Help for (Ukrainian) children

Do you remember the interactive workbooks we introduced for trauma processing with refugee children in Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, and Haiti, a few years ago, where we trained the parents, educators, and caregivers of refugee children? They have now been translated into Ukrainian! We are very happy, and hope that they will also be a blessing for the Ukrainian refugee children!

They can be downloaded for free on our Children at Risk Schools webpage, with an explanation of how to use them: https://www.childrenatriskschools.com/there-is-hope

 

(I just found out that the website is not working well on mobile phones, only on laptops, sorry about that, we will try to fix this as soon as possible)

If you help Ukrainian children or families, or if you know someone who does, these booklets are recommended! As I explained on the website: The power of these booklets lies in inviting the Lord Jesus to come and heal their trauma.

We may spend a few hours listening to the children's stories, holding their hands and hugging them, but Jesus can always be with them!

It is not about us and our help, but about Jesus. When bad dreams or sad days come, He always wants to be with them. We teach the children to put their hands in the hands of Jesus. And then miracles happen!
 

I took this picture in 2009 when I was in Kyiv

Online course

Last month we also gave another 2-week online course to 40 students from almost 20 different countries, together with a group of international online facilitators. It was great, went very well, and we received a lot of positive feed back.

Most of our students are missionaries with Youth With A Mission, and already work with children in need. This seminar gives them some extra tools to do their often difficult work. For many of them it is also important that the course is accredited by the University of the Nations, so they receive a diploma at the end.

These are often very intense weeks for Johan and me, after a few months of preparations, but we finished with a very satisfied feeling!

We wish you many blessings in the coming weeks and months and are grateful for such a loyal circle of friends who stand around us in prayer and with financial help.

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!

Golden people having our back and students from all over the world

“I just finished your book God's Heart for Children, and I cried so many times when I read how God helped you again and again, even though you got into all kinds of demanding situations,” said Raimundo from the Amazon region of Brazil, during a teaching session on Zoom. “Thank you for teaching me now,” he continued, “it is such an encouragement to hear you speak after all the stories I have read and heard about you!”

Wow, how beautiful! It touches me that a book I wrote more than 20 years ago can still deeply encourage people in their faith, and what a privilege that, even though it is online, we can continue to teach so many international students.
 

Students in Porto Velho watch Johans teaching together

This week we are teaching our second week of classes via Zoom at the Children at Risk School in Porto Velho, Brazil. Sometimes we even teach in two schools at the same time. With the online classes via Zoom, this is of course now an option. In general, it is still possible to find a time that is reasonable for us and for the students, but when the meetings become very international, in many different countries at the same time, it sometimes happens that we sit in front of our screens from 1 to 5 o'clock in the morning… Oh, we should not do that too often! 😊
 

I teach here in Portuguese

More than fifty new students

In the meantime, we are also busy organizing the next online seminar, to encourage missionaries working with children in need, anywhere in the world, and to teach them principles and skills they need in their ministry.

We were a bit skeptical ourselves at first: would students still want to take online courses? Isn't everyone getting a little tired of those Zoom screens? But on the other hand, it is still exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to travel to developing countries, which is where we have the most students.

So, after prayer, we have set up and offered another online course. And we have already received more than fifty registrations for the course that will run in November! Awesome!
 

Thirty nationalities

The students, most of whom are (young) missionaries and already work with children in need, are again a very international group.

From Africa we have two groups of students from South Africa and Nigeria, as well as students from Mozambique, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Madagascar, Togo and Uganda.

From Asia, we have a few groups from Cambodia and India, along with students from the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Then there are students from South and North America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the USA, and Canada; of course, Europe is also represented with students from Romania, Slovakia, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and England.

How wonderful to have such a varied international group--but also quite a challenge!
 

Golden people!

A few weeks ago, we were able to celebrate that the NGO Rescue and Restore from Holland, that has partnered with us for many years, has had more than 100 meetings and in the meantime had folded and sent tens of thousands of newsletters, for the foundation, for the work of Youth with a Mission in Belo Horizonte, as well as for us! This is our 180th newsletter!

We have been missionaries for 41 years now and Jacob van Bodegraven, treasurer and one of the founders of Rescue and Restore, has been our contact person in the Netherlands from the very beginning. How cool is that!?!

