From Poland to Colombia: Testimonies of God's faithfulness and blessings from around the world.

‘I would like to thank you for the latest online course. If I hadn't completed the Children at Risk online training recently, we probably wouldn't have been so well prepared to respond to an urgent request for help from a street girl and find the right support for her.' (Student from Poland)

We received this and other very positive feedback shortly after the last online course. It is wonderful to see that the Lord God is multiplying our 'loaves and fishes' in this way, and enabling our lessons to have an impact in many different countries and bless children in need.
 

We were dreading it!

All our courses are registered with the University of the Nations. In recent weeks, we have been working hard to submit the completely renewed registration for these courses. It was a big task that we had been dreading, but we hope that everything will be well taken care of for the next ten years.
 

In the south of France, we spent a few days together with Johanneke, Jonathan, and the girls. 

Merci beaucoup... eh... how was it again? 😊

We were invited to teach for a week on the Youth with a Mission campus in Burtigny, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. We decided to turn it into a vacation and traveled across France in our camper van. Two weeks later, we arrived in Burtigny.
 

It was great fun to be back at a YWAM base and to have 'real' students in front of us rather than online. We were also able to discuss plans with the school's leaders, for the French translation of our courses. We had long since forgotten the French we learned in school, so we needed some help with that! 😊
 

Staying with us for a holiday

After our trip, Dilma and Davi, our children who live in a sheltered housing facility for adults with special needs about three miles from our home, came to stay with us for the holidays. It was wonderful spending time with them.
 

We are grateful for AI!

We are currently preparing the online courses for next year. Among other things, we are translating all the material into French and Spanish! It's great that AI is helping us so much with this!

Cartagena, Colombia

Many children in Colombia are in need, and for the first time in about 20 years, a Children at Risk School will be held there. We hope to teach there in October.

After that, we will fly to Brazil to teach and meet lots of friends. Of course, we are also looking forward to being with Michele, Romeu, and the children again.
 

Richly blessed

We are grateful for our good health and for being able to do all this. We are also grateful for the wonderful group of family and friends who support us in this endeavor. We know we are richly blessed!

We wish these blessings upon you as well. In a world full of turmoil and seemingly insurmountable problems, we can turn to God together, knowing that He is guiding us and will always be with us.

May His peace and grace be with you!

Prayer points:

• Thank the Lord for the beautiful fruit and positive responses to the courses.
• Pray that the French and Spanish translations are blessed so that more people can be reached.
• Pray for good preparation and protection during our trips to Colombia and Brazil.
• Pray for strength and good health so that we can continue this work.
• Ask that the lessons may be a blessing to children in need worldwide.

News

We send this newsletter by email four times a year and this letter also appears on our blog each time 

You also have the option of receiving a link to our blog via WhatsApp every time a new letter is published. This makes it easier for us to share prayer points and pictures. This is a special WhatsApp group where Johan and I are the administrators and are the only ones to post messages.

If you would like to receive it by WhatsApp from now on (four times a year, plus extra prayer points and photos), you can click on this link: 

https://chat.whatsapp.com/CHStf3tfOJBLBHt0wGydME?mode=ems_copy_t

Or scan this QR code:

God's Faithfulness in Motion

'Oh, wonderful!' sighed Davi as he sank into the deliciously warm water of the pool.

Many of you will have heard about the accident in which he suffered third-degree burns to his left leg, and you prayed for him too. This was the same leg on which he had had a large open wound on his knee for two years, which just would not heal. The doctors had just decided to remove his kneecap to close the wound, which would have made his leg shorter, when he burned it. Although he felt no pain due to his paralysis, he had to be taken by ambulance to a specialist burns hospital. It was a blessing afterwards, because they knew how to close the wound on his knee there, using skin grafts and special antibiotic cream. Now his leg is completely healed! It's truly a miracle — we are so grateful to God!
 

Swimming!

Davi had not been allowed to swim for two years, something he loves to do. What's more, right after the wound had completely healed, the burn center organized a swimming day for patients and their families. We all enjoyed it so much!
 

