Wild Wonderful Wednesday

Today is a 5th Wednesday so I want to take you on a different kind of trip. The Netherlands is a country where the bicycle is more than welcome. Bike paths are everywhere in the cities and kids ride bikes from very early ages - even goin on their own to school across town. 

Admittedly, where we live in Belgium is not as bike friendly, but it is better than many places in Belgium - maybe because so many Dutch people live here. And although there is plenty of infrastructure for the bike, I must admit that I do noot use it as often as I might. But on a Thursday, I like to take the bike to my colleague, Ruud’s, house for our Bible study together. 

Ruud lives in the village on the other side of our “town” which population 13,500. Our village has about 1700 people. Ruud’s village is bigger with 3200. From our village to Ruud I can bike along a whole section free of the major road running North/South. Right out my driveway I simply bike to the paved road running along the canal which runs behind our house. 

I pass by two locks along the canal, passing a building supplies company on the right and a cellulose factory across the canal on the left. The road on the canal ends as I approach the local paper making company, Sappi (a South African company) where I have to turn right and climb a hill to join the main road. Thankfully I have a pedal assisted bike. Otherwise I would be walking this part of the trip. 

Up on the road I am able to bike on good bike paths, crossing the Albert Canal (which leads to Antwerp) on a bridge with plenty of space for cars, bikes and pedestrians. From this point I have a nice ride up a slight incline until I can coast all the way from the plateau into Ruud’s village. The journey takes me about 20-30 minutes (depending on how tired I am or how sweaty I want to get). 

After the study (we are looking at the book of Acts with E who is considering what it means to be a Christian), I can bike home, climbing the long hill I previously came down with such ease. But last week I decided to get some things done in the “city” - in Maastricht. 

From Ruud’s house I can bike right across the border, which is not really even recognizable as a border. You cross a bridge (crossing the Albert Canal again - this time the section going South to Liege) and bike along a mountain on the right. This is what some might call a mountain. I am from Colorado. It is a hill. Still, they have a ski hill on it in the winter. There is also a golf course here. 

Biking further into the city I pay attention to the right-of way. I am on a bike path, but just like any other traffic participant, I have to follow the rules. At intersections there are clear signs for who has right-of-way. “Shark’s teeth” (a line of triangles with the points toward the rider) painted on the bike path show that I must yield. At other points along this route, the red brick color of the bike path continues without any signs and the cars have the shark’s teeth. 

After passing the hill and golf club I come to a stoplight. There is a light specifically for the bicycles as well as pedestrians and cars. At this intersection there is also a light for the bus. Moving on when I get my green light I next approach a very large roundabout or rotunda. I have to yield here and also pay attention to the many “brommers” or scooters taking the bike path with me. 

These days there are all sorts of vehicles on the road. Back along the canal we always have top be aware of cyclists who are training. You know, Tour de France types on very skinny wheels flying by. They often do not have bells - and when they do, they do not always use them. So you have to simply be aware and be ready to get out of the way. 

But there is now also every kind of electrified vehicle. “Speed pedelecs” are VERY fast electric bikes. They can easily pass you going more than 50kmh. Then there are “scootmobiles”, used usually by older people out for a jaunt in the open air. Most often four-wheeled, they also silently sneak up on you with their older driver enjoying the speed of the electrified motor vehicle. 

Besides all of these vehicles, you may also end up with a mother pushing her baby buggy, or simply some pedestrians not wanting to walk on the sidewalk. But it seems most people get along just fine and the traffic is much safer than I have ever experienced in the States. During this trip I easily made it to my destination in downtown Maastricht. 

I needed to stop at the store, so I quickly parked the bike at the bike rack, fixed the lock and putting the key in my pocket (and taking my battery with me) walked into the store. You ALWAYS want to lock your bike in the Netherlands. In Amsterdam, there is a sort of saying: Lost your bike? No worries, just take the next one. While not everyone does this (and locks have gotten better), it is always good to keep your bike locked, even If you are quickly running into the store. 

As I leave the store, I walk my bike among the many pedestrians, listening to the many languages of the tourist who have come to Maastricht on this sunny day. I next want to visit an acquaintance in a nearby nursing home and afterwards turn my bike homewards. 

The whole trip will only cost me 30-40 minutes. It would be about the same if I were to take the car, because of traffic. I have often passed a bike only to have them pass me by as I am stuck in the traffic jam. This time I am the one passing the waiting cars. I bike back along the Meuse, amazed at how low the water is these days. You could probably cross the river on foot. 

