Whensday: Summer Solstice

Almost every Sunday evening I get to have a video call with my best friend. He has been my best friend since Junior High and is the one who brought me to Christ. We consider each other brothers (which we are in Christ). He calls around 9:30 in the evening my time, which is the beginning of afternoon for him, and we pray together. It doesn’t usually last too long, unless I get talking. 

This past Sunday was Father’s Day in the US and he and all of his kids (he has 4 girls and a boy), together with his lovely wife were celebrating outside in their backyard. He checked in to say hi and I got to wave to the girls. Then he commented on something that I have come to take for granted: “Is it still light there?” I flipped the camera and showed him the still light evening, sunlight fading in the background. Where he lives, the sun sets around 8pm at the very latest. 

This is one of the things that I truly enjoy about where we live and miss when we are visiting in the US. In the Summer, the sun sets at about 10pm. This is of course especially true around this week. The longest day of the year is June 20 or 21, the Summer Solstice. Further north, like in Sweden or Norway, or in places like Stonehenge, there are special celebrations for this day. There is nothing like that in Belgium or the Netherlands, but we all enjoy the long days. 

Sometimes this looks like concerts being enjoyed in the evening light. Other times you can go out for an evening walk (trying to get a bit cool after what is for people here a very warm day) and smell people still barbecuing, hear them laughing out in the yard. People here are always looking for as much sun as they can get. If that means staying up until the sun sets, then they will do it. Getting up at the same time the sun rises is a different question entirely. 

This Summer Solstice the congregation in Maastricht will be down at camp for the day. This has become a bit of a tradition for us as a church family. We take time to be together in this wonderful place, encouraging one another, getting to know each other better and enjoying the beauty of camp in the Ardennes. We will eat, sing together, discuss God’s word, take a walk through the woods and know that we are family that belongs to God. 

And I look forward to even longer days. God promises us eternity together with Him. The sun will not set and we will have enough time to do all the things that are the most important. That is part of what this time of year reminds me of. 

Generations

Last week we were able to talk to Sean, who called because in Belgium it was Father’s Day. Yesterday it was Father’s Day in the Netherlands and the US. In the video call with Sean, something happened that happens more and more: Scott tried to check something on the computer. He has to do this looking over his glasses. And he has trouble figuring things out and finding things on ‘modern technology’. 

Last week we were gathered with various congregations from around Belgium and the Netherlands on the 2nd day of Pentecost. This was held in The Hague, which is easy enough to find. But we all planned a day in the park, which was harder to find. At one point there were several calls coming in from some of the group who could not find their way. Scott was trying to help in the phone call, but was hampered by ‘modern technology’. His younger sister in Christ said over the phone, “Scott, find someone under 18 and ask them.”

And that is how it worked. The younger generation is much more savvy with everything that everyone seems to be using these days. It is Andrey, a young 20-something, who knows how to help those who want to print at the building from their phone. It is the young people who understand how to get something put up on the church Instagram. It is not that all of the older folks aren’t keeping up, but it is certainly that Scott struggles with some of those realities. 

Thankfully, God has put us in a family and we can all help one another. The day at the park finally worked out as we all met at the beach to witness new life in Christ. Everyone was able to get pictures and videos because of the technology. And this was all shared with members from around the country in seconds. We are thankful for how this can all be used to glorify God and help one another. 

At the end of this month we get to celebrate our granddaughter. One of the things she uses is a sort of speaker onto which she can place a little doll. But this doll has a memory chip filled with certain sounds which can then be played off on the speaker. We can send our sounds (our voices reading to her, singing to her, speaking to her) which she can then listen to when she wishes. Not something we would have thought even imaginable, but so thankful that it exists and we can use it. 

Whatsit Wednesday: “Hagelslag” - it’s hailing!

From the name, one might think that “hagelslag” had something to do with the weather. In a country where the weather is often the topic of conversation, this would be a good guess. Talking about the weather is something that everyone in the Netherlands (and Belgium) does. Complaining about talking about the weather is the other thing that most will do. 

But “hagelslag” has nothing to do with the weather. The literal meaning is “hail strike” or some such. But hagelslag is mostly reserved for a delicious meal (if you are Dutch). It involves bread, some butter and a typical open-faced sandwich. And hagelslag of course. Hagelslag comes in various colors. It can even be licorice flavored. In a slightly different form (little mice) it is used specifically for celebrating the birth of a child, when it shows if you have had a boy or girl (and in Belgium this is reversed!). 

