Up on the Roof

Our church small group gave Chris and me a date complete with babysitting at our end of year party. Last weekend we got to go! I reserved us a spot at Soko Rooftop in the snail building. We ordered cool drinks and watched the hot sun set over the Sonian Forest and the Brussels skyline while planes came in for a landing at nearby Zaventem.

It’s nice to go up high and get some perspective. The next four months are going to fly by, and at the end we’ll be back in Asia. As we often do when we go on a date, we talked about where we’ve been and where we’re going. Chris made his usual comments about how there wouldn’t be enough food, then ate it all and concluded there was too much food. We rode our bikes uphill (there) and downhill (home) — wheeeeee!

It’s hard to imagine we met most of our small group just a year ago. Since then we’ve studied the book of Hebrews together, celebrated Christmas, Easter and summertime, prayed for each other and shared our hearts and anxieties. Our friends are from the States, Germany, Barbados, Singapore, Australia, Czech Republic and Samoa. We message each other with invitations and middle of the night prayer requests.

When we were asked to lead a small group, we mentioned we’d like it to be multi-national, and when asked why, I said I’ve learned so much about how the good news of peace and life in Jesus transcends borders by learning and living with people from different cultures. Its important not to confuse my American culture with the Gospel. Sometimes being an American out of America makes me feel lost, but following Christ with others from all over the world gives an encouraging perspective.

Chris and I also tried different St. Hubertus beers because the saint is actually from the Sonian Forest—the trees we could see stretching out in many directions!

When Hubertus was a young lord in 683, he went hunting on the day of the Feast of the Nativity. He saw a white stag, which turned toward him. He saw a glowing crucifix and heard a voice call out his name and ask how long he would hunt, ignoring the condition of his soul. Hubertus became a monk, and today, the town that bears his name makes this beer.