Sunday and Goodbyes

Sunday was our second church service with Diepenbeek, and our last day to be with the people of the Diepenbeek church. Pastor Milt taught, worship together got a little boisterous, ah... it was nice.

Chris and Gaby with the nursery kids. They do have the quilt sent from out church on the floor in the baby area for the little one to crawl and lay on instead of the cold linoleum floor. I have a pic of it that I can't find at the moment, if I find it I will post it!

The older kids Sunday school room. I couldn't get the young man on the right to look at the camera! We did present the kids of the church with a DVD/CD player with funds raised by Mrs. Zellner's 1st & 2nd grade class back in Chantilly. Another Diepenbeek church family donated an extra TV they have, so the kids will have that for their class! I also framed the picture of Mrs. Zellner's class for them to hang in their room.


Pastor Milt preaching with Valare translating.



The congregation seen from the worship team.

Sunday afternoon Milt, Val, Hugh, Scott and I had a very special treat. Eddy had been threatening for years to make Rabbit stew for Milt. I think Milt was a little nervous about pushing to try it, and Eddy was a little nervous Milt would really hate it... but Scott and I jumped on that and all week called Eddy's bluff and asked when we were going to have our rabbit stew?? So, on Sunday, Eddy made it for us. He also made another stew - pork I think - in case we hated the rabbit. But I have to say, Yummy! I didn't have Option B.

It was a beautiful afternoon and we sat at an outside dining table with Milt, Val, Hugh, Eddy, Gaby, Nele, Chananja, Albert, Scott & I, talking and eating. It was a good time that will stay with me as a great memory for a long time.

Rabbit Stew! Bottom of the plate is rhubarb fresh from the garden we could see from the table, and soo sweet. Top of the plate are two kinds of potatoes with creamy mushroom sauce.

Many of us had teased Milt about how discussions of Belgium often turned to food. "What? Is it all about the food??" we'd kid. Well, I have to tell you... it's not all about the food. The people are people just like us -and they are wonderful. The church is encouraging and sweet. And, well, the food is sooooooo goood, there's sooo much of it, and they always want you to eat more.

Val, Nele, Chananja & Hugh at our outdoor Sunday lunch.



Eddy, our chef for the afternoon, and Gaby.

Sunday evening was the much-anticipated Mexican Train dominoes! So many from the church turned out, we were organized into groups where we played a few rounds, then swapped seats and played a few more. It got loud and funny quite quickly. I don't even remember who won the night... I do remember that twice, Milt was eager and ready to go 'out' and I went 'out' right in front of him. That was pretty much when it got loud and crazy. Ultimately his score was much better than mine, but I got to enjoy those moments! :-)

Some of the Mexican Train dominoes tables...

After the games and chatting were winding down, we all stood in a circle around the room. We sang "I Have a Light" which had been sung several different times during the week and is one of the things that will stick with me. And we prayed together before leaving.

It as bittersweet. At the time I was, and I know several others from the team were also, tired, physically and emotionally a bit spent. I kept looking around thinking how I want to remember everything and everyone, and how I feel about these people and all I have taken in in the past eleven days, and at the same time I knew I couldn't hold onto all of it, and that I wouldn't really be able to explain it to everyone back home.

I Have a Light

I have a light

and it always shines.

It shines in the day

and it shines in the night.

When the dark days come

and the sun isn't bright,

I will be shining,

for I have a light.

(repeat above)

Oh my light is the Lord.

Oh, Jesus by name.

My light is the Spirit,

who leads me to change.

My light is the Father,

who gave up His own.

My light is the hope

I'll be with Him

in a heavenly home.

Monday... Saying Goodbye...

Oh Monday morning was so very hard. Getting up and out way too early with all our stuff repacked, carefully watching the 50lb (approx 22kg on our Belgian bathroom scale) per bag limit, was the easy part.

