So Blessed!

This week marks the "Rentrée" in Brussels, which means that after nine weeks of vacation, the children are going back to school and thus, things are back to normal here in Belgium. It also entails that there is more traffic here (thank God this doesn't really affect me, as I go to work by bicycle) and that the work at the EU institutions is taking up again. There is pressure on many services now to finish certain procedures before the Christmas break, which is actually less than four months away. Especially this fall promises to be interesting, because as of 1st November, a new Commission will be implemented, headed by the German politician Ursula von der Leyen. Being abroad for so long, I haven't followed much the political life in my home country, but I like this woman. I wouldn't have expected that a female would get this high rank position, but she really seems to be the right choice in this political chaos. I especially like the fact that she is actually a medical doctor. Thus, she might be open to implementing more health enhancing programmes and activities among the workers in our institution.

It's always interesting when a new Commission is implemented after five years. You can feel the wind of change blowing; new Commissioners bringing new ideas, there are staff changes (especially in the senior management of the different services), and the "foot soldiers" (i. e. little officials like me) are motivated to give their best in this new term.

This past Sunday, we returned from our annual church retreat in Eupen, German part of Belgium. It was such a blessing to be there once more. We have a very nice venue there, which is a relatively newly renovated hostel. The staff is very pleasant, and they are even able to somewhat accommodate our dietary needs. This year, I decided to supplement the choice of foods they could offer us, namely by making some plant-based spreads, granola, and getting some avocados. We were a smaller group than last year, mainly due to the fact that since then, quite a few families left our church for other pastures. Nevertheless, we were very blessed with Pastor Denny from Brazil as our main speaker. Our own Pastor, who is a close friend of Pastor Denny, was also present and involved in the programme. There was something in it for everybody, and our time together really helped to bond with each other. The messages were very practical, and I think everybody learned something that they are going to apply in their lives. My main resolution is that I'm going to start a prayer journal, as I think this will be really helpful. Thus, you can document answers to prayer requests and keep track how the Lord has worked.

I would like to share one thought I took home from our spiritual weekend:

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in Him will I trust." ~Psalms 91:1-2~

To dwell in the secret place of the most High (or to "live in His shelter" as the Common English Bible translates) doesn't mean to just visit, or to come by for tea. It means to spend time in His presence. It's also quantity that counts here. Do I spend adequate time with the Lord in the daily hustle and bustle of life? Do I praise Him for who He is, i. e. for His attributes, like His omnipotence, faithfulness, His infinite power? Do I also pause from time to time to listen to His voice? And not only "bombarding" God with the "T's" and "G's", i. e. saying thank you for xyz and please give me this and that? May the Lord help us to get closer to Him, and thus get ready to spend an eternity in His holy presence!

With Pastor Denny and his mother Marli

Love that picture of our children!

Group picture on Sunday - unfortunately we forgot to do it on
Sabbath when more people were there and sun was shining brightly!

Happenings

I'm back from the US now for about two weeks, and in a sense life has been back to normal. However, there have been quite a few happenings within this short time frame.

Last weekend, we had Dr. Gerhard Padderatz speaking at our church. He is currently the President of ASI Germany and he is also one of the editors of a magazine published by the Conference to which my home church belongs. His idea was to come to Brussels to get material for an article about Seventh-Day-Adventists working for the EU institutions - and I was supposed to be the chief witness. So I showed him around a bit at the Commission and introduced him to some of my SDA colleagues. Since he is an excellent speaker on end-time events, I invited him to give a short seminar at our church at this occasion. It was very well received. In fact, he is one of those speakers I could listen to for hours and never get tired.

