Whodunit Wednesday: Lucca Brughmans

His name probably doesn’t mean a thing to you, yet. And if you do not follow soccer, it may never really hit your radar, unless the World Cup comes to your city. Lucca, follows a line of many that starts in Genk, just down the road from us. Genk is the local professional soccer club and it is known especially for one thing - training goalies. 

Perhaps you have heard of Thibaut Courtois. He is the goalie at Real Madrid, one of the best teams in the world. But before he went to Real Madrid he played for Atletico Madrid, making quite a name for himself. And before he was in Madrid he played for Genk. He started when he was younger than 18 and moved on as one of the youngest goalies in the game. 

There have been others, who you may or may not recognize by name: Sinan Bolat, Logan Bailly or Koen Casteels. They all started their time with Genk and moved on to internationally known clubs where they have made their name. And now it is Lucca’s turn. Yesterday was the end of the transfer season and Lucca was sold to Liverpool for an amazing amount. 

For the moment he will remain playing at Genk, but soon, if all goes well, he will make the move to Liverpool. There he may enter history as one of the many amazing Belgian goalkeepers: Thibaut Courteous, Jean-Marie Pfaff, Michel Preudhomme, Logan Bailly or several others. 

Lucca Brughman, who is only 18, was sold for a record sum of 35 million euro. He will keep playing for Genk until at least January, but is looking forward to his new adventure in England. In the meantime, Genk supporters are wondering who the next big goalkeeper will be. 

COPA Benelux

This past weekend we were united in fun. Really. Every year the COPA Benelux - an indoor soccer tournament for teams from around Belgium and the Netherlands - is organized. In Maastricht we try to form a team to play, but the last few years this has not been possible. So this year three of us from Maastricht joined three from Gent and one from Haarlem to form a team. We are FUN United.

You see, the teams are split up in Pro and Fun. The Pro teams are serious. They usually have people who know how to play, are basically fit and are serious about winning - although they are also there to have fun. Christians know how to have fun. God made fun. The other teams, made up mostly of kids (at least 10 years old), people who don’t know that much about soccer and older people make up the Fun teams. 

This year there were only 3 fun teams and 7 pro teams. But the fun teams definitely had fun. Our team did not win any games, although we made some of them fairly exciting. Still, we got third place. (This is where one would put an emoji sticking his cheeky tongue out). It was fun to play although my body definitely feels it still, two days later. We had some beautiful goals and plenty of screaming to root one another one. 

In between matches I always enjoy meeting new people and checking in with people we do not get to see very often. There were some players from Antwerp that we only see during this tournament. And it was good to check in with them. One of the other Fun teams was from Den Haag. As a matter of fact, last year I won the Fun tournament as part of their team. This year they also won in a thrilling final that only ended after penalty shootouts. 

I am always thankful for people around the country who make the effort to put something like this together. This is a place where young people can get together. It is a time when older people can connect with younger people in a different way. It is a moment when everyone sees that perseverance and fairness are part of having fun. It was great, nearing the end of the day, when we all gathered to sing praises to God and hear a pep talk. Like Luk Brazle always mentions - soccer and singing go together. We love singing to God who gives us such fun moments. 

The photo is of FUN United. You can find more photos of the day here. 

COPA Benelux 2024

Each year an indoor soccer tournament is organized for the churches in Belgium and the Netherlands. It is a fun opportunity to get together in a different way and to show how much fun can be had by Christians together. It is also an opportunity to invite friends to a different kind of activity. 

In past years the congregation in Maastricht has put together a team. As a matter of fact, we were the first ones to win in the Fun league (we have never had a team in the “pro” league). But in the past years it has become a bit more difficult to field a team. Last year we were part of “Fun United”. This year I signed up individually and was assigned to the team from The Hague - Den Haag Xtra (they said I was the “extra”). 