This route takes me between the river and the canal. I cross the border back into Belgium in Smeermaas (another village that makes up our “town” - there are 7 of them) and ride further along the river. This section is beautiful - riding behind our local castle, past the wild cows that live here to keep the shrubbery in check, past the nests of the blue herons in the tops of the trees along the river. 

I get back home and haven’t even broken a sweat. Then I climb off my bike and realize that I have been exerting myself. That slight breeze always helps. But now the heat hits. Time for a cool glass of water and a sit in the shade before going into the house (where it is a sweltering 90 F). But it has been a good day and I am glad that it is so easy to get around on a bicycle. 

To give an idea of what it is like along this ride, here are a few video’s which are already online. 

This video is a walking tour, but it shows you the area along our canal. In fact, from 00:37 - 1:17 you can see our lock and the church in our village (our house is just down the street fro this church building). 

In this video (TURN OFF THE SOUND to skip the rude music) shows you the border crossing in Smeermaas, what the bike paths look like and what traffic is like along the canal and in Maastricht. 

Talk about it

I am an email guy. I know, I know - it’s old school. And yet I am old enough that I can remember how amazing it was to be able to keep contact with folks back in the States simply by this method. Back in the 80’s I sent airmail letters to Shirley - thin pieces of paper filled with tiny writing (to get as much in as possible) folded and sent with the post. Now I could simply write something on the computer, dial in, and send it via email. 

But I realize that things have changed. Although young people do have email accounts (perhaps because they must), they do not use them often. And others are so inundated by work emails that they do not want to look at an email after a day or week of work. So I have learned to use Whatsapp and Telegram. 

I even send text messages (called “sms” in Belgium) to those I know will not see their email or app. Sometimes this is the quickest way to reach someone. But I must admit that my fat fingers and “intuitive” text often make a mess of things. Still, it works.

The most important thing is that we can communicate. I have been so encouraged by how the members in the congregation in Maastricht take this to heart. The sisters have a group app where they encourage one another and keep in contact. Various sisters make the effort to call those who cannot be on the app group. The young members tend to be on Instagram more often, so one of them asked about an Instagram account for the congregation. She has set it up and maintains it. 

Other members are not tech people. They prefer a good conversation, face to face. So they make time to visit others in the congregation. Our church is made up of members from Belgium and The Netherlands, spread over a fairly wide area. Spending time together takes and effort and that effort is made. 

Others do it even more old-school: letters and cards, real mail (even if it is snail mail). Cards for birthdays, times of encouragement, anniversaries. These are often very important, coming at moments when encouragement is truly needed. One sister makes sure that cards are ready and signed by all the members. 

This is all done in a group made up of at least four different languages and various age groups. It takes effort to keep in contact with one another. It is much easier to wait until someone contacts you. But here we are learning, and putting into practice, how good it is to reach out and touch those around you. We share with one another how good God is in our lives. We share the needs for prayer in difficult times. We say “thank you” because we are thankful and “I love you” because we do. 

To borrow and adapt a phrase from a shoe company: Just say it. Today. In any way you can.

Where oh where Wednesday - Francorchamps

This Sunday the roar of Formula 1 cars will pierce the air around where our Bible camp is located. Spa-Francorchamps, where the Belgian Grand Prix is held, is about 30 minutes away from camp in Solwaster. So this weekend the Dutch driver, Max Verstappen, as well as all the rest of the F1 coterie will be present to chase their cars around this winding track in the “mountains” of Belgium. 

The first time went down to camp, back in the 80’s when I was first in the country as a trainee, one could actually drive on a part of the race track. I can even remember driving the track myself shortly after we first arrived as a couple in 1991. But it wasn’t long after that the track was closed to public driving and a route was made going around the track. 

Back at our camp we not only hear the roar of the F1 race in August, but at other times we can watch all sorts of oldtimers race right along the road which passes our camp. There is an oldtimers race every year passing through the small village of Solwaster. Any other time, we simply hear the roar of motorcycles who like to hit the hill near our camp. Or we hear the tractor of the local dairy farm pulling the feed wagon up to the lowing cows in the fields. Any other time, we simply enjoy the peace of the countryside.

Whatsit Wednesday - Door handles

“As dumb as a doorknob.” I’ve heard that one before. But are doorknobs really that dumb? And what is a doorknob? I had always heard of door handles, but a doorknob? I remember the movie “Bedknobs and broomsticks” but that was a bed knob - a knob on a bed. And door handles can certainly be different from country to country. 

When I was young and living in the US, we had doorknobs that had a little button in the center. If you went to the bathroom (the place where you could use the toilet and also take a bath), you could push the button and shut the door. This would lock the door so that no one would walk in on you. When you were ready to leave, you simply turned the handle and the door unlocked, popping the button out from its locked position. 