Most of those more than one hundred meetings were held at Jacob and Elly's home—gallons of coffee and soda were served, the donations for work and for us personally were kept up to date and sent monthly, appointments for speaking engagements during our home visits were arranged, prayers were lifted up, and some more newsletters were folded and sent! Wow, how blessed we are by loyal friends like Jacob and Elly! They are worth their weight in gold! Thank you, Jacob and Elly!!!

In the photo you see us together with them and some other close friends. These are all very special and lovely people who together form the board of Rescue and Restore and are committed to serving God and helping children and families in need by using their specific gifts. What a wonderful team! We are so grateful to them and thank our Lord God that we get to work with such wonderful friends!
 

Surprise visit

Because of Corona we have not been able to hug our children and grandchildren living in England and the US for almost 2 years. We miss them all so much. But to celebrate my birthday in October, Johanneke surprised me with a visit from England for a few days! How nice that was--the best possible birthday gift! The days flew by as we shopped together at our different favorite stores 😊, cycled and chatted for hours!

 
To Denmark, (if possible…)

Early next month we have been invited to teach about working with children in need at YWAM Copenhagen. We have already bought our tickets, but it remains unsure if we will really be able to go or whether the Corona rules will be tightened up again. We are really looking forward to having physical "3D" students in front of us again, not just on a screen. If we are unable to go, we'll continue with Zoom.

Hybrid lessons

Looking to the future, we don’t think we will completely stop offering Zoom classes, because we see that we reach a large group of students whom we would not have been able to train otherwise. But perhaps the best thing is to combine a mixture of lessons on Zoom and lessons in the mission field, where you can give the students practical experience. We will see!
 

Christmas

The log cabin that we built next to our house is now completed and painted. Davi has stayed there several times, as well as other family members. We’re so happy that it is now possible! During the upcoming Christmas break, Davi and Dilma hope to come and stay with us for a few weeks.

We’d like to wish you all a very meaningful Christmas, where the celebration of the birth of the Lord Jesus, our Lord and Savior will be the centerpiece, where we will take time to thank and honor Him. Jesus, the light that shines in a dark world, then and now, gives us hope for the future, meets us in our wavering faith, and gives us love for those both near to us and far from us. Glory to God!

Much love and lots of blessings!

Prayer Points

• Pray for the students who will participate in the seminar online. That the internet connections continue to work well, and the lessons will really be a significant help and blessing to them and their work.
• Thank God for the wonderful team at Rescue and Restore, who have been faithful in their support for so many years.
• Pray that we will be able to keep peace of heart and adapt easily and flexibly if our class schedule must change again because of Corona.
• Thank God for the miracle of Christmas—God who became man, to save us.

A mix of online and “in person” classes, with lots of prayer!

In the previous letter we had asked for prayer for Johan's prostate surgery, and we are grateful that it went well. The operation was a month later than planned, and the hospital stay was a bit longer than expected due to some complications. Luckily things are going well now, and Johan is running his daily round again! Thank you for all your prayers!

In the meantime, our garden office/guest room is almost finished. Next week, if it is not raining too much, we hope to paint the outside white.
 

Holiday with Davi and Dilma

Davi has already stayed there several times, and it's really fantastic that he can roll into the shower with his wheelchair in the adapted bathroom!

It is also nice for Dilma that she now has her own room (Davi's old room) when she stays with us during the holidays and on some weekends. Previously she always slept on the couch in the living room, and this is so much nicer!

They recently came to visit us for a few weeks in August during their vacation, and we were able to do fun things together--cycle a lot, eat ice cream and go to the pancake restaurant.
 

Week in Zeeland

This holiday we also went back to Johan's “roots”. We spent a week in Zeeland (a province in the south of Holland) where most of Johan's brothers and sisters still live. We had exchanged homes with one of Johan's brothers for the week, and we enjoyed exploring all the beautiful places in Zeeland, which everyone always talks about, but which I had never seen before. And of course it was great to see so many brothers, sisters and family, in the open air, on a Zeeland dike, close to the sea!

So we are gradually getting used to living in the Netherlands again and are discovering many beautiful places in our own little country.
 

 

Online classes and seminars will continue in the coming months

In the meantime, teaching continues online, and more online seminars and classes are planned for the coming six months. But like so many of us, we would really like to have personal contact with our students. We miss that greatly.

