Whatsit Wednesday: Rake

This past weekend I was down at camp with some others cleaning up, getting camp ready for the winter. It was a brilliant, sunny Fall day, the colors glorious all around us. Much of the work we had to do had to do with all that glorious color falling to the ground. So we all had come prepared with a rake. 

In talking with Jef, who I picked up on the way to camp and who is a new brother in the congregation in Maastricht, he mentioned a different word for rake (in Dutch) that I had not yet heard. Jef is Flemish and has lots of different words. I learned my Dutch in the Netherlands so tend to have Dutch words for tools. This matters quite a bit, actually. Much like the differences in the US between Midwest, Southern or Eastern terms. (Do you use a spigot or a faucet?)

The thing is, there are all sorts of rakes. A “dissolute man in fashionable society” could be considered a rake, but that is not what I mean. There are rakes for loosening soil, rakes for gathering fallen leaves, rakes for gathering hay. Each of these could have its own name. I am used to calling the rake for soil (a firm straight head with teeth spaced evenly) a rake (“hark” in Dutch). 

But there is also a rake for leaves. This looks like a metal fan (or plastic these days) and is a bit springy. It is perfect for gathering leaves, whereas a rake for soil tends to get all bunched up with the wet leaves. In Dutch I would call this rake a “leaf rake” (“bladhark”). Jef called it a “gritsel” which sounds like the sound it makes as it scrapes along the dirt after gathering the leaves into a pile. 

If you live on a farm, you might even have various different rakes for the various tasks. A hay fork or rake might be a specific tool. In Dutch I would call this a hay rake (“hooihark”), although I have never used one. I only have a normal rake in my garage since the plastic leaf rake broke and I don’t really rake my leaves in the garden (I leave them for winter ground cover). 

I have at times in the past tried to comb my hair rakishly, trying to look cool (it didn’t work - my hair is pretty stiff) and I regularly rake my fingers through my hair when I am frustrated. And thankfully I have never had to experience gunfire raking the area. I am not quite sure which word would be used in Dutch. The word “rake” is an adjective meaning (more or less) “rough”. You can receive rough hits (“rake klappen”) from someone. I am simply glad that we could take care of all of the leaves at camp while still enjoying the glorious beauty around us. 

Visitors

I remember during my time at university taking part in some short plays. One of the plays was about a cobbler waiting om a very important guest. You might know the story, which is often repeated at Christmas time (a story by Leo Tolstoy) and tells of how important unexpected guests can be. Hebrews 13:2 also reminds us: “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”

We have recently enjoyed various visitors. A young couple from Ukraine came to visit “our” young Ukrainian couple. The law in Ukraine was recently changed so that young men younger than 23 can now travel outside of the country (before it was any man between 18-60 years old was not allowed to leave the country). 

Sasha (or Alexander) is just 22, so came to visit. He and his wife, Mika helped organize a Bible camp in  Ukraine this summer and the church in Maastricht helped out with the costs. Sasha came to thank us - as well as to visit Andre and Andre’s father (also Alexander) who helped bring him to Christ. While here we have sung with them, played games and encouraged one another in faith. 

Almost at the same time we have welcomed visitors from the US as well. Our members, Mario and Tonia, welcomed Tonia’s sister and her brother and sister-in-law. Tonia’s mother is not doing well and may soon be going Home to her reward in heaven. And even in these circumstances, it has been good to meet, talk, share laughs, sing and even make plans for coming years. 

This past weekend I went down to camp for the winter maintenance work day and took our new brother in Christ, Jef. We met up with several others from Ghent, Antwerp and even Canada. Getting your hands dirty and encouraging one another in the Lord is amazing. These short work days are always a blessing to all who are able to come as well as for our Bible camp. 

We have also recently received messages fro people we knew in the past who will be in the neighborhood or have returned to the area. A young man we knew as a boy (who grew up with our boys( asked if he could worship with us when he comes to visit his family. He has recently rekindled his faith in the Lord. Another young woman we know from several years past has also asked if she can meet with us. Shortly afterwards, her mother also asked if we could renew contact. 

At the end of October our sister in Christ celebrated her birthday by inviting her family to come to services with her. It was great to meet them and talk about the things we heard fro the Word of God. These moments are all moments of encouragement, challenge and grace. It is so good to see how God uses moments and visitors to touch lives and hearts. “Whatsoever you do to the least of these, my brethren, that you do unto me.” How has God blessed you recently with visitors? 

