Thursday and Friday - Netherlands

I woke up in yet another living room on yet another couch. My sister Klasien lives in a small and tall home in a quiet street not far from the city center of Utrecht, where I was born in one of the hospitals and where I also finished my highschool years in 1979. I like Utrecht: it's lively, it's funny, it's busy, it's old and it's also in the Green Heart of Holland. My sister has lived in this street for about 17 years now and has gotten to know a whole lot of people. She has also taken care of her neighbor lady Regina, who is now in a nursing home, and Klasien still visits her at least twice a week. One of the other people who looked after Regina is Kees. Kees is an 85-year old gentleman, who used to own and run a business where people took driving lessons for cars as well as motorcycles. He is a delightful person with great stories about the good old days, and strong opinions about pretty much anything and everything. Pretty much every morning around 9:30, he comes by for a cup of coffee and conversation... and so it was this Thursday morning! He remembered me from last year and we had a good time talking, laughing and drinking coffee!

At 11 I tied my shoelaces and walked to the nearby bus stop to get on a bus to the Central Station where at 11:40 I would meet my friend Marya Sloof who lives in Friesland... She is going on vacation next week, so my initial plan to go north to visit her did not work out and she was willing to come my way. And here we were in a very busy train station, trying to find each other... it took a few minutes and some quick thinking but we did it! We figured out that we had not seen each other for 10 years if not more, and we agreed that that was way too long! I met Marya when I started going to the Foursquare church in December 1990, we lived on the same floor of an apartment building in Gorinchem for almost 3 years, and Marya was also at Coastlands for a 6 months internship from July through December 1993. During Marya's last 2 weeks as an intern I visited Coastlands for the first time and got a taste of something that I really, really, really liked! Oh how good it is to see old friends and catch up! We had a great lunch on a terrace in the middle of the city, the sun was out, the temperature was great and the food was good! At 15 minutes after 2, I made sure she was back on the right train for another almost 3 hour train ride, and I walked around the shopping center surrounding the train and bus station, reminiscing about the time when I used to walk here daily... I even found the christian bookstore which was still there after 30 years! So surprising!

I returned home by bus and bought some treats for Klasien and I for Friday, when the entire nation celebrates Queen's Day (Koninginne Dag). When I was growing up, the following events usually took place in Kockengen: all the school children came together to sing in honor of the Queen, there were games for the kids to play after the singing, and in the evening there was a parade with the local marching band up front and whoever wanted could follow, just walking or riding your bike and carrying a "lampion", which was a paper contraption, round with a flat bottom on which a real candle was burning. The paper was held together at the top by another flat piece with an opening (so you could put the candle inside and light it) and then there were small wires tied from the top of the lampion to a stick that you held in your hand while walking. Now of course, caution was needed because if your candle was not properly attached or the wind blew too hard or your friend would run into you, your lampion would go up in flames in a moment's notice... And there were also the older boys who would carry torches... I am sure you can imagine the thrill all this was causing in our little innocent souls: fire, danger and adrenaline...

However, in 2010, it's a whole different story! Now there are orange colored pastries, orange wigs, orange crazy hats and citywide flea markets going on with thousands of people partying, dancing, drinking and trying to make a little money... Thursday evening at 6pm, the Utrechtse Vrijmarkt started, and Klasien and I decided that this was the time to be part of it! Some of you may know this and some of you may not, but I am a little bit claustrofobic and that was once more confirmed this evening. Klasien drove her car a little closer to the city center, she parked and off we went into the madness. I pushed Klasien in her wheel chair (she can't walk very well or long at all) and we walked through streets and streets with people with orange hair, orange shirts, orange pants, red-white blue shirts, orange noise makers and a whole lot of other orange things (someone had even decorated their cane with orange streamers)... And so many people!!! We even gave in and bought ourselves some funny hats (I hope you like them).... Oh my goodness. I had to pull Klasien over every so often to calm down a little bit and to catch my breath - I have never seen anything like it in my life! I will just show you a few pictures... I have no idea how much time we spent there; I was so grateful to be home again and I was also happy that I had experienced the Orange Maddness up close and personal! The Vrijmarkt goes on until 6pm on Friday; Klasien and I unanimously decided that we were not going on back on Friday! We were home and sat in Klasien's backyard for a little while because it was still so nice outside and we laughed so hard about the silly hats we were wearing and the silly selfportraits Klasien tried to take with my camera that we probably woke up any early sleepers that evening!

And before Thursday was over we had thunder and lightning and a lot of rain with more to come on Friday morning! Very unwanted weather for the nation-wide celebration!

The next day, Friday April 30, is the official Queen's Day celebration. Queen Beatrix became queen exactly 30 years ago, on April 30, 1980 in Amsterdam. At that time, I was going to college in Amsterdam and I watched all the preparations taking place. And although I stayed home on April 30, I saw the whole thing on TV and watched the riots that took place! Too much excitement, for sure! Anyhow, Queen Beatrix chooses each year where she and her family will celebrate April 30, and this year they went to the province Zeeland to visit the cities Wemeldinge and Middelburg. The entire event is televised and lots of orange can be seen! Klasien and I spent Friday morning in front of the TV commenting on the bad weather (it rained most of the morning), the cute clothes the ladies were wearing, and how enthusiastic everybody who was waiting for the arrival of the royal bus was even though it was cold and wet! This day is really a special day for the Dutch people. I suspect that even the fervent crusaders against the position and history of the royal family secretly enjoy the festivities and sense of comradery and community. This time I think that was even more significant after last year's tragedy where an alone, confused and sad man ran a car through the crowd in the town where the royal family was at the time and killed 7 people. This year's celebration was great, fantastic and no crazy incidents happened...