There were 7 pro teams and 4 fun teams, which is quite an increase from the previous years. It was great to see so many taking part. Halfway through the day we stop to have time to sing together, hear a short devotional thought and pray together. Each game is officiated by the players themselves. It was exciting to see the players being honest and helping one another, even those on the other team. This is what it looks like when Christians get together to have fun. 

And in the end Den Haag Xtra were the Fun champions! I was the goalie for the
games and enjoyed being able to help the team to this victory. It was fun to encourage, to have some good conversations between games and just to have fun together. Next year we will try to put together a team from Maastricht and see if we can bring the trophy home again. 

Little Words

The last weeks have seen me trying to help someone who I have known for more than 20 years. We started reading the Bible together and I helped him out with moving, small things around the house, parenting tips (he is a single father) and more. 

Recently he was operated on a perforated intestine and almost died. His son - who is now a 26 year-old lawyer - reminded him after the operation that he had been given a second chance. You see, he has never been an easy person to live with. I have tried to remind him of an amazing truth I learned many years ago (as I mentioned a few weeks ago about pizza evenings with the youth group). The simple words “please” and “thank you” make the world a completely different place. 

While he was in the hospital a nurse came to assist him. She mentioned her name when he wanted to call her “miss”. Later, when I went looking for coffee, because we needed to wait for quite some time, she showed me the way. I thanked her and mentioned her name. A smile lit her face. It was nothing more than a simple “thank you”, but it meant a lot to her. Nurses have long days. 

So, we (his son and me) have given this man a challenge to learn these two simple sayings. He started his chemo this past Friday and immediately had some opportunities to practice. It is NOT something that comes naturally, although Ince you learn it, it can become normal. I saw this reality this past weekend in another way that we might not expect. 

This weekend was the COPA Benelux. The last COPA (the cup) was in 2019. Covid rules killed this indoor soccer tournament for the churches in Belgium and the Netherlands in the years between. We had people from 7 or 8 different congregations. We had 5 Fun teams and 5 Pro teams (each team being at least 5 people). We came with a Fun team from Maastricht. The Fun teams aren’t that serious and are often comprised of younger players. 

The COPA is also a time for members from the various congregations to see and talk to one another. It is a time to invite people we know who may or may not know Jesus to an event where we talk about and show what fun is like when Jesus is in our lives. 

During the play I remember hearing Luk Brazle, who played for Ghent Fun, calling out to the goalkeeper of Rotselaar Fun, “Good stop, Eva!” His teammate had just tried to score and the goalkeeper had kept the ball out. It was a great stop. It deserved the attention. So Luk made sure that the encouragement was there. 

Throughout the day you could hear and see these kinds of things happening. People thanking one another, enocuraging one another. During the Pro games I saw players admit when they had kicked it out, rather than wait on the ref. In fact, once their was a bit of a dispute about whose ball it was. The ref said one thing, a player said something else. Finally the opposite player simply said, “No problem. Their ball.” And the game continued. 

This is what people who know Jesus have discovered. Complaining may have its place in life, but it can only get so much done. And it seldom changes people. Gratitude changes hearts and situations the it is real. It doesn’t have to be big or flashy. It doesn’t really have to be noticed by anyone, except the person to whom it is addressed. Gratitude admits that YOU are not the most important at that moment, that someone else was needed. Gratitude allows humility to be present and grow. The same thing happens when we use “please”. 

Amazing that these are things we could learn early on in our lives. But we can still learn them later in life as well. Please keep A in your prayers as he tried to put his second chance to good use and learns to change his world. 

Thank you so very much for your encouragement of us in our lives and for how you show the love of God where you are. Enjoy your day of Thanksgiving this week, and remember that it is possible to practice this every day, in any month of the year. 

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Whodunit Wednesday - Soccer greats

In a little more than a month the World Cup will be held in Qatar. This is the World Cup of football (or soccer). Yes, it is being held in Qatar. That might help you understand why it is being held in the winter instead of the summer as usual. But, putting these discussions aside, most Europeans all have their eyes on these match-ups. Belgium and The Netherlands both have high hopes of going far. 