(Photo is of our First Friday singing with several of our visitors. You can see more photos at our photo site - see the link on the right). 

Whodunit Wednesday: Dutch politicians

Last week the Netherlands held elections for federal government. This was necessary because the last elections resulted in a cabinet that - in the end - could not work together. Politics in the Netherlands are always about compromise, but it doesn’t make it any easier. 

The last elections saw right-wing politician  Geert Wilders become the largest party. But the elections last week came out as a tie between his party and the party of D66 led by Rob Jetten. These two politicians couldn’t be farther from each other in character and outlook. But Dutch politics is never short of characters. 

There is a Party for the Animals, a Union of Better Farmers (abbreviated BBB), and a 50Plus party. There are politicians like Geert Wilders with his white sweep of hair that matches his passionate and loud personality. Or Henri Bontenbal from the Christian Democrats who was accused of being boring (which is what most leaders from this party are accused of) although he was young. 

The Green Party (GroenLinks) combined with the center left Labor Party (Partij van de Arbeid or PvdA) to form one party, but they took the older leader of the PvdA as their candidate instead of the young charismatic leader of the Green Party. At D66 they decided quite the opposite, choosing the young Rob Jetten who celebrated his victory on stage with a kiss to his male life partner. 

Now the parties will have to figure out how to form a government with all of these colors and characters. It may end up being much more boring than the voters had hoped for when voting for their particular candidate. In Belgium one time it took almost 2 years to form a government. The Dutch hope to have their government formed before the end of November. It will be interesting to watch. 

(photo of Rob Jetten and Geert Wilders)

Wild Wonderful Wednesday: Wild ones

This is a 5th Wednesday, so we get to go to places wild and wonderful. This time I would like to take you to some of the wilder things we can remember doing (that we are willing to share). But actual locations (cities) often have little to do with the wild wanderings we have made. These wild places and situations could be found in many places.

Although I remember living in and visiting places as diverse as Germany and Greece, some of the wildest moments I remember were when we had moved to Colorado. In those days parents didn’t worry too much about where their kids were (or at least we were allowed to be out of the house, on our bikes as long as we were back for dinner time). My brothers and I were always discovering new places. 

Maybe it was more my oldest brother who made the plans and me and my younger brother followed. Whatever it was, we had good fun and we are glad that our parents didn’t know until later. One of these times was when we took our bikes to the floodway on a rainy day. A floodway in Colorado is designed for rainy days. It is meant to take the quickly rising water safely away from residential areas. Usually the floodway is simply a concrete river, empty of water. Perfect for riding your bike or skateboard or whatever. 

Of course once the rain starts coming, the floodway can turn quickly into a raging river. Not too long after this adventure I heard of a classmate of mine (in Junior High) who was drowned in a floodway. But that was after our wild adventure. And we were young and unaware. 

We rode our bikes to the floodway where we had often gone. This time there was a bit of water running along the bottom. The challenge was to sit in the water and then stand up. But when my younger brother sat down, he began to be swept away. We jumped in to help him stand, but one of the bikes now went in the water and started moving along the water. We were able to get everyone and everything out of the water (which was maybe 6 inches deep at the time), but it woke us up to the dangers. 

In that same floodway were large pipes which took the water from the streets into the floodway. On dry days these pipes, large enough to walk in while standing, were a great challenge. Were we brave enough to walk up the pipe without a flashlight, touching the walls as we walked, perhaps touching some insect or worse? The pipe ended after a turn. If you looked back, the tiny dot of light that until then had encouraged you was suddenly gone. And now, to return, you had to walk back in complete darkness. Exciting. Adventurous. 

These days our adventures mostly take us along the canal behind our house. You might think that is quite bucolic and simple. But in October the winds start and the walk along the canal becomes a risky adventure. We have frequently had parts of trees (and whole trees) fall across the pathway. We noticed this past week that there are even 6-8 trees which are marked to be removed - hopefully before they fall on some poor dog walker or jogger. 

What brings adventure into your daily life? And what kinds of wild adventures have you experienced? 