Later in the afternoon Klasien and I went to Ikea and to McDonalds! There were so many people everywhere that I was glad to be home again... did I mention I am just a tad claustrofobic? We watched the recap of Queen's Day on TV with a cup of coffee and an orange tompouce, which is two layers of flaky crust with yellow cream in between and a layer of orange sugar stuff on top... really nice!

Wednesday - Netherlands

Today was a busy day, people!


I finally got a glimpse of Edna who had all of a sudden disappeared on Saturday and was nowhere to be found until she finally showed up on Wednesday morning all worn and ragged in the questionable company of Iron Man... I asked, begged and twisted their arms, but to no avail. They were not talking. I packed her up and left Iron Man standing; he is NOT coming with me!

At 11 o'clock, Reinie and I left Brakel in her little Fiat loaded with all my luggage and drove all the way north to the small town of Kockengen where I grew up. Every time I visit my sisters, I like to go and see if the homes I grew up in are still there, I like to visit the cemetery where both my parents are buried, and I like to have lunch and see if I recognize anybody that comes by, riding their bikes... So many years ago, and so many memories! It's great to be there with Reinie. Below are a few pictures: the second house from the right in the row of four houses is the one I grew up in, yes with the road in front where I rode my bike and the canal where I fished. When I was 14 or so, my parents sold the row of houses and built a bungalow in the backyard where there already was a road put down by the government. We lived in the bungalow for the next 10 years or so until I moved to Leiden and worked at a book publishing company. And there is also a picture of the church I went to for the first 24 years of my life... Every time I go to Kockengen, I enjoy the sights and all and I am also grateful I don't live there anymore :-)

After lunch, Reinie and I drove a little further to Kamerik where my uncle and aunt had a dairy farm and where I very often went to visit and hang out with my cousins. My uncle passed away in 2000, and every time I visit my sisters, I like to go to see my Aunt Marrigje. We sit then around the table in her living room, we have coffee and cake and we talk about life as it was and as it is. I love my aunt and am so grateful that I get to visit her! She is now 81 years old and still more or less mobile and she enjoys company very much... we talk about my mother and father, and her husband and her children and of course she wants to know what is going on with me, and Reinie and her children and so on! She is just delightful, and at the end of the visit I say again: Aunt Marrigje, "tot ziens" - until next time!

Here is a picture of her and me, as well as a picture of the dairy farm where I used to come and play...

After visiting my aunt, Reinie and I went back to Kockengen where we visited my foster brother Krijn and his family. Krijn lived with us from 1980 until sometime in 1983. He and I hung out quite a bit together and caused a lot of rumors to start in town... and honestly, we did not mind starting a few on purpose :-) He is happily married with Krijnie, and has a lovely family with two daughters and a son... We had a great time talking and laughing and hanging out in their backyard!

Next stop was my sister Klasien in Utrecht where we arrived around 7 in the evening. I hauled my luggage into her house while Reinie tried to find a parking spot close... not easy at a time when everybody is home from work. When we were all in the house we decided what we wanted for dinner, and Reinie walked over to the Chinese restaurant where she ordered and brought home some delicious Indonesian food: nasi, bami, babi-pangang, sate and loempias... That was truly a feast! Reinie left just before 9:30, Klasien and I watched a tv program about the celebration of 30 years of Queen's Days (next one coming up on Friday), and the lights were out by 11:15... It was a great day, again!

Tuesday - Netherlands

It was a rather quiet day today: I made arrangements for visits with friends for next week. Reinie and I spent some time in the kitchen in the morning to prepare for dinner later. I made my mother's recipe for a Belgian Andive casserole dish, and Reinie made an awesome Tiramisu for dessert. I am taking that recipe with me for later use! Reinie and I also went on a walk in the town and enjoyed the narrow streets with beautifully maintained small old homes. We also ran into the most colorful parade of school children... Queen's Day was celebrated 3 days early for them because of vacation starting on Wednesday... I was so sorry that I had left my camera at home because it was quite a sight to behold: adults and children in red, white and blue outfits, orange hair, orange pants, orange shirts, (did I say orange hair?), lots of orange... it was great!

I was expecting two of my girlfriends for a visit this afternoon, and they will stay for dinner. Both these women I have known for a long time... I first met Jacqueline (on the left in the picture)when her dad came to the small town where I lived as the new head master of the elementary school I went to. My dad was on the school board at the time and the new head master came to introduce his family. I was 11 and Jacqueline was 9 at the time...

The other Jacqueline (right in the picture) I met when I went to an orientation meeting for a school/college in Amsterdam. I wanted to become a book publisher and this was the only school in The Netherlands that would train young people in that particular trade. So I went to the orientation meeting with my sister Klasien and met Jacqueline who was there to check out the school with her mother. She was more interested in the bookstore aspect of the school. We talked and both of us thought: well, she could be my friend if I get admitted to this school! I was 17 at the time and she was 18.


The Jacquelines only got to know each other because I was friends with both and when Bob and I got married in January of 2006, they contacted each other and decided to come to California to celebrate with us.


