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Wednesday, August 2

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Following our visit to the quilt shop, Hans and Godeliva took us to a nearby town where we learned that Van Gogh lived and painted in this area of Netherlands.

This bright yellow bistro got my attention as we walked through Etten-Leur.

It was interesting to learn that this was where Vincent Van Gogh began painting.

The church where his dad preached is now a preserved museum in honor of Van Gogh. The church is not crooked – the crooked effect came from the angle in which I took the photo. 🙂

Vincent is on the left below his father’s photo.

Some old memorabilia

A sketch of what the Van Gogh house looked like during his lifetime. Notice the very tiny house on the right side the house. It was Van Gogh’s first studio. The church (right) across the street is where we were standing.

A replica of the Van Gogh house and tiny house.

The pulpit from which his dad preached.

There were sunflowers planted outside the church in honor of Van Gogh’s love for painting sunflowers.

We saw names of towns and cities that were unfamiliar to us as we traveled to Hans and Godeliva’s daughter’s house.

Godeliva and Hans’ faces lit up when they saw their daughter Lara and grandchildren James and Juliette. Lara’s husband was at work.

Juliette and James were happy when their guests finally arrived, because they knew what their mama was going to serve them and us.

Oh, yum!

Juliette and Rebekka

Lara is a gracious hostess and enjoyed watching their children interact with her parents and their guests.

Then it was time to say goodbye.

Lare captured my heart. When I watched her, and Hans and Anneke’s daughter Kaat and her husband Sem with their children, I think, “If all parents in The Netherland’s and Belgium love and care for their children like these two families, their two countries have a great prospect for the future.

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On the way home, Hans took us to a large Belgian truck stop. If I remember correctly, it is the largest in Belgium.

These two truckers fit right into this atmosphere!

Truckers in Europe drive from country to country like we in the USA drive from state to state.

We learned that the blue area identified the country from which they were traveling. These two are Netherlands and Poland.

Cerwin liked this Scania truck. There are no conventionals in Europe – only cabovers.

Ireland and Luxembourg

Belgium and Czech Republic

United Kingdom and Spain

Italy

Hans, if I got any of these wrong, let me know, I will correct it. 🙂

I haven’t taken truck pictures since retiring from TFC. It was fun to walk through a truck stop again.

These two men are drivers from France. In this photo Cerwin is showing them his old business card with a photo of a TFC chapel, which he keeps in his wallet, as Hans tells them what we did in the USA before retiring.

I asked if they understand English, they said no. I asked if they understand the word “God”, they said yes. I said, God, then made a heart with my hands and pointed to each of them. They smiled and seemed to understand that I was saying, “God loves you.”

After spending about half an hour at the truck stop, we headed toward Hans and Anneke’s house.

Before long we began seeing signs that directed us toward their home area – Asse and Mazenzele.

It had been a long but BLESSED day. We left the house about 9 am and returned about 8 pm.