This type of doorknob was especially useful if you had little kids. The other type had a small turnable button that did the same thing. Problem was often that a small child could get the door locked, but could not get it unlocked, leaving him or her crying for help to anyone within earshot. 

This system was not only meant for bathroom doors. The front doo of our house worked the same way, although there was also a deadbolt on it to make sure that all was locked up safely. Still, you could have the door unlocked during the day, which meant that we could enter from outside simply by turning the handle and pushing the door open. 

Perhaps that sounds strange to you. “Turning the handle”? Here in Belgium and The Netherlands the doorknob on the outside of the house door is just that - a knob. There is often nothing to turn. (That is a picture of our front door) On the inside of the door is a handle. This can be turned to open the door. It can also be locked with the deadbolt that accompanies it. But the door is not open from the outside. Anyone wanting to enter must have a key or ring the bell to get in. Unless of course you are in The Netherlands where the letter box is also in the door. Parents wanting their kids to be able to get in would hang a string attached to the latch out the mailbox. The kids could pull the string, pulling the latch and opening the door.

Often this knob is not even on the side of the door, where an American might expect a handle to be. It could simply be a great big knob in the middle of a great big door. When you leave your house you simply pull on the knob, closing the door behind you. Your house is closed (though not completely locked). 

Handles, knobs, locks - things can be different in different places. The same has been true in all of the places God has brought us. Some cultures are easier to talk to about religious topics. In some places you can mention Jesus without anyone looking at you strangely. In other places, you might have to approach such a conversation differently. In all cases, God is the one who opens the doors if we are willing to follow Him and try - whether it is a knob or handle. 

Ukrainians update, God’s family

We have been blessed in Maastricht with various opportunities to get to know, help and be blessed by our brothers and sisters from Ukraine. Let me give you a quick update on what things look like for us. 

In Maastricht

Back in 2020 we welcomed Alexander Zotov to our congregation. He is a widower and preacher from the church in Kiev, now married to a widow in Belgium. He hand his son, Andrey moved to Belgium before the war broke out in full in Ukraine. At the beginning of the conflict, Andrey’s fiancee, Adriana, also moved to Belgium. She lives with our colleagues Ruud and Karla. 

These three Christians are a blessing to us in Maastricht. Most recently Andrey's cousin, Vlad, has joined us and lives with Andrey. They both bike to services on Sunday (and anywhere else they need to be). This is a good 40 minute bike ride. 

Andrey and Adriana also have family that moved to Eindhoven connected with the church there. We have been able to get together in the past year with those refugee brothers and sisters when we go to a devo/bbq night there or the monthly singing that we hold with the church in Eindhoven. Several of the young people also went to our Bible camp in the past weeks. 

Alexander has continued his work with the word by preaching and teaching in Maastricht. It is nice to have his knowledge, wisdom and desire to serve in the congregation. He has also helped us as we try to help others in Ukraine. He has contacts with those on the ground in Ukraine and we are able to help immediately and directly. So far the congregation in Maastricht has helped out with a brother who helps people who have problems with addiction and are even more affected by the things happening in the country. 

Elsewhere in The Netherlands

Back in the Spring the Dutch-speaking churches held their annual Spring get-together. This year we used the opportunity to look at how to deal with difficult times. Alexander was one of the speakers there, together with Oleksander, who is staying in the building in The Hague with his family. The day was encouraging and challenging as we worked through translating and dealing with various cultures and the challenging topic as well. 

Oleksander (whose nickname is Sasha - as are most Alexanders) is a youth minister from the church in Ukraine. He and his family left to be able to care for their daughter who has specific needs. Thankfully, they are able to stay in the building in The Hague. Unfortunately, this building has long needed some upgrades. But that has also been helped, most recently. 

The congregation in Muscatine, Iowa, held a special contribution jin order to help with the situation in Ukraine. They asked us how best to use these funds and we knew that they could well be used for the situation in The Hague. A new shower and washing area has been created in the building. 

Oleksander and his family are already reaching out in the community where they live. The past week and this week they organized a sort of vacation camp for Ukrainians in The Hague. About 150 people registered for these dates. Pray for how God will use these contacts and how He is using the members in The Hague mightily. Here is an article in Dutch (google translate it) that talks about Oleksdander. 

Camp

As mentioned, various young people form Ukraine attended camp. We at first had envisioned being able to host families at our Bible camp facilities. But the way that Belgium set up their refugee system made this nigh to impossible. Instead, we have been able to have any Ukrainian families send their kids or come themselves to the Bible camp week. 

