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.)