99 students

After teaching in several Children at Risk Schools in India, the USA, and in the Netherlands earlier this year, we have spent the last few months teaching online. We had two large groups of students: one group of sixty-four students from thirty-one different countries taking the course in English, and another group of thirty-five students from eight different countries taking it in Portuguese. It was wonderful to be able to teach and encourage so many students once again, together with eleven staff members from eight different countries.

Teaching from experience

Many of our students work with some of the poorest children in the most challenging circumstances. It is wonderful to be able to pass on some of the principles we have learned during our 36 years of living and working in Brazil. Johan often tells them, 'It's good to learn from your own mistakes, but it's even better if you can learn from ours.'

We also invited experienced missionaries to deliver different lessons. We believe it is very important that the teaching is given by someone who has experience and has done it all themselves, as this is so much better than theoretical stories from books.

Life-changing!

Thus, the courses become very varied. At the end of the online courses, we usually receive excellent feedback. Students can often apply the lessons immediately and some even describe the course as life changing.
 

Major expansion

In order to educate many more young missionaries about working with children in need, we hope to offer three different modules of our online course in four languages next year: English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

We are planning this with a large group of experienced missionary staff members who work with children in need. Each staff member takes 10 students under their wing, holds online conversations with them in small groups, conducts one-to-one interviews and reviews their homework. We are also considering translating all modules into Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS).

There is still a lot to organize and translate, but we are looking forward to it. The dates for the three modules in 2026 have already been set:

Module 1: 13 April – 1 May

Module 2: 8–26 June

Module 3: 19 October – 6 November

Students can complete the course independently, but it is also great when entire teams from YWAM bases participate, as they did in the last course in Cambodia and Angola. For more information on these modules, please visit https://www.childrenatriskschools.com/online-seminars.

Taking the course while your city is at war.

This time, we also had students from Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Just a few weeks earlier, the rebel group M23 had attacked the city, resulting in thousands of deaths and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee. The boys, who worked with street children, had also had to flee. Sometimes they would sit in a car to attend classes, and sometimes in a shop. Sometimes the electricity failed, in which case they watched the lesson later on the YouTube channel. However, they were always among the first to join the Zoom call at the beginning of each lesson, and they also faithfully completed all their homework on Google Classroom. It is such a privilege to be able to encourage students from all kinds of countries and difficult situations. We are always able to remind them that God loves them, their country and the children they work with. That He wants to guide them with His Holy Spirit. That he sees them — really sees them.
 

News from us

We send this newsletter by email four times a year and this letter also appears on this blog each time 

You also have the option of receiving a link to our blog via WhatsApp every time a new letter is published. This makes it easier for us to share prayer points and pictures. This is a special WhatsApp group where Johan and I are the administrators and are the only ones to post messages.

If you would like to receive it by WhatsApp from now on (four times a year, plus extra prayer points and photos), you can scan this QR code:

 

Or you can click on this link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/IJZj0WPY7yHBWHzNZtxIQU

Granddaughter in the house!

There are big changes in store for our little house, as our eldest granddaughter, who is 19 years old, is coming to live with us. Her parents are moving abroad, and she would like to stay here to complete her pastry chef training. This is so exciting, we are looking forward to it!
 

Blessing!

It is always special to receive a list of everyone who has supported us financially in the past month. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for such a loyal group of friends and family who support us and our work.

What is unfortunately not always visible, but is even more important, is all the people who pray for us and the students we get to train.

Thank you very much for all your help. This is how we all try to follow Jesus, seek His guidance and obey Him so that His kingdom may come. We pray this blessing over you all:

May the love of God pursue you

May His blessing surround you

May His tender grace fill you.

Prayer points 

• Thank God for the miracle of Davi's completely healed leg.
• Pray for the students who participated in the courses, so that the lessons will bear lasting fruit in their work with vulnerable children and they will receive wisdom in their ministry.
• Pray for protection and strength for students in difficult circumstances, especially those from Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and those in other conflict areas.
• Pray for wisdom, coordination, and the right people to expand the online modules into multiple languages (English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and LIBRAS), and for all the preparations needed for this.
• Pray for a happy transition period for our granddaughter.
• Thank you to all the faithful donors and prayer warriors.

Helping children to meet Jesus: life changing!

How we rejoice when we hear and see young people and teenagers committed to being the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus, telling and making visible the Good News to children growing up in difficult circumstances.
 

