Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility
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y father was visionary and very serious. Looking out on the veranda with him to the open fields behind our house, and the beautiful clouds above, I listened like to his reflections. He praised God for that beauty, and I tried to join that as young as I was.
The safety of standing next to such a father and above that of being allowed a heavenly Father who was only love and grace, as my father told me, and who always saw me, inspired great awe of God. But it also often left me with sad guilt when I was at the end of one day looked up to the sky through my bedroom window, and confessed my mistakes of that day to God.
I loved Jesus and wanted to do anything but hurt Him for bad behavior. With tearful eyes and fervently hoping for His loving forgiveness, I would crawl under the blankets and cried myself to sleep.
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lementry school, as it was called in my time, was not a pleasant time for me, which I remember. Sitting inside for hours was not for me. Since I was left-handed and had to learn to write with my right hand, I was hit on my hands almost daily. Nevertheless passed all classes. My highest mark was an eight for religion.
I praised the day this school door would close behind me for good.After this I went to the seconddairy school which lasted two years, this seemed to me to be overcome.
There was no mention of further training, apparently I had made it clear that I did not feel like it. I got in touch with a nice girl at that school, and we soon became good friends. In the long run I spent more time at her house than at my own parents. You were considered more of an adult there, and what was also important to me, I was allowed to smoke a cigarette there, yes, that was still quite normal at the time as a fourteen-year-old girl.
The rhythm of the Sunday was better for me there too, because every Sunday we went to church together there, and that was more fun than going alone. I have to explain this. My father went on his moped to the Christian Reformed Church in Charlois where we were a member and my father also had the position of elder. If possible, my mother went on the back of his moped. We then went to the Reformed Church, which was closer to our house. My friend's family was affiliated with the Reformed Church, so I stayed on the right path for a few more years.
After school I had to start earning something, the pocket money I received was not enough and I had to wait until I turned fifteen for an official job, so what now? I was able to work half a day in the household for a dignified lady who ran a clothing store, and soon managed to exploited me. I soon realized that this was not for me and that I really had to learn something. The evening training of 'Schoevers' provided a solution. I got my typing diploma there and that opened up new possibilities. I was allowed to do some office work with a brother-in-law who had his own business and that is how I earned a little extra.
But when I turned fifteen and was officially allowed to work, I started training as a sales assistant at C & A in Rotterdam Center.
Dealing with new colleagues opened a new world for me!However, this also meant the end of my friendship with my friend from the seconddairy school. She kept me trapped in her world too much. It was time to break out of there!
Psalm 37:5
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this
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esus had become my friend. And although I grew up like most teenagers of my age, I had set limits for myself. Went with girlfriends I go out and entertained me with dances and friends, and stayed fairly often in our local pub, where the jukebox sounded cozy and you are out of sight from father and mother could smoke your cigarette, and yes, in addition to a drink also once drank a beer.
After living like this for a few years, the emptiness started to strike inside. And so one night in the full moonlight I walked home alone, none boy had to take me home. I wanted to talk to God, to Jesus, the one I had only called on in recent years when I was in one again awkward position, and as good as He's always gotten me out of it had saved. I asked Him, Lord Jesus please help me to get out of here.
I would love to have a friend who doesn't curse (which always takes me as a sting in my heart) does not drink, but just as I love You, and where do I come who against? This is what Jesus probably had been waiting for, for this question. And what's so incredible, He was going to answer my prayer! Where will i find such a Friend?
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esus heard my musing and had a plan for a long time, only I didn't know that at the time. Like an incorrigible creature of habit The next evening I sat again in my familiar spot at the bar, and light a cigarette in my hand.
My attention was directed to a beautiful brown hand with white nails next to me on the bar, and made me curious to who sat next to me. . I turned my head and looked into a pair of bright blue eyes in the sunburnt face of a boy who didn't look familiar to me. He smiled at me kindly and I in turn had to be a bit too laugh. I figured he might be from foreign descent. We introduced ourselves and started a conversation. It felt good and we were soon an hour further. It was now dark and I got up to go home. He politely asked me how I was going home and I told him I would take the tram.