There were several young people at our Youth Camp (15 years and older) as well as 4 young people at our Benjamin Camp (8-11 years) and 3 at our Teen camp (12-14 years). Add to this how God has used Russian brethren in the country to help out with translation and contact and I am thrilled at how God can make things beautiful from all situations. 

Thank you!

Thank you, Muscatine for your help with financing. Another part of your gift also went to helping a congregation in Ukraine which is welcoming refugees to their area. Thank you all for your prayers for refugees and church alike as we strive to show God’s grace and might in everyday situations. Praise the Lord for His might in making all things work according to His plan. 

Whensday - National Days

In the United States the whole country is celebrated on July 4th. This is Independence Day - they day that we celebrate our independence from the British, the beginning of our being a country. There are fireworks, family get-togethers, picnics and more. 

We remember sharing a few of these on several of our Home Assignments: outside of Minnepolis or Hudson with various members in different years from the Woodbury family (or what would become the Woodbury family), in Indianapolis with the family of our daughter-in-love, in California with the Jablonski’s. 

Other countries have their own national days and traditions. Belgium, being a very interesting set-up, has three different special days. The Flemish-speaking area celebrates their day on July 11. The French-speakers celebrate on September 27 and the National Day is held on July 21. This last is the only one where everyone has a free day. And of course we can’t forget the German-speaking day on November 15. 

Typically there are no fireworks or such, but families in the various communities do get together, since it is a holiday in that community. The National Day is a holiday for everyone - not just the specific language community. On that day, stores, banks and such are all closed. 

Kamp around the klok

July and August are the months for our summer Bible camp weeks. As mentioned in previous months, Shirley and Scott help out with many of the camp weeks. This year Shirley cooked at the Benjamin week (8-11 year-olds) while Scott was camp leader at the same week as well as camp leader and teacher at the Teen week. (12-14 year-olds). This current week, they are both commuting back and forth to camp (we only live about 50 minutes away) for Family Camp week where Scott is also helping with some of the teen lessons. 

The Benjamin camp week this year was extremely full for our standards, which is great! We had 28 campers, including 4 Ukrainian kids and a Ukrainian/Belgian camper. Most of the campers in this week were girls, but the guys certainly made their presence known. Our colleague, Karla Verheijen, and Lucinda Vrieze from Eindhoven did a wonderful job with the lessons, splitting the group up into younger and older campers. 

If you had a kid at camp, ask them the question that was asked in the week: Who is God? Ask about the cake, about the days of the creation, about how special God considers each one of us. If you would like to see pictures from the week, just click here. 

The Teen week “only” had 22 campers, but was equally divided between girls and boys. We once again had 3 Ukrainians and a young Russian-speaking teen who helped some with the translating. Lessona and communication was a challenge at the beginning of the week, but by the end, the kids had figured out how to make things clear. Games and food always help things along. During this week we looked at the law of Moses and asked the question: “What does God actually want?” 

If you had a camper at this week, test them to see which of the ten commandments they know. Ask them as well about what God really wants. You can find pictures of the week here. 

Scott needed a break and some good sleep, so he and Shirley are sleeping at home each evening after a day of Family camp. But it is so good to see some new faces at camp as well as some well-known faces and kids growing up. How wonderful it is to see how God can use these weeks to touch hearts and minds and to bring people to a full walk in His light. 

Whatsit Wednesday - “puntzak frieten”

I remember years ago people in the US were refusing to eat French fries because of a decision that France had made towards the US. “Freedom fries” was all that anyone would eat. But the French fry has never been French. 

Potatoes are a staple of many a diet, also in Europe. The Irish struggled through a potato famine. The Dutch and Germans have mashed potatoes as a main part of a meal. But it was the Belgians who developed the French fry. It was a French-speaking Belgian, but it was a Belgian. 

In our area we call them “frieten” (free-tn). And although we definitely consider the Belgian “friet” to be superior to any other, we have to admit that the Dutch way of presenting them is amazing. 

At the many small little wagons that sell snacks, or the snackbars in city and town, one can get frieten in a “puntzak” - a pointed sack. It isn’t actually a sack. It is a bit of heavy paper rolled up. A small child might do the same to make a trumpet or a hat. But turn it upside down and it is perfect for holding frieten!

A puntzak full of warm frieten topped with salt and perhaps your favorite sauce - which here would be mayonnaise - and eaten with a tiny plastic fork is the perfect little meal. If you want a full meal, you get a square paper basket of frieten topped with chopped meat and onions. But you have to sit down to eat that. The puntzak is mobile. 