But I am getting ahead of myself. What is hagelslag? It is (usually) chocolate sprinkles. It can be dark chocolate or milt chocolate or white chocolate. As mentioned there is a licorice version (which is white. And there is a multi-colored version, although older people will consider this quite modern. “In my day hagelslag was simply chocolate” you might hear them say. 

The “muisjes” or little mice are not chocolate at all, but are more like a candy. They are only blue or pink and are put on a sort of cracker  and passed out to guests to celebrate the birth of your son or daughter. But hagelslag can be eaten on any day, although most often only for lunch, or maybe breakfast. A slice of bread is lightly spread with butter and then generously covered with hagelslag. This is eaten open-faced and all of the sprinkles that fall off onto the plate are gathered and eaten as well. 

What do you put on your bread for lunch? What kind of sandwiches have you experienced before? Have you ever had hagelslag?

Hope and true life

Although many in the Netherlands don’t really know why they have a holiday on this day, we are thankful for the 2nd day of Pentecost - even more so this year. In the Netherlands there are three holidays that get a 2nd day: Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. The fist two have become ambiguous in recent decades, but Pentecost has always been a bit of a strange one. 

For the churches in the Netherlands and Belgium this is a day to get together and encourage one another. Since everyone has free, it is a good day to gather. The Family Day at camp in the Fall is more for the churches in Belgium and this day more for the churches in the Netherlands, since it held in The Hague. But people from all over both country are welcome. This year we had a group of about 60 visit from Maastricht, Antwerp, Ghent, Eindhoven, Haarlem and The Hague, but various countries were also represented. 

Our theme for the day was hope and we finished the day with a visit in a nearby park which concluded with a walk to the beach to see a death, burial and resurrection. Jef had been talking for some time about his faith as he visited in Maastricht. But yesterday after services he stated quite emphatically that he needed to be saved and Jesus was the only one who could do it. He wanted to give his life to the only One who could really give him hope for eternity. 

Jef was already planning on coming to this special day, so we simply planned a little further and took some things along to make it possible for him to be born. We are so thankful for the hope that Jesus truly gives. Praise God for your new brother in Christ and pray for his daily walk and growth in faith. It was great to see so many there today - some of them also young babes in Christ, walking in faith. 

It is so good to see how God can use us in so many different ways to bring life, joy and hope to this world where hope is far away. Our hope is built on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which gives us a living hope, tested by fire, founded on the promises of God, stretching into eternity. 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.   1 Peter 1:3-9

Whodunit Wednesday: Nikola Meeuwsen

You probably will not know his name, but this past week Nicola Meeuwsen, a Dutchman, won the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition for piano. The third place winner was Belgian Valère Burnon. He is only the 2nd Belgian to ever place in the top 3. 

The Queen Elisabeth Competition is a yearly competition for music. Each year highlights a different type of music. This year was for piano. Next year will be for the cello followed by voice and violin in the following years. There have been winners from many different countries since the competition began in 1937. Most recently, Koreans have won quite often (winning voice in 2014, violin in 2015 and cello in 2022). 

The competition began when Queen Elisabeth of Belgium wanted to help encourage Belgian composers and musicians and set up the competition which was first envisaged by Eugène Ysaÿe. Ysaÿe, a Belgian concert violinist, died before being able to set up the competition, so Queen Elisabeth made it possible. It was for many years a competition for composers. It has taken its most recent form (3 instruments and voice in varying years) since 2015. 

Nikola Meeuwsen is a 23 year-old Dutchman studying under renowned international pianists and teachers. He won the prestigious Steinway competition when he was 9 years old. He is a regular guest at Dutch and international festivals and has played with various renowned musicians. This year will see the release of his first solo album and in the coming years he will continue to add to his list of amazing accomplishments. 

Working hard together

This past weekend was our annual weekend to get Ardennen Bijbelkamp ready for the summer camp weeks. It is always held during the Ascension Day weekend. Ascension Day is always on a Thursday (because Easter is always on a Sunday). It is a formal holiday in Belgium and all stores are closed. In the Netherlands it is like a bank holiday. Most businesses then also tack on the Friday to make for an extra long weekend. 