We all met at the Hasselt train station where everyone was saying goodbye to their host families, except Scott and I since Eddy and Chananja were escorting us as far as the Louven train transfer. There were many tears and slow, heavy footfalls getting on the train. We were all on the train except Erin and Sheri who were still firmly in Jeanine's grip. Val and I exchanged looks and Val said, 'We may have a problem getting them away from her.' Just about the time we were getting worried they would miss the train, they pulled themselves away, got on the train in seats facing each other and rode in silence to the Louven stop. Our host families stayed at the station, tears running down their faces, and waving their hankerchiefs as the train pulled away.

We all said goodbye to Eddy and Chananja at the Louven stop. Eddy had been our director through all the physical work. Scott and I had had many memorable meals ("What's the meat Eddy, I really like it" "Horse. It's a treat to have it." "Promise you'll never tell my daughter I ate it, and it was my favorite, ok?") and several walk and talks that opened our hearts to him and Gaby and to the people of the Diepenbeek church. To see this strong, active, smiling man with tears in his eyes as he hugged everyone goodbye was really tough.

Ivan and Vivianne had met at the first train station and loaded all of our luggage into their minivan (it filled the van leaving only the front two seats open) and driven it to the airport where they would meet us and give it back. So we had one more goodbye to go. They met us at the Brussels airport gave us our bags and another round of hugs, tears and goodbyes. Vivianne's vivaciousness was subdued, Ivan was stoic and misty-eyed. The last of our Belgian hosts were gone.

The only pic I got of our farewell committee on the train platform

It's now been almost two weeks since we've returned from Belgium, and Scott and I are now feeling that we have processed the trip much more and are more able to respond coherently when people ask about the people and the experience.

I also saw Sheri for the first time since the trip in Sunday School this morning and we right away hugged and asked how being back home has been. We have similar conflicting feelings that it's hard to believe we were only in Diepenbeek for 11 days, and at the same time it seems so long already that we've been home. Real Life is back.

It was a wonderful, and hopefully not a once in a lifetime experience. All of us have been bonded to this little church half a world away. We care for and want to lift them up, and they feel the same for us. We pray for each other, we keep in touch through the wonders of email and facebook. And one way or another, we'll see each other and worship together again.

Saturday

Another day off to rest! Whew!

Ok, that’s not entirely accurate. There was very little rest.

Today the plan was to go into Bokrijk, their equivalent of our Colonial Williamsburg. And the plan required us to get an early start – earlier than usual! After so much physically-demanding labor all week and nights of less-than-adequate sleep, it was difficult to wake up for this, but we all did and are glad for it.

Bokrijk is a park where they have consolidated buildings and villages from areas of Belgium from many years ago – some back from the 1100s (a church we went into!). The architecture, building materials, and of course period-dressed employees of the park all contributed to the atmosphere of antiquity, as did some of the park workers in the buildings who were cooking or making yarn or doing various activities in the manner they would have been done way back in the day. It was pretty neat to see, and was also just a good time for the team to bond together some more along with our Belgian hosts who guided us through: Chris, Ivan and Vivianne.

Milt practiced his Dutch on the Baker in Bokrijk

He enjoyed talking to Milt so much he grabbed him for a picture.

After a short rest back at various hosts’ homes, we attended an outreach event that the Diepenbeek church had been sponsoring and promoting (and for which we had helped pass out several thousand flyers throughout Diepenbeek!). The event was competing against awesome weather and an important soccer game on T.V., but I believe that the event was a success in that we did see a couple of unbelievers there, at least one of which Eddie got to talk to about the bible and Jesus Christ and her eternal destination (oddly, she believes in reincarnation but she has no idea why she believes this). To pull unbelievers into an event like this would be difficult in America, too, but in Belgium I this is truly God’s work. Pray for those that attended that do not know Christ that they would consider the words of the message, the actions of the believers there, and be drawn to Christ.

