We are grandparents with a Mission

Last week I turned 60! And now?

“Are you guys planning to retire?” is a question people ask us regularly.

No, not really. Certainly not in the sense of stopping with our work. We are very thankful that we can continue what we are doing. For weeks and sometimes months, we train groups of young people, journeying together, living and learning how to follow Jesus in a more meaningful way, discovering together how to share His love with children and families that live in challenging situations. We really enjoy being able to do this in different countries: in Brazil, in some Asian countries and soon here in Holland, through the Children at Risk School that we will be leading in January 2018 at the YWAM base in Holland.

G-G-W-M

But, of course, we are getting older. “Which organization do you work for?” asked one of the ladies in the sports group where I am participating.

“With YWAM -- Youth With A Mission!”

She gave me a puzzled look. Well, yes, my hair is getting grey, there are wrinkles in my face, I use a brace on my foot to keep it straight—we are not so youthful anymore… 37 years ago when we started this adventure with YWAM, we were both very young. But now? Maybe we could change the name to G-G-W-M: “Grandfathers and Grandmothers With a Mission” 😊

Loren and Darlene Cunningham, the founders of YWAM. Loren is 82 and is still traveling
to minister in many countries every year

Change in rhythm

Some things change a little bit as you grow older. When our kids were still small, we thought it normal to work 6 days a week and stay very busy pioneering a growing ministry, while caring for our big, expanding family. Looking back, we sometimes wonder how we did all those things… Yes, our rhythm has changed a bit, and we do need a little more time for things we used to do in the blink of an eye!

A wonderful children program in one of the slums in the Philippines, just on some mats on the grass.  

LORD what can we do?

But even if we are on a slower track, the Lord has been faithful and still wants to use us, lead us and guide us. Instead of long-term, 10-year plans, we now look only one or two years ahead, always with the thought in the back of our minds: “depending on how our health will be.” But really, things have not changed too much--we still keep searching for the will of God, asking Him, “Lord, what is it that we may do next?”

So we believe that in early 2018, we are to lead the Children at Risk School here in Holland that will focus on developing ministries among children of refugees and their families.

Then in September 2018 we hope to return to Brazil for a year, where our focus will be helping and strengthening existing ministries and schools for Children at Risk. After that? We are not sure yet--maybe work with a stronger focus in Asia, the Middle East, India or Africa? There are children in need everywhere, as well as many YWAM bases that would welcome us to run a Children at Risk School, training their staff to reach out to more children and families in need. Our work continues to be challenging and exciting; we want to give our lives again and again to God for Him to use us.

Lonely feelings

We enjoy the time we get to spend in so many different places—seeing new things, learning new cultures, meeting new people. But sometimes we can feel lonely, as we never really “belong.” We stay somewhere for a few weeks, a few months, sometimes a year, but then we move on. Even now, as we are in our cabin in the small city of Ermelo, Holland, where we have family and friends, we know that it is only for a short season. Soon we will have to say goodbye again. But in all these moves, there is great comfort in knowing that wherever we go, God is with us, our heavenly Father, who knows us better than anyone.

Feelings of insecurity
Sometimes this also gives us feelings of insecurity: “Will the people who support us in prayer and finances continue to do so? Do we communicate clearly and enough about what we do, how the Lord leads us, and what we believe? About how children are helped and supported through the young people we train?”

Things were a lot clearer and easier to understand when we were still leading the base in Brazil where many kids were being helped and supported in the different homes. Now, we are primarily using the experience and knowledge we accumulated so we can train others. We know this is the right next step for us, but is this clear for all of you who have been following and supporting us over the years?

If you have any advice for us, we would love to hear from you!

In all those questions, however, we know that the Lord continues to take care of us. He knows our needs--He is faithful and good and continues to surprise us.

More than 30 million children had to flee
And so we continue. We are now busy with preparations for the Children at Risk School that we will lead from January to March next year, here in Holland. It will be followed by a practical outreach period, probably in refugee camps in southern Europe, the Middle East or even Uganda where more than a million refugees from South Sudan live, or in Bangladesh where suddenly almost a million Rohingyas from Myanmar are staying in extremely poor conditions.

There are more than 65 million refugees worldwide, and about half of those are children. These children have suffered big traumas and have great needs, yet they are all loved by our Lord Jesus. Will you pray for this school? That the right students will apply, and that by the end of the school they will have a clear understanding where the Lord wants them to serve and show His love to the children?

For more information about this school, please follow the link: http://ywamheidebeek.org/nl/car/

The Children at Risk School is registered at the University of the Nations

Busy bees

In the meantime, we are trying to build a website to serve all the Children at Risk Schools worldwide. This is quite a challenge! We just had an international meeting with others who lead Children at Risk Schools in South Africa, Brazil and India.

We also had the opportunity to teach about international development in a leading college here in Holland--we loved it!

Quality time with family

But, of course, we also try to set some time apart for our children and grandchildren who live in Holland. We had our grandchildren, Pieter and Melissa’s kids, stay for a couple of days during their autumn break, and Davi and Dilma will come and stay over the Christmas holidays. Michele and Romeu and their kids are coming for a three-month furlough from Brazil to Holland. We are really looking forward to that, as we haven’t seen them for a whole year. Just Johanneke and Jonathan won’t be here this Christmas, but we hope to see them next year when they move from Brazil to England. We know how blessed we are to have such a family, and we pray regularly for those who are alone, hurting and suffering.

Prayer points

• Thank God with us for our health
• Pray for the Children at Risk School at the YWAM Heidebeek base January-March 2018. 
• Thank the Lord for all the YWAM bases around the world, and pray for the start and growth of ministries to Children at Risk.
• Please pray for the refugees worldwide, especially the children. 
• Give thanks for family, friends, and all who support us faithfully.
• Thanks be to God who has promised never to leave us and to always care for us.

  

 

Christmas wish
We wish you all a wonderful Christmas, with the Lord Jesus at the center, celebrating his love for all--especially the least, the last and the lost.

We wish you all God’s richest blessings!

Much love,

Johan and Jeannette