Normal

It is amazing how many things one can do online these days. Most institutions try to get you to do everything online. This means, of course that the information you give has to fit what they are requesting. I remember years ago when we first made our website for our singing group, Listen Up!, that we wanted people from around the world to be able to order a cd (remember those shiny discs that held music). This meant that the form they filled in from a drop-down menu had to include all of the countries in the world. 

The reason we specifically wanted this was because we had often had trouble ordering or filling in information on US websites. Every drop-down menu had all 50 states and other various areas, but nothing more. There was always a place where we had to fill in our state (in addition to our address, which included our city). The ZIP code had to fit the US way of doing things. The Belgian post code only has four numbers. The Dutch post code has four numbers and two letters. 

We realized even back then that we were not “normal”. Even today, when many online stores have figured out that customers can come from across the world, we see that government sites have not figured out that there are plenty of people who do not fit the “normal”. And it is not simply US government sites. Every government is full of red tape and specific ways of doing things. The Dutch tax office has a saying on their radio advertisements: “We can’t make it any funner, but we can make it easier.” But they don’t. 

We have always been extremely thankful that we have people in the US who take care of all of our tax situations for us. This began decades ago when brother McCurdy in Abilene, Texas saw it as a way to support missions. He did missionaries taxes for free. And what a blessing this is. Perhaps he understood that missionaries are already dealing with enough red- tape wherever they are that to mitigate the red tape in the US could only be a blessing. 

So we have always been extremely thankful for E.B. Dotson and now Larry McElroy for the assistance they provide for so many in this way. Because there is nothing “normal” about our situation when it comes to taxes. We were made aware of this fact - again - recently when the Belgian tax office contacted us. 

Everyone who works with us for Ardennen Bijbelkamp, for example, is a volunteer. There are 3 youth weeks and a family week in the summer, a youth week in the Fall and Spring along with a youth weekend in the Fall and Winter. Every single team member of these activities is a volunteer. IN the summer, the volunteers even have to pay to help. This is not normal in our society and certainly not something the tax man can imagine. 

When people want to help and give advice, the advice is often based on what they know in their own normal world. But we have come to understand that we are far from normal. That means that we often have to explain things many times, find ways to prove things that are hard to prove, look for different ways of filling things in and basically trust that it will work out. And these days that means working past chatbots and all of the “normal” answers. We are thankful that we have a God who knows what is going on and is more than mighty to work things out. 

Be thankful for when things work out “normally” and don’t freak out too much when things don’t seem to fit. Keep calm and look further. Ask questions. Give grace in conversations, knowing that the person you are talking to might not be able to understand how different your situation is. And know that God is mighty. Don’t give up; give in to His might and guidance. God is not normal and neither is our life with Him.

Where oh Where Wednesday: Herbricht

More than 105 years a cafe has been the place to be in the tiny hamlet of Herbricht just down the road from our house. When we first came to live here we experienced one of the largest floods of the Maas river in 1993. At that time 37 people still lived in the tiny village. The flood returned in 1995. Herbricht is used to the river stretching its banks a bit, showing off for the tourists, it seemed. 

When the river flooded in 2021, the river bed had been widened. This flooding, associated with what they were calling a “water bomb” in the Ardennes was larger than any had ever been. The widening of the river bed meant that the water still reached new heights in the village, but didn’t wipe it out. Herbricht was “saved” from the worst of the floods that had ever come. But this was the last straw for the people living there. 

Now there is only one couple still living there and they will soon move. They started the cafe all those years ago and their family has run it throughout the years. We used to visit with the boys, taking a long walk along the river and stopping at the cafe to play at the playground set there for all the bicycle tourists who stopped. They had a very tall slide which the boys loved. Later we would walk along the road to Herbricht with the dog. He loved seeing all the swans out in the water. 

People will still bike along this road, following the river up into the next city of Maasmechelen. We live on what is called the “Maas side”, a string of villages and small cities gracing the side of the river like a set of pearls strung together. The dialect along this stretch is all similar. You can hear if someone is from this area. And people like biking here. But they will not stop at Herbricht any more. Herbricht will simply be a note in the history books, a place noted in old pictures. 

Making a choice

It is intriguing to see how God can use people. Many of us perhaps can understand king David’s amazement that God would use him. David knew who he was, his own shortcomings. But he also knew how mighty God was. And he trusted that. Even when he messed up royally. 