It was great to see them both and catch up on each other's lives and family event. I have known these women for a long time, and I am very grateful for their friendship!

Monday - Netherlands

This morning, Ab walked out the front door of their apartment to get the newspaper downstairs and had the number "60" dancing on his head! He enjoyed the full effect of the flags and balloons in front of his house and in the elevator, and came back in the house with a very happy smile, convinced that Reinie and I had pulled off this massive trick. Well, no, we had not! It took a little bit of time and confessing that I take sleeping aids every night, and it would be rather impossible for me to get up, get my act together and put up decorations without falling all over myself and off the stairs...

After debating the possibility that the neighbors were behind it, we came to the conclusion that that was not very likely either since most of them were on Ab's side of 60 and not on our side of 60, if you get my drift. That left only one candidate: Ab and Reinie's youngest son Marijn and his wife of 1 year Corinne. They have a key to the apartment, and they would be the only lean and limber people to climb up things and get it done. And sure enough, they admitted their crime!

During the morning Reinie and I prepared all kinds of food items for the birthday party that would start that afternoon. After good tradition, we made "bowl", which is basically a salad made from fresh fruit and from canned fruit, depending on the season. Our mother Lena used to make this for each adult birthday and solely from canned fruit. I applaud the fresh fruit addition; it tastes much better! The other tradition is something you can compare with potato salad, but with a lot more ingredients... Reinie and Ab made an enormous amount of this together on Sunday (it was almost 8 kilos which comes to about 17 pounds) and on Monday morning we put it on a platter and decorated it with eggs, little sausages, lettuce, pearl onions and tomatoes.

The first visitor was my sister Klasien who lives in Utrecht (I will be with her from Thursday until Saturday), the next visitors were my sister Hannie and brother-in-law Hijmen and next their oldest son Machiel who will be leaving for the States this Thursday to go on a 3-week trip visiting Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and he will also go river rafting on the Colorado river for 5 days! I really appreciated it that he would come to visit his aunt!

By the end of the afternoon, three of four sons (Sander, Christian and Marijn - Lennart came already on Sunday) were in the house with their respective wives (Carola, Marieke and Corinne) and the four grand children (Hannah and Ruben are Sander's, Daniel and Joel are Christian's) and the mayhem was going in full force! It was delightful and eerie to see my nephews operate in their status as fathers and my sister and brother-in-law as grandma and grandpa. I guess we have moved up a generation and the grandkids love their opa and oma, and opa and oma love their grandkids!

But after drinking coffee, tea and other things, and eating birthday cake, chocolates, peanuts, chips, sausage, cheese, and then moving on to dinner with tomato vegetable soup, the potato salad, and dessert, the kids got tired and all the packing began. Klasien and I sat and watched it all happening: the crying, the bags, the car seats, the lost children, the lost parents, the high chairs, the sleeping tent. It was like a beehive of activity! And lo and behold, after a while all was quiet for 15 minutes at which time the adult party began with the arrival of two of Ab's sisters with their husbands, and Ab's brother and his wife. They all welcomed their little brother to their side of 60! And then we did it again: coffee with cake, coffee with chocolates or cookies, something to drink ("bowl" was a winner here) and lots of snacks to eat...

Well, finally all was quiet in the house again around midnight! We went to bed quite exhausted, but very satisfied: it had been a great and fabulous 60th birthday!

Saturday and Sunday - Netherlands

Saturdaywas a beautiful day in the flat lands... the first warm day in a very long time after a long and snowy winter! We enjoyed it and had our morning coffee with a "Bosche Bol" on the balcony at my sister's place after my brother-in-law and I cleaned the stairwell and landings in their apartment building... Doesn't that sound familiar? Didn't I do that last Saturday? I guess traveling does something to the brain or the truth is that all people clean their stairwell and landings every Saturday... It was fun and of course, we laughed a lot while vacuum cleaning and mopping... And as all people who clean know, within 30 minutes after we were done there were already traces of bicycles and shoes on the tiles. Such is life! And by the way, a "Bosche Bol" is a regional delicacy existing of a rather large cream puff like pastry, filled with whipped cream and covered on the top with a thick layer of chocolate. When I used to visit my sister's family, I would always at some point during my stay treat the whole family and myself to "Bosche Bollen"... it's a tradition!

We went grocery shopping the store right across the street of Reinie and Ab's apartment building and I was in charge of picking some things that I had on my list of food items to eat while in the Netherlands... Of course, I gladly obliged! "Bitterkoekjes" and "Ontbijtkoek" found their way easily into the shopping basket... I don't think I can explain what any of these items are because I don't think anything like it exists in the States. So sorry! By now the "Bitterkoekjes" are gone and the "Ontbijtkoek" is halfway; certainly delicious!
We sat some more on the balcony in the afternoon and around 4:30 we left and drove to an extraordinarily beautiful region of Holland that is close by where Reinie and Ab live. The most gorgeously blooming apple and cherry treest were proudly showing of their blossoms! Spring is really the best time of the year to visit! The grass is green, new leaves on the trees are popping up and you can see the difference in growth overnight... it is absolutely beautiful!

