Bits From Belgium - Week 6

~ Psalm 40:5 ~


Bonjour les amis et la famille!

Week 6 is here already (or at last?)!!! I have now been in this beautiful, amazing country for 6 weeks, and have only 6 1/2 weeks left until I pack up everything from my new and different life here and climb back on a plane headed for the United States and family, friends, Englais, and home! I honestly find it hard to believe I have been here 6 weeks! That sounds like such a long time, and yet it has flown right by! I continue to be enthralled by the many new things I see and learn every day here! I have a feeling the next 6 1/2 weeks will be gone before I know it as well! Oh dear... so much more to see, learn, and experience before then!! :-)

So how are you and how has this week been for you?! I continue to be greatly encouraged by your e-mails, pictures, letters, postcards, etc.! Merci beacoup et vous êtes merveilleux!

It has been a very busy, exciting week for me here, so I'll get right on to the bits about it! :-)

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Mercredi - 15 Août, 2007 - My day off. Nothing much exciting. It was another national holiday, so all the stores and all were closed. I had a quiet day of sleeping in, reading, writing, etc. Nothing thrilling to report other than the fact that my "batteries" were recharged for the week!

Jeudi - 16 Août , 2007 - Happy birthday Paul! Rebecca had a doctor's appointment, so she and Paul left shortly after lunch, leaving Annie and I to put into effect some "scheming" she, Rebecca, and I had done to surprise Paul on his birthday. While they were out we set up a formal dinner table in Rebecca's room, complete with multiple sets of silver silverware, crystal wine glasses, background classical music, candles, and flowers. (Thank goodness Annie knew how to set them up! ;-) After that was complete we set about making the 4 course dinner which consisted of salmon toast, asparagus, a delicious seasoned chicken, baked potatoes slices, stir-fried green beans and tomatoes, and a fruit salad and meringue "forgotten cookies" for dessert. Annie and I had a wonderful and rather hilarious time of preparing and serving the meal, not without a few "adventures" along the way! :-) Annie knew a whole lot more about how to do the whole thing than I, but we were both somewhat of novices and just laughed and kept trying through our little blunders! I think Paul and Rebecca enjoyed their dinner and evening, especially after the long day they had at the doctor's. We were all exhausted by the end of the day, and it seemed that everyone slept hard and well.

Vendredi - 17 Août, 2007 - Not much to report on this day either. Fridays are usually Annie's day off, which means I spend a lot of the day working with Rebecca. It's usually fine though, because being with and working with Rebecca is almost always a joy, and I enjoy the things I learn from her (about ALL kinds of things!), the fun we have, or just the chatting we get to do during our times together.

Samedi - 18 Août, 2007 - A long, difficult day for me. Today in Ohio, Steed, one of the previous CCI dogs I raised, graduated as a successor service dog, and Jen II, the most recent CCI pup, was returned to CCI for her advanced training. This is normally an emotional, exciting, magnificent, and exhausting day for me at home, but was even more difficult experiencing it from so far away. I watched the clock all day, knowing what was going on, but not knowing how it was going or exactly what was going on. Things were a little hectic around the house as well, which didn't help. We all got through the day though... funny how that happens, isn't it?! :-)
I felt much better after I got to talk to my family and hear about their day and the CCI graduation, and when the pictures started rolling in by e-mail, I felt much, much better! I had a hard time getting to sleep as I thought about the day and all the changes that had taken place back in Ohio and the people that were involved with them. Steed is now headed to Tennessee with his new partner and Jen II is at CCI in Delaware, Ohio for 6-9 months (if she doesn't get released from the program before then!) My family now knows what it's like to truly experience a CCI graduation with a dog graduating, and my CCI friends all know what it's like at a graduation without me [again]. So life rolls on, and we all continue down the paths God has set us on for this moment, of this day, this week, this month...

Dimanche - 19 Août, 2007 - A typical day. Helped clear out a BUNCH of shrubbery from the gardens. It was great exercise carrying greenery up and down the hill in the garden and it felt good to work up a bit of a sweat. :-) I was tired after not sleeping well the night before, but got a nice hour and a half of quiet time to rest, and that helped. Susannah and her Dad arrived back from Paris late in the evening. They return to the states on Wednesday morning. It will be nice to have some time with them again!