We have always tried to remember that God is using us however He sees fit and in ways that He sees as possible. We try to be faithful in simply continuing to follow Him and speak of His wonderful love. As we do this, we try to remember that each person makes their own choices in their lives. We cannot change people. They must allow themselves to be changed by meeting the amazing love of God. 

Years ago we met several of our next door neighbors when we offered a chance to “Get to Know Jesus” by looking into the gospels. The house next to us is used as a half-way house for patients dealing with mental struggles and transitioning back into society. Some of these neighbors grabbed the chance to meet someone they had heard of but never really known anything about. 

One of those neighbors was Jan. He called himself a speeding train that always moved at high speed. When we met him he was coming down off of extreme medication. He had grown up attending a Jesuit school and was very intelligent. Hen enjoyed the group reading in the gospels and was familiar with the story of Jesus. Finding Jesus in his own life was more of a struggle. 

After he left the house next door and went on into society, some of his struggles returned with a vengeance and he ended up in prison in Antwerp. I would visit him there every month and try to encourage him and remind him of Jesus who we had met. He chose to do things his own way, which was often quite confusing (including making his own religion of which he was the pope). 

About two weeks ago he called in the evening. He regularly called when he had enough telephone credits and asked me to look up addresses and phone numbers on my computer. This time he mentioned that he had set up his cell to die. I let him know that he was not alone and that God was mightier even than his situation. But later in the week I got news that he had continued with his choice to end his life. 

We know that God is able to change things to help us. We know especially that God is able to change US to be the people that He knows we can be. But our choices influence further what direction we will take. We can choose to follow Him or go our own way. And those choices will determine where we end up. We will miss seeing Jan and are pained that we will not see him again. And we will double our efforts to remind the people around us how important it is that we choose to follow Jesus now, today. 

We are not given tomorrow. We have today. Jesus has proven that He is able to keep us safe if we walk with Him. He has done all that is necessary to free us of the troubles to which we are enslaved. But it remains our choice. We pray that you, too, will choose to walk with Him, get to know Jesus in your life. 

Whensday: Moving the clock or the calendar?

At the end of this month we will move the clocks back an hour. “Fall back” is what we say to remember which way the clock goes. A young person recently asked me: “Do we really need to do that? Doesn’t it happen automatically?” And of course, if you only have your computer or smart phone to use as a time keeping instrument in your house, perhaps this could be true. But many people will still have to think about the various clocks around the house. 

In Belgium and the Netherlands we always change our clocks, moving out of Daylight Savings Time (DST) on the 4th Saturday to Sunday. This year that will be October 25-26 (we are technically supposed to change the clock at 2 am). The US will change a week later, if I understand correctly, because DST should end on the first Sunday in November which will be November 2. So we here in Belgium will already be well-rested before the Americans finally set their clocks back. 

Now imagine that you not only have to jump in time, but completely skip several days. That is what happened in 1582 for Italy, Spain, Portugal and Poland. In that year those countries skipped from October 4 to October 15 when they decided to switch to the new Gregorian calendar. Of course it took decades to be adopted in other places. 

Day light Savings Time was officially introduced in the US in 1966 and has been a bone of contention ever since. People talk every year about ending it, but wonder if they should then keep Winter Time as the default or Summer Time. As long as we don’t lose two weeks on our calendar as they did in 1582, I think I fine with either decision. 

Planning for Camp

This past weekend I was blessed to sit down with about 20 people to evaluate and plan camp. We wanted to see what had gone well this past summer or needed changing and also look forward to the coming year. In 2025 we hade full or almost full camp weeks all summer. Shirley and I were blessed to help run the oldest group this year and I helped with the Family camp week as well. Next year it looks like I will be helping with the youngest group again. 

The exciting thing about Ardennen Bijbel Kamp (ABK) is how much the church members from around Belgium and the Netherlands are invested in it. There is an amazing mix of younger and older people who help each other plan and run the various camp weeks. These are memory-making times for so many young people who then also go on to help others make the same kinds of memories in their lives.  

In 2026 we will have 3 new camp leaders, people who have stepped up to a challenge to help others. It is exciting to see how this happens and to see the courage of those who step up. A young brother with a growing new family will lead the teen group, assisted by another young couple with a new baby. In the Fall a young man will lead his first Fall Camp after having helped this year in various camps. And in the Spring, when we meet to work on camp, a brother has stepped up to be present and help direct the efforts while our usual leader for that week has to be away. 