A little after 6 we stopped in a city by the name of "Buren" where a lot of streets and homes were already decorated with red, white, blue and orange in anticipation of the celebration of Queen Beatrix' birthday on April 30. The queen's birthday is actually in January, but that is no month to have a lot of outdoor festivities! When Beatrix became queen 30 years ago this year, she decreed that Queen's Day would continue to be celebrated on April 30, which was her mother's (Juliana) birthday... Everybody was happy about that! Anyhow, "The Pannekoekenbakker" was open and hopping with business on this first warm day of the year. The three of us chose each our favorite pancake and had fun watching throngs of people coming and going... I had my mouth set for a pancake with bacon, ham, cheese and onion, topped of with some nice syrup! Delicious and I had a bit of indigestion after, but who cares! I didn't; it was ssssoooooooo worth it!

We were back home by 8:30 and I was in bed by 10. Sunday morning I drove myself in Reinie's little Fiat to Giessenburg where Rafael Giessenlanden meets every Sunday. It was from this church that I came to Coastlands almost 16 years ago. Each time I am in the Netherlands, I like to visit and say hello to some people that are still there from when I was there between December 1990 and September 1994. Arie van Oudheusden had just returned from the Foursquare Europe Conference in Spain (just like the Swiss pastors and the Albanian Pastors) and it was great to see him!

After church I went to the home of Bertjan and Rinske Krale (yes, Bertjan is Martijn's brother) and there were also some other friends gathered: Jaap and Aartje van Vliet (they and their family were a safe and very fun place for me during the 3 years before my departure to the States and when my mother came for a visit in 1997, Aartje came with her), Rene and Annette van Straten (Mirte's parents - Mirte is now an intern at Coastlands and was about 3 years old when I left the Netherlands), and my friends Margriet van Oord and Ineke Gusseklo. All dear people who I have kept in touch with one way or another. We had a great time sitting in the backyard at Bertjan and Rinske's home, close to the water and under a large tree... I told my story and how all of this traveling came about as well as about the future that the Lord has for me, and not only for me but also for them. The Lord has always something new for us, if we allow Him to. If we decide we are done, then our growth and dependence upon the Lord comes to a screetching halt... I had such a good time!

I was back home around 4 o'clock, where my nephew Lennart had arrived. He studies History and War History in particular and is now in the process of doing research for his final thesis. It was obvious that he is ready to be done, only this last big hurdle... He also has signed up to be sort of a guinnea pig for medications. Yes, you heard that right. He goes to an office in the north of the countyr and takes a dose of whatever type of medication needs to be research. The research people take his blood and make sure they know how he is responding to the medication and then he gets paid a decent amount of euros. Depending on the researched medication, he stays at this place with room and board for a few days or two and a half weeks. The first 24 hours after he takes the dose, they check him every 15 minutes but after that he has plenty of time to s tudy. He says that so far he has had no bad experiences! A funny and amazing way to make some money, really!

Well, I was in bed again by 10... tomorrow is Ab's 60th Birthday!!!

Friday - Switzerland/Germany/Netherlands

Friday was travel day, and travel I did, alright... Fritz and Vreni brought me to the trainstation in Belp and made sure I got on the right train. I will miss these two dear people very much! They have such loving and embracing hearts, and they are such a safe place for me and a whole lot of other people... And what I really like about them is that they are obedient to the Lord above all things, and they are adventurous!

So, in Bern Haupt Bahnhof I switched trains to get on the ICE train to Frankfurt... I found my reserved seat and made myself comfortable. Fritz had insisted upon getting me train reservations for the two long stretches, because of the ash still bellowing around in Europe. The airtraffic is getting on its way, but a lot of people will not take the risk of being stranded and so they take the train instead... It was really good advice, because pretty much all the chairs in first class were taken.

In Frankfurt I switched trains again and found my seat in wagon 28 at the very end of the train. This was going to be a three and a half hour train ride (between Bern and Frankfurt was four hours), and as it turned out we arrived 20 minutes late in Utrecht, where I then missed my connection to Zaltbommel where my sister Reinie would pick me up at a quarter of six in the afternoon. The station in Utrecht has always been a beehive of activity since it is the biggest hub in the country. This Friday afternoon it was even more hectic, because earlier in the afternoon there had been a power outage which then puts the entire train schedule out of order. On top of that, there were announcements that two trains had been in collisions with "a person". Now that is never good. People were walking around trying to figure out which train at what track was going where, and the trains were like sardine cans, so full with people. Since I have not been able to get my cell phone to work, I asked a friendly looking lady if she had a mobile phone and if I maybe could call my sister to let her know that I was coming with the next train, 30 minutes later. The lady was very nice and dialed the number for me and everything. So, at 6:20pm I met Reinie at the Zaltbommel trainstation! She took me home where my brother-in-law was and one of my nephews and his wife. We had dinner, went for a walk in the neighborhood and I was in bed a little bit after 10! It is great to be back in the flat land, and being with Martijn and Ellen in Poland helped tremendously with the transition to speak Dutch...

BTW: Geneva won game 6 in the Swiss Ice Hockey championships. The last game will be played on Saturday, but I don't know if I can get you the end results because the Dutch don't care about ice hockey :-)

Thursday - Switzerland

Thursday was a beautiful day! The sun was out, the sky was blue (mostly) and the trees are getting their new leaves! After breakfast Fritz, Vreni and I went to the Quelle church with enough time for Fritz to give me the grand tour of the Quelle office, the rooms for the kids and youth, and finally we all ended up in the Foyer for the daily Quelle coffee break. It was quite a delight to be with Camille and Lily, with Esther and Karina and their children and see Kurt Kammermann be a grandpa! I said my "see you later" to Robby, Claudi, Joel and Salome and then Aline Waelti with her 3 daughters and I walked the short distance to their home. Aline and Thomas were interns at Coastlands just about 5 years ago, and Aline was pregnant with Hanna, their first one. Now there is also Lena and Nina... On our short walk home, both Hanna and Lena took to me like bees to honey, held my hand and wanted to show me their bedrooms (I believe that now to be the ultimate test of trustworthiness). They actually made me sit on the couch in their living room and read them a book. They even wanted me to do that after their mother told them that I would be reading the book in high German instead of Swiss German... so there I went. I have no idea if they actually understood what I was saying, but they responded in the right way at the right time. I guess that means something!

