park due to man-made activities. First of all a pool was created due to the mining of pebbles (which is done quite a bit along the river where we live as well. Added to this, a Zink factory caused all of the trees to die, having an area of white sand behind. This was all before the 2nd World War. 

The history of this area, including an explosives factory which contributed to what it looks like today, in the end has created what many in the country have called one of the most beautiful areas of Flanders. These days it is a go-to place for hikers, bikers and youth clubs who love the nature that has been created. 

I still remember as a kid when we visited the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. We drove for hours to get behind the mountains (we lived on the Front Range in Colorado Springs) and approach an other-worldly pile of white sand in the middle of dark mountains. 

This otherworldly element is exactly what one experiences by this Belgian Sahara. Lommel is still Belgium, where we expect to see trees, grass and some heather. But sand dunes aren’t what anyone expects. This is what makes the Lommel Sahara such an amazing place to visit. 

On the family side

In the middle of this month we were blessed to see Sean and Jill again. We had seen them for a weekend when we were visiting in Indianapolis for our granddaughter, Sophia’s first birthday. The whole family was together for three days in June. Now we got to see Sean and Jill again as they came to Belgium to visit friends that they had not seen in a few years. 

We have also enjoyed being able to video visit with Stephan and Nathalie. When we were visiting them in June they gifted us a digital picture frame which means that they can add pictures of Sophia on their end and we see them immediately on our end. Most recently we were able to see that Sophia is walking. She was just testing out standing when we saw her last. 

Technology is a real blessing in keeping us connected. Shirley is still connected daily to her sister who is struggling with her health in Nebraska. The 7 hour time difference sometimes means that Shirley takes her phone to bed with her, hoping to hear news that will come in at what will be the afternoon in Omaha. But it is good to be able to have information. We of course remember a time when letters or phone calls were the only ways to communicate.

Thank you for your prayers for our family. Praise God for good health and growing families. Continue to ask for healing and strength in the situation surrounding Shirley's sister..

Whensday: Light festival in Aarschot

Last week was Mother’s Day in Antwerp. It was only mother’s day in Antwerp, mind you. In the rest of Belgium (and only in Belgium - not in the Netherlands) it was the holiday of the Ascension of Mary on August 15. This is also why it is Mother’s Day in Antwerp. It is a celebration of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The rest of Belgium took the opportunity to make it a holiday, however. The stores were closed and many people go for a day off on vacation.

Along this same line is a light celebration on August 15 in Aarschot, Belgium. August 15 is the celebration of Saint Rochus there. The whole city turns off its electrified lighting and all of its inhabitants put out candles all over the city. A magical atmosphere is created which the city tourism has turned into a special festival with extra attractions, including concerts and special markets. 

Saint Rochus (Roch or Rock or Rollox in other languages), was a Catholic confessor in the 14th century. This was the time of the “pest” (in Dutch) or the plague. The city of Aarschot celebrates its salvation from the plague by celebrating this patron saint of plague sufferers who regularly helped those who were sick. So August 15th has become a festival of light in darkness. 

We first visited the festival years ago when visiting a brother and sister from the church who live in a village nearby Aarschot. It was an amazing evening. The candles are lit at 9 pm and are all extinguished at midnight. We have hoped to get back again some time, but it has not yet been possible. We have a Bible study almost every Monday evening with this couple, but the August 15 date of course falls on different days each year (this year falling on the Thursday that I was at camp). 

Planning ahead

As the summer comes to an end and our Bible Camp weeks finish, we look ahead to the coming months and the activities planned for various groups. In September we as a congregation will be quite busy. Each weekend has an activity planned which we hope to use to encourage and challenge in our faith. 

In the first weekend of September we are inviting the congregations from Germany (Cologne and any in Aachen) as well as the French-speaking members in Belgium (from Liege and Verviers) to join us in Maastricht for an afternoon of singing. We are also inviting all of the Dutch-speaking congregations, but especially Eindhoven, who is only an hour away and is in the Euregion. 

It has been a few years since we have been able to hold this day of singing. We look forward to singing in German, French, Dutch, English and maybe even in Russian or Ukrainian. We have also advertised the day in the neighborhood of our building, so we may get some visitors from the neighborhood who enjoy singing and meeting new cultures. It is always a nice time to see old friends and make new ones while singing for the Lord. 