At the last World Cup (2018 in Russia) Belgium made it to 3rd place after having had a chance to go to the final. In 2014 it was The Netherlands in 3rd place, The Netherlands went to the final in 1974, 1978 and 2010 and were third place in 2014. Belgium have never made it to the final. But let’s be honest, these are small countries making it this far. 

When we talk football players, Dutch and Belgian names are often readily available and well-known. On the Belgian side, names like Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaud Courtois, Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard are known around the world - in English, Spanish, French or Italian. On the Dutch side, the names of Memphis Depay, Virgil van Dyke and Frenkie De Jong are well known in football circles. Historically the Dutch are also well represented with Johan Cruyff being perhaps the best known. 

Even several current coaches are former well-known players. Philippe Clement is a well-known former Belgian player who now coaches AS Monaco. Dutchman Giovanni van Bronckhorst won the Champions league with Barcelona and now coaches Rangers. 

On the women’s side, the United States has always been a force to be reckoned with. But along with them, the Dutch women have held their own in recent years. The Dutch women lost in 2019 to the US. In 2023 the Dutch will once again be one of the teams to watch. Names like Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) and Lieke Martens (Barcelona) are well known. The Belgian ladies have been knocking on the door for the last few years, but still have a way to go.

For those who like and follow football, Belgium and The Netherlands have more than enough to offer. We will certainly be watching this winter (for the men) and next summer (for the women in Australia and New Zealand).

Every age, every tongue

God’s family is amazing! Even though I grew up in a military family - moving fairly often and living far away from aunts and uncles - family still always meant everyone together. Old (I considered my parents at that time ‘old’ although they were only mid-30’s) and everything in between. There was an age-range of 10 years between us all as kids as well. Family is the group together. I love seeing how family interacts and how this helps us grow.

Family is designed by God and is exactly what we need to help us grow in faith. So it is great to see activities that bring different age groups together to reinforce the idea of family. Both young and old have examples right before their eyes, both groups helping the other to stretch and grow. Young people get a vision of older people who are serious, loving and who can also interact with young people. They see how to live out faith in the lives of these ‘elders’. Older people are challenged by the energy and desire of youth to be active, see things in a new way, be daring and excited by the truth as it is discovered for the first time.

Every time we get the opportunity to share in intergenerational activities, we encourage everyone to take part. We also do our best to plan such activities. Recently we went to Switzerland for a weekend. It’s a six hour drive for us and we only stay about a day and a half, but it is well worth it. Church members from all over Europe gather, young and old, to play soccer and have fun as children of the Lord.

We take the time to get to know one another as best as possible, speaking several languages. We worship the Lord together in at least three languages, singing praises as I imagine it will be in heaven. And we play soccer, learning how to deal with frustration, play fair and be just, put things into perspective and give your all. We see young people jumping every language and cultural barrier to get to know one another. Older members try to be a good example in fair play. And all of us see that it is possible to live this life with Christ, having a great time. 

This past week I ran down to our Bible camp facility – shared and maintained by the various congregations in Belgium and the Netherlands, both Dutch-speaking and French-speaking – to help with one of the work weekends. 

Camp is another place where family gets together. Yes, we encourage one another in our summer

Photo thanks to Luk Brazle

sessions with Bible lessons and good teaching, placing an emphasis on our knowledge of Christ. We also have every opportunity to observe this knowledge in working as we shovel dirt, move rocks, try to explain how to get certain jobs done, put up with having to do the cleaning that no one will see, face tasks that are neither fun, nor glorious or easy and do all of this together. Young observes older and ‘old’ (do we ever really get old?) and their example. Old is encouraged by and observes the growth of young.

It is good to be together. It is challenging and encouraging to incorporate this unique design – intergenerational activities and learning. God calls it family. 

Check out some of the pictures at camp! 

For more pictures of the Swiss soccer tournament, check on facebook.