He also got off his bar stool and suddenly I realized this the boy who had been recording me in the back of the bar the night before, and now walked me to the tram! a bit awkward and shy we said goodbye. It later turned out that we had both wondered, will we ever see each other again or was this a one chance meeting?
The following week we were inseparable and like old friends every night we sat in the pub questioning each other about everything.
I knew by now that he had a younger brother, his mother had died at a young age and had a second mother. Had learned to be a diesel mechanic and lived in R'dam-Zuid. One evening he suddenly told that he was going to spend the next vacation with friends would go to Turkey. I got a strange feeling in my stomach.
While I thought I would build a beautiful relationship, he was also with completely different things been busy. What was he going to do there? It was the time of anything goes, 'New Age', drugs. It became a different farewell that night. Well a nice trip I said, trying my as nice as possible to him. Thanks! he replied, also somewhat un- easy, I noticed. On the way home I had to hold back my tears and was confused about such emotions. Had I fallen in love?
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he week that followed I had no desire to go to my favorite pub and sat with my oldest sister every night and talked a hundred about that nice guy I met. I always found a listening ear by my sister and she noticed that this guy made a big difference to me made with the other friends I have had.
The following Saturday I went back to our pub, what did I expect actually? Of course I thought about John. Where would he be now and what was he doing partying with his friends? I lit another cigarette.
Suddenly afterwards the door swung open and I heard a voice that seemed familiar to me. I turned my head and saw John enter. The way he looked now I hadn't seen him the week before. He was wearing gray dress pants with a lilac purple shirt that contrasted with his brown face even more, and over ita blue blazer. Smiling at me, he shook out his umbrella outside the door. The rain came pouring down from the sky.
I couldn't contain myself and had to laugh terribly, the nerves of course! The trip with friends to Turkey had seemed nothing to him after all, and actually he hoped to see me again. I had never been out of his mind. He sat next to me on the bar stool and we kissed each other for the first time.
From that day on we were inseparable from each other. And so we started together on the journey of our lives, of which we still had no idea at the time how it would go. But God already knew!
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he big question for me remained of course, believe this boy also in God? He still remembered the beautiful Bible stories that used to be told in school, and he was certainly open to it and wanted to know more about it. In time, John was converted. We became engaged on November 7, 1967 and the following year on May 29 we got married in the Reformed Church in IJsselmonde.
We hoped to have children and start a family soon. At the time, married women were not allowed to work and I also had to give up have my job. I was skinny and not very healthy. The years of partying had took their toll, so it didn't work out. After the doctor gave me some pills that made me more stronger and I was pregnant quickly, and what a surprise when it turned out to be twins!
They were born two months early. It were two boys.We gave them the names Richard Franciscus and Edwin Izaak. They weighed 1180 and 1260 grams. It was a shock to see such vulnerable little creatures. Immediately they were taken by incubator to the Sofia Children's Hospital.
I was in the Dijkzicht hospital for 10 days. John visit me and our baby's every day and keep me informed about the situation. After the fourth day he had a very sad message; Edwin did not make it and died. Also for Richard they didn't give us much hope. Together with family and friends we have God begged to keep Richard.
The doctors and nurses fought to keep him alive. Our child also fought himself they told us later. We thanked God who had answered our prayers. After three months of seeing him grow and only allowed to see him a behind a window, he was finally allowed to go home and we could take him for the first time in our arms. How happy we were!
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ecause we were married very young, John twenty and I just eighteen years old, we still belonged to the youth group of our church. Together we had confession and were therefore allowed to baptize our son Richard.
In that year we were asked to open up our house to join others youth to start a Bible group under the direction of an elder of the church. This is how we actually rolled into the work of God's kingdom.
One day when I hung up laundry in the little backyard of our house, my eyes went up involuntarily and the Lord show me something for the first time. I saw half of a large ship towering high above a quay. When I mentioned that to John that evening, we wondered if this might be meant serving the Lord abroad. John had long had a desire to serve the Lord full time to go to work and saw a piece of guidance in this.
Because we lived in a small house, we wanted to after a few years to a bigger house, because I had become pregnant again. In Kreekhuizen-IJsselmonde we were able to move into a beautiful large flat. There too we visited the Reformed Church. It was the little church in which we were also married.