Whensday - Beginning of the Euro

We live on the border of two countries: Belgium and The Netherlands. We live in Belgium and the church meets in Maastricht, in the Netherlands. A river (which is 500 meters from our backyard) is the border. This means that we can shop in both countries with ease. The two countries sell different things and often have differing prices for the same things. Peanut butter is cheaper in The Netherlands than in Belgium, for example. 

When we first came to The Netherlands and Belgium in 1991 we had to make sure we had the right currency. I had to have a wallet with at least two section for the various bills from the two countries. I carried the coins from one country in the right pocket and those from the other country in the left. 

In 2000 that all changed when the Euro was finally implemented. A year before that our banks had been doing things in Euro as a sort of test. But the background and preparation for this change had been coming for a long time. The basis for the Euro was agreed on in the Maastricht Treaty on February 7,1992. At that time the 12 EU countries agreed on a common currency. We started meeting as a congregation in Maastricht this same month (which had nothing to do with this treaty, of course).

It took several years after the change in 2000 for us to get used to thinking in euro’s. The Belgian franc translated into 40 francs to 1 euro. The Dutch guilder was 2 guilders to 1 euro. We were constantly translating in our heads. But it was still quite clear that suddenly everything became quite a bit more expensive. A coffee that used to cost 2 guilders now cost 2 euro! 

But it has made things easier for travel. No longer do I need to carry around two different sets of coins or pay attention to which currency notes I am using. I can pay in any European country with the same currency and can easily transfer funds from one country to the next. The new century brought this new - what was it: ease or trouble? 

(Check out these Dutch coins. Yes, that is a 2 1/2 Guilder coin)

The body of Christ

When we first came to work in Maastricht we were so thankful for the people that God put in our lives, for how He was able to use normal couples to do mighty things in His power. Through the years many of those couples left. One sister passed away from cancer and her husband married another wonderful sister. They became an amazing couple in another city. Some couples became families and moved to other cities to be used by God there as they grew their families. It always felt a bit double - we were so sad to lose them to another place, but we were so thankful that God was using them in this other place. 

In the past year or so we have become the recipients. We welcomed a family back to the family here in Maastricht who had been here four years ago. We welcomed another family from one of the congregations in the North. Some sisters from other congregations moved to our area and have strengthened the congregation here. New people, coming from congregations elsewhere in the world, are now part of the family here. 

Each time we know that God is blessing us - either by moving a couple/family to another place away from us, but in His hands, or moving them to Maastricht and still in His hands. We know that if we are willing to listen to God and follow His lead, He will be able to use us mightily wherever we are. 

This past Sunday we welcomed Mark and Oneta Tornij back in Maastricht for a day. Oneta is the middle daughter of our sister Geesie. Mark and Oneta married here in Maastricht before moving first to Amsterdam and Haarlem, then to Germany, the Czech Republic and now Connecticut (Mark works in NYC). 

God is not in one country, He is everywhere. God is not restricted to using you and blessing you in one place. As a child of God, you can be useful wherever you are. The important thing is trusting in Him for your daily walk, wherever you are in this world. 

How has God used you in the places you have been? How is He using you now? 

O LORD, You have searched me and known me.You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.You search out my path and my lying down; You are aware of all my ways.  Psalm 139:1-3

Whodunit Wednesday - Race Car drivers

A need for speed - that’s what race car drivers have. I remember growing up hearing the names of Indy-car racers, hearing the title of a movie about the 24 hours of Le Mans and playing a simple game on a sheet of paper with pencils where we virtually raced “cars around the track we made. Racing was exciting. 

I remember names like Mario Andretti, Richard Petty, Niki Lauda, Emerson Fitipaldi, A.J. Foyt and the Unser brothers. 

Arie Luyendyk came along in the 90’s as a well-known Indy 500 racer. He was known as “the Flying Dutchman”. These days the names have all changed. In Formula 1, one of the names on everyone’s lips is “Max”. Max Verstappen is the son of former Formula 1 racer, Jos Verstappen. His father was known, but never did as well as Max. 

Since Max Verstappen is Dutch, much of the country has become followers of the sport. Groups of orange-clad fans show up at every race. And Max has done well. His racing style is explosive, challenging, aggressive. At the end of August he will be racing - along with all the others - at the Belgian Grand Prix which is held at Francorchamps, just miles away from where we hold our summer Bible camp weeks. 

Wild Wonderful Wednesday

Today is a 5th Wednesday, so it is something completely different. In March we went on a walk along our canal to one of the local castles. Today we will take a walk to the other castle mentioned in March - Pietersheim. 