Fritz came to pick me up around 12 noon and we hurried on home where I set the table and he made the fondue. It was delicious! I had fun telling them about the "Asterix and Obelix in the Helvetica" episode where the guy who looses his bread in the fondue pan is punished by "kiel halen"... I don't know the English word for it, but it involves a long rope tied around a ship (from the deck down the outside and underneath the ship and than back onto the deck on the other side)... with possible death as side effect. Not pleasant. Any how, I spent the rest of the afternoon with Fritz and Vreni. We went to a glass factory in Helgiswil, and had a great time with each other and watching craftsmen blow glass... Remarkable!

On the way home, Fritz and Vreni dropped me off at the home of Thomas and Julia Zahnd where I enjoyed a lovely dinner with them and their kids Antonella and Dario... Thomas and Julia and I all shared about our lives and where we find ourselves in the midst of it. I had the privilege of praying for them, and am so very grateful that we are friends!

I need to let you know that the hockey game on Tuesday evening was actually game 5 (not game 6 as I had told you previously) between Bern and Geneva. Tonight (Thursday) game 6 is being played, and at the time of closing of this blog post the end score is unknown. I go to bed now; tomorrow is Friday and travel day!

Wednesday - Switzerland

This morning I woke up a little bit later than usual; I went to bed later on Tuesday, and my legs were very tired from all the walking I had done on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday... The body said: no, your will maybe strong, but I am not going along! Can you imagine that? So, I was moving rather slow and when Fritz proposed to take me up to the Belpberg, I said: only if there is no walking! He said it would be no more than 200 meters, and that Vreni would come along also. As you may have noticed on the pictures she is walking with crutches at the moment (on Monday she will be a free woman again!). She had corrective surgery on a bone in her left foot and has been in a brace for several weeks now... she can't wait for the whole thing to be over! So up the Belpberg we went in Fritz and Vreni's 20-year old Volkswagen camper! They are quite the adventurous couple, travel all over Europe in their little VW bus and know how to have a good time.

On top of the Belpberg we had a good view of the surrounding area and even the Alps in the distance and parts of the Jura on the Italian side of Switzerland... It's a beautiful country and I told Fritz and Vreni that the landscape sometimes looks like we are in a doll house... it's picture perfect with the little house plopped down in green pastures with cows and sheep. Gorgeous, really!

We were back at the house before 10 and Fritz left again in the bus to go to the Quelle church office and then on to the VW mechanic to have the battery changed. At 11 Matthias Nowak came by to pick me up to bring me to his home in Zimmerwald and have lunch with Franzi and himself. We spent several hours together over sparkling water, rosti, sausage and salad and coffee. We talked about the last year and a half of my life and about Delta church and VBS that is happening at the Delta church in Bern in July. It was wonderful to be with them and make plans for mission teams!

At about 2:30 in the afternoon, Gunter and Cornelia Bruttel came to the Nowak's home to pick me up for the second part of the afternoon at their home! The Bruttel family lived at Coastlands for 1 year in 1996/1997, and now their children Michelle and Philippe are young adults... That is how I know I am getting older! Catching up over homemade Swiss apple pie and a nice cup of coffee was great. I very much enjoyed their stories about their internship and about their life right now...

By 6 o'clock I was back at the Schaller's home where four others were expected to arrive shortly to join us for dinner and have cell group at the house. Two out of the four came to Coastlands with Kurt Kammermann's team in September and said that they had such a good time then and enjoyed very much to taste the atmosphere of our church. It was really funny again to notice that I understood some of the things that were talked about during the meeting... Vreni is always happy to translate a bit, but in these type of settings it is rather distracting I think, so most of the time I just listen and more often than not I do understand a whole lot more than I (and others) thought I would...

Tuesday - Switzerland

Tuesday morning I woke up early and excited about the day ahead! Fritz, Vreni and I had breakfast and by 8:15 Fritz and I were at the train station in Belp to make reservations for the international trains I will be taking on Friday (I will travel to the Netherlands then), as well as buying a ticket to take the train to Bern at 8:35. At 8:55 I was at Bern Haupt Bahnhoff, and met Anna Saurer and Katrin Schiesser. Anna was an intern at Coastlands in 1995 and she and her friend Caroline and I shared a room and many great moments together. Katrin and her husband Flo were interns in 2008. It was great to see them! They got me a cup of coffee and we found a nice little cabin in the train. The first leg of our trip (train ride from Bern to Interlaken Ost) took an hour and I did all the talking. The second leg (train ride from Interlaken Ost to Brienz) took about a half hour and I made them talk and during the third leg (a bus from Brienz to Ballenberg) we laughed and joked and admired the landscape. Ballenberg is a park where the different regions of Switzerland are represented in homes, farm homes and buildings, equipment, vocations and lovely farm animals. We had a great time walking around and watching bread being baked in a stone oven with a wood burning fire underneath, watching someone cook a pot of vegetable soup on a wood burning stove and actually tasting it, and watching a blacksmith at work. It was lovely talking to the very friendly people who baked and cooked and worked the leather of the cow bell leashes (I have no idea how you call those things, but they are beautifully decorated with hand stitching). We had a great time and at the end we visited the Ballenberg Chocolaterie and treated ourselves to some local handmade chocolates.