Exciting journey

We have been invited to travel with a group this coming September to a country where there is a lot of suffering and trauma, especially among the children. For security reasons, I can't be clearer here and name names. But we would really appreciate it if you would pray for this too. The intention is that we will teach parents and teachers about trauma processing among children, and in this way be of help and encouragement to them. But it is still very uncertain whether this trip will be possible, or whether we will have to postpone it for a few more months.

The first Children at Risk Schools are running again

We get great reports from Brazil, where several Children at Risk schools are now running with Brazilian students on site. We were able to teach in the Belo Horizonte and Salvador schools via Zoom. There will soon be another Children at Risk school in Porto Velho, in the Amazon region, led by our good friends Andrew and Eliane, who also lead a work among poor children in Jodhpur India.

The work among children in need continues

We enjoy all the wonderful messages from students and friends who, despite the difficulties Covid brings, are doing wonderful work among children in need and their families.

A great example is the base in Belo Horizonte, with its various community centers, the Light House and the Rock House, where hundreds of poor families are helped with their basic necessities, and where the gospel is heard loud and clear. Or like the beautiful work that the House of Rescue team has re-started among the people living on the streets and in the juvenile prisons.

Or like Inacio and Mila, who were our students in the Children at Risk school in Angola in 2001. They have set up an excellent work and are able to help hundreds of children.

Or like Mario and Lika, friends of ours from Brazil, with whom we have worked together a lot. They have moved to South Africa, where they and their team help and reach out to the poorest families in the slums with the good news.

Or like Jay, a Lebanese friend, who has been working with children and their families in Beirut for many years. He helps the local population but also many Syrian refugees. In addition to food parcels and practical help, he was able to give Bible studies to many small groups, where he sees people choose to trust God and give their lives to Him.

It’s great that despite these difficult times with the Coronavirus, so many children and their families are still being helped.

Uncertain

Various Youth with a Mission locations are starting their schools “in person” again, but by now we have all learned that Covid can mix up our plans. Especially for international students, it is, of course, still super difficult to travel to another country. So the major international meetings are all still online. We are grateful this is possible, but long to meet each other face-to-face again! Cautiously, plans are being made for 2022, but the Coronavirus has behaved erratically, and we know that it is not predictable. We don’t really know if we will be able to go back to meeting physically in the near future.

A “winter” of prayer

I read a story of a missionary who worked in a mountainous region, touring mountain villages every 6 months to teach the gospel. But during a very severe winter it didn't work out; there was too much snow, so he couldn't get through. He wondered what he was still doing there as a missionary, now that he couldn't get to the people anymore and could only pray for them... But to his surprise, when spring started and he could go through the mountain passes again, there had been a revival in those villages. People had begun to seek God, had read the Bible portions he had left with them, and had come to faith! His winter of prayer had contributed to a breakthrough!

I hope, now that we as missionaries, aid workers and volunteers are unable to go to countries such as Myanmar, North Korea, Afghanistan, Haiti, South Sudan or areas such as Tigray in Ethiopia, there will be extra prayers worldwide for the people in these places. If we persevere in prayer, perhaps after this time when we can't do much more than pray for the lost in these locations, we may be surprised at what God will do through our prayers!

Will you pray with us?

Prayer Points

• Thank God with us that Johan has recovered well after the operation.
• Thank God for the opportunity to conduct online classes and seminars. Pray for the next courses and many new students.
• Pray for our planned trip in September, for God's guidance and protection.
• Give thanks for the Children at Risk schools that have already started with national students. Pray that international schools and conferences can be held again in the not-too-distant future.
• Give thanks for all those wonderful students, staff and friends who continue to work with children in need. Pray for protection, health, energy, and financial resources.
• Pray for countries like Myanmar, North Korea, Afghanistan, Haiti, South Sudan and areas like Tigray in Ethiopia, that the people there will feel an urge to seek God, and that they will find Him…

We wish you God's rich blessings!

 

A surgery, some construction, and online classes

We would like to start by saying thanks to everyone who, even in this trying time of corona, has been connected to us in prayer, financial support, and encouragement. It has meant so much to us! Thank you!
 

During the last few months, we have received many incredibly sad messages from friends all over the world, but especially from Brazil and India about sickness and people dying because of Corona. Of course, you have all seen in the news how critical the situation is in many places.

