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| 45 years of marriage, 45 years of adventure with God! |
In the Netherlands the housing shortage is extreem. So, we are also very grateful for the nice little home we have. We bought this as a holiday cabin from the inheritance my parents left us, more than 20 years ago, and now the municipality has converted our entire park from recreation to residential, which means that we are allowed to live here long term. In recent weeks we have fixed it up a bit, in between our work with the online classes. Johan has been installing extra insulation in the roof, and I was able to paint a lot. It is such a cozy little home!
For the first time in 12 years
Because our children live in different countries, it has been more than 12 years (!) since we were all together, but in December we hope to finally all be together again in England, to celebrate these 45 years together. We are so excited, counting the days!
Upside down
In the meantime, we will be giving the last teachings in November in the various online courses that we run throughout the year. Most of our students are missionaries who work with children in need, in many different countries.
“These lessons have turned my life upside down,” we recently heard from one of the students. “I thought I was going to start an orphanage for the very poor children from my town, but through your lessons I now see that it is better to help the families of these children, so that the children can grow up at home with their own parents”.
And so, we hear and read a lot of incredibly positive reactions from the students.
It is sometimes not easy to teach online courses and we miss the personal contact with the students, but what an encouragement such responses are!
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| Our students work with children in need in many countries, such as this group of children in India |
Second series of classes online and in person
This year we were able to teach the basic lessons of the Children at Risk School, in English and Portuguese. We hope to give the follow-up course next year. Like the first one, it will be on different days in English and Portuguese.
But we have also planned a few months of teaching in “real” classrooms. We do enjoy receiving photos and videos of the online students who have ministries among children in all kinds of countries, but it is really nice if we can be there with the students ourselves and we can give them practical hands-on lessons in addition to the theory.
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| With Dilma and Davi at a pancake restaurant. |
Health of Davi
But next year's planning depends not only on our own health, but also on how Davi, our son, is doing. In the previous newsletter I wrote how he had been struggling with erysipelas on his leg since December last year, and he recently ended up in hospital for another week. He is now on a maintenance dose of antibiotics, but while this should reduce the risk of even more erysipelas, it also causes all kinds of side effects, making him quite discouraged at times. We have so much respect for him, how he has been able to remain positive and cheerful over the years, despite all kinds of physical setbacks and problems. But now it seems a bit more difficult. Would you also pray for him?
Christmas, Jesus the King
God became man, the kingdom of God drew near, and anyone who accepts Jesus as Lord is saved.
Jesus, the Physician. When the Lord Jesus walked in Israel more than 2,000 years ago, he healed all the sick who came to him to be healed. Here, we can see a glimpse of what that kingdom of God will be like when the Lord Jesus will return and when He is Lord and King over everyone: there will be no more sick people, no pain, no tears.
Jesus, the Prince of Peace in a time of wars. And we see a lot of horrible wars around us. Where hatred only breeds more hatred, He is the God of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Jesus, the “Waymaker”, the one who makes a way where there was no way, who solves problems where there seemed no solution, who provides comfort and hope in the most hopeless situations.
“Jesus is winning,” said Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth with a Mission, as he looked at all the messages he received every day from around the world.
Through the birth of Jesus, the kingdom of God came closer and became very accessible to us. With the arrival of this little baby in a stable in Bethlehem our God became man. O come, let us adore Him, that King!
Thank you!
We would like to thank everyone for your kind commitment to us and our work, your prayers, gifts, apps, emails, cards...
We wish everyone a happy and meaningful Christmas and a blessed New Year!
Lots of love!
Prayer points
• Thank God with us for the 45 years we have been happily married.
• Thank Him with us for the children, children-in-law, and grandchildren.
• Thank Him for allowing us to provide online courses to so many international missionaries again.
• Thank God for Christmas, God Immanuel, God with us.
• Pray for Davi's health.
• Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and peace in the Gaza Strip, Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar, Yemen, Congo, and many other countries.
• Pray for peace in the refugee camps, the slums, the favelas, and in the families where they do not yet know God's peace.
• Pray that God's good news may continue to reach places and languages where they have never heard of the Lord Jesus.