In the meantime there are all sorts of new teams forming. Bible camp is a place where people can put their talents to use helping others. It is a place to learn how to lead and how to help. It is a place to help young people and families grow in faith in the Lord, learning in practice what God tells us in His word. I am so thankful that we get to be part of this effort and working together with these people. 

Whatsit Wednesday: Vlaai

Recently a baker from our town of Lanaken got together with a local Dutch baker from Maastricht to bake the largest “vlaai” in the world. It was even recorded in the Guiness Book of Records. This typical Limburg pie was an apricot crumble version, but there are many different variants. 

A “vlaai” (sounds like “fly”, holding a bit longer on the vowel in the middle: fla-ee) is a pie. Some people might be familiar with an apple pie. It will have a crust, lots of good apples in it, and topped with criss-crossed bits of pastry. You can do this with cherries in the middle or apricots and they will still all be called a vlaai. But the people Limburg (a province in both the Netherlands and Belgium) consider their vlaai to be the most delicious. And the choice is also immense, although everyone has their favorite. There is a pudding vlaai with crumbly bits on top, a rice custard that is just the right consistency topped with chocolate shavings (my favorite), and many others. 

Suffice it to say that vlaai from Limburg is often what tourists come to experience in this area. And now they will be able to try one just like the largest vlaai in the world. It is amazing that this apricot monstrosity (weighing over 1000 kilo and measuring 7 meters across) was made by our local baker. It was exciting that it was done with the help of a French pastry chef with a store in Maastricht and a local baker’s school. Both Belgium and the Netherlands are claiming the honor.

Prayer Warriors

Teamwork is amazing too see and experience. Accomplishing something on your own is exciting, but being part of a whole is even more enervating and challenging. We are members of a body, God’s team. He is using us. And we team together with people around the world. 

The amazing thing is how powerful prayer is in this team work. As with any team, we sometimes forget all the parts and only focus on certain elements - the ones more visible. Everyone notices the striker who kicks the goal, the basketball player who makes the dunk, the wide receiver and quarterback who hook up for an amazing touchdown. Some think they are doing nothing - “All I can do is pray.” But prayer is the power behind change. 

Jesus mentions that we can make our desires known before God. He says that if we ask we receive, if we knock the door will be opened. He will give us what is best for us. God is just like us as fathers (or is it the other way around) - a father loves to be asked to help and to be trusted to help. God wants to hear what we want and wants to hear how we trust Him to do it. 

Most recently the body of Christ in Maastricht has been praying for many people we know who are seeking God in their lives. Many of these people are clearly seeking Him. They are on a path to become a child of God. Others do not even know that they are seeking God. They are seeking peace and we know that peace only comes from God, the Prince of Peace. As we pray, we look for opportunities to share the grace and love that has been shared with us. 

We are so very thankful for others who are also praying for us, for our words, as we are praying for people who are seeking peace. We know that we are part of a team. Many of you are partnering with us as we are partnering with you. We pray for one another and thank God for the ways that He is working in so many lives around the world. 

Thank you for prayers for our conversations. Thank you for prayers for the various activities we have planned (for Bible camp, youth weekends, Bible studies, retreats and more). Thank you for being part of the team. Everything you are praying for is very important. Knowing that God is our strength and calling on Him for His strength is extremely important. And it is so very encouraging knowing that you are praying for us. 

Whodunit Wednesday: Edith Cavell

Edith Cavell was British and yet she is known in Belgium for her exhaustive work. She was born in 1865 in Swardeston near Norwich. The first time she experienced Belgium was as a governess for a family in Brussels from 1890-1895. It was after this that she became a nurse and started her work in Belgium. 

The founder of the Belgian Red Cross, Belgian royal surgeon Dr. Antoine Depage, asked Edith to be matron of a nursing school in Belgium in 1907. She trained nurses for three hospitals, 24 schools and 13 kindergartens in Belgium. When WWI broke out she was visiting her widowed mother in England but returned to Belgium and her work there. 

It was during this time of war, in German-occupied Brussels that she helped many allied soldiers and fighting-age men to escape to the neutral Netherlands. Many of these were wounded soldiers she had also helped nurse. She was arrested by the Germans in 1915, put in prison and, in the end, executed for working with the enemies of Germany. 