Every nation and language

This past weekend it happened again – we had a great weekend in four different languages! The church in Schaffhausen, Switzerland organizes a soccer tournament for churches who want to take part. This year Semiye Verheijen, Michaël Marx and Shirley and I went from Maastricht. Don’t worry, Shirley did not play. But we all enjoyed the fellowship enormously.

Imagine again (I know I have talked about this weekend before) – when we play a ten minute game, we are opponents. The ‘Pro’ teams are quite serious about winning (as are some of the ‘Fun’ teams). Our Belgium Pro team is made up of members and friends from all over Belgium. Everyone on the team puts his/her best foot forward. Even in the Fun games there is some serious play.

But Saturday evening we put the balls away, set out some mats on the gym floor (this is an indoor tournament) and we sing. And suddenly we are one. We sing in French, in German, in English, but we sing together to praise God and thank Him for His goodness. We may be from various different cities, different countries, different cultures, but we praise God together. We come before our King as one family. We join together in worshipping Him, because there is no other way to do it.

At the end of the singing, Luk Brazle reminded us that we not only have voices to praise our King, but bodies to worship Him as well. So we are encouraged, again, to be Christians, followers of the Way, who are playing soccer, not soccer players who are Christians. I love this emphasis and am so thankful that we have this kind of opportunity to show our young people (and plenty of not-so-young folks as well) how important and good it is to worship in all we do. It wasn't every nation and tongue yet, but it was a great taste!

Hope to have a link up soon to some of the pictures from this year, so check back soon. 

Football fun and fellowship

(photo by Kay Minne)

Last weekend a bunch of people got together to play some football (soccer for the Americans). Actually that’s not quite right – family from all over the Netherlands and Belgium got together to share some wonderful time of fellowship. Football happened to be the catalyst.

It is so important to know that we are family, to spend time getting in touch with one another again, to meet new members of our family. I am so thankful for activities like the Copa Benelux (organized by the guys over in Ghent) to do just that. The church in Belgium and the Netherlands strives to be a family, a close family. But that is because we have gotten to know one another, we pray for each other and we share our lives together.

So this last weekend we had fun, most of us. In Maastricht we definitely had fun – we took the “FUN” trophy home with us for the second time. But we also had some great conversations, talked about what was concerning us in our congregations, sang together to praise our Lord, and spent some time getting to know people we were acquainted with but didn’t yet know.

In Maastricht we understood very well that, trophy or not, we came home real winners.

By the way, my camera was lost at this tournament, but you can see some more pictures (from Luk Brazle and Kay Minne) by going here.

Keep the trash out

- thanks to Olga Zhigulina for the foto -

During our weekend of footbaal in Switzerland I was the goalie for "Holland Pro" (don't take the names too seriously). I didn't keep my goal completely clean. One or two got past me. But the only reason I was able to keep some out was because I wasn't alone. My teammates kept running back to defend, save, help.

It is so good to know in my life with Christ that I am not alone. My brothers and sisters are helping, running themselves ragged sometimes. And when they are standing in the goal, trying to keep the trash out, I am there for them as well. We are a team, a body. We dont work alone.

Champions of fun

Last Saturday was the inaugural "Copa BeNeLux" - a football (soccer) tournament for the churches in Belgium and the Netherlands. We got this idea from the Swiss churches last year. Thanks to Pieter Good, Luk Brazle and Dennis van Erp a local variant was organized. 

There were 10 teams from 6 different congregations and plenty of friends of members taking part. It was a great day! The teams were either "fun" or "pro" depending on how serious they wanted to be. In Maastricht we put together a fun team, decided which color to wear and headed out to just have some fun. 

It was great to see how our young people worked together. A lot was learned that day: keep going, even if you are afraid; perseverance will get you where you want to be; be fair and honest - it is the most fun. I was so proud of everyone!

And in the end, we were the "fun" champions!

(Thanks to Elisa van der Oest for the picture of team Maastricht ready to play)