This is a perfect weekend to get everyone down at camp to help clean and fix everything that needs cleaning and fixing. Lots of mowing, pruning, cleaning, weed pulling and sorting are done to get the grounds and the buildings ready. This is also the time to do any large projects that are especially needed. This year we were working on dealing with water. 

At the end of the driveway we used a work camp several years ago to build a system to take the water that runs down the driveway off under our parking lot to the creek. (see pictures here) But the roster at the end of the drive has seen better days, so we needed to renew it. And since we were getting that fixed, it was also decided to put a water catch in the "new" parking so that extra water would have a way of draining into our field - but underground. 

I always enjoy the few days getting down to camp and working. It is also a great time to see people we don’t get to see very often and have some good conversations. Since we live fairly close by (55 minutes), I can drive down and be back home to sleep. I went down for two days and was able to offer my car and trailer to get materials and take junk to the container park. 

This year I will be directing the oldest age camp week (15+ years-old). Rudy and Pam Schellekens from Muscatine will be coming to help (Rudy is a Dutchman and will be giving the lessons). We are thankful that there is always such a great group of people willing to get camp ready for the various weeks that it is used. 

The pictures of the work camp can be found here. (Photos also thanks to Luk and Anneleen)

(Group photo above thanks to Luk Brazle. I am the crazy one with the machete.)

Where oh Where Wednesday: The Hague

In just 10 days we will be in The Hague again for our annual gathering of Dutch-speaking churches. The Hague is also called “Den Haag” or, to make things even more challenging, “’s Granevnhage”. That last one is the official version which was first used I the 15th century and means “the count’s grove (or hedge)”. 

The Hague is the administrative center and seat of government for the Netherlands. So although Amsterdam is the official capital of the Netherlands, parliament meets in The Hague. It is here that you will find the “little tower” where the prime minister meets, here that parliament meets and makes laws, here that the highest courts of the land make judgements. 

The Hague is part of the province of South Holland (whereas Amsterdam is part of North Holland). It is the 3rd largest city in the Netherlands with a population around half a million. With its greater urban area the population comes closer to 800,000 and joins the other major areas which make up the “Randstad” - including Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht - where roughly half the population of the Netherlands lives. 

The city itself is set along the sea and has a lively variation of activities. You can find Madurodam - a mini park where most of Europe is  shown in miniature, the beach and area of Scheveningen (which also houses a high security prison for international criminals), the International Court of Justice, Europol and a judicial arm of the United Nations. There is a world famous theater, a panoramic museum on the pier of Scheveningen and plenty of modern architecture. It is in the parks of The Hague that activists gather to make their voices heard. 

And this is where, in the 1970’s the church grew due to its international character. The international businesses of Shell, Dow and more meant that the congregation had a varied membership. When Shirley and I arrived in 1981 on a campaign, it was the members of the church here that touched our hearts and called us to return. We spent days delivering flyers I the city. And it was on the steps of the building in The Hague that we had our first kiss (on May 31 1981). 

On June 9 we will enjoy meeting with the various churches from around Belgium and the Netherlands in the building in The Hague. This time we will also spend the afternoon in a park nearby, enjoying fellowship and the beauty of the city. 

A few days with the French

It is not always easy finding some time to get away together. Thankfully we live in Europe and there are many places very close which we can visit for a day of two. And it is good to take these moments to share some rest time together. We are thankful that we have these opportunities. 

Last week we took 3 full days to head down to Normandy. For some this means WWII memorials on beaches. For us it meant a ton of history. Shirley has in the past years looked into her ancestry and found out that she has some viking. Welsh, Scottish and more in her line. Normandy was therefore a perfect place to visit and explore - this is where the “Noor mannen” or men from the North or Norway had settled centuries ago. 

William the Conqueror was first William the Bastard from Normandy. It was his conquest of England that mixed the cultures and languages that we have now so many centuries later. So we decided to spend some time in Caen and visit the areas around this city. Caen itself was the capitol of Normandy and houses two amazing monasteries - one for men and one for women. 