Last Tuesday, I attended another conference of the European Sunday Alliance. I had reported on the last event back in 2010 (see my blog). Again, the representatives of different stakeholders came together to launch another pledge for a work-free Sunday in Europe. And again, they brought good arguments forward in favour of Sunday as a universal day of rest. It was interesting how tenaciously all these people from a variety of backgrounds (religious and non-religious) took a stand on this initiative. From a political standpoint, it still doesn't look at all that a work-free Sunday will be implemented on EU level any time soon, but it's interesting how some individual member states have been pushing forward legislative action in this regard. And in the end you don't know how these people will eventually be able to take an influence on the political decision making. Again, I came to the conclusion that we have to get ready for more difficult times, and that we need to keep praying for religious freedom.

Yesterday, I joined the majority of our task force on a mission to the Belgian livestock market. Since we are dealing with the food sector, this trip proved to be an excellent opportunity to get to know this particular sector. It was indeed interesting to see how they do trade with these animals and how they breed them. However, in a way it was also saddening to see what kind of life they have. If I hadn't been vegetarian already, I think I would be from now on!

Some ponies

One next to the other....

This one got sold, but didn't really want to follow its new owner

Sticks they use to test the quality of the meat and to push them around

One of the best bulls in the insemination center

This is the lab were they do artificial insemination

On a cattle farm

Little calves separated from their mommies

EU News

Last year in March, I wrote about the conference I attended at the EU Parliament on the work-free Sunday movement, which was supposed to be the kick-off meeting to relaunch the debate on Sunday protection in Europe. This initiative was spear-headed by a few MEP's, and some very influential people were there, like László Andor, the Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs. It was his Directorate-General, which launched a consultation within the Commission about the review of the so-called Working Time Directive at the end of last year. These interservice-consultations always have to take place before any new legislation can be voted on the level of the Parliament and the Council. It means that a working paper is sent to all other relevant Directorate-Generals within the Commission and they have to give their input. It was also sent to our service, and although our unit wasn't supposed to prepare the reply, it accidently found its way into our functional mailbox. That's how I became aware of it. I couldn't write about it here at that time, as it was still a working paper. But in the meantime, I found out that the "Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and Committee of the Regions reviewing the Working Time Directive)" has been published. As I had expected, nothing has changed in the assessment of the Sunday issue. Point 5.1 says:

"The question of whether weekly rest should normally be taken on a Sunday, rather than on another day of the week, is very complex, raising issues about the effect on health and safety and work-life balance, as well as issues of a social, religious and educational nature. However, it does not necessarily follow that this is an appropriate matter for legislation at EU level: in view of the other issues which arise, the principle of subsidiarity appears applicable."

Very interesting. For those who don't know, subsidiarity is an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled at the lowest possible level of an institutional hierarchy. So the EU shall only decide on matters which are better decided on EU level than at the level of the indiviual Member States, and other matters shall be left to each Member State to decide. Now, according to this statement, the question whether Sunday should become officially a work-free day, should be decided on the level of each indiviual country belonging to the EU. So it seems that we are still far away from a EU legislation on this issue. Of course things could still change, as the new Working Time Directive hasn't been finalised and voted on.

Tomorrow, there will be a conference of the "European Sunday Alliance" here in Brussels. They are going to discuss the review of the Working Time Directive, and similar to the conference in March, they have invited some experts and stakeholders who will give their input on the advantages of a work-free Sunday. I only found out about this event today, otherwise I would have considered attending this conference. I have no idea what impact this initiative could still have on the ongoing legislative process in this matter, but I have the feeling that at this point, we are still far away from an EU Sunday legislation. But why are things not going forward?

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to watch on 3ABN part of the ASI Europe convention, which was held in Konstanz, Germany. Ted Wilson was invited as a speaker and I really appreciated what he shared. One thing he said struck me: "We call ourselves Adventists, but why are we still here?" Good question. The blunt answer is that we haven't done our homework yet. There is still so much to do for Jesus to come back. Lately, I have been asking the Lord more earnestly that He may show me how He wants to use me in His work. I pray that He may reveal Himself to you and me in this matter, so that we can soon accomplish the work which God has committed to us.

I hope I can give an update on this issue in due time.