Around 3 in the afternoon, we did the trip in reverse order: bus, train, train and then arrived in Ostermundingen where both Anna and Katrin live. At Katrin's home, the three of us were joined by Pia Freiburghaus, who was an intern at Coastlands in 2007 when Bob was also an intern and we were living on campus. It was so great to see Pia and catch up with her. We told crazy stories about things that happened in our internships and had a great time together! Pia dropped me off at the Schaller's home and then I watched a little bit of ice hockey with Fritz (who used to play) and Vreni: Bern against Geneva in the finals for the Swiss Championships... The team who wins 4 out of 7 games will be the champions. Tuesday's game was game 6 (Bern had won 3 and Geneva 2)... It was rather intense, I can tell you that! Ultimately, Geneva scored the winning goal in overtime, and now both teams won 3 games. Thursday evening is game 7!

Monday - Switzerland

As opposed to what some people may think, "Baerlauch" is not made of cow tongues and in actuality it is quite a delicacy... "Baerlauch" is wild garlic or broad-leaf garlic. It grows out in the forests and its name refers to the fact that bears love this stuff and would dig it up from the forest floor! It's lovely what you can find out from Wikipedia!

Well, Monday morning started out with breakfast and laundry, and Fritz being called in to be emergency transportation for Albanian pastors... Because of the ash cloud that has been hanging over Europe none of the pastors who had visited the European Foursquare Convention in Spain was able to take a plane back to where they came from. All the Swiss pastors took a bus from Spain all the way to Bern, and Fritz met them to take 3 Albanian pastors who had traveled with them to the train station in Bern for their next section of travel home. I am glad I am traveling by train and automobile and not by plane at this time.

Fritz was back at home a little after 11 and all three of us piled in the car and went to a kitchen design showroom. Fritz and Vreni are selling their home to one of their sons, and are buying an apartment in the downtown Belp. Yes, they are downsizing and excited about it! They would like to update their new kitchen a little bit and went to see what was available at the showroom and it was so fun for me to come along and admire the European modern kitchen designs... really gorgeous! So the three of us went around the store, opening and closing all doors and drawers, and peeking into ovens, steamers and refrigerators...

At about 12:30, the Schallers dropped me off at the building where Quelle has their church, because one of the flats on the second floor is where the Henger Family lives: Robby and Claudia were interns at Coastlands more than 10 years ago, and Robby is the guy who gave me Edna; it was a very happy reunion for all of us! Joel Henger is now 13 years old and Salome is 11; both of them are tall and blond and blue-eyed and they have great smiles, just like their parents. We had fun talking Englisch, German and Dutch while eating lunch! At 2 o'clock, the hair stylist made a housecall at the Henger's home and Joel and Salome got their haircut while Robby and Claudi and I sat around the table with a cup of coffee and talked up a storm...

After the hair cuts were taken care of, Robby and Claudi and I went for a walk by the Aare, which was great and it turned out to be rather warm; spring is certainly in the air and maybe even here! We were back at the Henger's home right in time for a couple of glasses of water, and the short walk across the street to Bernhard and Susanna Eichenberger's apartment.

Susanna had invited Roosmarie Wunderli and Kathy Witmer to come along for dinner in Thun with us. Susanna and I picked up the other 2 ladies and drove to Thun which is a really nice old town located beautifully at a lake. The plan was to sit by the water for a little bit and then we would go to the city center and pick a restaurant at the Munster Platz and eat dinner. Well, as it turned out, on Monday Susanna's favorite place at the lake was closed! So, we helped ourselves to some chairs by the water anyway and enjoyed the view of the mountains, and started our conversations, which continued and continued and continued when we went to the Platz and decided that we were going to eat Thai food. We had dinner outside under the setting sun with a lot of coming and going people around us, and we talked and talked and talked. Again, lots of tears and laughter... Susanna brought me home by 9:30 and I thoroughly tired and happy!

Sunday - Switzerland

I have had inquiries regarding a few things I mentioned in my blog, and since certain people are so very insistend upon finding out what is what :-): here is the explanation. The tool that Gisela is holding in her hand on the picture at her mother-in-law's grave is actually a hedge trimmer with a round blade, not a brush of any kind... With the trimmer we tried to cut down and shape the hedge planted on the grave.

With the phrase "Auf Wedersehen hier oder im Himmel" I said to Aunt Traude "See you later here (on this earth) or in heaven". Now for sure, I will see her in heaven and no more on this earth.

On Sunday morning, the three of us had breakfast and got ready for church. Quelle starts their gathering at 9:45 with coffee (of course!) and conversation and we joined them right on time :-)! Again, I saw lots of old friends during that time as well as later on during the break-out time and after the service was over... Daniel and Roosmarie Wunderli (they stayed on campus in 1996), Pierino (a pastor from Italy who will be visiting Coastlands in June), Susanna and Bernhard (both were interns more than 10 years ago), Thomas and Julia Zahnd and others. Of course my calendar for this week is now a little bit fuller than when I just got here! So much fun to see all those lovely faces! Kurt and Christine Kammermann were not in town this weekend; they went with Gunter and Cornelia to a young church in the Jura to help out there.

