Beyond Waffles in Belgium

 

After months of good intentions and planning,

we finally made it to Belgium.

With only three brief days there,
we presented firesides at the Brussels Central Ward
and the Ixelles Branch,

We managed to see some of the countryside,
including Atomium from the 1958 World's Fair.

 We drove to Oostende, where the country meets the North Sea.

Jonathan was eager to see the art museum in Ghent,

 and the canal boat tour of Bruges.

We even had time to sample true Belgian waffles, 

both Liège style (small, dense, with pearl sugar)
and Brussels style (light with deeper pockets).

Waffles are not the only things that come two different ways.
Belgium is split into its French and Flemish parts.

Half of it is in the France-Paris North Mission, 
and the rest is in the Netherlands Mission.

This stake center in Brussels houses stakes from both halves.

Note the signs on the church are in Dutch, French and English.

and in addition there is a Spanish-speaking Ixelles Branch.

The members are excited by the prospect of
a new temple in downtown Brussels,
which will also hold a meetinghouse
and Family Search center. 

It is centrally located next to a Metro stop 
and is currently under construction:

and will eventually look like this:

CHURCH HISTORY MOMENT

We saw two different faces of Belgium when we documented the history
of a ward that had seen both enthusiastic growth thanks to strong members,
as well as devasating destruction caused by the adversary. 

A small branch near the border of France grew quickly and many active families enjoyed a period of good fellowship and strength. They rejoiced when a new meetinghouse was announced and many members worked together on the construction. It was dedicated in 1988, and the branch soon became a ward. 

Sadly, a few years later, a bishop of the ward apostatized and recruited many ward members to follow him out of the church. The ward lost almost a third of its members and others grew discouraged. The diminished ward was finally dissolved in 2007 and members were assigned to join another ward across the border in the Lille France Stake. 

Luckily several strong families endured the challenges and remained faithful. We met some of them in the Villeneuve d'Ascq Ward, where they have not allowed the discouraging events to shake their faith.

We are so grateful for the examples of these valiant members, and we treasure the histories they shared with us, of both joy and sadness, and the necessity of enduring challenges.

To read other posts in our Mission Blog,
click on the arrow or 3 lines to the left of NEVILLES IN FRANCE
then click on ARCHIVE to see a list of all posts.