Where oh where Wednesday: Friesland

It has always been interesting to me to see how many places are called “land” in Dutch. It makes it quite easy to understand where things are. Germany is “Duitsland”, England is “Engeland” and one that most English speakers would recognize, New Zealand is “Nieuw Zeeland”. This last one was of course named after the Dutch area of Zeeland. The new one was found and named across the oceans. Australia was also originally called New Holland. 

So when I look at a map of the Netherlands, one of the more interesting areas is up in the north and is called “Friesland”. This is all the more interesting because the area was basically its own country before and its language is not the same as Dutch. The Friezen (those from Friesland) speak a language that can be understood by many Dutchmen, but is different. 

The people of this province are also extremely proud of their heritage. The Frisia - the germanic people who inhabited and conquered the area from Bremen (in present-day Germany) to Brughes (in present-day Belgium) are mentioned in the Roman histories in the 4th century BC. But the area experienced a political and climatological downturn of two centuries where flooding and political pressure meant that no one lived in the area in the north. 

These Frisians fought for their freedom against the vikings, the Dutch of Holland and later the Hapsburg empire until they became a part of the Dutch Republic in the 17th century. Today their heritage is shown in local customs, in the flags of local football teams and in the language which is still spoken. As a matter of fact, Frisian must be available to all those going to court in Friesland. 

The province is home to some amazing natural beauties, including the Waddenzee and its islands. The city of Leeuwarden is the capitol of the province which boasts a population of more than 600,000. 

Whensday: War and peace

Right around this day in 1940 the 2nd great war began in our area. No one knew it was to be World War II. They simply knew that planes had bombed the bridge or their city to bits, killing many. And the war had begun. The village next to ours, where our colleagues live, was one of the first places in Belgium to be bombed. The cemetery in town is still a silent witness to how many families were impacted. 

In 1945 the war ended in this same period. May 4 is remembrance day in the Netherlands, when all remember the fallen in war. May 5 is the day to celebrate victory and liberation. The area around Maastricht was the first part of the Netherlands to be liberated. People were extremely thankful top the US soldiers who had come to help them throw off the invaders. 

A cemetery outside of Maastricht, in Margraten, is a witness to the many soldiers who lost their lives in this struggle. Many Ditch families have adopted graves in this cemetery, knowing that the soldiers’ families cannot be there to care for the grave. So they take care and let the families know that all is well. 

For now, in the area around Maastricht and where we live in Belgium there is peace. It had not always been that way. This area was a hodge-podge of small barons and religious powers who fought over which strips of land belonged to whom and were under which authority. Since the end of World War II there has been peace and prosperity. 

But peace is relative. In the past decades the area has welcomed refugees from what was Yugoslavia, from Afghanistan, from Syria and from Ukraine. The congregation in Maastricht has two sisters in Christ who originally came to the Netherlands as refugees - one from Iran, the other from Armenia. The church family is now also home to 4 Ukrainians who have settled - at least for now - in Belgium. Most recently the congregation has welcomed a Syrian couple on Sundays. 

And although their countries may or may not still be at war, these people have found true peace. It is not to be found specifically in a certain place, but in the life and family of Jesus Christ. We are so thankful to celebrate every Sunday the liberation that has come through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. The members in Maastricht understand this very well - being made into a family from so many different places, finding peace together.