Howdy, everyone! I’m sorry we haven’t had more commentary up on the local website concerning our trip so far! It really is going very well, but out Internet connections have been very limited. The WiFi in our hotels has been “iffy” and I have been trying to conserve my 3G data plan for more necessary things, like Google maps while we are out and about.
However, things are going very smoothly, and if you are praying for us, I appreciate it very much! As I write this, I am on the plane between Berlin and Rome (will upload it later when we are at our hotel–assuming I have a connection to use!), which took off about 3 hours late due to technical problems with the scheduled aircraft. Still–no worries! Waiting around Berlin’s Schönefeld airport, I understand why the city is building a new one. It is a bit cramped given the amount of international travel it must process.
(Small anecdote: There is one very angry German passenger aboard who was irritated that the departure was delayed and that he was asked to hand over his large-ish carry on luggage so that it could be stored elsewhere. Thought he was going to be kicked off, but he seems top have calmed down. Jeanine and I noted that some people don’t seem to understand what it means to fly a “budget airline” like this one!)
While I will save many things for the video below (assuming I can upload one) and for the slide show that we are planning to put together and present in each area, but let me take some time to catch you up since the last Friday Night Greetings…
As I mentioned in the last video, the trip to France was marvelous. Jeanine frequently remarked how frustrating it must be for Reuben to see Ephraim and Manasseh at the helm of the world while he is held back by the consequences of Genesis 49:3-4. Clearly the French are a gifted people with a fascinating history. We both wish we had more time to spend in Paris, and I am seriously thinking of taking up French.
We mentioned last time our visit with the Boyer family in Louvier. On Friday we were picked up at the train station by Rees Ellis, who helped us to our hotel for Friday & Saturday night, which happened to be the same hotel where services are held for the Belgium congregation there in Charleroi. What wonderful people they were! Simply marvelous, friendly people. I took a picture of the congregation and told them that you would want to see them, so we will show you that when we return. (I wish we could have met with the Paris congregation, as well, but I communicated our trip too late to make such plans, and I owe Mr. Larde my apologies — though that does give us a good excuse to return!) as Mr. Ellis asked me to talk about what I do and about the Work for the sermonette time and then I had the sermon after the announcements. I told them I would work hard to make sure I went overtime a little so that I could tell my congregations back home that Brussels was getting a realistic experience like all of you do. After services we went to Mr. & Mrs. Ellis’ home for a pleasant dinner and conversation with some additional guests from the congregation, including a couple who was baptized fairly recently and who had found us on the Internet.
Sunday, Mr. & Mrs. Ellis took us to Brugge, Belgium–often called the Venice of the North–which was a gorgeous city, as well as to, believe it or not, the Potato Museum and the Chocolate Museum. Then, Mr. Ellis dropped us off in Brussels where Jeanine and spent most of our evening checking out the amazing Grand Palace and then settling in for the night in our third hotel room of the trip. In the morning, it was a quick trip with Mr. Ellis to the famous battlefield of Waterloo to learn about the extraordinary end of that resurrection of the Beast power (really, amazing!) and on to the “Parlamentarium” — an exhibit in Brussels meant to explain and celebrate the origins and workings of the European Union and its government. Their material said that a trip to the Parlamentarium would only last an hour, but WOW were they wrong. We could have easily spent half-a-day or more there, and it was fascinating. Regrettably, the Parliament chambers, themselves, were closed for technical purposes (repairs or upgrades), though we did get to drive by the car of either Herman Van Rompuy or José Manuel Barroso as it was labeled “EU 1” or “EURO 1.” Mr. Ellis, himself, had never been to the Parlamentarium, and he quickly decided to try and schedule a trip here for the European LYC campers, believing that it would be time well spent.
The displays in Brussels were very educational about the thought processes behind those continually pushing for a greater and more integrated Europe. As Adrian Hilton once observed (my paraphrase), when Europe encounters problems, the answer always seems to be “more Europe.” After visiting the Parlamentarium, the thinking behind that rational became much more clear to us.
That evening (Monday night), we flew into Berlin, and crashed in our hotel room after a late dinner. I will likely talk more about Berlin in the video below, so let me save those details for that. Suffice it to say that the differences between French culture and German culture were on great display! Not that one was better and the other worse, but they are, indeed, different. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Berlin, and the educational bike tours that we took which covered the rise of Nazism, the experiences of the Jews, the Berlin Wall and the Cold War were simply phenomenal. Valuable experiences that we will never forget and which have helped us put so many things we had heard before into not only a very real perspective but also a “whole” one, where little pieces of things we had already known finally fit together.
I admit: I already miss both France and Berlin. I wish we could have seen more of them both (and could have spent more time with the Boyers and the Belgium brethren and Mr. & Mrs. Ellis!), but it is time to move on and both of us are excited about Rome. ACTUALLY, we are excited about the Sabbath! We are pretty exhausted, and since there is no congregation in Rome we will be keeping the Sabbath with each other. Personally, I plan on looking up some passages about Pergamos, Miletus, and Babylon and about some of the kings of Assyria this Sabbath, as we saw some magnificent stone works and “imported ruins” from those areas and leaders at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. (Note: On the ruins from Miletus, there was no graffiti that said “Trophimus was here.”)
Our plane should be beginning its descent soon, so I will stop here. I the video below I’ll discuss more about our time in Berlin. I hope you’ve enjoyed this update, and as much as we are enjoying our trip we can’t wait to be home!
Here’s the greetings video for tonight. Have a marvelous Sabbath!
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