William was married to Mathilde of Flanders, daughter of Baldwin V, count of Flanders. So it was interesting to see this mixture which touches on our daily lives even now (the queen of Belgium is now also Mathilde). The monastery for women is named after Mathilde, although it has long stopped serving as a monastery. These days it is used for the provincial government. 

We spent a day going to Mont Saint Michel and then the city of St. Malo (in the next province over, Brittany). We spent a day walking everywhere we could in Caen visiting the old castle, cathedrals and the monasteries. Our feet definitely felt it at the end of the day, but it was exciting to discover so many different places. And thankfully we did not have to mangle too much of the French language to get around. 

The Bayeux tapestry was reserved for the one day that rain was forecast, since we would then be inside. This is a meter tall, 70 meter long tapestry which tells the history of the Norman conquest. The tapestry itself was amazing. Thinking about all that happened so long ago and that has influenced so many since then was also intriguing. But the rain meant that we simply returned to our room afterwards and enjoyed a nice evening together instead of getting wet. Although we have tons of pictures from the previous days, we only have one picture of that rainy day (we were not allowed to take pictures of the tapestry). 

The last day was reserved for our trip home (a good 6 hour drive) with a stop in Deauville along the coast. It is always good to be able to walk along the beach, take your shoes off and get wet in the waves licking the beach. Deauville felt more like stepping back into the early 20th century. The bathing changing rooms were all named after actors and actresses - some from a by-gone era, others very current, although it was hard to see and rhyme or reason in who was chosen. 

When we got home we took the next day to “slenter” (walk slowly) around our own Maastricht and spend time together. The sun had accompanied us on all of our days except the day at Bayeux and stayed until the Saturday when the typical Belgian rain reappeared. But it had been a very nice time to connect with history, heritage and one another for a few days. 

If you are interested in seeing our pictures (I know - home movies!), you can find them here. I tend to like to take pictures of things, although this time a few selfies also dot the landscape.

Whensday: May 1066

This day in 1066 was a Sunday according to the Julian calendar. Preparations were being made for the battles to come which would change English history forever. Tostig, married to Judith of Flanders, was ready to attack his brother, Harold Godwinson who would become King of England. 

As Edward the Confessor had died and Tostig’s brother tried to undue a deal between Edward and William of Normady, Tostig tried to take his place. He used ships provided by Count Baldwin V of Flanders, his brother-in-law. But Tostig would join forces with Harald of Norway but lose to the English at the Battle of Stamford Bridge and run off to Scotland. 

Also in May, William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, was making his case for the kingship of England by the Pope. William was married to Mathilde of Flanders, the daughter of Baldwin V who had leant the ships to Tostig. William would go on to conquer England, becoming William the Conqueror. Whenever he was in England making the conquest certain - which took many years - he left Mathilde to run Normandy.

The city of Caen, where William and Mathilde had their castle and two abbeys (one for women and one for men) celebrates its millennium anniversary this year. It was 1000 years ago, in 1025, that first mention is made of the word “Cadomus”, an ancient form of the name of the town. These days Mathilde of Flanders would refer to Queen Mathilde of Belgium, wife of King Philip.

Whatsit Wednesday: Mailbox

When we first traveled to the Netherlands, on campaign back in the 1980’s, a lot of what we did for the campaign came down to distributing flyers to invite people to some preaching and singing. We walked all over cities in the Netherlands, up stairs in the big cities, in and out of small front yards in the less urbanized sections of the cities. We became quite practiced at shoving flyers into mailboxes. But we also had to become practiced at finding the mailboxes. 

In the Netherlands many front doors have a special flap put into the door through which mail is placed. These are easy to find. The ones in the old style even say “letters” or “brieven” on them. But some of these slots are much harder to find. They are simply vertical slots in the wall next to the front door. If a bush grows next to the door - as often is the case in a good Dutch front yard - then finding the slot is quite a challenge. 

For those without a slot in the door or wall, there are special mailboxes. Of course people who want to individualize their garden have special mailboxes: some looking like little houses on a stick, others presenting as modern marble-like columns and others a simple box. 

But often there would be a generic green box witha red lock on it. The lock was so that no one can steal your mail. These boxes were most often to be found at the beginning of the small front yard, making it possible to place the mail without having to walk up the yard to the door. 

