What Do You Tell Yourself Every Morning As You Start The Day?

Oh my, I can't believe it's been three months that I have posted something here! I'm determined to write more regularly now. In fact, so many things have happened lately, and I will make sure to fill you in as soon as possible. In the meantime, I would like to share an encouraging post that someone forwarded to me recently:

What Do You Tell Yourself Every Morning As You Start The Day?

-MOSES would say, "Lord, if You don't go with us or before us, we are not going anywhere."​​

-ABRAHAM would say, "The Lord will provide."​​

-JACOB would say, "I won't let go of You unless You bless me."​​

-JOSHUA would say, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."​​

-SAMUEL would say, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening."​​

-NEHEMIAH  would say, "The joy of the Lord is my strength."​​

-DAVID would say, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want."​​ and "This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it."​

-SALOMON would say, "Trust in the Lord, oh my soul, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path."​​

-ISAIAH would say, "Arise and shine for my Glory has come." and "No weapon formed against me shall prosper."​​

-JEREMIAH would say, "The Lord has plans to prosper me and not to harm or fail me."​​

-JABEZ would say, "Oh, that you may bless me and enlarge my territory."​​

-SHADRACH, MESHACH and ABEDNEGO would say, "We will not bow down to any image but will serve the Lord."​​

-EZEKIEL would say, "Any dry bones in my life, live again."​​

May the above spoken words give you courage everytime you begin your day!🙏🏽

                                       A beautiful sunrise in the Westerwald/Germany

A New Normal?

So it's been a while now that we have been dealing with this pandemic. Here in Europe, the situation has improved remarkably, and therefore a lot of the restrictions have been eased step by step. I'm still working from home though, and it looks like my management is only going to gradually get back to normal office occupation as of September.

However, in other parts of the world, the situation doesn't look good at all, especially in poorer countries like India or South America. In the US, after a period of improvement, the figures are rising again. So it's not all over yet, although I wish it was.

For over a week already, I have been visiting my family in Germany. After all, I had to cancel my planned trip to the US (if the GC Session in Indianapolis didn't have to be postponed, it would be happening right now), and so I can now afford spending longer time than usual in my home country. It's been a blessing to be here, even though every day I'm confronted with the "new normal". While in Belgium you are only required to wear face masks in public transport, here in Germany you also have to wear them in stores. Furthermore, many of our churches have reopened here, but again you cannot meet without face masks. In my home church, they require you to put them on even during congregational singing. You may imagine how challenging this is! But the hardest for me is the fact that it really doesn't help with communication. I miss smiling at people, and the fact that you are not supposed to hug or shake hands seems so pathetic to me. I really hope that this "new normal" will only be a temporary state.

The weather has been very warm here, and we have been enjoying the fruits of the garden. On Tuesday, I'll be heading to Brussels again, but soon, I'll be back to Germany for our annual bible camp. It looks like we will be able to have about 200 participants (instead of 350+ as usual), and it will be quite a challenge to implement all these restrictions and rules. However, we are thankful that it can take place in spite of the situation, even though in a smaller format and without international speakers. May the Lord help us, so that it can be a spiritually uplifting experience especially in these times!

I've been participating in the 100 Days of Prayer organized by our General Conference. It's been a blessing to be part of this, and I've been encouraged by the praise reports, as well as the daily readings. Here is one of my favorites:

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”– John 14:1-3

“We have no home here; we are only pilgrims and strangers, passing to a better country, even a heavenly. Place your mind upon these things, and while you are doing this, Christ will be right by your side.” – Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, p. 293

Indeed, this world is not our home. I think it's important to indeed place our minds on heavenly things, especially in these times. Things are not going to get better on this earth, but what splendor and glory is waiting for us in our heavenly home that the Lord is preparing for us right now! May we focus on that today and make our calling and election sure!

The castle in my home city

Water fountains on the market place

Our beautiful artichokes in the garden

Corona Virus

I must admit that I had not expected this to happen, but something that several weeks ago I would have still considered a science fiction scenario has become a reality: Belgium entered lockdown this week, following the example of other European countries.

This corona virus has spread so rapidly that drastic measures have become necessary. As of last Monday, all non-critical staff of the EU Institutions have to work from home, and this also applies to all other employees in the country who can telework. We are only supposed to leave our homes for essential errands like shopping, doctor's appointments, etc. Thank God, outdoor exercising is still allowed. But all non-essential travels are not permitted. This is already the second Sabbath that we couldn't have a regular service in our church. As somebody who lives alone, I find this particularly hard. But thank God we have modern technology, so that we can still stay connected through media like Skype and What's App.

A few evenings ago, the neighbourhoods here in Brussels started a joint action inspired from what they have been doing in Italy: Every night at 8 PM sharp, people come to their windows and balconies and clap their hands, applauding the health care staff and all other people who have been working tirelessly in this critical time in order to serve the community. I really like it, as it gives a sense of solidarity and communal spirit.