Lundi - 20 Août, 2007 - My day off this week was on Monday so that Melissa and I could go into Brussels together for lunch and to see the city! I slept in in the morning and called Melissa mid-morning. We arranged that I would meet her at the main train station (Bruxelles Central) a little after 1:00. I grabbed a pen and several sheets of paper and talked to Rebecca and Annie about the whole process of getting a train ticket, getting on the right train (it's a small station here, thankfully!), and saying all the right French phrases. I was a little nervous about the whole thing of getting there by myself, but everybody said it was easy, and I really did want to get to Brussels to meet with Melissa. Well, in His wonderful way of taking care of us and showing us His love, God arranged it so Susannah and her Dad also happened to be going to Brussels that day... at the very same time I was! So... we headed to the train station together, got our tickets, and hopped on a train! It was WONDERFUL to be able to do it all with two other people who had done it before, and I enjoyed the ride to Brussels (~ 1/2 hour) as we talked and I observed the Belgian scenery. Once we arrived in Brussels we found Melissa, who led Susannah and her Dad in the direction they wanted to go and then took me to the Grand Place (Pronounced like "Grond Plawce" in English). AMAZING! I have never seen anything like the Grand Place in my life! Everybody always said to make sure I saw that while I was in Belgium, and now I know why!!!! C'est Incredible!!!! I took a few pictures and we headed down "Greek Street" (a particular street full of Greek restaurants :-), where we had lunch. Greek gyros served by a French speaking Belgian... that's new! :-) Lunch was delightful and I had a really nice time talking with Melissa! After lunch we headed out to walk through the city, with Melissa showing me some of the most well known sights of the city. We stopped in a few stores, got to see the most famous statue in Brussels ( Manneken Pis) (hmmmm... not impressed), and much, much more! We also, of course, got a Belgian waffle, which we shared together. It was YUMMY! Quite rich and heavy though, so I was glad we shared it! Doesn't taste like your typical breakfast waffle, which is good, since I'm not a big fan of them! :-) We saw the king's palace, walked by several museums, a few churches, and lots and lots of little stores. Stopped and walked through a few, including a "honey store", which was interesting, and a toy store, where we felt like little kids as well ooohed and ahhhed at the toys and games. :-) I found one of my brother's latest favorite games, Settlers of Catan... only it was in French and Dutch! Towards the end of the day we went to Neuhaus, one of Belgian's finer chocolatiers (since 1857!). We got several truffles and chocolates and took them out into the Grand Place to share. Mmmmmm MMMMMMMM! Coffee, champagne, terra misu, praline... the list goes on... :-) We ended the amazing afternoon back at the train station, where Melissa helped me find my train back to Genval. She waited with me at the platform and we said goodbye as the train pulled up. She leaves for the US on Friday and won't be back until 4 days before I leave! I shall miss her! I boarded the train by myself with no problems and found an empty seat and sat down, all set to ride back alone. Suddenly, just before the train began to move, the door opened and in walked Susannah and her Dad! They happened to finish their shopping at the same time and found the same train and happened to come into the same car as me! How's that for WONDERFUL?!!! :-) So we got to enjoy another ride back to Genval together, talking and sharing some more. We were pretty exhuasted after all our "adventuring", but very, very happy. I couldn't believe I'd ridden a train... been to Brussels... seen the Grand Place... eaten a Belgian waffle... and done and see so many amazing new things in just a few hours! 'Twas a LOVELY day! :-) Oh, I forgot to mention that it was cloudy and a bit damp and drizzly (but not bad at all!). Nothing like experiencing Brussels for the first time in true Belgian weather! :-)
(Check out my blog for pictures from my first real trip in Brussels!)

