Fun

My best friend’s father always said that Christians know best how to have fun. God created fun, so those who know God know best what fun is. And if you knew Ron Carter or my best friend, Bret Carter, you would understand completely how true this is. And it is something I have found to be true throughout my life. We have fun at Bible camp. We have fun at sport days. We have fun playing games. We have fun telling jokes - even dad jokes. 

This past weekend was a weekend of fun. Shirley’s birthday was on Thursday and we enjoyed laughing together. I made dinner. Or at least, I warmed up the meat that I bought at the store. I also warmed up the potatoes and made a salad - all with Shirley’s help. But it was delicious and we enjoyed the time together. We have always been able to laugh together - even if a lot of it might be me laughing at my own jokes. Shirley has gotten pretty good at dad jokes as well (as have our sons - to their own chagrin). 

On Saturday the congregation organized a sport day to have some more fun. You have heard me talk about the soccer tournament that many go to. But there are plenty of us who actually like playing basketball as well (or we even prefer it). So we planned a sport day for those who wanted to play basketball and had a soccer ball along for the chance that it might be needed. 

Although this is exam time for plenty of young people, we still hoped that some would take the opportunity to take a break from studying and come sweat for a few hours. And we had a good small group to play some 3x3 (or half court) ball. I was happy just to be able to keep up with some of the younger ones who attended, but it was fun. Encouraging one another, experiencing some good ankle breakers and even getting in a lay-up here or there. 

Sunday was the birthday of another of our members in Maastricht, but its was also a 2nd Sunday. That means games in Maastricht. Our Ukrainian couple bring all sorts of games to play, we eat a meal beforehand and simply enjoy getting to know each other while laughing. This time we played a few hands of Uno Hearts. It takes a bit of learning and a good bit of humility. You never know when you might end up with too many cards of the wrong color. But it is all good fun. 

Next week we will hold our church Christmas Get-together. This year we chose for secret Santa’s (instead of a white elephant sort of game). We will enjoy a good potluck meal together and sharing gifts and encouraging Bible texts with one another. This too is part of having fun. When we can go home having laughed, feeling appreciated, knowing that others care about us - then it is a good day. 

On Christmas we will probably be welcoming some of our young couples to our house for a delicious meal (which they will also help make) and some fun games together. It is always good to share laughter and the love of family. God knows what fun is all about and it is good to share it with those who know Him. 

(Photo is our Christmas Get-together last year)

Another great youth day

The past two years the congregation in Maastricht has decided to expand our focus on our youth. Youth activities in the church are organized generally by the various congregations in Belgium and the Netherlands and spread throughout the year. But all of these weekends begin at qo years old. Our young people were younger. 

In the past we have also organized “Dieno”days (servant days with a play on words to include it sounding like dinosaurus). These were even for kids as young as 4 years old. So we decided as a congregation that we wanted to have a day for our kids, knowing that there were also other kids in the congregations of this age who would also be interested. 

Our age spread was actually from 7-13 at the time. So we planned a youth day utilizing our members who were very interested in the task and in the spiritual welfare of the kids. One of our members brought her grandkids to the first one, which was held in our backyard. But we realized from the beginning that doing the day in Maastricht (in our backyard in Lanaken) meant that parents had to travel quite far, since we are on the edge of both Belgium and the Netherlands. 

So in 2023 we moved the day to a community center in the village of one of our members - in Herselt, in the middle of Belgium. This meant that parents even from theWest could get to the day, spend some time in the area, and head home with their kids at a reasonable time. And more parents lived closer to this central area. The community center was well-suited to our needs for the day as well. 

The day in the Fall of 2023 went well, so we planned two for 2024 - again in Herselt - one in the Spring and one in the Fall. We have a great team working together from the congregation and the parents of the kids are quite happy that there are activities for their kids (even the younger ones). We focus the lessons on the younger and older ages, splitting the ages up for the 2nd lesson. 

This past weekend was the Fall Youth Day. Being in Belgium we always having to hope and pray that we can work well with whatever weather we get. This time the weather was not great, but it was also not terrible. We were thankful to have Rudy and Pam Schellekens visiting who could also help out. Some of the kids got sick at the last minute and could not come, but that is the reality of working with kids. 

The theme of this day was the elements which help us to grow in faith - based on 2 Peter 1:3-11. It always amazes me, although it should not anymore, how well children can learn and remember. Even the boys who have trouble sitting still are actually listening! We are so thankful for being able to work together with such a great group of brothers and sisters from the church in Maastricht for these days. We already have the next ones on the schedule for 2025. 

Thank you for your prayers for these activities, for the team and for the kids. You can find some pictures on our picture site.