The actual castle ruins from the 12th century are mostly just walls and a gate tower. A section of the wall has been restored and a hall has been built with local stone to match the original stone. Local events are held here and wedding parties like to come here for pictures. 

More interesting to us are the grounds. Pietersheim is a full park with paths running through the woods bringing the walkers along a gnome route. Gnomes - like the ones you can put in your front yard - are called “kabouters” here (ka-BOW-terz). Walking through these woods is always fun with the kids. They run ahead looking for the houses in the trees, knocking on the doors to see if any gnome will answer the door. 

Further in the park we come to a children’s petting farm with horses, goats, chickens, rabbits and deer. This is all situated in a green area next to a playground for kids of all ages and of course a cafe for the parents waiting on and watching their kids. Ice cream, cold drinks and good coffee are to be had by all. We brought our young people here this past weekend for part of our Youth Day. 

This is also the beginning of a long nature walk into the nearby woods and fields. Nearby is a tower to climb which looks out over the whole area. There is also a “bare foot walk” where you can experience all sorts of things walking along the path in bare feet. 

But we are going to walk home leaving through the other side of the park than where we entered. This road is flanked by tall trees and seems quite pleasant. On the one side is what the locals call the “Gold Coast” - very rich houses at the edge of the woods. On the other side is a large farm where jumping horses are bred and trained. These horses have won medals in the olympics and are know all over the world. If you see a horse with a “-Z” at the end of the name - it came from here. 

This road bends to the right and comes out of the woods to head straight for the street light at our busy street. This street was originally the Roman road. Now it is simply a busy street running north-south. We cross at the light and enter our village again, walking past the specialist butcher on the left. This is the only shop in our village besides the apothecary out on the Main Street. There are several restaurants, but no shops. 

The street comes to a t-intersection at a statue of a lion. This is a war monument, remembering the 2 soldiers from the village who died in “the Great War” (WW1). I wonder how wars will be remembered in the near future. Thankfully, we live in what is now a peaceful little village. We walk past the local Catholic Church building and return home to grab a drink of water and a rest after a long walk. 

Building a temple

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  

1 Peter 2:4-5

Everything that God builds is amazing. Every time I walk out into the yard and see the cherries growing omg the tree, when I think of holding my sons’ hands in mine when they were small, when I see how he brings real love into a relationship and builds a marriage… God builds beautifully and what He builds is beautiful. And God is building a temple, using His children. 

It is exciting to be part of this building. He is using us to spread His grace and love wherever we are. We are to declare His praises in all we do. So when we get together or when we encourage one another in activities, we are truly making a joyful noise in this world of darkness. 

We have had some wonderful times these past weeks. Last weekend we had a singing day in Antwerp. It was so good to be together and to share the joy of God’s blessings in song. This past weekend the members in Maastricht organized a youth day for the youth connected with the congregation. We learned about the armor of God, letting the kids know and see that “God wants us to do good, but doing good is hard. That’s why we need the full armor of God.” You can find some pictures here. 

This is the first youth day in Maastricht for quite some time. Our youth had grown up and the new youth was still quite young. Now we have a group between 5-12 years old and it is fun to see them together. God has made us all and He has made us all different. But He has also made it possible (not always easy) to work together and form a body, a family, a temple. 

In the coming months we look forward to our Bible Camp weeks and then on to September when we can look at more opportunities to share God’s grace in many different ways. How has God been using you these last weeks? What is He building in your area? 

Where oh where Wednesday - Aachen

Just down the road and across the border is Germany. That is what we have always loved about where we live and work - we are right where three different countries and languages converge. From the beginning of our time here we have also had good connections and communion with the church in these countries, areas and languages. 

If you ask today where the Euro currency started most will know that it was in Maastricht. That is where the treaty was signed. But hundreds of years before the European Union was begun, a sort of European Union was already taking shape not far from Maastricht. Aachen was the seat of Charlemagne. You may know it as Aix-la-Chapelle. In Dutch we know Charlemagne as “Charles the Great”. 

Charlemagne, Emperor of the Frankish Empire and the first Holy Roman Emperor wanted to make sure that his entire empire and the areas around it could work well together. The Holy Roman Empire crowned their kings in Aix-la-Chapelle (or Aachen). But it is originally a Roman settlement, just like Maastricht. It is a spa town, with a bath complex just like the town of Spa not far away in the Belgian Ardennes. 

When Charlemagne reigned (between 768-814) he made Aachen the political center of his empire. He succeeded in uniting Western and Central Europe. His was called the Carolingian Empire (after his name - Charles, or Karl). He changed the currency, making it standardized throughout the empire. 