Dr. Hank Gelling

The speaker seemed really good although it was hard to judge his message as it was in Flemmish but Eddie was very happy with it. Watching Dr. Henk Gelling speak even when you can’t understand him is really interesting, however, as he is an animated and expressive speaker, and you could see the audience connecting with him. The topic of his speech was how 2009 was the year of “angst” (fear) but 2010 could be the year of “hoop” (hope) – a hope found in Christ, of course.

Erin and Adry perform

Imagine our surprise when we read the flyer about Dr. Hank Gelling speaking... and there would be music provided by an American performer. Who's performing we ask? Oh! That's us! LOL. What would we have done if Erin hadn't been with us? She has a beautiful voice, and she and Adry, who played the guitar, chose a few songs and practiced for about 10 minutes in a hallway after the Zutendaal Bible study. And they pulled it together beautifully.

Milt and Val with Pasquale and his fiance

Milt shared the gospel with Pasquale at a Bible Study 6 months ago when Milt was visiting. Soon after Pasquale came to the Lord. He and his fiance (also a believer) came to hear Dr. Gelling speak and were able to visit with Milt and Val for a bit, too.

It is wonderful to me to see the hearts of the people here in the Belgium church so concerned about evangelism and reaching their friends, families (who don’t take kindly to their sons or daughters becoming Christians – we’re seen here kind of like a cult) and neighbors. It can be discouraging when you lose the perspective of who is really in control of things here, and who is responsible for the success of any of our work. Please lift up these soldiers of Christ in your prayers, to be encouraged, strengthened and renewed as they continue persevering here.

Friday

It is finshed!

While the significance of this phrase is much more meaningful in the context of Jesus saying this the cross, we also said it on Friday. The necessary work on the church has been done for our trip here and Eddie says it "is very, very good" with a satisfied smile. Friday's work was mainly cleaning up (not just the work site, but th church interior, into which we dragged a lot of dust and dirt, and Megan also cleaned out the baptismal), storing stuff in the renovated shed, clearing out debris from the work areas, and a last minute project to provide better drainage for the driveway next to the church. This also contributed to Eddie's satisfaction with the work done as this last-minute effort fulfilled his promises of what he would do for the tenant who rents a room above the church.

So, what does the end result look like? Here are some good before and after photos!

Street view of Diepenbeek church building

Driveway area as we got started working.

The finished driveway area



Erin & Sheri painting the back walkway wall

Finished back walkway area painted and cleaned out

Back side wall before work

Back side wall done - the top isn't painted because Eddy

rebuilt that part of the wall and it has to 'set' for a couple

weeks before it can be properly repainted

The rear wall of the church buiding before

The rear wall after

I don't have a real 'before' shot of the shed,

it was packed with stuff. But this is after emptying

and during roof removal

This is the shed all cleaned out

The back yard first day of work

The back yard when we finished

Friday afternoon, most of the folks went to Genk to do some shopping and to reconnect with a man there that Milt has been witnessing to for years. Stein (I'm guessing at spelling, it's pronounced Stain) is 31 years old and just had a serious heart attack this past year. Just before we left Milt went to him and said he just couldn't help but think about this heart attack and what would have happened to him if he had died. Stein exclaimed, "I knew you were going to say that!" At least he is clear on the issue! Heis still not ready to put his trust in Christ, but promised to continue reading what he and Milt write back and forth and to continue thinking about it. More of a surprise was when Stein's girlfriend suddenly opened up to Val right before we left. The conversation had been pretty light, but as our departure time approached she suddenly went deep in conversation. Please be praying for her!

Milt & Stein (sp?)

Shopping for chocolate

Lot's of chocolate was procured in order to ensure our bags would be full for the ride home. We've got a 50lb limit on the bags, so we are all looking through our things to see what we can leave behind, and how we can repack to make it all work.

That evening, we had a wonderful dinner together as an entire team at Ivan and Vivianne's house. Other than the quick lunches at the church, this was the first time our entire team was able to be together for a dinner meal, around one table, and it was nice to relax and enjoy a great dinner together.