It was a great service (Vreni translated a few things for me) and I even started to understand a little bit of Swiss-German. At some point at the end of the service, the worship team was singing a song in Swiss-German, and I did not understand a word of it although I could see the words on the overhead. Nevertheless, I cried and I was wondering what that was all about. Then I looked again at the words of the song and all of a sudden I just understood what the words were: You are all I want, You are all I need, You alone... It seemed like my spirit spoke the language already; it was just my brain that needed to catch up!

After church we went home, had a quick lunch and we all went down for a nap. Of course we had been talking about the ash cloud that has been hanging over Europe and specifically over Switzerland in the last few days. Today we really noticed because the day light was just a bit different; it felt darker everywhere. After the nap, Fritz and I went for a walk to the river Aare. We crossed the fields with farms and cows and chickens and walked to the river... Fritz is a wealthy source of information and is in his element in this area. He told me about beavers that escaped from the zoo in Bern and that are now around the river and we surely saw the traces of the beavers' work: fallen trees with bite marks and the bark and leaves chewed off. We sat by the river and I even put my feet in the river! Very cold and fast moving water, that's for sure. We walked and talked for almost 2 hours and it was so refreshing to be out.

I find great joy in seeing all my friends and also at the same time it takes a lot out of me. Not everybody knows the story about Bob and his passing, and I tell them. I cry, they cry and then we wipe our tears and talk about the Lord and what is really important in life. It is remarkable what happens in a relatively very short amount of time. I can only say that the Lord has his hand in my travels and conversations, and I don't even try hard; it just happens and that is so wonderful to me, and comforting. It is comforting to know that He indeed goes before me and that He takes the words I say and lets them sink into people's hearts where those words are needed or speak to something that is deep and hidden.

When Fritz and I came home from our walk, it was pouring down rain all of a sudden! Strange light and strange weather, that's for sure. Fritz and Vreni's daughter Tabea came over and cooked dinner with her mom, which was fun to watch! We had a lovely dinner and evening and retired to bed by about 10... I still need to find out what "Baerlauch" is since I ate it for dinner...

Saturday - Switzerland

Thank God, Saturday was indeed a new day! Most of the headache was gone and I felt a thousand times better than Friday evening. In hindsight I don't think it was at all surprising that I had a physical reaction to the hospital visits, Aunt Traude's passing and the news from California that 2 people from Coastlands passed away. I pray and I cry.

Fritz, Vreni and I had breakfast and at 9:30 we left the house and were on our way to Quelle, Kurt Kammermann's church in Kehrsatz which is about 6 kilometers or 4 miles from Belp where Fritz and Vreni live. At 10 o'clock on Saturday mornings a lot of people from Quelle church get together and hang out for a little bit, and then, YES YOU GUESSED IT: they clean the church together! It was great! I met many old friends (Kurt, Bernhard, Gunther and Thomas and Aline for starters) and made many new friends! And I cleaned the stairwell at the church... That was not just a stairwell. Quelle is located in a 5-story building; the meeting room is on the ground floor and then there are offices and classrooms on other floors, as well as businesses, doctors offices and a restaurant. My new friend Monika and I did 5 floors of stairwells and landings. Monika did the mopping after I had vacuum cleaned the steps and the landings. The really cool part was that I carried the vacuum cleaner on my back; it was a backpack vacuum cleaner! Very clever and extraordinarily great for the job! It took us almost an hour and a half to get it all done; I felt very satisfied to have done my part!


At 11:30 Fritz and Vreni drove me to The Rosengarten in Bern, where Elisabeth Skottke was waiting for me outside a beautiful restaurant. We wanted to have lunch outside but the wind was rather strong and cold, so we decided to relocate inside. We had a lovely lunch together and caught up on each other's lives with tears and laughter. I know Elisabeth since about 16 years or so from Coastlands and this afternoon I spent with her. After lunch, we walked down to where the old bear cave used to be. There has been great joy in the city of Bern for the happy arrival of 2 bear cubs in the town! They are in the news now pretty much daily, as a dose of happyness in a rather dreary world. Since the old cave could not hold 4 bears, the city of Bern decided to relocate them to a hillside near the river and make it safe and viewable all the way around... and there sure are a lot of people who want to see what is going on with the bears. Papa Bear has been separated from the family, for fear he would eat the little ones. Mama Bear and the cubs were sleeping outside on the wall and looked very happy and lazy.

Elisabeth and I continued to walk and talk along the river Aare for a while, then crossed over and took a little cable car type vehicle up the hill, so we did not have to put our old bones through the strain of walking up hill. We chose a nice terrace to have dessert and had a great time together!

We walked through the old town of Bern and Elisabeth showed me the toy store where she works and trains young people with psychological problems. Her job is to train, evaluate, instruct and correct these young people to get them ready to enter a professional work environment. It was great to hear her explain the process and how she likes to further these young people's development! I bought some flowers for Vreni at the flower market and on the way to the train station we ran some other errands and then Elisabeth put me on the train from Bern to Belp (an 11 minute train ride on the fast track). Fritz picked me up in Belp and showed me where I should walk to get home from the train station if need be.