He also had a great admiration for learning and education. He loved books and became a protector and patron of the making of manuscripts. He created a royal library and encouraged the teaching and translating of Christian texts into local languages. Because of his focus on books, learning and manuscripts, private libraries flourished at this time. 

Today we can travel to Aachen in 30 minutes and enjoy the special cookies there or asparagus while walking the medieval town, shopping the modern streets or taking in the royal bones of Charlemagne himself in the cathedral. 

When we first arrived to work in Maastricht, the church was meeting in Aachen. Until 2019 the congregation in Maastricht, the congregation in Cologne and members of the church in Aachen had gathered for a singing day in September. We may be able to finally get together again this year - either in Maastricht, Cologne, Aachen or Eindhoven. 

We will miss seeing you

Back in March we mentioned that we were examining our possibilities for travel - moving any possible dates to the Fall of this year. We usually make it back to the US every three years to visit family and church family, reporting on our lives and work here and catching up on the lives of everyone in the US that we see. 

Usually this would have been in the Spring of 2022 since we were last in the US in 2019. But travel restrictions and uncertainties made it nigh to impossible to plan a trip as we usually take it for the Spring. So we looked at some other options and considered the Fall. Now it has become clear that the Fall is not really an option either. 

As most have already experienced, costs of all sorts have risen in the past months. This especially includes gas prices. As most of our trip would mean driving around the US, this would increase our costs prohibitively. Rental car prices have also risen quite a bit, from what we can see. So our costs would increase past what we felt was prudent. 

In addition to these concerns, we have to think about what a trip does to our health. Shirley has been experiencing hip pain for quite some time. It may be that she needs a new hip. Traveling for hours on end in a car would not be conducive to good hip health. And trying to get things settled before we would need to leave would also not be possible. 

So after thinking, [raying and taking advice, we have decided to move our next Home Assignment (the time we travel in the US) to Spring 2023. We pray that some costs will be lower and that health concerns will be cleared up. We would love your prayers for this thoughts as well. 

In the meantime, this means that we will go ahead with plans for outreach and activities there in the Fall that we planned on delaying for our trip. This past week we enjoyed a Singing Day in Antwerp where Luk Brazle and Scott taught the songs they had put together as video’s during the corona years. These songs were used by plenty of congregations to make singing possible, even online. Scott is looking at organizing another Song Workshop in the Fall now, and we look forward to some potential new songs for the church.  

We will miss seeing so many of you. We will miss seeing our family. But we look forward to seeing you in 2023. And we look forward to how God will use us in the coming months. 

Whensday - Holidays

Just in case you haven't noticed, I have changed the name of this day from "Once Upon a Time Wednesday" to a simple "Whensday". It is not a misspelling. It is just me trying to be cute. 

As mentioned before, Belgium has lots of holidays. A holiday technically is a holy day (you can see it in the word). Of course in Dutch it is something different. The word in Dutch means a feast day. Since Belgium is basically a Catholic country, it has all of the Catholic official holidays. This means double days of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. 

In May I talked about this because the 2nd day of Pentecost was coming up. Looking back on the day, I am thrilled with how God has created family and brings us together. The group that met at the building in The Hague, Netherlands, was a mix of all different nationalities and languages. We thought as organizer that we were ready for all the permutations of translating, but we ended up doing things in English since  the Dutch speakers could understand that well. This meant only translating to Russian/Ukrainian from English. 

We took the day to discuss together how to find peace in troubled times. The small groups had some good conversations about what this meant to them personally and practically. In the afternoon we had a sort of interview and Q&A session where we were able to apply what we were hearing from the Word. 

In between this all we took time to sing together and the kids had some classes together as well. At lunch there was a good time of fellowship for all. Everyone had brought their own lunch and enough for others should that be needed. This was indeed a feast day, a holy day. We were thankful to be able to share the time with one another and to learn from one another. God is great. Our life in Jesus Christ is full of blessings, every day. 

Here are some more pictures of the day.

Whatsit Wednesday - Tulips from Amsterdam

The song talks about tulips from Amsterdam, probably because when people think of tulips, they think of the Netherlands. And when people think of Holland (The Netherlands), they think of Amsterdam if they think of any city. And you can certainly buy tulips in Amsterdam. 

I remember how, after returning from my two years in The Netherlands and wanting to buy flowers for my future bride I was shocked at how expensive flowers can be in the US. Even now with inflation I can still get roses or tulips or carnations or almost any other flower for about 3 euro for 10 flowers. 