When we first moved into our house in Belgium, we were accosted one day by the mailman on his bike. Our house is on the street. We do not have a front yard. Our mailbox was just inside a small open entranceway shielding our door from the rain and presenting a nice architectural arch. The postman announced that our mailbox was illegal. He had to be able to reach the box without getting off his bicycle or out of his car (if he came in a car). The box could not be too high or too low. Otherwise we would not get our mail. 

So our mailbox is on the outside wall at just the right height so that our postman can stop with his bike, put his feet on the ground and fish in his front basket for any mail that might be ours. Of course these days we do not get much real mail. Most of it is advertisements for the local stores. But the mailbox is legal and we are happy that our postman is happy. 

(If you look closely you can see the dog we have been dog sitting the last few weeks)

Mother’s Day

Yesterday was Mother’s Day, in the US, in Belgium and in the Netherlands. Sometimes the days differ in the different countries. The flower shops will of course have all been quite happy. I must admit, I am always thankful for how easy it is to get flowers in our area. I love getting Shirley flowers, but even more so on this day. 

Yesterday both of our boys made a video call to wish their mom a wonderful day. We also got to see our daughter-in-love Jill (Sean’s wife) and our granddaughter (Stephan’s daughter). It is at moments like those that we are so very thankful for the blessings of being parents. And I am especially thankful for Shirley being their mother. 

It isn’t just about that she was willing to bear them and bring them into the world. That was challenge enough, for sure. I still remember the Lamaze classes we took together preparing for Stephan’s arrival. He didn’t seem to want to leave and in the end they had to remove him with forceps. Shirley had gotten so tired after quite a long labor that she couldn’t push any more. 

When it came time for Sean, four years later, we lived in a completely different country and Shirley knew that she would have to give birth in a different language. She went through some false labor (where we went to the hospital, they kept her a while and then sent her home) and then the day came. It was following a pretty intense couple of weeks of Bible camp where she had stood in the kitchen cooking and also caring for Stephan. 

Sean was different because she birthed in a sort of chair instead of on a bed. She also was almost required to stay 5 days in the hospital. IN the US where Stephan was born, she was sent home pretty much the next day. Of course in Belgium she asked to go home early because she wasn’t getting the rest they were hoping she would - there being 4 other mothers and babies in the room. 

But after the births came all the years of caring, feeding, teaching, learning from, and being amazed at these boys in our lives. Shirley has always been a serious, clear, caring mother and I am so thankful for her love for our boys and our family. It reminds me of all that my own mom must have gone through with me, all of the effort and care and love she poured into me. So I am glad that technology exists and I can call my mom as well. 

For all of you mothers - thank you for your love for your husbands, your children and for the Lord who has taught us what love us and given us this possibility. 

Whodunit Wednesday: Ruud en Karla

As you read through the New Testament and the history of the church, you might come across a few names mentioned here and there. But most of the time names are not mentioned, even though we are told of the various churches and people working to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. We have been working together with our colleagues for more than 30 years. Although you may not know their names, their faith and example have touched many here. 

Ruud and Karla Verheijen were the ones who originally asked us to come and join them in working with the church in the Netherlands. Together with their friends Jan and Rosa Blaakmeer we formed a team to establish the church in the south of the Netherlands on the border of Belgium. Throughout the years we have been here, Ruud and Karla have been “pillars of faith” in all that they do. 

Ruud was not brought up in a believing family. He was taken to church by his grandmother who continued to be an influence on him - even now as he talks of her, her faith and shares notes made from her Bible (given to him when she passed away). He has preached and taught not only in the congregation in Maastricht, but at camp weeks, evangelistic outreach campaigns and any other opportunity he can find to share the great news of Jesus. 

Karla is the youngest daughter of Jim and Ruth Krumrei. The Krumrei’s came to the Netherlands as evangelists and settled in Haarlem. I spent two years as an apprentice to Jim back in the 80’s. Karla has been active in children’s activities, ladies retreats, Bible camp weeks, Vacation Bible camp and as an encouragement to sisters around the country. 

Both Ruud and Karla are Dutch. Ruud is a Dutchman. Karla was born and raised in the Netherlands, although she has an American passport. They have lived in Belgium for more than 30 years. They allow God to use them wherever they are in whatever way He wishes and can. It is exciting to see how God can use us in so many different places and ways. 

