Sunday - A day of Rest

Sunday started out kind of sunny (for here) and warm. Due to the congestion we went to one of our favorite churches and the one we home-base from. De Burg is where we will spend Wednesday through Sunday working with local believers to serve free pancakes (crepes) and coffee in an effort to reach out to the festival attenders.

There was a guest speaker. He is the father of one of the young mothers who attends the church. He is originally from The Netherlands and has pastored there. He now pastors in one of the communites that surround Brussels. During his message he made a reference to Benjamin Franklin. He said that Franklin was an American statesman and he was aware that there were Americans in the crowd.

After the service Lucy was busy helping with the coffee and cookies service since the cell group we attend is responsible this month. I helped take up the regular offering and the missions offering since the people who were assigned did not make it. So after the service Jozef and I were counting and recording the receipts.

Most special speakers are compensated for their time and expenses. So as Jozef took the offerings to the treasurer I went to give the honorarium to the speaker. Since he has a sister who lives in America he wanted to strike up a conversation. It led to America, pastoring, starting churches in Belgium and Evangelism in general among other topics. Just some of the things pastors talk about since it is our life. Our chat took most of the next hour and was very enjoyable. At one point when his wife came by he introduced me to her. She said, "Oh you are one of the Americans." in English. Piet responded that yes I was an American, a fellow pastor and that I spoke Dutch so she could speak to me in Dutch. We chatted in Dutch although he too speaks English.

After the service as we waited for the tram we discovered that we had probably already experienced the high temperature for the day as it was cooler and the wind chill was making it even more so.

When we got home we got a message from some fellow Americans and servants who live near us. She was having back problems and wanted to know if she could come by and soak in our tub since they only have a shower in their apartment. So after we all ate she came by. We talked about the Gentse Feesten and things to do since they are only here for a few months. After her soak her husband came by and we chatted for a while.

Then it was out into the city again. The main thing on our agenda was the fireworks display at the Watersportsbaan. It is 30 minutes of fireworks coordinated with some original music written and performed by some Flemish young people. We thought it was well worth the cost of admission (free) however some of the other folks were complaining on the way out. We now speak Dutch well enough to understand why they were disappointed. It is amazing how expectations differ.

Once again we got home after midnight (it does not get dark enough for fireworks until after 11:00PM).

Today (Monday) is the national holiday (similar to July 4 in America). It celebrates the signing of a document of organization and installation of the first king which was done in 1831. It is supposed to be the coolest (temperature wise) national holiday in 100 years. As I write this it is raining on and off.

But we are out into the festivals again today to find ways to connect with some of the nationals. Lucy had a good idea yesterday and we will try it today. Keep checking the picture page for pictures. We will post as time allows.

Stay tuned . . . more to come.