We hoped to join a youth group there, but that was not easy. In the 'Youth Cafe' as it was then called, people preferred to talk about politics than about the Bible. But our hearts went out more to tell others the gospel. And so we fell a bit between shore and ship too grown up to go to the youth cafe, which was intended until the age of twenty-five, but again too young to join an older group. Our hearts were on fire for the Lord, but how and where should we let this burn?
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n the meantime, to our great joy, our daughter was glowing of health. She was beautiful and we gave her the name Miranda which means; must be admired. And she has lived up to her name. To this day she is still a beautiful woman, and there has never been a lack of admiration!
My dear father had become quite unexpectedly seriously ill at that time. So much so that he could no longer admire her except than in a picture. The terrible result was: Lung cancer!
He struggled to leave his wife and children like this, and we to lose him. But his suffering was so terrible that he himself asked the Lord for a favor;
Father in Heaven if you call me home, may it be on Ascension Day? And God who is love has answered his prayer! His time on earth lasted 65 years, but he knew and believed;
Jesus said , “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;
John 11:25
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eanwhile, a cousin of ours had come up with a 'brilliant' idea. Why didn't we start a Coffee Bar? What was a Coffee Bar? Never heard of it!
He took John to several coffee bars, and told him about a new movement “Ÿouth for Christ” that has these coffee bars started all over the country There was singing, bible education, and prayed for each other.It all happened very spontaneously and for us very new, as we are tight to the tightpolicy of the church.
We were excited about this new concept of evangelism, but where were we going to do this? In our church of course! Unfortunately, all the side rooms were occupied every evening except Tuesday evening, in the youth room. Tuesday was definitely not an ideal evening for young people to go away, but we decided to take the plunge. And so we started a new adventure, namely the coffee bar work in IJsselmonde. We named it 'De Terebint' based on ...
Isaiah 61:1-4
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor;he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zio to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
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t took some getting used to for some of the people who visited our coffee bar. Instead of psalms and hymns, we sang songs from the collection of revival. Revival was an interdenominational organization held every year at Pentecost.In Vierhouten they put up a tent on a large terrain that fits thousand people. There are now thousands. In addition were there were tents in which children's and youth services were kept. We also went there every year with our coffee bar youth. It was always a big party!
We tasted an atmosphere there that was new to us. A big gospelband was playing, a band with many singers, but mainly a different kind of sermons. People were filled with the Holy Spirit, people were healed and liberated, things that were completely new to us, we never had this experienced in our church. There was visible joy in the singing and praise.
We also wanted to see this in our coffee bar. We made contact with people from our church who had been praying for revival in our church for years and also longed to see more of the work of the Holy Spirit.
They gave us names of preachers/pastors who were in these circles and we invited them to come and speak to us. The noted preacher and co-founder of the St. Revival was once our guest, and afterwards asked if he could pray with us separately. God had given him a word for us. For the first time in our lives we get a word about our lives. This was also completely new to us.
The word Louded; God has called you to be missionaries in this area. "Stand in His strength!" Short and clear. Hearing these words all the strength went out of my legs and I had to be held in order not to fall. The preacher told me this can happen when God's power falls on you. Anyway, especially John had to process this prophecy. So we did not have to cross the sea to do missionary work abroad. So this was our mission!
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ohn appointed as an evangelistic elder and the first Mobilization Day of our church. 
Now this had become known to the brother council of our church, and they foresaw some problems with their own magisterium, So they had decided to make this industrious young man (John) one official task, namely the position of evangelistic elder. In this case that meant e.g. in, monitor the spread of the Elizabeth usher. Beautiful magazine, but John's ambitions went a little further.
Besides the work of our coffee bar, he had a desire to, so it became allowed to organize an evangelization day in our church. His goal was to make our to mobilize church people a little more, but especially to invite people from the outside. John told about his plan. There was a serious look around. This was quite a plan. What they didn't know was that John had long dreamed about this, and had already worked it out in his mind. At the next meeting he was allowed to tell more about this and then they would see if this was feasible.
