Back on the road

Johan bumps his head everywhere, sometimes several times a day: on the tailgate of the car, on a low door frame in our shed… luckily, he usually does not get hurt too badly, sometimes just a small wound. 

But when I hit my forehead on a lamp which hung low above the table in a cozy dark coffee restaurant in Copenhagen, I got a high fever that evening, and it became a big red spot the next day.
 

Erysipelas

After searching on Google, taking a corona self-test because you never know (it was negative) and digging up some almost lost knowledge from my nursing years (that was a looong time ago), we went to a hospital the next evening, and yes, my own diagnosis was correct: erysipelas on my forehead!

I was glad we caught it quickly, and after prayer and antibiotics I recovered rapidly. This was great, because the next day our son texted an encouraging message: 

“Mom, did you know that a lot of famous Dutch people have died of Erysipelas!?! Michiel de Ruyter for example…”

No, I didn't know that! 😊
 

Teaching in the heart of Copenhagen

Our week in Copenhagen was fantastic. It was really nice to be back on a YWAM base, tutoring the students “in real life”. How we had missed that! It was also so lovely to eat and chat with the students and staff–just wonderful. 

They have a terrific location for their base, right in the city center, and we felt completely at home. We were the last speakers for their school; the following weekend the students left to work with children in need in the Ukraine on the border with Russia, and then later they went to Moldova. An exciting journey!

A few of our grandchildren now live close; we love it!

We went to Denmark after our online seminar in November, which was a remarkable success, and just before our son Pieter and his family suddenly had to move back to the Netherlands from the United States at the beginning of December, due to the Corona rules there. That was very unexpected, but now two months later, they have a house, a new job, the children are back in school, and–the best thing of all for us–they now live close by! 😊
 

It was a real blessing, to celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve together, to let the grandchildren stay over and eat the famous Dutch “oliebollen” (a Dutch fried treat) with us! We enjoyed it so much😊and so did Davi and Dilma, who stayed with us over the Christmas weeks.
 

Coming up in March: The Second Module

In January we immediately started preparing for the next online seminar, the second module. We gave this seminar last year as well. We plan to have it in early March. For more information about the teachings we will give, and the schedule, you can have a look at the website: https://www.childrenatriskschools.com/online-seminar

Hopefully we will add a third module later in the year. Our students are generally missionaries who work with Youth With A Mission, and they mostly live in poorer countries, where many children are in need. Most of them already have a ministry with these kids, so it's great to be able to teach them some basic principles and encourage them in this way.
 

Face-to-face teaching at Heidebeek

In January the Children at Risk School at Heidebeek in the Netherlands was able to begin “in person” classes again. Despite all the uncertainties, it did really happen. Johan taught in the first week of the school. It is so good to see that, slowly but surely, the YWAM locations are starting their schools again. It is wonderful as well to see that the Corona epidemic is also coming to an end! How we long for this, together with the entire world!
 

Positive

Last week we tested positive for Covid ourselves and had flu symptoms for a few days. Fortunately, we had no other serious complaints. We pray for all the people where the Corona infection has had grave consequences, where it has caused a lot of grief and loss, that God may comfort and help them.

I read an article by a professor at Oxford University who wrote that there are five million children worldwide who have lost at least one of their parents to Covid… What indescribable suffering!

“Oh, Lord Jesus, let them know that they are not alone–that You, Immanuel, are with them, holding them, comforting and guiding them.”

Thank you!

We are so grateful for your prayers, for your financial donations, and for your encouragement, whether through social media, emails, or any other way. This is how God shows us his care and love through your investments and involvement in our lives.

Thank you for walking with us on this path of obeying God together, discovering His plans together, following Him together. We are so happy to be able to do this with you. THANK YOU!

We wish you God's rich blessings!
 

Prayer Points

• Give thanks for our health, that the erysipelas healed quickly, and that we did not have any nasty side effects from Covid.
• Give thanks for the two groups of students that we were allowed to teach in person, but also for the students who follow our seminars online.
• Pray that they will learn much from it and be encouraged by it in their often-arduous work.
• Pray for the protection of the students, as they often work in dangerous places.
• Pray for protection of their health: physical, mental, emotional, and financial.
• Would you also pray for all the children who have lost one or two of their parents worldwide? That the church will step up to provide an answer to this need?
• Give thanks along with us that God is good, a God of compassion and love!