Whensday: Three summers

The summer of 1991 was our first summer as a married couple and evangelists in Belgium and the Netherlands. We had arrived in January of that year and only moved into our house in June the following year. But we were already plugged into the church in Antwerp and fully active in serving in any way that we could. That summer I was one of the teachers for Benjamin Camp at Ardennen Bible Camp. That includes the 8-11 year olds. 

I remember working out lessons and activities (for the first time in Dutch) and trying to make sense of the Dutch language. You see there are lots of dialects in Dutch and Flemish. And young kids usually speak their own dialect. This meant quite the challenge for me since I only spoke Dutch with a Dutch accent (the northern part of the Netherlands where I learned the language). 

In the summer of 2001 I experienced several different things. We had accepted apprentices from York College in 2000, so I was working with them in the summer. These were challenging and very rewarding experiences. It is nice to see how God continues to touch these two lives. 

But I had also taken steps in that year to gain Belgian citizenship. This was because our visa was going to be denied after 10 years. Rules were being changed and it became possible for me to become a Belgian citizen without giving up my US citizenship. I got the news in August that my citizenship had been granted, a short time before important events in September which made it hard for some to understand why I would want a different citizenship. But this way I was now able - like the apostle Paul - to use my citizenship for the kingdom of God. 

In the summer of 2021 we were scrambling to figure out how to continue holding Bible Camp after flooding had devastated the area where our camp is located. We had already dealt with a year organizing camp under corona rules and were thankful that it had been possible. But now our camp had been struck by the flooding. The first two weeks of camp even had to be held at different locations. But they turned out being amazing weeks. That year we not only led the Benjamin Camp at a different location, but also led the Teen Camp week as the first group back at our camp location. 

Our summers are always exciting and challenging, blessed by people and activities that God puts in our lives. 

You can find pictures of the camps in 2021 here: Benjamin Camp and Teen Camp. (The picture is of Benjamin Camp in 2021)

An eventful day

Some days just stay etched in your mind. I remember hearing from people who could remember everything that happened on the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. I remember watching the first landing on the moon and know exactly where I was when the Challenger blew up. In the Netherlands people remember where they were when they heard about the Bijlmer catastrophe (plane flying into a block of flats) or when the fireworks blew away a whole neighborhood in Enschede. In Belgium people remember the time hearing of Dutroux (a man who kidnapped and killed young girls) or the gas pipeline explosion near Ath. 

Some things just stick in your mind, become part of the tapestry of history of a place. That is what this date is for many in the world. September 11 brought some major changes in the world which are still reverberating today. We stood watching the news on the television repeating, “What? What? Oh no!” The boys were not quite sure what was happening and why we were so upset. It seemed at that moment that the world was falling apart. 

And yet, that was a very eventful time for us in general. When we first came to Belgium it was to work with the church in Maastricht, the Netherlands. We lived for a year in Antwerp, Belgium to get into the language and still be able to be with a congregation before we would start things with a new team in Maastricht. 

We were able to get a permit to stay in the country which was renewed every year. When we looked into how we would work things with the team, it was easier to stay living in Belgium rather than move into the Netherlands.  So we found a place to live, close by the border, and continued renewing our permit. This worked well for us and at one point we were able to get a 5 year card, instead of renewing every year. 

But coming up on 2000 the government decided that they needed to change things concerning foreigners in the country. It was not a problem to be working for a company, but religious workers were not going to be allowed to stay any more. We were informed that we would need to leave the country. 

Around this same time, the opportunity to become a Belgian opened up. Both the US and Belgium technically allow dual citizenship and the more we looked into it, the better it looked. The process to become Belgian was fairly simple. We wanted to be sure that we would still be able to get back to the US if needed, so only Scott went through the process. We heard the good news right around September 11 in 2001. 

Now it would be possible to stay in the country and continue our work with the church in Maastricht and churches in Belgium. As with the apostle Paul, we would now be able to use both nationalities, both citizenships. We would now be able to move freely within the European Union and preach the gospel. This was a real blessing that we could not have foreseen. And it came at a time when we wondered what was happening with the world. 

Clearly, God has a different perspective on what is happening in the world. We have good friends all around the globe who experience things others may never even hear about. Have you heard of the struggles in Sudan? Of the elections in Kenya? Of the hurricane that basically wiped much of St. Maarten away? Of the tsunami in Indonesia? And so much more (including a war in Ukraine). Or most recently, the earthquake that has killed thousands in Morocco? It may seem like the world is ending. It may look like there is no way forward. It may feel like God has forgotten. But we know that this is not true. We have seen so many times before (look at all the times in the Old Testament) that God has been faithful. He knows what is going on. He can use even this time for His glory. 

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.  Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5

Are your politics getting in the way of your faith?

Politics in Europe is a bit different than the in the United States. In the Netherlands there are four parties left of center, a liberal democrat party, three Christian parties (mostly right of center) and a party further to the right. In Belgium there are many of the same types of groups, but then in two different languages. They are blue, red, green, orange and yellow. All of these parties have to share power – there is no one party strong enough to do everything. A coalition in the Netherlands was called "purple" because it was a mix of the blues and the reds. And people understand this. They understand that there are portions of what they like in one party, and perhaps other portions in another party.

In the United States there are only two parties. People believe, feel or pretend that there are only two views to most questions (usually couched as “right” and “wrong”). I have heard discussions among adherents of both groups questioning how any one could be Christian and be … (whatever the “other” group is). This can even cause some serious hurt feelings within a congregation.

In Maastricht I have been preaching through the letter to the Philippians. This is not the only letter with this dynamic, but Philippians shows us how to deal with differences within the church. And it is in this letter that we hear God through Paul saying: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 3:20) God uses Paul to touch on this topic for the Ephesians and the Romans as well, so it is obviously something we need to hear.

Paul is telling the Philippians that their allegiance is not to that which makes them different. Their allegiance is, above all, to Jesus Christ. If they allow their being Jews or being Romans, their stance on military matters or foods and holidays (as in the letter to the Romans) or any other point to take precedence over their allegiance to Christ and to one another – they have lost sight of their true citizenship.

We will never be able to find a party that encompasses all of Christ’s ideals. Being active politically, trying to use the tools that are given us in society to enact real change and good for Christ in the world, is valuable. But we must not allow our preference for a particular party to overshadow our allegiance to the Almighty. My focus must be on saving people eternally, not just helping them for the next four years. Don’t think for one minute that either (or any) party is right in all things. And don’t start defending certain points simply because it is your party. Remember to whom your allegiance belongs and why. Then act on that allegiance, not only during election year, when people are looking, but every day, when it really matters.