Although she was a nurse and could not be prosecuted under the Geneva Convention, since she had helped further than medical needs, she was seen as complicit in the war. She was not arrested for espionage, but for war treason. She was executed by firing squad on October 12, 1915. Her last thoughts and words, which are inscribed on a memorial to her near Trafalgar Square, are: “Standing as I do in view of God and Eternity, I realise that patriotism is not enough, I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.”

Cavell was 49 at the time of her execution and was a pioneer of modern nursing in Belgium. Among the many memorials around the world to Edith Cavell, her name is among the 35 names on a memorial in Schaerbeek in Brussels. The name Edith was not common in 1915 until this event. French singer Edith Piaf who was born two months after the execution was named after Edith Cavell. In 2005 the French-speaking Belgians voted her 48th greatest Belgian. On October 12 it will have been 110 years since her execution. 

Telling about Jesus

Most of the time when people figure out I am not from Belgium or the Netherlands - they often cannot hear it in my speech - the first question they have is what we are doing here. My answer is always the same: we came here to tell people about Jesus. I am an evangelist, a spreader of the good news. Interestingly, many people are not at all surprised that this is something that needs to be done. In past years one might have thought: “Doesn’t everyone know about Jesus?” Not anymore. 

Telling people about Jesus and his wonderful love for us doesn’t always mean that people are willing or wanting to listen. Plenty of people say simply, “That’s nice for you.” But we keep talking about Jesus, because we simply cannot stop. He is amazing and we know that what He gives us makes everyone’s life better. So we want to share. 

This is something that all of us in the congregation are learning to do as well. Recently several members talked about the conversations they are having. Our brother who is a postman has a colleague who recently purchased a Bible and wanted to know how to read it, where he should start. Our sister who is a police officer (detective now) has a colleague who was asking about her faith and wanting to know how to approach God. 

God wants to use us as His body to reach all of those who are seeking. Sometimes we do not even know who is seeking until they come to us. The two sisters who came to us during the Covid years had been searching on their own for years. It is exciting to see how this growth comes because of what God is doing and because we keep trying to be faithful. 

My recent regular conversation with an atheist acquaintance brought this up. He mentioned that I had been talking with some people for many years (he and I have been talking for more than 10 years). He joked that I must not be very good if neither of these people have come to faith in God. I reminded him that my task is to faithfully speak. It is the Spirit who is convicting hearts and people who must make their own decisions. 

Interestingly, he mentioned that his granddaughter told him that she knew everything about Jesus - because he had taught her! He also regularly berated his colleagues who called themselves Christians, telling them that he, an atheist, read the Bible more than they did. I wonder how many people will in the end give their hearts to God because of an atheist - who by chance talked regularly to a Christian. God can use all circumstances to reach people. 

We pray that you are thinking about Jesus and the abundant blessings He brings and can bring to your life. And we pray that you are also faithfully speaking of this good news to whoever you meet. Don’t worry about what the “results” are, but remain faithful in proclaiming His love and truth. Thank you for your prayers for us as we try to do the same. 

(Photo of an outing with the team of the local neighborhood newspaper Scott works with)

Where oh Where Wednesday: Verviers

On the way down to Bible camp in the Ardennes, we pass through the city of Verviers, traveling a bridge which spans the edge of the city and gives a view into the valley in which the city has spread out. Verviers is an old industrial city of Wallonia, the French-speaking area of Belgium, but it is much older than the Industrial Revolution which made it important. 

Although Roman coins have been found in the area of the city, it is known that people lived here even in pre-history. In the 7th century an abbey was Stavelot and the whole area belonged to the bishopric of Liege (which we also drive past on the way to camp). Later the area was known for its industrial activity, especially textiles. This was because the water from the high fens had a low calcium content and was perfect for washing wool. 

With the advent of the Industrial Revolution Verviers became even more important. British industrialist William Cockerill brought machines which turned Verviers, together with Bradford in England, into the “Wool Capitol of the World”. Although the wall has long gone, the water remains and Verviers is also known as the city of water (Spa water and Chaudfontaine are both in the area). 

