Visiting with the family

Yesterday the congregation in Maastricht organized the yearly Family Day held down at camp. This has always been a day for the various congregations together from around Belgium or the Netherlands for a day of fellowship and encouragement. Each year a different congregation organizes the day. 

We were thankful to be able to put this day together and it was exciting to see all of the members doing their part. Shirley coördinated the food - we provided lunch for everyone that came as well as coffee, tea and drinks with cookies and cake for during the lesson time. Several of the ladies helped her throughout the day. Our youth teaching couple, Paul and Deysi too care of the young kids during the lesson - which was presented by our Ukrainian brother, Alexander. And two of our brothers took care of the singing (Mario and Paul) while I presented a quiz on the lessons that had been offered in the 4 camp weeks this summer.

The great thing about a day like this is that people come from all over who we don’t usually get to see. This year almost all of the congregation from Den Dolder in the Netherlands took the time to come to the day. This meant that some of them had to come earlier to stay in accommodation nearby instead of driving down for the day. But there were also several from Ghent and the Belgian coast, which is a good 2.5 or 3 hour drive across Belgium. But this is the kind of day people do not want to miss. 

For some it was the first time to visit camp. One of our sisters brought a friend with her. Since they were early, he got to help set things up with me - putting all the chairs out, sweeping the leaves away, moving tables outside. But that is the feeling on this day - everyone is willing to help and simply enjoys being together. 

We were really thankful that the weather blessed us as well. Several years back we moved this day from the end of Family Camp (in August) to the 2nd weekend in September. Although September can have some truly beautiful days, it is also a time for plenty of rain. We had a dry day, although it was a bit cool. That didn’t stop the kids from getting out to play on the basketball court or take advantage of the swings hanging in the trees. 

One of the special moments of the day was a time to pray together. We split up into various groups, including a group of women together, in order to pray for our world, the church, our local congregations, brothers and sisters around the world and much more. It was good to see the various groups and also a group of kids that Paul Brazle organized together to pray together as well. It is never too early to learn about talking to our wonderful Father. 

The day ended officially at 4pm after a nice walk in the woods, but some continued on with the yearly evaluation and planning meeting for camp. This was also well-attended and helped start things off for the camp weeks in 2025. Camp has grown from 4 full weeks and 2 weekends to 6 full weeks and 3 weekends, as well as various days and mid-weeks organized by the various congregations around the countries. We are thankful that God has made it possible for us to use this facility and that there are so many brothers and sisters willing to help and encourage one another. 

(You can find some pictures of the day here.)

Planning ahead

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Family Day!

Johan Huyghebaert
Originally uploaded by sraabs.

Family Camp always ends with a Family Day - a day for the churches in Belgium and the Netherlands to get together for learning, encouragement and fellowship. This year was organized by the churches in Brughe and Roeselare. Johan Huyghebaert, who was also the camp leader for Family Camp (and had the help of his son, Robin, Robin's finacee, Joyce, and Johan's mother, Jose), got the day going with some good singing and announcements.

This is always a day of wonderful fellowship - sometimes the only time you might see someone from a congregation further away. It is always esepcially nice when some of the French-speakers from the church in Belgium are also able to attend. And this day was amply blessed with beautiful sunshine until everyone was on their way home again!

(click on the picture for more pictures of the visiting during this day)