Recently I read a prayer on a Bible App (The Message Study Bible Notes), based on the book of Job, which really touched me and reflects a little bit of how Johan and I start the day with prayers for the world in need. Here I quote:

Dear Lord,

Help me to see that you are sovereign over the circumstances of my life,

even over suffering that seems impossible to understand.

Help me to see that suffering as a sacrament,

something that can be a means of grace,

drawing me closer to you,

and you closer to me.

Grant me the honesty to ask heartfelt questions.

Grant me also the humility to realize that what I need

isn’t so much an answer but an embrace.

Embrace me, O God. Please.

Lift me from the ash heap and gather me in your loving arms.

Hold me close. Wipe my tears. And make me whole . . .

Will you please pray with us for the people in need close by or far away?

Teaching online continues

During the last couple of weeks, we´ve been teaching online in different locations. In Brazil, Johan taught in the Children at Risk school in Belo Horizonte. This time it was just for Brazilian students. They arrived two weeks early to go in quarantine together so they could be a “bubble” in the classroom together. But unfortunately, the practical outreach classes cannot be done because of Corona, and most teachers had to share online. It´s hard, but hopefully next year things will be back to normal….

Brazil, Mexico, Barbados

Johan also lectured online in Borel, a favela in Rio de Janeiro and in a DTS (Discipleship Training School) in Tijuana, Mexico. And I was invited to speak online at a church in Barbados during an all-night prayer vigil.

Sometime later this year, we hope to start offering our online seminars again. This week we´ll have an international Zoom meeting about this.
 

Construction

In the meantime, we are taking some online Bible courses ourselves and working on our construction project, often with the help of friends, building our garden office. This will also function as a guestroom and, as it will have a wheelchair accessible bathroom, will be especially useful for our son Davi when he stays with us on weekends and during vacations. It is quite a job, but the floor insulation is placed, and the central heating is hooked up. Now we just need to do the painting, install the shower and toilet, and finish a lot of other little things. 😊 We are happy the shops here in Holland just opened again after the lockdown, so now we can go and quickly buy something urgently needed instead of having to order it online and wait a couple of days. It is really starting to come together!
 

Postponed (???) surgery

Johan has been having problems with his prostate for several years, having to go to the bathroom frequently both day and night. Tests showed that there is no cancer. Last year he got some specific medicines which helped a little, but now the doctor has strongly advised him to have surgery to diminish the size of the prostate. The original plan was for the 18th of May, but with all the hospitals full to overflowing because of COVID, they are probably going to postpone it for a while. Please pray for this situation, and for a speedy recovery for Johan.

Visiting Brazil?

Our original plan was to go to Brazil to be with friends and family and teach in the schools there. But the way things are developing right now with COVID, it doesn´t look like a wise plan yet. We did both get our first vaccination and hope to get the second one next month. But the situation in Brazil with COVID is quite out of control, so we´ll have to wait and see.

Our kids

Our kids in Brazil, Michele and Romeu, are reaching out to vulnerable children. Schools have been closed since March of 2020, which is terrible for all children and especially for the underprivileged ones. They are also helping poor families with food packets.

Our kids in England, Johanneke and Jonathan, are planning to lead the Documentary and Filmmaking School in September. They hope to get an international group of students for this great hands-on experience. They plan to come to Holland on furlough in July with their 3 daughters. Looking forward to seeing them!

Our kids in the USA, Pieter and Melissa, still do most things online. The oldest two children go to school half time, but the youngest one still has just online teaching. Pieter has worked from his office at home for over a year.

And our kids in Holland, Dilma and Davi, have now both had their two vaccinations. This is wonderful, especially as Davi has such fragile health. Their places of employment, a gift shop and a restaurant in a neighboring city, are open again, so they can resume their work. We are so grateful for the staff of the assisted living home (where both Davi and Dilma live) who have succeeded in guiding the whole group of young people with special needs through these turbulent times.

Prayer points

• Please join with us in prayer for countries that are in great need right now like Brazil, India, Yemen, Lebanon, and many countries in Africa.
• Let us pray that vaccines will be made available for everyone worldwide, and that no dangerous mutations will start spreading.
• We give thanks for the opportunities to teach online. Pray for the seminars we hope to offer again later this year. 
• We are thankful that Johan’s prostate problems are benign, and please pray for the upcoming surgery and his rehabilitation.

