Tuesday - Netherlands

One of the people I wanted to visit while here in the flat land, is Martin Sloots and his wife Liesbeth. I have known Martin and Liesbeth since 1991 when they lived in Bergen op Zoom and were involved with the christian counseling organization "Koinonia" where I had living arrangements and where I worked before I came to California. Our dear Linda Mulder (now Barnum) came to Coastlands several years back from the church Martin and Liesbeth started in Beilen 12 years ago. Martin also visited Coastlands a few times over the years.
I had sent him an email several weeks before the start of my trip to see about the possibility of a visit, and promised to call him when I was in the country. Last week Tuesday morning I called his home and spoke with Liesbeth. She told me that Martin was not feeling well, that he had had (and still has) chest pains and that he was on the list for a heart catheterization where they insert tubes through the veins to see what is going on, and that they had no idea when he was going to be called in. We decided that she would call me to let me know. Saturday evening Liesbeth called to let me know that the same Tuesday, in the evening, Martin was brought to the hospital by ambulance because of severe chest pain. The hospital in Assen tried to do the catheterization procedure, unfortunately to no avail. Some of Martin's arteries are not like others and they could not get it done. He was still in the hospital in Assen where they tried to figure out what to do next. Liesbeth gave me his cell phone number so I could call him myself.
I was trying to plan the next week of my stay in The Netherlands, and was not sure what to do now. Then on Sunday in the service in the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam with my sister, I understood that no matter what happened I was to go see Martin wherever he was. So Monday morning I called his cell phone number and left a message, and I kept calling his home number until I got a hold of Liesbeth and asked what the status was. She said that nothing had happened yet, he was still in the hospital in Assen, but that he would be transferred to the University Hospital in Groningen on Tuesday where they would try again the procedure to see what is going on in Martin's heart. So I went to Groningen today!

Else and Jeroen put me on the train at 10 in the morning and around 1:30 in the afternoon I walked into Martin's hospital room with all my luggage :-); it must have been a sight to behold! He was happy to see me! We sat down and talked about the early days and talked about the present days, we talked about the future days and how Coastlands could encourage Martin and Liesbeth's church and we prayed for each other. It was a wonderful 40-minute visit, while waiting for the nurses to show up to take him away to get the procedure done; however they did not come during those 40 minutes. I am grateful that I went to see him!

I decided to have lunch in the hospital's restaurant before getting back on the bus and the train to go to Jubbega, which is a small town in the province Friesland, where my friend Thirza and her husband Hans and their daughters Elise and Suzan live. Almost 2 hours after I left the hospital, Thirza and Elise picked me up from the busstop and brought me to their beautiful home. Thirza and I used to be roommates (in 2 different houses) from December 1990 until September 1994 at which time I came to Coastlands. They moved to Jubbega from Rotterdam at the end of 2008, and they love their home, and they are also involved in the one and only local church where they bring the flavor of Jesus and faith that people find very surprising and intrigueing! I think it's absolutely marvelous and great! Missionaries in their own country!

We had a lovely time together before, during and after dinner when I got the tour around the property, the shed and the guest house in the making. Thirza and I sat in their very old camper bus for quite some time, just catching up... I went to bed a little before 11 in the evening and realized that firstly, this was the eleventh place I laid my head to rest in the last four weeks, and secondly, I had never slept on a waterbed before...