More recently the area made the news due to the “water bomb” that hit in the summer of 2021. The heavy rain I a very short time flooded the area, wiping some parts of various villages completely away. The damage has still not been completely restored in all areas and people will for a long time remember that summer. We also remember that summer as the floods hit our Bible camp, forcing us to hold our camp weeks in other locations. 

One of the first times I visited Verviers was to visit the church there. This congregation still has a link with Freed-Hardeman University. When I talk about the Advanced Bible Study Series (ABSS) held in Germany every year, it is a program that originally began with the church in Verviers. Every once in a while we get to see members from the congregation at camp activities. When I was a young man in Haarlem, the Netherlands, I biked to camp, passing through Verviers on the long journey (my knees still remember the trip). These days we still regularly pick up kids traveling by train to camp via the train station in Verviers (see the photo). 

A song in our heart

This month has been full of singing, as I mentioned last week. We have been in Haarlem, Eindhoven and Cologne for a time of teaching singing and singing in fellowship. And we enjoyed a Family Day at camp singing together with brothers and sisters from the Netherlands and Belgium. God has made us to sing. He has given us the song in our hearts, filling us with His joy. 

I have always been a singer. My family used to sing Christmas carols in the home. My dad got us into singing Barbershop when we were young, and I sang in the choir when I was in the Catholic Church and during my school years. So singing is natural for me. But not everyone can “feel” the harmonies or has experience with music. As a matter of fact, many in the church here in Europe have never had to sing with music notation. 

So that is one of the things that I try to pass on to congregations when we learn. What is a fermata? What does “mp” mean? How in the world can I make sense of all those chicken scratches on the page of that thick book? And where is my lyric? We spend time learning a bit, but not stressing too much. The most important thing, after all, is that we understand the words we are singing and truly mean them. 

We spend time singing songs we know and love, but which are a challenge. “Greatest Commands” is a favorite of many people, but is a challenge if you are not use to keeping your own part (soprano, alto, tenor or bass) and keeping time as well. Simply ;earning to count can help a lot. And then learning about dynamics in a song can help the words really dig deeper into our hearts and minds. We talk about enunciation, breathing and ending sentences with full words - “God” instead of “Gaww”. 

It is exciting to see brothers and sisters asking questions, struggling with new concepts and wanting to sing with their hearts to the Lord. We are thankful that God has put us in a situation where we can assists others to sing with their hearts and learn new songs at the same time. We also continue recording songs - mostly in Dutch - so that congregations can hear what a song sounds like and learn songs together. You can find our recordings (many also organized by our colleague Luk Brazle in Ghent) right here. 

Take time to put a song in your heart this week. Take time to sing together, paying attention to the words that you sing. Thank God and praise Him for the song He puts in our hearts every day. 

(Photo of the group this past Saturday in Haarlem)

Whensday: Flying high?

Today KLM was in the news. KLM is the Royal Dutch Airlines and has generally been known throughout its existence as one of the better airlines. Many people recognize the light blue planes and the logo. Today they lost quite a bit of money because of a strike by the ground personnel. More than 100 flights had top be canceled. This is the reality of flying today. You might have done your very best to plan your holiday, getting the right flights to where you need to go, finding the best price for you and whomever is traveling with you - but it doesn’t mean a thing if some piece of the puzzle is suddenly missing. 

Back in 1908 the problems were different. In September of that year a Wright Flyer - one of the first airplanes - came down in a crash killing the passenger and wounding pilot Orville Wright. This was the first airplane crash I history. Of course there have been many more since then. And still, flying is basically safer than driving a car. There are fewer airplane crashes than car crashes. Car accidents are one of the biggest causes of death in the world. 

I have always loved flying. We flew from a young age since my father was military. We flew to Europe when I was still barely school age. We flew back to the US when I was just finishing elementary school. Every time I get on a plane, I can feel the excitement of traveling. I love looking out at the clouds. I love comparing landings that I have experienced. Although I don’t enjoy the waiting, I do enjoy the watching that can be done in the various airports of the world we have visited. 

Next year we hope to make our next trip back to the US for our Home Assignment. We will fly at least 7 times during the trip - two international flights and at least 5 continental flights. I don’t worry about any crashes happening, but I do hope that everything will go well with the ticketing and flights themselves. There is not much we can do about what might be happening in the world at that time. As always with flying, we will take our chances. 

