Hope and true life

Although many in the Netherlands don’t really know why they have a holiday on this day, we are thankful for the 2nd day of Pentecost - even more so this year. In the Netherlands there are three holidays that get a 2nd day: Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. The fist two have become ambiguous in recent decades, but Pentecost has always been a bit of a strange one. 

For the churches in the Netherlands and Belgium this is a day to get together and encourage one another. Since everyone has free, it is a good day to gather. The Family Day at camp in the Fall is more for the churches in Belgium and this day more for the churches in the Netherlands, since it held in The Hague. But people from all over both country are welcome. This year we had a group of about 60 visit from Maastricht, Antwerp, Ghent, Eindhoven, Haarlem and The Hague, but various countries were also represented. 

Our theme for the day was hope and we finished the day with a visit in a nearby park which concluded with a walk to the beach to see a death, burial and resurrection. Jef had been talking for some time about his faith as he visited in Maastricht. But yesterday after services he stated quite emphatically that he needed to be saved and Jesus was the only one who could do it. He wanted to give his life to the only One who could really give him hope for eternity. 

Jef was already planning on coming to this special day, so we simply planned a little further and took some things along to make it possible for him to be born. We are so thankful for the hope that Jesus truly gives. Praise God for your new brother in Christ and pray for his daily walk and growth in faith. It was great to see so many there today - some of them also young babes in Christ, walking in faith. 

It is so good to see how God can use us in so many different ways to bring life, joy and hope to this world where hope is far away. Our hope is built on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which gives us a living hope, tested by fire, founded on the promises of God, stretching into eternity. 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.   1 Peter 1:3-9

Saying goodbye

This past week was a week of goodbyes. A dear sister in the church in Liege passed away unexpectedly quickly and quietly. Leonie and her husband George are stalwarts in the church in French-speaking Belgium, in Liege. They have both been involved with Bible camp from near the beginning and have been encouragers of many throughout their years. 

In Maastricht we have known this couple for many years as they come to our monthly singing every first Friday. This has not been possible this past year, but we were thankful to have seen them last year when the congregation of Maastricht went down to camp for a day of fellowship and the church in Liege joined us there for the afternoon. We also celebrated the 60th wedding anniversary of George and Leonie last year. 

Leonie was a quiet, beautiful, happy soul. We were not able to have long conversations because our French is not that complete and she spoke almost no Dutch or English. But when an interpreter was present or when we were sharing God’s word in a group, her joy and hope were always clear. She had struggled with some health problems in the last decade, but continued to be everywhere she could when she could. How beautiful an example she has been to so many. We look forward to seeing her again when we all get Home. 

This past Saturday I helped officiate a funeral for Marguerite. I met her as the girlfriend of a man I read the Bible with. Both Rob and Marguerite were in their 70’s when I met them. Rob passed away almost 3 years ago. Marguerite made it to 93 years old. In that time we got to know each other better. Shirley and I also got to know her family through her. Marguerite had no children, but many loving nephews and nieces. 

The most interesting thing about Marguerite and my relationship was how we were able to talk about God. Marguerite always had questions, realizing that Shirley and my faith was different than what she was used to. She would ask things like if we also had Mary in our faith. I would point out where Mary appeared in the Bible and we would talk about it. Or she would ask questions about Jesus and I would show her again what the Bible had to say about it. 

Every time we met I would ask if we could end the meeting with a prayer and she was always surprised that I would simply talk to God. At one point she asked if she could do that too. So she learned to pray in a different way than she was used to, simply talking to God. So much of her faith was a cultural faith - something we often talked about. 

At her funeral Shirley and I were able to talk to various members of her family who were present. We always hope to be encouragers and a place where people can ask questions if they have them. We are always thankful for God’s grace and leave Marguerite in His righteous hands. 

It has always been clear how different Marguerite and Leonie are.  Marguerite was often afraid. She feared death, even though she knew that it was inevitably coming. She fought cancer twice and was a sickly child, so she had fought all her life. Leonie faced death many times as well throughout her life, but she knew where she was going. We are so very thankful that we can say “See you later” to those we know who have clothed themselves with Christ and have a home prepared for them. 

As I post this we are praying for Shirley's sister who has gone to hospital and is on life support. We want the best for her and she knows the Lord. But we do not want to have to say goodbye just yet. This remains the reality and the struggle. Thank you for your prayers. 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4

[The picture is of Marguerite's grave right across from the grave of Rob Wessels]

Whensday: Spring

Was it yesterday (March 19) or today March 20)? Or maybe tomorrow? When does Spring start? As far as we are concerned, it gets going as soon as we see the crocus flowers in our garden. That is often in February and we know that Sporing is on the way. 

We noticed that the US already moved into Summer Time, springing ahead by one hour. In Europe we will only spring ahead at the end of the month, which is the Saturday before Easter. So the month will end, Spring will begin, we will all lose an hour sleep and Easter will wake us up. To be honest, that is not a bad picture if you think about the resurrection of the Lord. His resurrection on Easter Sunday was indeed the end of the darkness of death and the beginning of real life for everyone who believes. 

Easter in Dutch-speaking Europe is called “Pasen” - a word linked to the Jewish celebration, the “Pascha” (or Passover” in English). As with many other countries and cultures, Easter is a strange mix of rabbits, chickens, eggs and chocolates. This is of course because it is a mixture of fertility rituals from pagan religions. 

In Maastricht we often get the question from people who know us if we as a congregation celebrate Easter. Of course Easter always falls on a Sunday (unlike Christmas). So we always have a worship time on this special holiday. But we also try to explain how we celebrate this amazing occurrence (of Jesus’ resurrection) every Sunday. The rest of the spectacle we leave to others. 

It will be nice to know that we can talk to our kids again at a normal 6 hour difference instead of five hours. That means that we can eat dinner as they are eating lunch while we talk to one another. It also means that we will enjoy helping teach during the Vacation Bible Kamp planned for the Belgian kids (the Dutch do not yet have school vacation). And when the week is done, we will have jumped into the next season with verve. 

(This picture is of our Thankfulness Walk this past Saturday in Maastricht)