Whew! What a day. This was filled with spiritual blessings, history and exercise!
We began at mass at 10am. The beautiful Palm Sunday service in our new Church home. We gathered outside the church, holding our palm crosses made in Kenya, purchased in support of the Kenyan people in support of our Lenten mission. Father Sjacq had a really large palm frond which he dipped and used to throw the holy water into the crowd to bless us. It worked well. We sang and processed in and had a beautiful service.The goal of 5000euro for health care for the Kenyan refuge camps has been reached and exceeded, and an individual has pledged to match the total, so that is fantastic news. We have coffee and small treats then gather outside for our Lenten walk to the ICC, International Criminal Court. It is a good 4 kilometers walk and the temp is about 48/9c. and windy. When we arrived we gathered in a park across from the court(no one is allowed inside without huge security clearances) and an outreach coordinator gave a 15 minute talk on the history of the ICC, its purpose in today's world, the countries that support the authority of the court through a treaty and the long term goals. It was very eye-opening. We walked back to the church and hopped in our car, chilly and pretty tired but well educated,
We then drove about 40 minutes to Utrecht, in the center of the country, to meet up with Dean Krebs, an Antea Group employee in from Minnesota for a week of meetings. We strolled through a giant mall (but not as big as Mall of America he told us!) and out into the old section of Utrecht.
Utrecht was founded by the Romans in AD 47 and has been a bishopic and university town for centuries. It is a prosperous and lively city due to its location in the center of the country. Utrecht was extremely prosperous during the 16th and 17th centuries and many beautiful canalside houses were built. The houses are a characteristic feature of the town centre, as are the medieval churches and monastaries. We visit the Domplein, cathedral square, which has the Domtoren, cathedral tower and Domkerk, the church. In 695 Bishop Willibrord established himself here and in 1040 Bishop Bernold ordered a "cross of churches" to be built. These four churches had the Domkerk at its centre. Work began on the Domkerk in 1254 and was finished in 1321. The Gothic tower was finished in 1382. The nave of the church was connected to the tower by and arch, allowing the Bishop to move safely to and from the church. In 1674 the nave was destroyed by a hurricane and the tower has stood on its own since then. The church has a neo-gothic organ from 1831 which is magnificent. We toured the church and strolled the beautiful grounds. We walked along the canals and along the Oudegracht with its sunken doorways housing restaurants and shops. The kids are wearing out from lack of food and rest(as am I from lack of coffee!)so we stop for cones of frites at the number one frites stand in the Netherlands. Dean enjoys this treat and so do Jerry and the kids. We leave Dean at his hotel to rest up after his overnight flight and head back to Pijnacker. Yay! a fabulous day but wow, long and walking filled. We all collapse on the couch and watch our favourite Sunday night show, 8pm on BBC, Country File, which focuses on all different places in the countryside throughout England,Scotland and Wales and we watch things like herding goats, sheep being born and sheered, fishing and river ecology:it is awesome. We are ready to head to England for our next posting!!
I hope you had a great weekend!
We began at mass at 10am. The beautiful Palm Sunday service in our new Church home. We gathered outside the church, holding our palm crosses made in Kenya, purchased in support of the Kenyan people in support of our Lenten mission. Father Sjacq had a really large palm frond which he dipped and used to throw the holy water into the crowd to bless us. It worked well. We sang and processed in and had a beautiful service.The goal of 5000euro for health care for the Kenyan refuge camps has been reached and exceeded, and an individual has pledged to match the total, so that is fantastic news. We have coffee and small treats then gather outside for our Lenten walk to the ICC, International Criminal Court. It is a good 4 kilometers walk and the temp is about 48/9c. and windy. When we arrived we gathered in a park across from the court(no one is allowed inside without huge security clearances) and an outreach coordinator gave a 15 minute talk on the history of the ICC, its purpose in today's world, the countries that support the authority of the court through a treaty and the long term goals. It was very eye-opening. We walked back to the church and hopped in our car, chilly and pretty tired but well educated,
We then drove about 40 minutes to Utrecht, in the center of the country, to meet up with Dean Krebs, an Antea Group employee in from Minnesota for a week of meetings. We strolled through a giant mall (but not as big as Mall of America he told us!) and out into the old section of Utrecht.
Utrecht was founded by the Romans in AD 47 and has been a bishopic and university town for centuries. It is a prosperous and lively city due to its location in the center of the country. Utrecht was extremely prosperous during the 16th and 17th centuries and many beautiful canalside houses were built. The houses are a characteristic feature of the town centre, as are the medieval churches and monastaries. We visit the Domplein, cathedral square, which has the Domtoren, cathedral tower and Domkerk, the church. In 695 Bishop Willibrord established himself here and in 1040 Bishop Bernold ordered a "cross of churches" to be built. These four churches had the Domkerk at its centre. Work began on the Domkerk in 1254 and was finished in 1321. The Gothic tower was finished in 1382. The nave of the church was connected to the tower by and arch, allowing the Bishop to move safely to and from the church. In 1674 the nave was destroyed by a hurricane and the tower has stood on its own since then. The church has a neo-gothic organ from 1831 which is magnificent. We toured the church and strolled the beautiful grounds. We walked along the canals and along the Oudegracht with its sunken doorways housing restaurants and shops. The kids are wearing out from lack of food and rest(as am I from lack of coffee!)so we stop for cones of frites at the number one frites stand in the Netherlands. Dean enjoys this treat and so do Jerry and the kids. We leave Dean at his hotel to rest up after his overnight flight and head back to Pijnacker. Yay! a fabulous day but wow, long and walking filled. We all collapse on the couch and watch our favourite Sunday night show, 8pm on BBC, Country File, which focuses on all different places in the countryside throughout England,Scotland and Wales and we watch things like herding goats, sheep being born and sheered, fishing and river ecology:it is awesome. We are ready to head to England for our next posting!!
I hope you had a great weekend!
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