After dinner, there were two bible studies: Milt to conclude his two-part series on Marriage and Relationships at the Diepenbeek church, and Scott to teach a lesson from Mark 6 on How to Serve with Super Powers in a small church group in Zutendaal. Both seemed to hit home in the right way and serve our brothers and sisters here n Belgium well. The people here are hungry for the word. The Word of God is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work, which God prepared in advance for us to do to! (2 Tim 3:16-17 an Eph 2:10b)

Sheri shares soulariam witnessing tool with Zutendaal church

Zutendaal church

The church at Zutendaal is a small group of believers (15-ish) in a town that is spiritually not too unlike the rest of Belgium. One difference is that the town is a site of an alleged miraculous appearance of Mary (the mother of Jesus, not just some recent fortuitously-named woman). This seems to be a pretty important thing in Zutendaal where folks will make what I can best describe as religious pilgramages to the site where this appearance was supposed to have happened, but in spite of the rigor of the pilgramage, it has no spiritual significance - at least no positive one. Those here in Zutendaal who claim to be Catholic are just Catholic as the rest of Belgium for the most part: by name only.

The Zutendaal church was started essentially through the brave and visionary actions of two folks there who have been going door-to-door to spread the gospel for the last several years. It is amazing to see God working and bringing together a wonderful group of believers to shine aganst the darkness of their community and country!

Familie away from Family

Today, Thursday, was another full work day at the church. We painted, we hauled, we painted, we cleaned, we painted… you get the idea.

But first we started off with a Devotional from Sheri. It was from Isaiah 40:28-31 – Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Even while the passage was being read out loud, rueful chuckles were going around the table. We’ve been running hard. Several of us are suffering from allergies and trying to keep (sleep-stealing) symptoms under control as best we can. We’ve started grabbing sleep whenever possible, usually in car rides, so conversation has ebbed when we are not working. This passage is exactly what we need. We are physically tired, but we still happy to be serving and wanting to do well in what God has called us to do here. We know that we need to take care of ourselves, but that with God, He will give us the strength and energy to get done what He has chosen for us to finish while we are here: both on the physical church building, and for the church body in Diepenbeek.

Side note: one person from the team has been responsible for a devotional each morning, but we were given no instruction or leading on the passage or topic to do. We find out that morning what has been on this particular person’s heart to share. Yet we all see a clear flow to the succession of devotionals, and each one has been timed perfectly for that day. I don’t think that is coincidence.

So I thought I’d fill you in on something a little more interesting than painting: our host families. As I said in the Brugge post, we know that we were put in the homes we are by God’s plan. We couldn’t have, and didn’t plan this how it has worked out. We are paired so well and really enjoying being in the homes of Diepenbeek church members and getting a real picture of life in Belgium for these Christians instead of a tourist’s point of view.

Disclaimer… I’m guessing at some name spelling here and doing my best to give you an idea of pronunciation in written text. I’m sure I have mistakes!

You have no idea how hard it is to get Vivianne in a picture. I love this pic :-).

Milt, Val & Hugh… are staying with Ivan (pronounced as best I can explain it in text: Eevoe) and Vivianne (ViviANNE). Milt, Val, Ivan & Vivianne have been friends for years and years and years and are really dear to each other. Milt has been coming to the Diepenbeek church for a lot of years (12ish?), and our host told us that Vivianne is happiest when they are here, and she has been all smiles and jokes since we arrived. She has a contagious, teasing sense of humor and is constantly organizing and herding us in the right direction. Ivan seems a strong but quieter contrast to his wife, but when you least expect it he gets a gleam in his eye and can give Vivianne as well as he gets. Hugh has fit right in with their home, in long talks with Ivan about his vineyard. He is even learning all about the care Ivan takes in his winemaking on private guided tutorials.