This past three weeks Ruud and Karla were off to the US visiting family in Arkansas. It made it all the more clear to us how much we are a team here in Maastricht. I think of how the apostle Paul and Prisca and Aquila worked together and am thankful for such co-workers. In a list of workers in foreign fields we often only see those who are financially supported in some way. Ruud and Karla would not show up on such a list. But they remain a faithful hard-working couple for the Lord wherever they are and we are thankful that we can work together with them. 

Around the world

In the Netherlands today is Liberation Day. Yesterday was Remembrance Day when the country remembers the sacrifices of all of those who died in wars to make so many free. Today they celebrate freedom and what that means. It always strikes me that these two things are also inherent in our walk with Christ. We usually are quite aware of this each Sunday, but it was especially so this past weekend. 

We have been missing our colleagues for a few weeks. They had traveled to the US to visit their daughter and see their two granddaughters. They also got to meet with brothers and sisters in Arkansas. This past week they traveled back home, but we did not see them yesterday to worship together. We were off to a city in Belgium to visit with a congregation there (Roeselare). We had not been there for quite some times it was good to see the brothers and sisters there and meet new friends as well. 

While in Roeselare we always remember the saints who went before us and brought so many to faith in Christ there. Faith is not something that we simply have for ourselves. It is a way of true life that we share with everyone around us. Yesterday we were able to see Jose again. She is 100 and still going strong. It reminded me of our sister Willemien who went Home to be with her Saviour when she was 94. We have so many good examples of brothers and sisters who are faithful in walking in the light with Jesus, including Isaak who is only 12 and has just given his life into Jesus’ hands recently.  

Every Sunday we remember not only those who have gone before us, including the apostles and disciples from long ago, but we especially remember Jesus who died for us and lives still today. We celebrate our liberation. We do not only celebrate that we are living in a free country - not everyone we know who is in our Christian family is living safely. We celebrate that we are safe in the hands of Jesus. 

It was wonderful to remember yesterday how connected we are to the body of Christ around the world. We praise God for His grace and for making us into a family. And we will look forward to celebrating again this coming Sunday and each new day that we are given. 

Wild Wonderful Wednesday: Cats and dogs

The last three weeks we have been cat-sitting. For those of you who know us, you are aware that this is remarkable. We love cats, but we are dog people. And cats are for petting in the street or seeing in the yard. Our neighbor cat regularly drops down next to me when I am weeding in front of the house. But this time we had our colleagues’ cat, Mocca, in our house for three weeks. 

He is an inside-outside cat, but since he was at our house and we didn’t want to lose him (he might have tried to find his way back home which is 7 kilometers away), he had to stay inside while with us. We tried at the beginning to find an option for this.We purchased a harnas for a cat and planned on taking the cat for a walk. The cat had other ideas. I did get the harness on him, but by the time we got outside he had found a way to get it off. 

This morning I brought him back to his own house. His family will be back home in two days. He was clearly glad to be back in his own place, although he had also clearly gotten used to us and our house and habits. I brought him home because today we said hello to a dog which we will be watching for two weeks. Lizzy is a little Boomer (a Lhasa Apso, Shi Tzu mix). 

When Mocca got here, he hid under our couch for a day. Lizzy is pretty-well scared of everything, so she doesn’t just allow us to pick her up. But she has allowed us to take her walking twice already today. So we will see how things work out by the end of the time together. We will first have to see how she sleeps tonight. That is always the most important test. 

So cats and dogs (although the weather has been great) have meant that our house is full of animals again. It has been almost three years since Chester left us. We were not sure how we would feel, but it has been quite nice. Mocca, more like a dog, greeted us every morning when we came downstairs. Lizzy is already used to us and sits next to us (when she is not running away in a jitters). 

Wild and wonderful this Wednesday! 

What about your tongue?

We are so thankful for the opportunities we are given to work with young people and the members of the church in Maastricht. For the last two years we have organized a youth day, putting together a team from Maastricht and inviting kids from across Belgium and the Netherlands. We organize the day in the middle of Belgium so that it is more accessible for people than going all the way down to camp (which would be easy for us). 

This past weekend we organized the day around the theme of the tongue and what we learn in James 1 and 3. We had a smaller group (Vacation Bible Camp had just taken place e the previous week and this weekend was King’s Day in the Netherlands), but it was a great day. The sun came out to play and we enjoyed working together to learn about how to use our words in a good way and not be used in a bad way. 