We wish you God´s peace and presence, consolation in times of sadness, strength when you grow weary, and the ability to receive His love and give it away to others!

With lots of love!

 

The Netherlands is now our official country of residence again!

This season has been a very hard time for many people here in Holland. The government needed to continuously give more restrictions as the infection rate of COVID-19 wouldn´t go down despite all previous measures. It is easy to understand how this deeply affects the lives of so many people. We continue to lift all these people who are experiencing such difficulties in prayer. And we are grateful for the good health we ourselves have had so far.
 

Another blessing during this time has been the fact that our daughter, Michele and son in law Romeu, with their two children, were able to come from Brazil. The last time they came on furlough was three years ago. With all the constant changes because of COVID-19, it was uncertain until the last minute if they were really going to be able to come at the end of November. And now again, there are a lot of hurdles before they can return to Brazil this week.

A whole year out of school
 

Their kids, Igor and Eva, didn´t attend school last year. They just had online classes. School stayed closed for a whole year in Belo Horizonte, and according to the mayor, it may take a while before schools open again. This, of course, is a heavy load on parents and children. So when they arrived here the end of November, the kids were so happy to be able to go to school and meet some friends! Sadly, after three weeks, school shut down here in Holland also ☹…
 

Dutch language training

But we tried to make the best of the situation; Michele and I improvised Dutch language training here at home. All the while, Romeu was helping Johan with construction😊.
 

Construction

We are building an extra room onto our holiday cabin here. Davi, our son who uses a wheelchair, comes to spend weekends and holidays with us. When he recently got a new wheelchair, we were in for a shock as he couldn´t pass through the doors anymore. The new wheelchair was a lot wider than the previous one. Johan ended up cutting part of the door posts away. But as a more long-term solution we decided to build an extra room and bathroom with easy access for wheelchairs😊. We ordered a prefabricated log cabin to fit next to our little home. Johan and Romeu have been terribly busy preparing the foundation with insulation and a concrete slab. It was a lot of work, but with the help of two experienced friends they were able to pour the concrete last week!
 

Continuing with online teachings

We have already started online teachings this year for the DTS (Discipleship Training School) of the YWAM (Youth with a Mission) base at Heidebeek in Holland and the biblical seminary of WEC in Holland. And last week we were able to give a workshop on trauma at a big conference about refugees with participants from all over Europe.

We are also preparing for possible online courses this year, because traveling to give classes in person may still be very restricted for a while!
 

The Netherlands is now our official country of residence again!

On the January 4, 2021 we became official residents of Holland again after having lived abroad for over 40 years.

But our work with children at risk continues!

This change of address doesn´t mean we’ve stopped our missions work. Our work in missions continues normally. Over the last years this has changed from leading a local YWAM base with lots of different ministries for children at risk, to the coordination of courses, seminars, and training for missionaries with a call to children at risk.

We are now transmitting to others the experience we acquired over all those years through a platform we call “Children at Risk Training”. We give courses, seminars, and training in many countries around the world, or like last year, online training to students from over 40 countries. Most of our students are full time missionaries who work with the poorest children.

We are so thankful for all the people who have been a support to us in various ways through the years and we are counting on your continuing participation, for, hopefully, many years to come.

We wish you all God´s richest blessings!

Prayer points.

• Around the world there are so many families facing great difficulties. Let us pray together for those who in this Corona time face extra challenges on a physical, economic, spiritual, or emotional level.
• Let us pray for the children, especially for the children in dysfunctional families, who are even less safe in these difficult times.
• Give thanks for the fact that we were able to reintegrate into Dutch society and for the cozy holiday cabin we have here. Join us in giving thanks for continued opportunities to train others working with children at risk.
• Please pray for our students who live in developing countries and work with the poorest of the poor.

Connected in this time of the Corona Virus

 

“I am so thankful! Finally, I feel as if someone really understands me! We had so many problems with the kids we are trying to reach. We love them and we know that we are called to work with them, but we were becoming desperate and it seemed that nothing we did had a positive effect. But now I understand where these problems come from, even better: we know what to do, to start solving them!”
 

This is just one of the students’ responses from the second online Introduction to Children at Risk. This time we had 80 students from over 30 different countries. Most of them are working in missions with YWAM or other organizations. Some of them live in countries where Christians are being persecuted for their faith. Others work with the poorest of the poor in refugee camps in Africa or the slums in India. Some work with existing projects that have been functioning well for many years, and others are pioneering new efforts.