Don & Jim are staying with Martin (MarTAN) and Chris… Martin is one of the leaders of the church with a quiet, unassuming manner. While he seems reserved when you first meet him, he has (as do many of our Belgium brothers and sisters) a quick wit and fun sense of humor. He also has a huge servant’s heart and goes about the business of the church with a quiet passion. But as I heard from Don and Jim, Martin really shines in his purposeful discussions in coffee houses and on the street where he goes to get into discussions and share Christ. He is tireless in these efforts and deeply desires to see all of Diepenbeek come to Christ. Chris, Martin’s wife has a big smile and twinkle in her eye as she goes about preparing meals and stopping by the church to see if we have all we need, or if anyone needs a ride to the next stop.



Erin & Sheri are staying with Jeanine (zhjaNEEN) & Willie… Jeanine stepped in to house some of us when one of our housing locations had to step out of having 11 days of guests. I haven’t seen anyone so completely thrilled with last minute strangers as houseguests. Within a day Jeanine was glowing and Erin and Sheri were talking about what an interesting and kind woman she was. By two days in Jeanine told us with tears in her eyes that having ‘her’ two girls was just what she needed right now for encouragement. She said she feels like God put two angels in her home! (Doesn’t that make you two moms proud?) Willie has also gotten into the fun of having Erin and Sheri in at home, enjoying their sense of humor and quickly coming to have inside 'family' jokes with them, and taking 'their' girls to Willie & Jeanine's favorite restaurant.

After a long day of painting and balancing on the rung of a ladder, Erin’s feet were really sore one evening. But we were to have a prayer walk around our respective neighborhoods that evening. When Jeanine came in to pick up Erin & Sheri after the day’s work, she came in announcing ‘My Girls!’ to which Erin replied, ‘Mom! I think we should do a prayer sit this evening, not a prayer walk.’ Jeanine was quick to gather ‘her girls’ up and take them home and take care of them. They have had good late night talks, market shopping, good food and sharing about developing those close women bonds that support us in being the women we are to be in Christ.




Scott & I are staying with Eddie & Gaby (GAHbee)… and have tried to bribe Gaby to come home with us and teach me to cook her wonderful meals. They seem to love having people in their home including an overlapping rotation of their 4 grown children and their families. They have also shared stories with us of a number of guests they have invited into their home for varying lengths of time, and people they have helped to get established in the area to stay. Their home is the home that Gaby’s mother grew up in (Gaby grew up next door where her sister’s family and mother still live) and Eddie has expanded and updated the home on his own over the past decades, in between leadership in the church and work (which he bikes to and from daily – 22km each way!). We’ve felt right at home from the start.

Eddie and Gaby both have a wonderful sense of humor in their relaxed home. It makes us wish we understood Flemish – if we find them this funny when they are translating their teasing and jokes into English, imagine if we could understand their first language!

The first day here Gaby and I went out for coffee and to the market (when I should have been napping!) and we had a wonderful talk and prayed together right away. Eddie has been open in talking to us about growing pains in the church over the years and the challenges faced in trying to grow as Christians in Belgium. He's also given us some heartfelt and wise advice about serving in the church and raising kids, and hopefully some of our conversation has been as encouraging to both of them as well.


All of on the team have had moments where we are just at the mercy of the our host family, or whoever happens to be in the room we are at the moment, to get us fed, driven to the our next location, picked up from a random street we’ve been working on, or get us the supplies we need. We have been introduced to someone for the first time moments before hopping in the car with them to drive to the next town to serve in some way. At times we hop in the car to find we have very little common language. And yet – as just happened to Scott and I – even with the repeated struggle to get our thought across through the conversation, we end the time with a hug, with a translated word of encouragement through the next person taking responsibility for us, and having connected on a heart level to another believer. It’s amazing. I know there’s no way to really communicate to all of you reading this the bond between near strangers when they have the same Savior and Lord. If you’ve experienced it, you know what I mean.

One of our team members shared that he/she/it was struggling when it came time to come to Belgium and the first couple of days here. But Thursday this person said now it’s hard to think about going home. At the thought of going home and the changes God has brought, the bonds He has created here, there were quite a few tear-filled eyes. God has so knit together not only our team, but our team with our hosts also. We will dearly miss them when it's time to return to our Virginia home.