A Lamalma Mega Camp

We saw an example of this when we were able to join Michele and Romeu in Brazil at the mega Lamalma children's camp they organized for over 40 children. It was an amazing event! The kids came from a large slum and had been attending an after-school program run by an evangelical church for the past year. As a "reward" for their faithful attendance, they were now allowed to attend the Lamalma camp for free, along with the after-school staff.
 

But first some hard work!

What a celebration when their buses arrived. But there had been a lot of ground work. Michele and Romeu had already worked hard: preparing dormitories, outdoor games, Bible studies. But it was so special to see that their teenage children, Igor and Eva, with the help of friends from the church, also were helping wholeheartedly to make this weekend a great success.
 

Tears of joy

On Sunday afternoon, at the end of the program, as Michele challenged the children to give their lives to the Lord Jesus, the children rushed to the front and Eva and her teenage friends burst into sobs: this was what they had prayed for, while working hard all weekend to help clean, cook, bake, serve, lead the outdoor games, and lead worship in the Bible studies.
 

A life-changing weekend

As the children crowded around Michele for prayer, the teens saw that the children had gotten the message: God loves them, He is their Father, and they could now come to Him, receive forgiveness, and begin a new life in His Kingdom. What a wonderful end to the weekend, even the after-school supervisors were in tears, they had been praying for this for so long!
 

Grateful reactions from the mothers

But that was not all, in the following days Michele received many emails from grateful mothers who wrote how their children were changed, came home radiant and immediately told them that they had chosen to follow the Lord Jesus. There were also mothers who wrote how special it was that these camps were free for their children because they were sponsored by other Christians: "We could never afford something like this, my children told me about the good food, the games and the pool, but the most priceless thing was that they now have the Lord Jesus in their lives!
 

New Young Leaders for Children at Risk

We are also welcoming new courageous young people who are leading new Children at Risk Schools (a three-month training program for missionaries working with children in need) in new places and countries. For example, a CAR school is now underway in Lonavula, India, led by Gabrielle from Brazil, and there are advanced plans by Rajel to start the school in Colombia, where it will be taught in English and Spanish.
 

New third(!) online module

Meanwhile, Johan and I are busy setting up the third Children at Risk online module, and we have already found a good group of experienced Children at Risk school leaders to help us as online facilitators. Like last time, we will offer the online course in English and Portuguese, and registrations are already pouring in for both groups.

Especially students from the Global South

It is again quite a challenge, but it makes us especially happy when we see that students from "Global South" countries participate very enthusiastically and are very grateful for all the lessons and materials. It is often very difficult for them to travel to another country where the three-month Children at Risk School is taught, often they cannot get visas or there is no money. But with these online courses, which cost only $5 per module, they can still learn a lot and also receive a diploma from the University of the Nations after each module.
 

Brain Exercise

For ourselves, we find that it is good brain exercise 😊: the classes are held every Monday and Wednesday in English, Tuesday and Thursday in Portuguese. It is also very special to prepare and lead two very different language groups.

More information about the online course and the children's camps in Lamalma

If you are interested in doing this online course starting March 31st, or know someone who would benefit from it, there is more information on this website.

For more information about Romeu and Michele's work with the children's camps in Lamalma, click here.
 

Prayer

We would like to thank everyone who has been praying for us, it is so special to have such faithful intercessors! Johan and I have recently read a great new book on prayer:

"Praying Like a Monk Living Like a Fool, written by Tyler Staton. Highly recommended!
  

Thank you so much!

And thanks to all of you who have encouraged us financially or with practical gifts, cards and emails. This is so wonderful! Thank you so much! We pray God's rich blessings upon you!

Heartfelt greetings!

Prayer Points

• Give thanks for the efforts of the teenagers and young adults to reach children with the Gospel.
• Pray for blessings for the Lamalma camps, there are many planned for this year.
• Pray for the children who will come to know God's love for them through these camps. Pray that they will grow in their faith and walk with the Lord Jesus.
• Pray also for their families and the underprivileged neighborhoods where they live.
• Give thanks for the new Children at Risk Schools in India and Colombia and pray that they will train many new missionaries to minister to children in need.
• Pray for blessings for the online courses.