Tulips, however, are typical for Holland. But, as many of you may know, they didn’t originate in Holland. Cultivation of the tulip began in Persia in the 10th century. The name “tulip” may come from either the word for ‘turk” or “turban” which was worn in the 16th century. Near the end of the century the tulips had created a mania among the Dutch and a new industry was born. 

If you visit The Netherlands, you do not want to miss visiting Keukenhof, near Leiden. In the Spring when the flowers are blooming in the fields, it looks like an artist has spread unbelievable colors across the fields. Some are so vibrant one wonders truly if it is not painted. The beauty of God is more amazing than anything we can even imagine!

Growing together

Today, Monday June 6, is what we in The Netherlands and Belgium call the 2nd day of Pentecost. All of the Christian holidays have two days: Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. For years this day (or the 2nd day of Easter) has been the day to gather the churches together for a time of spiritual encouragement. We share lessons from the Word, sing songs and conversation together in The Hague, Netherlands. 

Pentecost was of course the beginning of the wonderful harvest that God was giving the world. It was during this Jewish feast that God decided to come with power to begin new life for the whole world. And it was on this day that we read about in Acts 2 that people from many different countries gathered and heard the message of truly good news. 

Of course at that time, all of those people were Jews. They came from all around the known world, but they were Jewish. Still, God showed that He was meant to be shared with everyone. That morning the apostles were speaking of the mighty works of God in various languages. 

Today we will gather to share time with one another. We will talk about finding peace in troubled times. And as we were planning on Saturday, we struggled the most with translation. We will have Dutch speakers, English speakers and Ukrainian speakers. The Ukrainians have to translate from English, since they don’t understand Dutch. But the lessons are in Dutch. 

There will be a time of questions. These might come in Ukrainian and will need to be translated to English and then to Dutch. The singing will be in Dutch and English, but many of the songs will be ones the Ukrainians know and which they can find on their phones to sing along. 

It doesn’t matter. Today we will be together. Today we will glorify God together and share the truly good news with one another and all present - even some online. The fields are still ripe unto harvest, even in difficult times. We are thankful to be able to struggle in this wonderful way together. 

Whodunit Wednesday - Comic books

When we think of literature, most people do not think of comic books. And yet, even when I was an English teacher, I could see the great benefit of this type of literature. I was an avid reader as a young man, but I also loved comic books. Later, it was comic books that helped me learn German and Dutch. I still would pick up a Donald Duck as first reading material in any language I would want to learn. 

Many kids and adults have enjoyed the stories around the Smurfs and Tintin. These are Belgian creations, along with Suske en Wiske and Lucky Luke. These comics covered all sorts of stories and got many a young boy and girl reading. It was not as the Dutch minister of Education said in 1948 that they should be banned, having no real value. 

If you visit Belgium, take the time to walk through Brussels and discover the comic book characters around various corners, painted bigger than life on the walls. We would love to join you. Can’t make it this far? Enjoy a story of Tintin or the Smurfs. You might even read one in Dutch and see how much you can learn. 

Where oh where Wednesday - The Meuse and the canals

Much of The Netherlands is below sea level. Where we live in the valley of the Meuse on the Belgian side. Maastricht, where the church meets, is on the Dutch side. To be more clear, the Meuse runs right through the middle of Maastricht. In fact, the name of the city comes from the latin meaning where you can cross the Meuse (mosa trajectum).

But the Meuse is not the only water in our neighborhood. As I have mentioned on a previous Wednesday, a canal runs right behind where we live. Actually it is two canals. Our little canal and lock is a connecting canal. It connects the Albert Canal and the Zuid Willemsvaart (South William Canal). 

The Albert Canal runs to the Antwerp harbor past a while slew of industry in Belgium.  There used to be a Ford factory in Genk, not far from where we live. Nearer to Antwerp is a major factory for Nike, for Roland musical instrument and for Estee Lauder cosmetics. Toward the south, the Albert Canal takes goods to and from Liege in the French-speaking part of Belgium. Originally that was steel and munitions. The canal finally joins the Meuse (or begins at the Meuse) under this city. 

The Zuid Willemsvaart travels from our canal to the north through Belgium until it takes a jig to the East and enters the Netherlands. In the end this canal enters the Meuse above Den Bosch before the river ends at Rotterdam in the North Sea. 

The Meuse itself rises in France and travels north through Verdun and Sedan. It used to be the western border of the Holy Roman Empire. In the north it joined the Rhine until the Delta Works in The Netherlands separated the two rivers and made sure that the land behind the rivers could not be flooded again as had happened in the 1950’s. 

So, although we live in a quiet little village, the world passes by, moving together with the waters of history, industry and time.