Stop the Traffik

Kristyn and I were really impacted by a Stop the Traffik rally we went to in Brussels. Take a moment to visit their website by clicking the banner above and sign the international declaration against trafficking of human slaves. Slavery in the world is more prevalent now than at any time in history and it is a huge problem in Europe where girls and boys are lured from thier families with promises of jobs as nannies and builders only to be turned into prostitutes and beggars with no hope of returning home.

MMM...Rice Cereal

Addy has just begun eating Rice Cereal, which is like oatmeal with the taste of glue (we've tried it). Grandma and her practiced for a whole week and by the time we came home she was a pro. In fact, she isnt drinking enough milk because all she wants is cereal which makes for some backups on the other end if you catch my drift.

Tickle Torture

The benefits of not shaving for three days...you can tickle Addy's feet with your chin.

Water Skiing for Newborns

We spent Monday relaxing by the pool getting used to the Virginia humidity again. You can see Addy is enjoying the pool more and more so we broke out one of like 7 inflatable toys we have amassed somehow in the last 5 months.

Look Kids. Big Ben...Parliment

On our way home, we took the Chunnel London's Paddington Station and then spent the day on a double decker tour bus before flying out of Heathrow that evening. Here are some videos of the day there.

Trafalgar Square and a Christian Outreach Concert that was going on.

Big Ben and Parliament

Serve the City

The purpose of the trip was to partner with one of our Chapel Missionaries in Brussels who is the pastor of a Church plant called The Well and their annual city wide service project, Serve the City. They coordinated 125 volunteers in 30 sites working in all sorts of ethnic neighborhoods. Kristyn's Beauty Team went out and gave manicures and haircuts in homeless shelters and retirement homes. Kristyn even gave a manicure in a subway station to a woman who was begging. Jon helped coach at a basketball camp each day, one outside location, and then an indoor gym in the afternoon. Serve the City is an attempt to build relationships with religious and non religious organizations in Brussels and publicize the Well as a socially active church in a mostly post-Christian culture. One of their main expenditures is media publicity. The web site has some great videos from each day (Jon is in the basketball video) and Kristyn is standing in front of one of the subway station signs below.

While we were there, The Well had their weekly meeting on Sunday in St. Catherine's Cathedral downtown and served free dinner to all who were in the area. That made for some interesting church-goers.

Pics of the Week: Flash Flood

On Friday, we had an off day and decided to travel to Brugge, a city an hour north of Brussels called the "Venice" of Belgium because it is surrounded by canals. On the boat tour of the city, the clouds opened and began to pour, sending our boat under the nearest stone bridge. Here is Kristyn during and after the storm.

City Life

Brussels is the capital of the European Union and the governing body, the European Commission meets downtown. We were surprised, and a little scared to learn how unified Europe actually is. Most of us Americans thought the Euro currency was the extent of their unification. They are actually forming legislation together and growing in influence. The Belgian buildings are so amazingly crafted with such detail. It was a blast to be in Europe during the Tour de France, Wimbledon, but more importantly, the World Cup. There were jerseys and flags everywhere. Here are some Italian fans below.

Getting Adjusted

Our Missions Team left for Brussels last Friday afternoon and arrived fully jetlagged on Saturday morning. With no time to rest for the weary we checked into the Van Gogh Hostel (named as such because Van Gogh lived there at one time) and went out on a 4 hour tour/prayer walk of the city. The Hostel had a cafe/bar in the lobby and an outdoor courtyard that was packed with partying backpackers until 3 AM every night. The sun doesn't set until 10:30 or so, making the nights much longer than in the US. So getting caught back up on sleep was a challenge the first two nights. One that was not made easier by the 70 degrees and no AC rooms (we happened to visit during a summer heat spell that had temperatures 15 degrees above normal for them)

Where Did My Parents Go?

Kristyn and I landed last night after a week long missions trip to Brussels, Belgium with 14 other Chapel members. Once we get over the jet lag and spend some quality time with Addy who has been here with Grandma McKendrick all week, we will put up some pictures and stories. Sorry for the week without any postings. (We didn't want to announce our being out of the country online for security reasons). Thanks for checking in. -Jon