"O Come Let Us Adore Him" in the supermarket

We were standing in line to check in at a small hotel in Manila, in the Philippines, when we suddenly looked at each other in surprise: clear Christmas music was blaring from the loudspeakers, and it was only the beginning of September! "Yes, the Christmas season has already started," the receptionist told us, “It’s always this early here!"

This was the second country on our long, nearly four-month trip. We had begun in India, where we had the privilege of teaching at a Children at Risk School in Jaipur. And now, in the Philippines, we were part of a huge YWAM conference with 4,500 YWAMers from 110 different countries. 

Still the same leader

It was the first major international conference since the death of Loren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM. His wife, Darlene, shared that before he died, many people asked Loren who would lead this large international mission movement after him. He always gave the same answer: “The One who has led it from the beginning: the Lord Jesus!”

It was wonderful to see so many young missionaries from so many different countries gathered to seek God together. As Darlene emphasized: “To listen to His voice, to obey, and to never give up!” 

Grateful and blessed.

Encouraged, we continued our journey to Richmond, USA. Here, instead of Christmas decorations, there were still decorations for Thanksgiving in the shops. It was beautiful to see all kinds of products in large stores, from napkins to towels to wall plaques, with messages like "Grateful and Blessed!" What a wonderful reminder to pause and give thanks to God. 

Classroom teaching, practice, and "micro learning"

In Richmond, we were at a YWAM base pioneering a Children at Risk School. After a few years of mostly online teaching, it was great to be on a physical base and meet the students face to face. This time, we combined classroom teaching in the morning with hands-on lessons in the afternoons, where students, among other things, created their own large puppets. 

 

In the evenings, there was "micro learning," where students watched short (YouTube) videos and read articles through a dedicated Google Classroom. All of this was designed to help them absorb the lessons in different ways. We are excited about the amazing possibilities of delivering educational content in so many diverse ways! 

Students fly out

In August in Jaipur, India, and in September and October in Richmond, USA, we had students with a calling to India, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ecuador, as well as to work in the USA with children in disadvantaged neighborhoods, refugee children and their families, and children in foster care. What a privilege to help them on their journey. We hope and pray that their work will bear much fruit and that they will reach many children, families, and entire communities through God's love.  

Little boy in Jaipur, India

Daily reminders that God loves us!

Now, in November, we have arrived in Brazil, and yes, here too you can hear Christmas music coming from store speakers. The songs about Santa Claus can be annoying, but I love it when I suddenly hear "O Come Let Us Adore Him" or "Holy Night" in the supermarket. Little reminders that our lives belong to Him, that He loves us, guides us, and blesses us. That the Lord Jesus, God Immanuel, came to earth to save us from sin, sorrow, and lostness, and to offer us His friendship - and more than that: His sonship! Wow! 

How one little tooth disrupted our plans.

We had everything planned. Johan was turning 70 on November 10th, and we had invited a large group of people for a barbecue. Then, the next week he was to teach in Recife, a city in the northeast of Brazil where a Children at Risk School is also being pioneered. But things turned out differently... Johan went to the dentist with a loose canine tooth and it turned out the root was broken. Everything moved quickly after that, and within a few days, he was with the oral surgeon who performed minor surgery on his palate, gums, and jaw. He was then instructed: "Rest for three days, don’t talk, stick to liquids, and avoid teaching or physical activity for two weeks." 

Our kids presented him with new ice skates!

Oops! Just a few days later it would already be his birthday! We quickly called the guests and postponed the date, while the classes in Recife were replaced by video lessons. Not ideal, but better than nothing at all!  

With Michele, Romeu, and kids

Fortunately, Johan is feeling much better now, and we are enjoying our time with Michele, Romeu, and the grandchildren, Igor and Eva. It is wonderful to have such intense time together for a few weeks. It helps us temporarily forget how far apart we live and how much we miss them.  

Back to the Netherlands

In a few days we will fly back to the Netherlands. After such a long trip, it will be nice to spend quality time with our children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, and other family and friends in the Netherlands.
  

Our tentative plans for next year are to teach in person at some of the Children at Risk Schools, and to develop and teach a third module of our online seminars. These online seminars have consistently been a great success, with a total of over 800 students. So, we hope to continue to combine this with face-to-face teaching.

