The tax man cometh

The tax man cometh. April 15 is an important day in the US. In the Netherlands it is also in the Spring. In Belgium tax day is in June. Taxes are a certainty in any country or culture and it is no different here. In the Netherlands you even know when your post is from the tax office - it is a blue envelope.  

For us the whole situation is rather complicated. We file income tax in the United States and in Belgium since we come from the US but live in Belgium. In both countries we are considered self-employed for the tax law. We are required to pay social security in both countries as well. Thankfully we have help for our US taxes from brothers and sisters who have always been willing to help missionaries. 

I remember when E.B. Dotson was working for brother McCready. Brother McCready did the taxes of missionaries for free, taking away any worries and in this way supporting and encouraging them. E.B. and Jean were our good friends in church (as they are still) and it has been a true blessing to have this weight taken from our shoulders all these years. Tax law is difficult enough as it goes, but it gets even more complicated when someone lives overseas. 

In Belgium we do not have anyone doing our taxes for us, but things are fairly straight forward. We do not have to itemize. We list the value of our house, its measurements and such. For some years we get a digital printout of what the tax office already figured for us. Then we do even less. But the cares of wondering if everything is done correctly remain a concern. 

We always want to make sure that we are doing things as they should be done. As Christians we have a responsibility to make sure that we are an example to those around us. Jesus also told Peter (and Paul told the Christians in Rome) that taxes are not something to escape. So whether they are fun or not, we want to do what is right. 

As we now also are reaching a certain age, we have thought about what we would need to do for retirement. In Belgium retirement age is 67 - and moving higher each year, it seems. We have social security in both countries, but we are not quite sure how the two countries will work with one another. When one looks for answers, the “normal” answers on a FAQ never quite fit our situation. So we will start looking deeper at what needs to be done. 

In the meantime, and as always, we will trust that God is taking care of things. And we will thank our loving Father for brothers and sisters who are willing and able to help us with this kind of information. 

How Great Thou Art

This past Sunday we were blessed with some wonderful songs. The one that really got me was when we sang “How Great Thou Art”. This is a great song whenever it is sung. But this past Sunday the song leader reminded us that it is in various languages. So we heard people singing it in Spanish, English, Dutch and Ukrainian. Perhaps it was also being sung in Arabic, but I could not really ask our visitor from Syria. 

The day before many of the members were out at our place for a birthday bbq. There are several members who have a birthday ij the summer months. And we like having an excuse to get together and a church family. So we prayed for good weather, planned for rain and met up with plenty of food and time for each other. 

This is one of the few times that our sister Nel gets out of the house (other than going to the store or the doctor). The kids had fun playing with Lego and cups and even a little disc golf (which I have in the yard). Some of the brothers took a walk out to the canal and talked while others sat around the table in the midday sun, enjoying encouraging conversation. 

We took a minute (or 5) to talk about how God had blessed us this year so far. Family, travels, daily blessings, visits with grandkids, safety in our country and more. Our Syrian sister told us (through the ingenuity of a translation program on a phone) that it is so good to be part of a family who helps her and cares for her. The kids were thankful for vacation and the little things of every day. 

It was a simple weekend. A bbq on the Saturday (and it stayed dry!), time to worship our amazing God on Sunday and encourage one another. We are so thankful for our family in Maastricht and in so many other places around the world. We can truly sing “How Great Thou Art”. 

Where oh Where Wednesday - Cologne

We live in what is called a Euregion. The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany all commingle in a relatively small geographic area. This was one of the reasons that we decided to come here to work with the church. Maastricht, in The Netherlands, was a crossroads, a place where various cultures converged. 

The three major cities of this Euregion are Maastricht, Aachen (in Germany) and Liege (in French-speaking Belgium). Maastricht is the smallest of the cities, with just 120,000 inhabitants. Liege tops out at about 200,000 and Aachen is the most populous with 250,000. 

But these are only the cities most directly within the Euregion. Within an hour of Maastricht are Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium, Eindhoven in The Netherlands, and Cologne in Germany. This last city is well-known for its cathedral and its scent. Yes, the term “cologne” or “eau de cologne” comes from this city (water of Cologne is a literal translation). The name of the city seems to have come from its Roman origins as “Colonia” - a colony. 

From the beginning of our time working with the church here, we have had a connection with the brothers and sisters in Cologne. They have a connection to the German Bible camp in Gemünden (about 2.5 hours from us) where we have often attended Bible study weeks. When our singing group Listen Up! was active, we often sang at German church activities, including a few times along the Rhine river in Cologne.