The weekend after the singing, the congregation from Maastricht is organizing the Family Day down at camp. This is a yearly event bringing the various congregations from Belgium and Netherlands together for a day of encouragement. We take care of a meal for all who come, present a lesson and do plenty of singing. It is also a time for the congregations to share any news they have. This year we will also plan a quiz with information from the camp weeks this summer. 

The following weekend is the European Singles Retreat in Germany. Although we do not have any singles attending, this is an event we encourage among those we know in the Dutch work. It is a good time for single Christians to gather and encourage one another in their walk with the Lord. Attendees come from all over Europe for an encouraging and challenging weekend. 

The last weekend we as a congregation will plan our second youth day this year. We have a good team and have found a good location the last three times we have hosted the youth from the churches. This is a chance to help our youth get to know and see youth from other congregations. This will be a reunion for many who saw each other during one of the camp weeks in the summer. We are looking forward to welcoming them for a day focused on what we can learn from the Bible for our daily lives. 

The day after the youth day I will also be attending an evaluation meeting for the camp weeks. This meeting is held every year in September and serves as an evaluation and planning session at the same time. We will decide who will lead the camp weeks in 2025 and will talk about changes that are happening or need to happen. The meeting this year will include news about coming plans for renovations and will be the first with our new board. 

So September will be a busy month for us, simply in the weekends. This doesn’t count all of the normal activities that begin again after the summer camp weeks. And suddenly it will be October and heading into the end of the year. Sometimes it seems days move very quickly. We are thankful for the many ways that we can be utilized for the church here and that we can work with a congregation that is so willing to be active in this many ways. Keep these events in your prayers. 

Whatsit Wednesday: Computer Chips

(Being down at camp and enjoying a vist from Sean and Jill in the same days meant I missed posting this tidbit on Wednesday)

The biggest producer of computer chips in the world is Taiwan. To make these chips, these companies need machines that are exclusively built by Dutch company ASML which is headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. This has made the Dutch quite wealthy, but hit has also created a unique and perhaps dangerous situation in the world. 

ASML was founded in 1984 and makes computer chips. These chips are these days in everything that we use in our modern society. Everyone can understand that chips would be in our smart phones. We use our phones to take pictures, to pay at stores or with friends, to bank, to communicate or even to keep up on our health. But chips are also in our kitchen appliances, radios, clocks, and toys. 

What makes ASML so unique is that they are the only company making the extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) photolithography machines that are necessary for making the most advanced chips used in the world. These machines are used by companies to create the chips which are placed in all of our modern devices. If the machines were not present, the chips could not be made and much of our society would suddenly come to a halt in many ways. 

This is why in recent times these machines have become a political stress point. Most chips are made in Taiwan. Taiwan is considered by China to be part of China, although Taiwan thinks otherwise. China wants the machines that make the chips. The machines are made in the Netherlands but used in Taiwan. So there is pressure to keep these machines out of the hands of China or any other country which some believe might use them to alter the power balance in the world. 

All of this in a little city just about an hour away from where we live. We travel every month to the congregation in Eindhoven (Veldhoven is more or less a suburb of Eindhoven) to sing with the church there, learning new songs and encouraging one another. Eindhoven is the city of lights - the city of Phillips. So it is not strange that ASML would have grown up in this area. 

Small things can often carry quite a bit of weight in the world. The Dutch have always known this and put it into practice. They may be one of the smaller countries in the world (and Europe), but they have quite a bit of power on the world stage. 

Family Camp

This week I will be down at Family camp every morning for the lessons. We are blessed to live fairly close to camp - about an hour away. This means that I can just drop down to camp and head home to my own bed in the evening. I want to be present for the lessons and some of the afternoons when I can. It is always good to see different groups of people at this camp week. 

On Friday I will present two lessons on Prisca and on Deborah. The whole week is focused on what women in the Bible can teach us. It is always encouraging at this week of camp that we can have extended conversations about the lessons throughout the day. There is of course time to play or take part in some activities, but people also enjoy discussing what has been taught and what it means for our lives every day. 