Back at home, Vreni had cooked dinner and we were expecting the arrival of a couple, Fred and Susie who would join us for dinner this evening. The five of us had a marvelous time, with lots of laughter, mostly caused by language issues. Fred and Susie own a language school and they themselves have surely an ear for languages. They even knew a bunch of Dutch words of which "slurf" was (hands down) the favorite! We laughed so hard it was painful....

Thursday and Friday - Germany and Switzerland

Thursday morning was a morning of going places and seeing people. Gisela and I first went to the hospital to see Aunt Traude, which was actually rather difficult because the nurse on duty was not the kindest person... but Gisela can be quite convincing, so we were let in the door at the ICU and could stay for 2 minutes. Aunt Traude was in very much pain and it was sad to see her. We prayed for her and when we left I told her: "Auf Wedersehen hier oder im Himmel". She smiled and understood. Gisela emailed me later that Aunt Traude went to be with Jesus on Saturday morning.

After the hospital visit we went to Aunt Traude's garden. Aunt Traude kept a beautiful garden with roses and all kinds of other flowers, as well as a green house with the most gorgeous orchids. We picked some of the flowers for the table decorations at Kaffee Klatsch in the afternoon and fertilized the roses with cut-up pieces of banana peel. Yes, you read that right: save your banana peels, cut them in small pieces and spread them around the rose bushes, and they will bloom like you would not believe! There is always something new to be learned, now isn't there?!

Our next stop was Gisela's brother's house where her niece had a cake ready for pickup for the Kaffee Klatsch. We picked up the cake and drove over to the church, dropped off the cake and the flowers, and walked across the street to the bank, where I finally got some money.

Then we went home where Gisela prepared lunch and I prepared for the Kaffee Klatsch in the afternoon. Gisela and I sat and talked for a while and then I had the privilege to pray for her. It is so great to know that I don't have to know all the answers; the Lord does however, and the only thing I need to do is ask Him and He will give me what I need. It is really a wonderful arrangement!

At 2:30 in the afternoon we left the house with all my luggage and drove to church where Gabi already was making coffee and hot water for tea. Slowly but surely, a total of 14 women of all ages gathered and we were having a great time with the cakes that people brought; of course I had to taste a little bit of all the offerings... After we had devoured the cake, we sang a few worship songs and it was my turn to talk and to be translated. Funny enough I was not really nervous; I was just very aware that if the Lord did not infuse my words with His spirit, they would all fall flat on the tables without any life in them. I gave my testimony (a short and condensed version) and then I mentioned a few things that I feel the Lord likes me/us to do: to be grateful, to be courageous and to be obedient. After all was said and done, there were tears and laughter and many times "Auf Wedersehen" to me :-). It was great to be there and make friends with Gabi and Renate and Maria and Hilde and Reinhild.

At about 5:30pm, Gisela and I got back in the car and we drove to Estingen where Jurgen and Gudrun Zeeh pastor a church. Estingen is in the Schwabisch Alb, which is a beautiful area in southwest Germany. The Zeeh family lives in an old farmhouse that they have updated and remodeled. Jurgen and Gudrun have 3 children: Malia, John and Ben. And when I arrived Gudrun's sister Monika was also there for a vacation. Gisela and I said our "see you later"; she had to drive back to Frickenhausen, and I stayed with Jurgen and Gudrun. I would really like to go back to Gisela; she is really a missionary in a western country without a friend to talk to.

We had a quick dinner with breads and cheeses in the eat-in kitchen and got to know each other as fast as we could :-). A few minutes before eight that evening, Jurgen and I walked over to the church building and attended a planning meeting for the coming weekend when the Shelter Alb would host a "Cleansing Stream Ministries" weekend, where several members would be involved in prayer teams. It was great to see how people were involved and how they looked forward to participating in something that they had experienced before themselves, and they were now anticipating and preparing for others. After the meeting Jurgen and Gudrun and I sat around the kitchen table and talked for a long time. Finally at 11:30 we went to bed.

The next morning I got up and went to the kitchen were Gudrun already was busy getting the kids to school and making coffee. We had a good conversation, breakfast, and I got ready to pack up my bags again. Right before it was time for Jurgen to get me to the train station in Reutlingen, the door bell ran 3 times in a row and 3 different women walked in the door. It was great and fun! One of the women was Kirstin who was an intern at Coastlands in 2001. It was great to see her and reminisce for a little bit about the time that my sister Klasien was visiting California and they became friends. Kirstin is doing well, working in a bookstore/coffee shop and enjoying church life at Jurgen's church. Then it was finally time for me to get in the car and head for the train station. Jurgen helped me get my EurRail Pass properly stamped and activated and he put me on the train with instructions on how to change trains in Stuttgart and Zurich. It was really nice traveling first class in the German and Swiss train...

I arrived in Bern punctually at 3 minutes before 4 o'clock in the afternoon and my friends Fritz and Vreni were waiting for me! It was so very nice to see familiar faces after meeting so many new people! They took me home and showed me my bed and I was so very grateful!

That evening at 6, Fritz dropped me off at Kevin and Camille Kammermann's place for dinner, where I met Lily who is a gorgeous little girl with beautiful blue eyes and the longest black eye lashes I have ever seen! Unfortunately, I was not able to stay very long due to a not-so-nice headache (potentially a migraine) that had bothered me all day long already... Kevin brought me back to Fritz and Vreni's house and I was in bed by 8pm in hopes that Saturday would be a new day...