More recently the church in Maastricht and Cologne planned a yearly get-together to sing and encourage one another. We started by meeting in Aachen - about halfway between us. Later we organized the singing in Maastricht and then in Cologne. We have not been able to meet since the interruption of the corona years, but we look forward to singing together again next year. 

It is always good to not only know about brothers and sisters in the neighborhood, but to be involved with one another as often as possible. We are thankful for our relationship with the church in Cologne. 

(Photo: Singing in Maastricht with members from Cologne in 2018)

Sweet Fellowship

We are so blessed to be in a place where so many countries come together. Geographically we are at the nexus of three countries and four language groups (the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium with Flemish and French speakers). We look forward to any time we get to gather with brothers and sisters from around the area. This builds us up and encourages the whole church. 

At the end of September we held our annual Family Day down at camp. Ardennen Bijbel Kamp is situated in the hills of the Ardennes where not too long ago soldiers died to defend democracy and justice. These days we gather as members of the church to encourage one another in living for truth and justice every day in the Lord. The congregation in Maastricht organized the day this year and it was great to be together with French-speakers as well as Dutch- and Flemish-speakers for the day. 

In October we spent time with our French-speaking brothers on our first Friday singing. Then, the very next day, we gathered in Cologne, Germany, with brothers and sisters from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany for a day of fellowship and singing. How good is it to get to know and be encouraged by the family of God from all around us. We love using every opportunity to get together. 

Later in the month we got together again, this time in a more sportive atmosphere. The COPA Benelux is organized every year by members from the church in Ghent and is for all church members in the Benelux. This year I got to play on a team with members of the church from The Hague, Haarlem, Sint Niklaas (Belgium) and Maastricht. But we were also a mixture of Russians, Ukrainians, Dutch and American-Belgians. 

God has an amazing view on who we are and what we should and can be. We are made in His image, made to give, to share, to be together because we are created by Him. People are people, no matter where we are from or live. We are all able to become children of the King, no matter what we have done in the past. And then, suddenly, we are family. That is exciting news! Look around at the family God has in your neighborhood, at the family He has placed you in where you are. Be encouraged and be an encouragement. 

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.   Ephesians 3:14-21

Finding Family

Isn’t it amazing what God creates? Look at the things we see in nature, the wonders of His creation. But look, too, at what he has created for us! We are made to be in relationship. We are made to be together – and when that is done as He has designed, it is amazing! One of those ways of being in relationship is family.

Family is God’s design. And God’s has created His family – the church. Just like with any family – we have only one thing we can do: accept it or reject it. When we decide to put our lives in God’s hands through the blood of Christ in the waters of baptism – God adds us to His family. Then we are brother and sister, children of the Almighty One who is sanctifying us daily through His Holy Spirit in our lives.

In August we were able to spend several days down at Family Camp. The nice thing about this week of camp is that it fits everyone – just like God’s family should. From the letters of 1st and 2nd Peter we learned about suffering, being used for good, persevering and the love of Christ in all we do. We spent time singing together, laughing and playing, and enjoying God’s creation all around us.

You can see some of the pictures from camp here.

Back in Maastricht we were so thankful to be able to meet again with our Maastricht family (who are actually from many places around Maastricht). We are not homogenous; we are a varied and mixed group, put together by the wondrous view of our Father, God. And sometimes it is not easy, but we keep trying to love one another, because we are loved by the One and Only, who has shown us that this kind of love really is possible.

This past Wednesday we had our first ‘First Wednesday’ again since back in May. This is when some of us from Maastricht get together with some of our family from Liége and sing our hearts out to our wonderful Father. Sometimes we learn new songs. Sometimes we just enjoy singing the songs we know (Merveilleux Amour). But always – always – we are amazed and overcome by the beuaty of God’s love in His family.

At the end of September we will get together with the family from Cologne and sing our hearts out again. Isn’t it great that God has even given us this way to put our hearts into words – together! Last year we met for the first time in Aachen (in between Maastricht and Cologne). This year we are allowed to use the garden of the museum where we met last time. As long as we have a place to be, it will be good. Because the people meeting, this family moment, is the most important part of the day. We are looking forward to taking some other members from Maastricht along with us.

And in the meantime, there are those who are considering what this family means. There are those we have been talking to, with whom we have been looking at the gracious love of Jesus, who are considering this choice we have to make. It is the only thing we can do – accept or reject. God wants us in His family and He has done everything necessary in Jesus to make it possible. All that is needed is a new birth. How wonderful are God’s creations!

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:12-13