John had been inspired by the Lord and His plan for this one day was worked out down to the finest detail, everything had been thought of. we had a large banner made by a real sailmaker with the words of our theme namely MOBILIZATION DAY.
The brothers were speechless at the sight of all this worked out plan. Never before had anyone bothered to set up such a thing, And what was it all going to cost? John knew by now that there was a few thousand guilders in the evangelistic jar and that was why also came up with this idea. Bold, but said this too really believing he: "I guarantee every cent of this will come back." But the eyebrows were again frown. Who were those speakers he wanted to go out- invite? And which choir? what was a Gospel band?
Well, these were all people filled with the Holy Spirit, and that's what John was all about. In order not to shock them too much, he mentioned as speakers Hans Pater, a prospective preacher (but touched and healed during a meeting of Katryn Kulllman in America, Hans Cornelder, who worked with the OASE team in Rotterdam, which was known for providing assistance to addicts. Hans Koornstra had promised to come for the evening shift. We knew him from Vierhouten, where he spoke a lot. He was a real Pentecostal preacher and that was a thing. How would the brother council react to that? To disguise this a bit, because this was written in large letters on the envalop, we had just left it off. After all, Hans Koornstra told them nothing at all. But this was a trick that did not honor God's cooperation. So in submitting all the affirmations from the speakers, John forgot to take off the Pentecostal evangelist's envalop. Oops, what will they say now?
But a brother said, I see no harm in it, let these brothers come. PFFT .. Thank you Lord They had to admit that there was a clever program on the table for him. Everything was thought of. From a pick-up service for the elderly and the poorly running to recordings for the church radio, lunch and children's services. A singing choir for the morning service, a children's singing game for the afternoon service began, and the then popular singing group 'the Lighters' for the evening shift. With dismayed faces, the brothers asked, and what is all this going to cost? But John said with faith and conviction, don't worry, I promise every cent will come back! So this became our first major action that we were allowed to organize from within the Reformed Church. And it was a success! Everything ran smoothly. Each service was a true happening and a great blessing .... The closing meeting was the highlight. A wonderful adoration, a fantastic performance by the Lighters and a great revival sermon by Hans Koornstra. Under worship we saw people raise their hands, something that was extraordinary in our reformed church. People were healed, but most importantly, people gave their lives to the Lord Jesus!
Everyone went home full of blessedness. What a great day it had become. When we got home, it was an exciting moment. Had we gotten out of the charges? After counting the collections, it turned out that we were three hundred guilders short. We didn't understand, we were so convinced that the entire amount of the expenses would be returned.
The phone rang. It was a sister from our church who had been listening on the church telephone. Brother Hensen, what a great day this was, how much I enjoyed it. This must have cost some money. Uh ... yes, said John. Well this sister went on, I have it on my heart to tell each close to it, even if it is a thousand guilders! Thank you sister, but fortunately it is not that much. How many? Three hundred guilders. You can come and get it right away, it sounded ... on the other end of the line. This did not fall on deaf ears. We thanked the Lord for this wonderful provision. He does not shame those who expect it of Him. We hoped that we would be able to organize such meetings more often in the future. But that would turn out differently!
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nd so we were invited with our entire work team to visit the pastor and the brother council to look back on this day, And yes, how to proceed? they asked us. Of course we can do this to our churchmembers do not give every Sunday. No, we understood that too, as happy as we were already that we should have organized this day. We wanted to make a new proposal to organize this maybe once in a quarter, on a smaller scale of course, so e.g. on the Sunday evening. And then this conversation started to continue.
Some of our team members had, without knowing us, decided to leave the church and transfer to a Pentecostal church, and now that they were leaving the church anyway, all the criticism accumulated from the past years was put under the noses of the pastor and the brothers and give them a good explanation of how to interpret the Bible!
We felt the legs sink under our seats, and rightly so! Because this meant that confidence was lost in our work. How incredibly cheated we felt. These people had been praying for revival in this church for years, and now we had something wonderful together were allowed to organize, and just now they left the church and left us with the pieces. From that moment on we could immediately forget about our coffee bar work. We were forbidden to meet longer in the hall of the church.
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n the meantime, there were two ministers who caused quite a stir in the ranks of the then Reformed Church, One did not believe that Jesus had really risen from the dead and the other did not want to think that someone else (Jesus) would pay for his sins.