"We as a people have not accomplished the work which God has committed to us. We are not ready for the issue to which the enforcement of the Sunday law will bring us. It is our duty, as we see the signs of approaching peril, to arouse to action. Let none sit in calm expectation of the evil, comforting themselves with the belief that this work must go on because prophecy has foretold it, and that the Lord will shelter his people. We are not doing the will of God if we sit in quietude, doing nothing to preserve liberty of conscience. Fervent, effectual prayer should be ascending to heaven that this calamity may be deferred until we can accomplish the work which has so long been neglected. Let there be more earnest prayer; and then let us work in harmony with our prayers."--Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 713, 714.

EU Summit

Today it's quite chilly again; too cold for the month of June. But it's the Sabbath and I'm thankful for another day of rest. There was supposed to be communion service at the English speaking church, but they had to cancel it due to the absence of the Pastor. However, I didn't want to miss out on it, and so I decided to worship with the French speaking church where it was also on. They also had potluck there, and I thought this would be a nice change, as many of my English speaking brothers and sisters are still after the flesh pots of Egypt. They call it more elegantly "Auberge Espagnole" in French, but to my disappointment there was lots of fish and fowl. And this after our Sabbath school lesson on nutrition in the bible! Well, the fellowship was nice anyway, and who knows, maybe one day I can convince them of a better diet. May the Lord help me.

This past week, there was another EU summit here in Brussels. This is when all the heads of governments come together to discuss the future of Europe, and it usually happens every three months. As far as I gathered at first glance, they were talking about the so-called "Europe 2020 strategy", which stands for boosting growth and creating employment. They also warmly welcomed the proposal of Estonia being part of the Euro zone from 2011, which means they would introduce the Euro as an official currency there. Another item of the agenda was the aspiration of Iceland to become an EU member state and the decision to open accession negotiations with them.

So they keep working here on a prosperous, united Europe, striving for "unity in diversity". But how long will the iron and clay hold together? Well, the Lord knows. May His Kingdom be established soon.

They have very strict security parameters during EU summit - nobody can walk by the Council building during this time, except the EU officials

A lot of press in front of the Council building - doesn't it look like a "bunker of power"?

The red banner is advertising the current Spanish presidency of the EU

The Conference

The conference that I wrote about in my last blog was held yesterday at the EU Parliament, and was supposed to be a kick-off meeting to relaunch the debate on Sunday protection in Europe. It was well-attended, the contributers mainly being catholics, but there were also contributors from the protestant churches as well as from non-religious backgrounds. The Germans were clearly prevalent.

The chairman, a German MEP, pointed out that they were recommending a legislative proposal for the Sunday as a work-free day, and that they were endeavoring to get 1 million votes from the EU population to support this. László Andor, the new Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs also gave a short speech, pointing out that he would like to "open a new chapter" in this regard. So there is an awareness at the EU Commission, and even if they fail again at the Parliament to get enough votes (as they did last year), the Commission can still launch the legislative procedure.

There were many contributions made from the different invited representatives, and of course many good arguments in favor of the protection of a work-free Sunday (and not any other day of the week) were brought forward. Of course this makes a lot of sense to people who are ignorant about the Sabbath. In fact, I'm amazed how many people have bought into the lie that the Sunday is the seventh day of the week and the biblical day of rest, as it was pointed out by several contributors.

Karel Nowak, Secretary General of the International Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty, was also present, and he actually raised the question how this new legislation would protect minorities, like people who keep another day than Sunday. Well, he didn't get an answer to this. There was also a delegation from Newbold College present at the meeting, as well as an ADRA representative from Brussels.

Of course I'm very curious how this is going to play out. They said that this was only the beginning of a series of conferences on this topic. You may learn more about this initiative under www.workfreesunday.eu (sorry the hyper link function doesn't work).

Prophecy is fulfilling right before my eyes here in Brussels. Things may continue to develop in short order now, and we don't know for how much longer the Lord will hold back the winds. Are we ready for this? I will keep you posted on the developments.