Summer days

I look forward to any day when the sun is shining. The grass grows very quickly in the back yard and needs to be taken care of, but one cannot mow the lawn on a wet day. Pulling the weeds on the driveway, on the other hand, is easily done in the rain, although it is not very pleasant. Keeping up on these kinds of activities are normal things for the summer. 

Summer in Belgium can have some very warm days. And since we are not that used to warm, a “warm” day can be anything from about 80 degrees Fahrenheit on. We may even get several days in a row of these sort of temperatures and then the weather men and women will speak of a heat wave. But most of the time it is going to be comfortably warm and we will try to keep up on house maintenance. 

Summer is also time for our Bible camps. We have always been involved with the camp weeks. Since returning last week from our quick visit to the US to meet our granddaughter, Scott has also been down to camp to mow the grass there. That is a bit more of a task than our backyard, but just as necessary. The camp weeks will begin next week and the camp terrain needs to be ready. Since we are within a 50 minute ride to camp, we are glad to be able to help with many things down at camp. We also drop down to take care that the trash is put out on the days to be picked up. In this way camp is ready for all of the activity coming up. 

Our other activities usually hit a bit of a hiatus for a few months. Our weekly Bible studies go on hold as most people head off for vacation or are busy with camp weeks, as are we. Other tasks, like caring for people and bringing them to hospital, do of course continue. This doesn't mean that we drop all contact. We continue to write, call, email and communicate with all of the people with whom we have been studying and talking. 

This is also a time for planning and preparing for the time after the summer. We have a youth day, a family day, a day for singing and a day for the church together all set on the calendar for after the camp weeks. Some of these are activities for the churches to encourage fellowship and growth in faith. Others are times that we can reach out to the people around us with the good news we have found in Jesus. 

In the congregation we are working on dealing with some changes in the make-up of the congregation. One of our families has moved away while we have had new people move to the city. Since Maastricht is a university city, we often get people who are here for a short time while they are studying. There is also a military base close by, so we may also get military members for a time. We are always thrilled with how God blesses us with these shorter visits and look forward to how we, too, can bless these people while they are here. 

What do your summers look like? How does God use you in these warmer months? 

The Tale of the Long Beach

Where would you like to escape to on vacation? Many people think of sitting in the sun on a snady beach, enjoying the sun and sea, listening to gulls and the crashing of the waves. Others imagine climbing a mountain and tasting from crystal clear mountain streams while calling out echoes from the mountaintop or hearing the eagle cry in the distance. We have been blessed by how God has supported us in our efforts to serve Him through the years in that we get to travel all over the US, visiting our church homes who for so long have supported us and love not only us but those we work with as well. 

This means that we also have a home in Long Beach, California. The last time we were here in 2016 was the last time that Sean would travel with us, so we made a road trip (as we had done with Stephan’s last trip with us in 2010). In the begin years, our visits here (Long Beach has supported us from the beginning in 1990) included visits to Disneyland and all sorts of fun places for the boys (provided lovingly by members). But this year we were traveling from an empty nest to the city on the beach. 

Now we had time to spend with so many who have been family and have become the deepest of friends. And we also were blessed to make new friends, as often happens on our trips, since we are visiting a congregation that we have not seen for three years. New people arrive whom we have never met. In this case that included the new preacher and his wife and the other missionary family supported by the congregation. 

We knew the Brittons, who have worked in Uganda for 13 years; we simply had never met them. For years we and they would be back on furlough, visiting in Long Beach, but always at different times, often missing each other by a matter of a week or two. This was the first time we finally got to sit down together and share stories and get to know one another. Most of this was done around good potluck-style meals, of course. We even shared good fun at a church party around the 4th of July. 

Our home time here for the past 12 years has been the beuatiful home of Kerry and Marisol Jablonski. From their home just around the corner from the church building (by California standards) with swimming pool, putting course, precious cats and more, we have always been welcomed as family from the first moment. Stephan and Sean have helped prepare for and serve at a family wedding, and we have all been welcomed by all the members of the family. 

This year was no different. After spending an evening together watching the sun set behind the Queen Mary or visiting with other church family, we would come back to the house on the golf course, be welcomed by the cat and our family who has adopted us with whom we could sit comfortably on the couch and discuss the day or any other topic. Ice cream or some other snack in hand, feet tucked comfortably under our legs, we would share the day and plan the next. 

We shared our frustrations with red tape (another tale coming up), our joy in visiting our sister-in-love and nephew in San Diego, tears or worries about family concerns on both sides, and laughter at how we are getting old. Our time in California came to a close after a wonderful evening at a 4th of July party and fireworks, almost as if it were sending us off well on our way to our next stop – the Big Apple. From coast to coast, we are thankful for God’s good care through His wonderful family in so many places. 

Enjoy the pictures of some of the people in our lives in California. And enjoy the people God has brought into your life today, remembering that He has also brought YOU into other people’s lives to touch them with His love as well. 

Home away from home

About 30 years ago we were considering how we could best serve the Lord, wherever He would take us. We travelled to Belgium and the Netherlands – having had experience there – and made plans for a team to go to Belgium. This didn’t materialize, but we then had a request from two Dutch couples to join them in establishing the church in Maastricht, the Netherlands, just over the border with Belgium.

In 1991 we moved to Belgium to join our colleagues, Ruud and Karla Verheijen, and begin working with the church. From the beginning the church in Long Beach, California, has been our supporting church and family. Since 1995 we have returned on Home Assignment every three years to report to our congregations, visit family, and recharge our batteries. And every time we have found a refreshing welcome and welcoming family with the church in Long Beach.

We have always been amazed at the open-heartedness of God’s family in so many places. In California we have always stayed with brothers and sisters who say – and mean, “Make yourself at home. Our home is your home.” Because this is California, these have been homes with swimming pools, parks in the area, and plenty of sun. But they have also been homes with kids for our boys to make friends with, couples who encourage us, and a great atmosphere of rest and peace.

California is the land of the automobile, and yet people are willing to lend us their cars for our time here. We are showered with opportunities to have fun (Disneyland in the past, beaches or shopping these days) interspersed with times of spiritual refreshment with brothers and sisters. Not to mention that we get to see and feel the sun (or did I mention that already?).

It is the people, our family of Christ here, that makes this place our home away from home. People who continue to welcome us in, to ask about how God has been working in our lives and to share how God is challenging them as well. They are also trying to see how God can use them to spread good news in their neighborhoods, no matter where they are.

This stay, we also got to introduce Marc and Wouter to our family and home in California. It has been wonderful to share the loving hearts that have so long blessed us. One of the things we continue to hear is that the people they (Marc and Wouter) meet are so welcoming and hospitable. And this is so true – not only in California, but everywhere we have been.

Our last week on this two month journey of visits was a roadtrip with Sean and his friends – a quick 5 day jaunt up the coast to San Francisco and back down along Yosemite and Sequoia parks. But more on that next time. For now, in the last two days we are here, we will enjoy time with our brothers and sisters in our home away from home.

Check out some of our pictures of the California leg of our trip here. I will be updating this set and adding a set from the roadtrip soon.

I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. Philemon 4-7