Mardi - 21 Août, 2007 - Today was a pretty typical day until after lunch, when Annie and I were able to get out for a few hours to visit a real live, (was it ever alive?) Medieval castle! According to our interestingly translated English version of the "Guide of the Castle of Beersel": "Beersel is the only intact example of medieval, military architecture to be found in Belgium today... The wall and battlements are pierced with loopholes and machicolations - openings through which the defenders dropped stones or hot oil on marauders. The rooms are ark, [sic] for the only "windows" were mere arrow alits [sic] in those days; the caults are blackened with age, the dungeons and torture chambers sombre, and appropriately sinister... Beersel was built in the 13th century by Godefroid de Hellebeke, Seneschal (Steward) of Brabant, to defend Brussels and Brabant." The castle has been rebuilt and restored several times since then. At any rate, it was pretty amazing to be standing inside a place where people lived and died some 700-800 years ago! To think about how they lived and who they were just blew me away! Though the castle itself was pretty bare and run down (can't imagine why?! :-), the experience of seeing and being inside it was really neat! The walls were brick and stone and sometimes as thick as 1 1/2 meters! The stairs were stone and very narrow, winding up several stories. What an experience! I took lots of pictures to share with my siblings, who would have LOVED it there! There was a Dad and 4 kids visiting the castle, and the two boys carried toy plastic swords and had a fun time playing/fighting throughout the castle. I could almost see my brothers there doing the same thing! Only they probably wouldn't have been yelling in French... :-) I enjoyed my time with Annie, as well as seeing and learning about more of Belgium on the drive there and back. When we got home, I began making dinner, which we had decided would be a Mexican meal, with fajitas, tortilla chips and salsa, some stir fried vegies... and margaritas! Susannah made the margaritas (with help from her Dad), complete with lime zested sugar to dip our glasses in before filling. I've never had a "real" margarita before, and the general concensus was that these were very sweet margaritas compared to "real". I tried a sip and actually liked it... surprising even myself! :-) It was probably because it was so sweet! Hee-hee! I had a small glass with my dinner, and congratulated Susannah on making the first beverage with alcohol that I could actually say I liked. :-)

Mercredi - 22 Août, 2007 -
A very rainy, cool day. Susannah and her Dad left for the U.S. It has sometimes been hard for me to see or hear about people coming and going to and from the states from here, knowing you all are there and I won't be for several weeks... but today was better. I guess I know my day will come soon enough! :-) Otherwise a v ery typical day here. (Typical is not bad though. :-) It was a good day. Enjoyed the quietness of the day after several very busy days. I also started watching "The End of the Spear" for the first time. Wow! Can't wait to watch more of it! (In case I haven't mentioned, getting several uninterrupted hours in one sitting is very unusual here unless it's a day off, so watching a whole movie in one sitting rarely happens! :-)
I finally had a chance to request a copy of a French Bible to borrow for the rest of my time here. I still know very little French, but have heard that reading a book, especially one like the Bible, is helpful in learning more of a language. I enjoyed reading some chapters today, although it's a LOT of work since I'm reading, translating, and trying to remember what the verse or chapter is in English! I think it is already helping my vocabulary and grammar a little, although it doesn't help much with pronunciation! ;-)

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So that was my week this past week... quite a book, huh? Sorry! You probably didn't realize what you were signed up for when you innocently agreed or asked to be added to my blog?! Oh dear! :-)

My congrats if you've made it this far... just a tiny bit more to go! :-)

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Blessings in Belgium:
* The opportunity to sight-see a little!!!
* The amazing people I'm getting to meet and learn about!
* The giving of time and self from other people, which has allowed me to see and do what I have!
* The knowledge and experiences I am gaining here in areas so different from those I had at home
* The ability to communicate with "all ya'll" at home and throughout the U.S.!
* The beauty of this place and the world we live in!
* The amazing privilige it is to be here in this place, doing what I'm doing, with the people I'm with!
* The surprising enjoyment I have found in the challenge of learning and practicing a bit of the French language!

Prayer Requests:
* Continued good sleep. For some reason I often wake up at 6:00 a.m. just about every day here. I don't mind it, but it seems to be helpful if I sleep hard the rest of the night to make up for the lost hour or two! :-)
* That I can be humble and serve the way Jesus has taught and demonstrated
* That I might decrease so that He might increase
* That I can love, be a light, and bless those I interact with
* That I will be in tune with and always seeking and listening for His guidance throughout each moment and day

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Thank you for your prayers and support! They mean and are helping more than you will ever know!

~ MB

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"True faith requires obedience. It requires being willing to stake everything on God's love and faithfulness - and then doing what He asks. Even when we don't understand. Even when He demands that we give up the things we love the most." - Joanna Weaver "Having a Mary Spirit"
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