Family Day at Camp

I come from a family of 8: my parents and 6 kids. When we were growing up, that was not that remarkable. There were larger families. When I first came to the Netherlands, a family that large was quickly becoming the exception to the rule. As a matter of fact, I remember people remarking to some friends of ours with a large family, “Don’t they know how babies are made?” This was meant to shame them and point out that they were creating too many children. It was a time when people were talking about how the world population was causing problems for the world, including climate and poverty. 

These days it is remarkable to see a family with more than 2 kids and some young people are even saying that they do not want to bring a child Ito the world (either because of cost or environment or that the world is such a bad place). And yet the beauty and blessing of family remains constant (along with some of the troubles and struggles). But family can be more than just your parents and brothers and sisters. 

I know some families that, when they have a family reunion must decide which part of the family is invited and where to organize the event. There can be hundreds that come. There are families with 17 children - and if they all have children and grandchildren, then the list of invitees gets quite large quite quickly. And even then, family can be more than blood relatives.

This past weekend we were blessed to head down to camp again for Family Day. This is organized each year by a different congregation, usually in Belgium. Maastricht organized it last year and this year the church in Eindhoven organized the day for the first time. They have organized the Spring get together in The Hague before, but had not yet organized the Family Day at camp. 

This was an amazing day of family in Christ. There were more than 80 present for the day, pushing the limits of what our camp hall can accommodate and making for some amazing singing. There were people present from at least 8 different congregations and visitors as well. We sang in two different languages and I heard people speaking in at least 4 languages. 

This is a time to see people from other congregations who we don’t often get to see. We had a group of about 15 from Maastricht. There was a group of about 10-12 Ukrainians present as well (including “our” 3 from Maastricht). Once the wet weather had lifted and the sun began to shine - just in time for the lunch - everyone headed outside, kids running around with a ball or chasing two of the dogs who also came along, parents standing around in groups talking and laughing. We even had a challenge getting a camera drop down from a tree where it had become stuck (in the end a good prayer brought a favorable wind and the drone fell to the ground). 

This whole day reminded me that there are so many in the world who do not know this blessing of family in God. Blood relatives either aren’t present or for some reason keep their distance. We know so many people who are left alone. And then we are thankful that we know that we are still family. And we want this family for everyone we know. They say blood is thicker than water, but Jesus’ blood is thicker than any blood from family. Proverbs 27:10 talks about a close friend and faraway relatives. Jesus states it even better: “Greater love has no man than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) And He willingly lay down His life for us (John 10:14-18).

We are so thankful for the family we have in the Lord, not only here in Belgium and the Netherlands, but around the world. Are you looking for family? Look to God's family. 

(The photo is when we were trying to retrieve the drone. You can find more pictures by clicking on the photo)

Whatsit Wednesday: Keurig and Douwe Egberts coffee

At the end of August Keurig Dr. Pepper, an American company that sounds Dutch, acquired JDE Peet which owns the ultimate Dutch coffee brand, Douwe Egberts. 

I remember during one of our recent Home Assignments when we spend a summer traveling in the US, visiting our supporting congregations and family that many people had a Keurig machine in their kitchen. This was a way of making single cup coffees. I was surprised, because the name “Keurig” sounds Dutch. As a matter of fact it translates to things like: neat, elegant, excellent, choice, gentlemanly (or ladylike). And yet it is not Dutch. 

The Keurig brand - as I mentioned in a previous post (see here) - was created by two Americans in the 1990’s. It is now part of the conglomerate of Keurig Dr.Pepper which makes the Keurig machines and various beverages. Anyone from Texas knows about Dr Pepper. It surprised me to find it in connection with coffee. 

But now this beverage company has acquired the Dutch coffee brand, Douwe Egberts. When Phillips first invented the Senseo machine (another single serve coffee machine which is more prevalent in Europe), they partnered with coffee brand Douwe Egberts, wanting to give the new machines and its coffee a caché, a bit of elegance. Unfortunately for the coffee brand, they only had a contract with the coffee machine makers for a few years. When the contract expired, every supermarket in the country could make the coffee pads that work in the machine, removing Douwe Egberts profit while increasing Phillips profit. 

Now the coffee brand will be able to take over the United States via a different coffee machine that sounds completely Dutch, unless you know about that Dr Pepper stuff. How do you make your coffee?