Somewhere near the end of the week there will also be a “Bonteavond” which is the talent show for the week. This is also always a fun time to incorporate campers who perhaps would not take part in such activities. It is a time of singing, play acting and just goofing off. If this is on Thursday or Friday I may be able to participate. The ;ast two years I have helped an elephant trainer for this show.

On Friday evening there is always a campfire - if the weather permits it. During the older teen camp, the campfire was rained out. This meant that their already built stack of wood was left for the Benjamins. But the evening of the Benjamin campfire was also almost rained out. The teen camp was a week of basically dry weather and they had a great campfire as well. So I hope that the Family camp will simply be able to enjoy their fire and the fellowship that goes with it. 

On Thursday I will offer a discgolf tournament and have already had some campers mention that they are waiting for that day and activity. It was fun this morning to see some people we only see at this week but also to see some of the kids we had at Benjamin Camp. Hugs from thankful campers are always welcome. And it looks like this is a great week of many families - tents all spread around the field. 

Whodunit Wednesday: Olympians

At the time of this writing, the Dutch medal count is up to 19 putting them in the 9th place of all countries. When you see how small this country is, it is amazing that they are able to garner as many medals as they do, even if many are in a single discipline. It is perhaps not strange that they won 8 medals in rowing. As in the Winter Olympics when they win many of the skating medals, one would expect a country built on and near water to be good at water sports. 

But then there is also the 3x3 basketball gold, the amazing 4x400 mixed relay with the comeback of Femke Bol to grab the gold and the women’s road cycling silver of Marianne Vos. And the count has not finished yet, with medals expected in athletics, handball or other disciplines.

For the Belgians, the medals came in first from the cycling sports. Again, this is not a surprise, although it certainly was not a given. This became clear when the American Kristen Faulkner surprised everyone and won the the ladies road race through Paris. Even she was so surprised she forgot to celebrate at the finish line. The Belgian Lotte Kopecky took the bronze.

Celebrating at the finish line was something Remco Evenepoel did very well, creating an already iconic picture of him standing with his bike with the Eiffel Tower in the background. He has won the two gold medals for Belgium and has become one of the best cyclists ever for the Olympics. Belgium’s other 3 medals (putting them in 20th place so far) have also been in cycling, except for the one bronze medal in judo. 

The Belgians just missed out on a women’s gymnastics medal when Nina Derwael, coming back from injury, took 4th place on the uneven parallel bars. The women’s basketball team and hockey team both hope to grab a medal in the coming days. And then there are some other opportunities in a few less-visible sports.

Who are you watching and rooting for in these Olympic Games?

Benjamin Camp

Today we have been home for a few days after our week with the Benjamins. It was a challenging and energetic week and we are still trying to get back to normal energy levels. Thank you all for your prayers for the team and the kids. This year we had a few kids at camp for the first time and we had several brothers and sisters, brothers and brothers, cousins and more. We had 15 boys and 9 girls, with the boys being a very active group. 

We are always so very thankful for a good team to take care of everything. While Andrew and Scott had to deal with quite a busy and loud group of boys in the evenings, the teachers (Lucinda and Karla) were able to get their messages about the miracles of Jesus across very well. And along the way we all tried to not only teach the kids the practice of doing what they were being taught, but giving them an example as well. 

What do you do when your friend or someone in your room doesn’t treat you well? How do you use your words? Is it okay to attack someone who has threatened your brother? What does it mean to forgive one another? Is “sorry” enough? How and when do you share your things? Is it okay to just “borrow” from someone if you want to? When is it important to be quiet and listen? When should you speak up? These were all very important and practical questions for the week. 

In the meantime we also had a great week of activities. We had a water day on the warmest day of the week, played inside on the following day when it was pouring down rain amid thunder and lightening, and went walking in between the moments of rain on another day. We were thankful for the rain, the sun and the possibility to keep going no matter what. 

This week the teens are at camp and we are praying for the campers and the team helping them for this week. Next week is Family camp where I will bring some of the lessons and see some of the campers once again. We are so very thankful that we have this possibility of helping young people grow in faith and helping Christians grow in service and sharing their faith. 

Once we get our pictures from Benjamin Camp I will post the link here as well.