But should Christians be surprised by such developments? Not at all. It's predicted in the Bible after all:

"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:7-8, emphasis added)

Ellen White also mentions pestilences in several of her writings. I found the following quote very interesting:

"In the last scenes of this earth’s history, war will rage. There will be pestilence, plague, and famine. The waters of the deep will overflow their boundaries. Property and life will be destroyed by fire and flood. We should be preparing for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for them that love Him. There is a rest from earth’s conflict." (Maranatha, p. 174.6)

Indeed, all these things are happening around us. But we are to prepare for a better world - for the homes that Christ is preparing for us in Heaven!

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Revelation 21:1-4)

Teleworking has definitely increased my productivity, like
doing a spring cleaning in my kitchen....

...or sewing fabric baskets :-)

Brexit

On the first of this month it became a reality: the United Kingdom of Great Britain officially left the EU. After almost three years of seemingly unending discussions and debate, they now entered a transition period, which is supposed to last until December of this year, and during which the EU and the UK are going to negotiate their future relationship. But officially, they are now already a so-called Third Country.

The day before the withdrawal came into force, all staff of the European Commission received an email from our new President Ursula von der Leyen. Here is an excerpt of her message:

"As the sun rises tomorrow, a new chapter for our Union of 27 will begin. And with it comes a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure Europe leads the way on the twin ecological and digital transitions. To build a more prosperous and more just society. To uphold the values that we hold dear. To project Europe’s brand of responsible global leadership in today’s world."

Indeed, the European Union came with many privileges and advantages, many of which I wouldn't want to miss any more today, including my very interesting workplace. But at the same time, with these happenings I see the fulfilment of biblical prophecy right in front of our eyes:

"And whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mix with one another but they shall not hold together, even as iron does not mix with clay." ~ The book of Daniel chapter 2, verse 43

Indeed, iron doesn't mix with clay, i. e. the strong and the weak don't hold together well. So what will be next? Only time will tell. In the meantime, I'm endeavouring to make my calling and election sure, and I'm asking the Lord to use me in whatever way to hasten His coming. I'm tired of this world. It's really time that Jesus comes back to take us home!

On another note, I'm continuing with health work at my church. Recently, we had our first Health Club meeting, which was a blessing. Although there were only about half the attendees then at our Health Emphasis Weekend in October, I would still consider it a success - and I will certainly continue to organise such events. I hope and pray that the Lord will continue to use me and my team as we reach out with the Right Arm of the Gospel.

Layane (to the left) teaching about Aloe Vera

Health Emphasis Weekend

And here are some impressions of our Health Emphasis Weekend in October:

Time Flies!

Wow, I can't believe it's already November and we are approaching year end! I've been wanting to post an update for weeks, but I'm sure you all know how it goes if you are busy...

Today, I enjoyed a very nice and sunny afternoon in the park - probably the last nice and sunny day during this month of November, as from tomorrow on, the weather is forecasted to be as it's usually the case at this time of year: grey and dreary. However, this doesn't really bother me right now, as Ihave sunshine in my heart! :-)

Many great things happened during the past couple months. One of the highlights were the ASI Germany meetings in Bielefeld. It was a nice experience for me to go there again after six years of not attending. The main speakers were Taj Pacleb and Nicola Taubert; and it was so nice to see so many people again I hadn't seen in quite a while.

Another one was our Health Emphasis Weekend at my church a couple weeks ago. I decided to do it exactly in the same format as we would do at Uchee Pines, i. e. health presentations on Friday and Saturday, followed by a cooking class Sunday morning, and natural remedies in the afternoon. We had a great team and the presentations and demonstrations were well received. We even got an invitation to do the same in Luxembourg during the first quarter of 2020!

Last weekend, I attended the fourth edition of the ENAD Conference (European Adventist medical network) in Bad Überkingen, which is not too far away from Stuttgart, Germany. It was a great blessing. The main speaker was Dr. Daniel Binus, psychiatrist from California. It was all about "mindset", i. e. mental health. It was really nice to (re-)connect with many people, although this also tends to get a bit frustrating, since there is just not enough time to have all the conversations you want. But I was able to do quite a bit of networking, notably with a family from Aachen church that I've known for quite a while. They are doing great things there in terms of health work. I'm so excited that we are planning to work together in the future. It's high time that Brussels and the Rhineland area start getting busy together for the Lord's cause; and also that we reach the German part of Belgium, which is an unreached territory of 60,000 souls.

Overall, I would say I'm blessed beyond measure. It's wonderful to see how things are moving forward, and that I can play a small part in this. When I see all this sickness and suffering around me, it makes me long for Heaven more and more.

This morning, as it is the 11th November today, I read in Proverbs chapter 11. My personal highlight in this chapter is verse 25:

"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself."

Let us be a blessing today for someone!

And here comes a glimpse in pictures about the most recent highlights:

Beautiful vineyards near Bad Überkingen

A little video I made from the train

ENAD Conference

More to follow soon!