James 1:19 has always been a verse to challenge me: Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. In my younger years I was always quick to anger and slow to listen. But thankfully God has changed my heart and ways bit by bit as I have grown in grace as well. This is something we want all of our young people to know and experience - growth in grace. 

Thankfully we have a great team. Shirley organizes the food with Tonia. Tonia’s husband Mario takes care of the 2nd lesson for the older kids. I usually take the first lesson and welcome, which takes place outside. And Paul and Deysi come up with great visual activities for the second lesson for the young kids and a craft activity for everyone. 

Everyone works well together and the kids have enjoyed the days we have organized. Now we hope and pray they also remember the lessons we have tried to pass on. Hearing good things doesn’t help if we are not doers (James 1:22). We learned about how just as fierce and terrible things can be done with small words, so too amazingly beautiful things can be done with simple small words. How are you using your words today? 

(The picture is of how anger can boil over. Empty it out and fill it with clean water - the living water of Jesus.)

Where oh where Wednesday: Deventer

Because of a busy week, I missed Where oh where Wednesday on Wednesday, but I didn’t want to leave you without this post. So we will put this Wednesday post on a Sunday and just pretend it is still Wednesday. 

Several years ago Shirley and I were able to take a few days off in the middle of a week in the winter. This is usually when we are able to get away and celebrate our wedding anniversary and Shirley’s birthday. In those days I was still singing with Listen Up! Which meant that we were also giving Christmas concerts throughout December. So finally being able to get away for a few days was great. 

We decided to go somewhere we could reach with the car and that we had not yet visited. This included a stop in the city gf Deventer. Deventer is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. It is already mentioned in the 9th century and is mentioned in 952 as a city. It was part of the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages. It is home to the oldest stone house in the Netherlands. 

We knew of the city because of my singing with Listen Up!. Years before we had been asked to sing at a soccer match between Ajax (Amsterdam) and PSV (Eindhoven) - the two teams at the top of the league that year. The game was being played in the ArenA - the home stadium of Ajax. We were to add atmosphere by singing Christmas songs wearing Charles Dickens costumes. 

The reason we had been contacted was that someone had heard us at one of our Always CHRISTmas concerts and knew that we had a repertoire and could sing. He was part of a group that did enactments with Charles Dickens costumes. This was something that was done every year in … Deventer. Not only that, but this city also host the largest book market in Europe every year. So stopping off in the winter was a bit of a no-brainer for the two of us. 

Most recently Deventer unexpectedly became the center of an even bigger celebration as its own professional soccer team won the Dutch Cup, beating PSV on the way to the final. Deventer is a city of fewer than 100,000 inhabitants, but its Go Ahead Eagles (their stadium is the Eagle’s Nest) not only went to the final for the second time in their rich history (they lost 60 years ago), but won the cup. 

New life!

Every Sunday we celebrate the powerful message and truth of God’s grace in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The blood of Jesus washes our sins, even today, because He is risen. And therefore we, who have died in Him, are risen to new life and hope. Around the world this is celebrated by many at least this past weekend. And the religious calendars were aligned this year so that Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant all celebrated on the same day. 

For us this day was even more beautiful than others because we were reminded of the beauty of the salvation that Jesus brings. Isaak, one of our young people, decided to give his life to Christ and be buried and raised in Him through faith and in baptism. He has become more and more aware the last months of his own life and how much he needs Jesus in his life. So on Friday afternoon, Isaak was buried in Christ and rose to new life. 

How much can a young heart know? He knows that he needs Jesus to save him from himself. He knows that Jesus is mightier than sin and death. He knows that life and happiness, both now and in eternity, are to be found in Jesus. He knows he wants to speak of this great news to any and all around him. We are encouraged to see how much a young heart knows. 

A few weeks ago, some of our older young people were together with young people from around Europe at CYC (Christian Youth Conference). This past week some of our young people were together down at camp for Vacation Bible Camp. Please keep all of these young hearts in your prayers as they too wonder if they need Jesus and if He is their King. In the meantime we have several others in Maastricht, not young ones, who are also considering this same question. And on a Sunday we all remember how beautiful it is that Jesus has given us new life as well.