Light of the world

But first in December we hope to celebrate Christmas in the Netherlands - the celebration that is announced months in advance in so many countries around the world. The celebration of the light that came into the world and drove out the darkness. The feast of our Lord Jesus! We wish you all a blessed Christmas season!

  

Made with AI

Prayer Points

• Thank God with us for the greatest gift we can ever receive: God Immanuel, God with us.
• Thank God for the many young missionaries in countries like India, the Philippines, America, Brazil, the Netherlands, and more, who are ready to take the Good News to the most difficult places.
• Praise God for Johan’s successful surgery.
• Pray for our plans for next year, that we will continue to train and encourage many missionaries.
• Pray that people who still live in darkness and do not know Jesus will be awakened to the Gospel, seek Him and find Him through all the Christmas preparations in stores and churches!

Will you travel with us, around the world?

We hope you all enjoyed the summer as much as we did! Johan and I went camping in England and took our granddaughter Iara with us on the way back, to bring her to Heidebeek, a YWAM base in the Netherlands, a few days later, where her adventure began with a Evangelistic Go Team that was going to the Olympic Games in Paris.
 

How special to bring her to this Youth with a Mission Campus, where we ourselves did the DTS, Michele and Romeu 30 years later, and now Iara, the third generation of our family. She too has special stories to tell about getting to know God better and to make Him known! What a blessing!
 

Then Dilma and Davi came to stay with us for two weeks of vacation, and we ended it with a day of boating near our hometown, together with ten of our children and grandchildren. How wonderful to be together like that, we enjoyed it so much!
 

In Jaipur, India, a CAR school for the first time

And then it was time to pack for our big trip, so here I am writing this letter from Jaipur, India, also called the pink city. There was just a heat wave here, with temperatures over 45 C degrees. Luckily, it is now in the 30s, which is warm to us, but people here complain that it is chilly!
 

Our friends Andrew and Eliane and their children picked us up at the airport, and were immediately given beautiful flower garlands.

Rajasthan, a state with only 0.1% Christians.

We know Andrew from the time we held a Children at Risk School (CAR) in Kolkata in 2008, where he was one of our students. He joined us in Brazil where he met Eliane while she was taking the CAR school in Belo Horizonte in 2009. They got married and have since led many CAR schools together in India, Brazil, and South Africa.

I remember when we came to teach at one of the schools in India, Andrew had a list on his door with the states of India and the percentage of Christians in each state. He told us even then that he felt called to go to one of the most unreached states, Rajasthan, where only 0.1% are Christians, to be a light there. So that is where they are now, and this is the first time that a Children at Risk School is being held here.
 

Celebration in the church

We teach every morning and afternoon, and on Sunday Johan was invited to preach in the local church. It was a family service, together with the children, and it became quite a party! The pictures speak volumes! What a privilege to praise and serve God together with these Indian brothers and sisters.
 

On Saturday we hope to visit Peter (from the Netherlands) and Rupy (from India). Peter was also a student in one of our CAR schools in Belo Horizonte and has since started several schools here in New Delhi for children from disadvantaged neighborhoods. His wife, Rupy, completed the two online CAR School modules with us.

 

After that visit, we hope to fly on, on this big trip of almost 4 months. Our next stop is Manila, Philippines, where we will attend a large international YWAM conference.

In Richmond, USA, and in Marco Zero, Brazil, a CAR School will be held for the first time.

Then we will fly on to Richmond, USA, where a CAR School will be held for the first time. We will teach there until the end of October before flying to Belo Horizonte, Brazil to teach for a few weeks at a new CAR school in Recife. We hope to return to the Netherlands in early December.
 

We would like to thank all of you for your participation with our adventures, our "travels" around the world, the classes we teach and the missionaries we train. Thank you for your support in prayer and finances. We wish you God's rich blessings!

Prayer Points

- Will you also pray with us that all the young people who are being trained in these CAR schools to work with children in need will be encouraged in their work, learn a lot, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit put what they have learned into practice in their own cities and countries?

- That many children will come to know the love that the Lord God has for them?

- Will you also pray for all our travels, that they will be without problems and for our health?

- And especially for Davi's health, which is always quite delicate.