and now Belgium....

And now Belgium....

I (Eileen) am away from home this week in Belgium.  I am in the town/village of Zaventem.  This is actually the place where Aaron and I lived for our first year as a married couple.... hmmm... it was a long time ago. 

This is one of those weird places for me.  I love it and it holds so many wonderful memories, both good and bad.  It is a place i feel i know yet realise there is so much i don't know about it.  A place where i see people that hold a special spot in my heart, where emotions are mixed  of good and bad at times but mostly of wishing I had more time to talk with them, find out how they are, what they are doing and how God is working in them and through them. 

It is probably good that i don't have the opportunity to visit more often otherwise i may find myself trying to talk Aaron into moving back.

The Centre in Belgium has been part of the ministry we work with for many years... even before i was born!!!  While at the centre I found a pic of the building from the 1970's 

and then a picture from this year... 

The pictures don't look extremely different but in reality the building has changed drastically.  Originally this base was purchased and used as a hub for various services.  OM summer and joining conferences at one point were organised primarily from this team. There was a garage that maintained a large fleet of vehicles that traveled all over the world.  Teams staying within Europe or heading to Asia, Middles East, Near East and such were sent out from this base.  An amazing heritage for a building to have.  As times have changed and flights are how we all travel the cost of keeping a van that is 25, 30 or even 40 years old is even higher than purchasing a used vehicle that is only 10 years old the needs of the building have had to change also. The garage that served so many for so many years now houses the offices for the Belgium ministry team as well as those who oversee the conference centre.  The rooms have been refurbished to meet new needs, more bedrooms have been added, a large dinning room and so on all mean that the conference facility is again a way that this building and its team reaches out to help support the larger OM world through serving the needs of the many. 

The town the centre is based in is a wonderful mixture of town and village.  It has gotten larger since we lived here. There are more shops and businesses the schools have expanded and new houses have been built but it manages to maintain a friendly environment that shows the heart of the community.  I have really enjoyed walking around the town with others and on my own since i arrived on Monday and i look forward to more time to see the town, the changes it has made and the people. 

I wish I could walk with each of you as I am here and show you around the town.  Share the stories of our friends when we lived here and the fun we had.  The things God taught us that are life lessons we will never forget and those things that we seem to have to keep learning as we just can't seem to master.   

In short.... I wish each of you was here to share this time with me.