Prison visits

This week, if all goes well, I will be able to once again visit our former neighbor in the prison of Antwerp. I try to get to see him at least once a month. By now I have become familiar with the habits of this visit. It is only possible to make an appointment in person. This would mean that I would need to drive to Antwerp, park and go to the prison on one day in order to make an appointment for another day. The drive itself is close to 90 minutes with traffic. Instead, I simply drive to Antwerp and hope that someone who has an appointment won’t show up. 

At the prison, which is in a nice street with cafe’s and little shops, I first have to stand at a large iron door and press a green button, waiting until  I hear a click and can open the door. The door leads to a small room with two benches and what looks like a sort of post office windows behind which the guards sit. As a visitor, one is not allowed to bring anything in. There are lockers, most of which have broken locks, into which, if you find one that works, you can put your phone, jacket, keys and anything else you might have with you. 

Once you are called (because I am always on standby, you pass through a turnstile, put your coat if you have one in the winter through a scanner and pass a metal detector before standing at the next iron door waiting for it to be opened for you. Once through this door, you enter a small yard where everyone is waiting together to go into the visiting room. There are toys for little kids, who are often there with their mother visiting father. There is a place for those who need to smoke before they go inside for the visit. 

Once we are gathered by a guard to enter the visiting room, we all take a seat at the table which has been assigned us and wait for the prisoners to be brought in. My former neighbor always looks around for me when he enters and gets a big smile on his bearded face. He, like the other prisoners, is wearing a yellow vest over his prison clothes. We have about an hour to talk about whatever has been happening most recently. He likes to hear about my life since his is pretty much the same every day. 

This year I also started visiting a man who met my former neighbor while they were both in prison. This other man is now waiting in the psychiatric hospital just down the street from our village. He waits patiently, doing all that he needs to do to be able to join society again. I visit him once a month as well, sometimes helping with small tasks he might need done. 

Both of these men struggle with different things in their lives. Both are men of faith of a sort. Our former neighbor believes that he is his own pope and has created a sort of religion for himself. The other man is a muslim, though not really practicing. Both ask for prayers and we pray for them both regularly. 

I am always reminded when I visit them that our situation is not really that different. Without Jesus in our lives, we were slaves, lost, not really knowing where we were going. Paul says in the letter to the Ephesians: “without hope, without God in the world.” (Eph. 2:12). But we have been saved to wake with Jesus sharing His grace to all around us. I am thankful that we are no longer prisoners, but are now servants of the living God. (Rom. 6:15-18). 

Where oh Where Wednesday: Doel (ghost town of a different sort)

When we talk of ghost towns we tend to think of Wild West movies, tumbleweeds blowing by in the wind with a reedy music in the background and a shot of spurs on boots jangling as a lone cowboy walks the empty, dusty street. In Belgium they do ghost town in a different way. 

Doel is a town at the edge of the province of East Flanders, set on the left bank of the Schelde. The Schelde is the river flowing to the sea on which the harbor of Antwerp is set. The harbor of Antwerp is one of the largest and busiest harbors in the world with immense amounts of goods passing through on their way to other countries. Goods from online stores everywhere, whether from Asia or America, cross paths at this harbor. 

And that has been part of the struggle for Doel. Although the town first shows up in the 13th century, it struggles throughout history to find its place. It was first a group of islands in the middle of the river, surrounded by fens. To keep things livable polders and dikes were built around the town and area in the following centuries. This could not keep the whole area from being inundated in the 16th century, but the 17th century brought new hope and new polders. 

By the 1960’s, after the Second World War, plans were being made for expansion of the growing harbor in Antwerp. These plans meant that in 1968 no one was allowed to build anymore in Doel. This was also the beginning of the building of 4 nuclear power stations that basically surround the village. These power plants are the oldest in Belgium and started producing power in the 1970’s.

In the meantime the industry zone and expansion of the harbor meant that the little village started dying out. By 1999 people could sell their houses to the industry building the harbor and leave. In the following years the village became a ghost town. The town center still stands. Social media influencers of the urban safari type like to show the abandoned houses and emphasize the strange atmosphere. And still, in 2023 the Flemish government declared that Doel should remain a livable village.

Whodunit Wednesday: Peter Paul Rubens

One of the first times we visited Antwerp I remember having someone point out that the famous painter, Rubens, had lived here. His house is now a museum downtown. I had heard the name of Peter Paul Rubens and knew that he had been a painter, but did not know much about him. 

Pieter Paul Rubens was born in 1577 and is considered the most influential of Flemish Baroque painters. He was also a diplomat who traveled around Europe and mingled with nobility. His paintings are well-known. Rubens’ female nudes were typically full-bodied, which was considered voluptuous at the time. Today we still might call a woman “Rubenesque”. Whereas later generations might consider a thinner woman more desirable, the fashion in Rubens' time was for voluptuous women. This showed that they were rich and healthy. 

Rubens painted all sorts of subjects. He painted portraits of the rich and famous, started with landscapes and continued on in later life with Biblical themes. Several of his apprentices became famous in their own right, just as he, too had followed the greats of his time. You might be familiar with his paintings "Susanna and the Elders", "Lot and his daughters", or "Landscape with milkmaids and cattle".  

Those who enjoy art either love or hate Pieter Paul Rubens. His technique is unmistakeable. One has to decide if the style fits one’s taste. His emphasis is on color, movement and sensuality. But it is clear that he is one of the greats - from the little country of Belgium, right “down the road” from us in Antwerp. 

Give thanks to the Lord!

Last Saturday, very close to the actual day, we celebrated Thanksgiving with friends and guests in Antwerp. This day is always special because we get to see one another again, remember all the things we have to be thankful for, and spend some great fellowship time together (and - oh yeah - there's some really great food!)

What made this year special was Adrian. Before we began the afternoon Carol Brazle mentioned that each year a turkey is pardoned by the White House, while all the other turkeys are eaten. Her point was that for us, One is offered and all are spared. So when I mentioned why Adrian had come with us, that was what I made clear. He came for the turkey. 

You see, Adrian came to us about a month ago. He had seen my name and number online and had called. He and his fiance live in Maastricht where she is a students (she just graduated). Adrian wanted to know what kind of christians we were. So he visited and had lots of questions. Recenlty he called up again - after a time that we had heard nothing. He wanted to talk - and seriously. He had been looking at things and wanted to give his life to Christ. He wanted to be free from all the things that had kept him captive in his most recent years (all sorts of darker practices). 

So Shirley and I sat down with him and opened up the Bible. By the end of the day he wanted to know what he could do to get this new life started. We knew we would be in Antwerp the next day with all sorts of brothers and sisters - a perfect opportunity (and practical place) to help him in his death and resurrection. 

So Adrian came for the turkey. He came for the One who gave his life that all could be spared. And it was a wonderful time for thanksgiving! He was a bit worried (he is turning his back on quite a hefty past), but thrilled once he had been washed clean in the water and the blood. 

Please keep Adrian in your prayers as he starts hs new life and immediately will face all sorts of struggles. Pray for us as we meet with him to help him grow and learn. And thank God with us for God's mighty power to save! 

(Thanks to Jim and Ruth Krumrei for the pictures!)