Nr.170 ended with,” Yes God is real indeed, we can certainly testify to that, He can be trusted. My trip to Belgium was to be repeated and that summer Marina and I, and Rosa, who was still well enough at that time, would travel to Europe for something very special………………..!” (See richardandmarina.net).

Wedding bells were ringing! Yes, our second daughter Lily was going to get married to a fine Belgian young man, Bart Vanhyfte, on August the 6th, 1988. So in July, Marina, Rosa and I flew to Belgium to prepare for the wedding, but also to move everything out of our house in Lovendegem, where we had lived for about 12 years. Lily and Renee had been living there the last 1 1/2  years, but now Lily was moving out and Renee also, who was moving into a student house in Ghent, not far from where Lily and Bart had rented a house. We took all our stuff to the church building in Eeklo, which had a large attic where everything could be stored. Some of this was done before the wedding and the rest after. Renee was a tremendous help as she really knows how to pack. We are always amazed as to how much she can get into a suitcase or back pack.

The wedding took place on one of the hotter days of that summer in Belgium in an upstairs meeting room above a restaurant. There were many people present, including relatives from Holland. In Belgium people get married officially at the city hall, after which usually a church service follows. It also happens that people get married “before the law” (as some call it) on Friday and in church on Saturday, after which there is the wedding feast. We had a wonderful service and experienced the Lord’s presence and blessing, how thankful we were. There was a reception afterwards. Lily and Bart went on their honeymoon and after they came back, Marina and Rosa returned to Canada and I stayed to help Renee get settled in and she helped finishing up packing and storing things, after which I flew back to Canada. The separation was difficult for us all.

It was at the beginning of September that I left Belgium with a heavy heart, wondering when we would be back and even, whether we would come back. Arriving in Canada and living in an apartment with a dear daughter who had an unknown illness, for which there seem to be no help, I spent many evening hours walking the streets of Elmira, crying to God for help and asking Him what His will was for us. Was this the work of the enemy to keep us out of Belgium? The apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that he “wanted to come to them time and again, but Satan hindered us” and, strangely enough, God allowed it. It was not easy, not for Marina and me and certainly not for Rosa. But God…………! (Go to Musings).