Brugge

The Team at Brugge Centrum

Wednesday was the team tourist day. We had a break from the work – which somehow meant we had to get up even earlier than usual and meet up at 8:30am at Ivan and Vivianne’s house. But it was for a worthy cause… we took a day trip to Brugge!

Ok, I have to admit my ignorance, I had never even heard of Brugge (pronounced ‘brooghe’) before. I was assured it would be worth it, and that was an understatement. It is a beautifully maintained, old city with gorgeous architecture and old echoing churches filled with amazing art. And when I say amazing art, I’m talking Michelangelo.

Our faithful guides Ivan, Vivianne and Eddie drove us down into the city and we first found the pleasant surprise that the market was in full swing in the ‘centrum’ (center of town). First stop… Waffles for most of us, ribs for Don and Jim. You knew it was going to be food didn’t you?

Side note: All of us on the team had in the past teased Milt for always talking about the food in Belgium. I mean, he comes here to build up the body of Christ right? Why does food so often sneak into the conversations? Well, we have all now humbly acknowledged it was Milt’s superior understanding of the culture that caused food to so often come up. We have to admit ‘What did you have for dinner last night?’ is a frequent topic of conversation. The food is fresh - literally direct from the back garden for some – open air market for others, though they do have a good old fashioned grocery store also. And they cook a much wider variety of vegetables than I’ve had in the past, and it’s good! (You should be hearing ‘eet’s gud’ when I write ‘it’s good’ now, it’s what we’re all saying.) Scott and I had spinach soup the first night that made me want to lick the bowl. Another night was ‘witloof’ which is endive, which was served wrapped in ham covered in fresh cheese sauce and baked. Oh my goodness. And besides that, low-carb will never catch on in Belgium, and I would be appalled and go into mourning if it did. Fresh bakery bread for sandwiches every day, waffles (of course), and chocolate everything.

Our team then hit the streets in Brugge, breaking into smaller groups to wander the streets, walk through the buildings (many built 1300-1600, you know, before the first American colony was founded), and shop! We all hopped a boat for a canal tour before doing some more shopping, and then settling into some outside seats in a restaurant right on the center square for dinner. We met multiple American and British tourists through the day and shared stories of who we met from where, and then had some good conversation about our own experiences during the trip so far and the things in our past that have led to our current ministries and this mission trip.

One of the things I have seen very clearly though our trip is that God has specifically picked these people, for this mission trip, to stay with their specific host families. This was not our orchestration at all because unforeseen circumstances had our housing changing up to the last minute, and the makeup of our team shifted twice while preparing for the trip. God knew exactly what he was doing. I will be writing more about each of our hosts families soon, maybe I’ll do a better job of expressing what we are feeling then!

We're not in the US any more.

This is just some of the bikes parked by the bus station on the way into Brugge.

Dinner time at Brugge Centrum:

Scott, Sheri, Hugh, Don, Erin, Meg

Dinner Time at Brugge Centrum:

Jim, Ivan, Vivianne, Val, Milt

Our Fearless Leaders


Brugge Restaurants lining the Centrum


Window from a Church

Random Brugge Street

Random Brugge Cafe Corner

There were continuous horse drawn carriages through the streets

The boat tours through the canals

The North Sea

The Team at the North Sea

As departure time approached Eddie came to us and asked, do you want to go to the sea quickly before going home? Once we realized the north sea was only about a 15 minute drive away we were all eager to see it. Some of us even took off our shoes and stood in the surf together (some of us getting wetter pants cuffs than others when that sneak wave hit from behind) and collected a few shells.

After that it was back on the road back home. We had a 2 hour drive back – and that would be to cross from one side to the other at the widest point of Belgium. It’s hard for me as an American to imagine a country where driving from the capital city in any direction for one hour brings you to the border of the country, but that is Belgium.

Erin, Meg, Sheri & Jim get a little more wet than planned

Sunset at the North Sea

Before the surprise