Connectedness

It is wonderful to hear and read how the different teachings are of so much help to different people. But especially in this season of the Corona virus, how it helps people to connect in a different way. To discover that in so many different countries and different situations, people are engaged in the same kind of work, helping and reaching children in need with God's love. During the course, we see the students suddenly discover, for example, that there are other students working in their same country. Or that there are missionaries on the other side of the world with the same kinds of ministries and the same kinds of problems! It gives a very special sense of connectedness!
 

Second module

In the meantime, we are starting to get the hang of online teaching. We are now working hard to organize a follow-up course, the second module, for students who have taken the introductory course. We’re adding new topics, which go a little deeper into the lessons we’ve taught in the introductory course. At the time of this writing, 103 students from 45 different countries have already registered. It is so encouraging to see their enthusiasm!
 

Where are you? 

We are staying in our little cabin in the small town of Ermelo, which is right in the woods, one of the most beautiful spots in Holland. In fact, we are rediscovering the beauty of this tiny country all over again.
 

All our kids are doing well. In this uncertain time of Corona, it can be quite challenging, but of course this is true for all families around the world.

Pieter and Melissa cannot travel outside the USA right now, so we are meeting with them and our grandkids through Zoom.

Michele and Romeu are planning to come to Holland for a well-deserved furlough. Their kids, Igor and Eva, have not been able to go to school this whole year. They are looking forward to attending school during this furlough in Holland and spending time with some other children again.
 

Eva playing Maria

Johanneke and Jonathan are waiting to see what is going to happen in England. If schools there would close again because of a new lockdown, they might consider coming to Holland for a while, as their three daughters would be able to follow their online classes from anywhere.

Dilma and Davi are fine. Their daily activities are continuing for the time being. They are part of a higher risk group for COVID, especially Davi. So that is an extra concern.

But we also see how richly we have been blessed.

All around us and all over the world, so many people are affected by all kinds of difficult situations caused by the Corona virus--worries, pain and sadness. We pray for all who are passing through difficult times and hope that these problems will motivate them to seek God and get to know His love in an even deeper way.
 

God, the loving father

Over the last couple of weeks I´ve been contemplating the story Jesus told about a father and his two sons. Most of you will know it well. Jesus told it to the spiritual leaders of his day who were frustrated that Jesus didn´t behave properly according to their standards. He would hang out and eat with people of bad reputation. “Why would Jesus do that?”, they thought. “Won’t this destroy his own reputation?”

So Jesus told them the story of the two sons. The youngest disrespected his father in the most horrible way by asking for his inheritance and soon wasting it on trivial pursuits. What caught my attention recently was that, when the son decided to return to the father, he did it with selfish motives. He had lost everything—his money, his friends, his identity… he was a lost son. He had no food, but at his father’s place, he imagined, even if he were only employed there, he would be much better off. He had not yet realized how much pain he had caused and apparently wasn´t very sorry about it. But the father, when he saw the son coming, ran towards him and embraced him. Don´t you think the father knew that his son had come back because of his own troubles and just wanted a better life?

I do think so. How often do we behave in the same way with God? We seek him because we are in trouble and need his help, but are we really sorry about the wrong choices we’ve made? Still, God comes running towards us when we take our first steps in his direction, and even when our motivation is wrong, he is happy to meet us!

It showed me again the amazing, extravagant, love God has for us all. We pray that in this coming Christmas season many lost sons and daughters will take steps in God´s direction. They will be so surprised when God comes rushing towards them to embrace them in his arms.

May we all again this Christmas understand in a deeper way the immense love God demonstrates for us in sending His Son, the Lord Jesus, to earth to take our sins upon himself.

We wish you a wonderful Christmas and a very blessed new year!

Much love from Johan and Jeannette

 

Prayer points:

• Please pray with us for the students who live and work in very difficult situations and often experience dangerous and challenging circumstances. That God will protect them and give them new strength and wisdom daily.
• Let us pray for all those who have been seriously affected by the Corona virus—physically, psychologically or economically. And pray for protection for those not yet affected.
• For governments around the world where so many differences are seen. That there will be wisdom in communication, safety and protection in the fight against this virus.
• And that through it all, many people will, even this Christmas, take their first steps in God´s direction!