It made no sense for us to stay in this church any longer.We heard from an evangelical congregation in the Doelen. We stayed there for several years and enjoyed every meeting. We were also baptized there. In the meantime we were also happy with a second son, we called him Andy. A wonderful little man who made our family complete!
We really wanted to continue building with the group of people who came to the coffebar by now. Together we prayed for, and looked for a new space. One that was larger than the youth room of the church where we gathered every Tuesday, but we also wanted a space that we could stay in permanently, because we had big plans.
We wanted to organize evenings for the youth at fixed times. Sunday evening evangelistic services with speakers. Bible study evenings and children's work on Wednesday afternoons. But finding a space was not easy. Yet we were sure that these plans had been placed in our hearts by the Lord Himself. For weeks we drove through IJsselmonde and the surrounding area to see if there was not a suitable space somewhere. When I came home from such a trip again quite desperately, I resolutely picked up our neighborhood guide and said to the Lord; Lord if You want our work to continue then I will now open the guide and point out something to You? I opened the guide, what did I expect? No idea. I looked at the two pages that were open to me.
My eyes fell on the Name of the old ice club Thialf, not so far from here, So it still existed! My brothers and sisters had still skated there. Could this be the Lord's answer? Boldly I picked up the phone and dialed the corresponding number. I asked if the building was for rent? The voice of the man on the other end of the line asked very surprised:, But how do you know that we are going to do it in the rental business, because we only decided this yesterday.
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an we come and see it? I asked, feeling the excitement rise in me. Sure enough, came the good-natured voice on the other end of the line, you can come and get the key right away.I called some friends and together we went to see the building, You had to look through it, yes, but then you also saw that it could become something. There were tables with benches and there was a toilet, although the latter was too nice a name for the hole we looked into. Many windows had been smashed and somewhat covered with rags. You could feel the journey through space screaming. We pulled the rags off the windows and knelt on them to thank God for this amazing space!
When John came home from work in the evening and I told my story full of enthusiasm, he didn't react like me. The Thialf Ice Club? he asked with disbelief in his voice. That horrible old shack? This fell on my roof a bit raw, after the long search we had done for a new space for our coffee bar. Now go and have a look tonight, I asked, then you will see that something can really be made of it. But he was not to relent, madness according to him!
That evening we went to the building with even more friends from our coffee bar. We had to admit that a blind horse couldn't do any damage there, and it was going to be quite a job. But we had found a space, and so close to home! What a pity that John wasn't there to watch it. He had started at home repairing our broken tape recorder that hadn't worked for a long time. And sure enough he did it again. There was still a tape of the service with Hans Koornstra, recorded from the evening shift of the Mobilization day. The first words from the cassette sounded clear; There are always those people who need to hear a voice from above before they take a step forward!
John felt addressed and put on his coat and shoes to step inside a moment later. While we were thanking God, he looked around and maintained his opinion that this old building was in dilapidated condition to be renovated. And what should this cost?
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s I mentioned before, my dear father had died shortly before and every child received an advance on the inheritance. Of course, the division among our eight children did not make the amount so great. You could make a nice trip abroad or buy a new television.
John who finally gave in and agreed that this could become a God-given new space, made us want to fight it together with our friends. It was therefore clear to us that the money we had received from the inheritance would be spent on this. Our family thought differently about this, but we saw God's guidance in all of this!
After three months of hard work, we were able to look around with satisfaction. Everywhere was a new coat of paint. New windows in it with cozy old Dutch checkered curtains in front. A neat new toilet and the stove repaired as well as it could. New covering on the floor, not to mention a large banner above the fence with our name 'de Terebint' on it. A large round sticker of Opwekking on the front door with the words, 'God loves you' made the coffee bar complete and ready for us to use!
As I said, it had taken three months to refurbish this totally worn-out building and make it a cozy walk-in again. Programs for young and old were conceived and of course a grand opening! Four fantastic months we were allowed to see the blessing at our work, how happy and grateful we were for this, until after 10 winters without severe frost, it suddenly started freezing hard and we got the message from the owner; 'the ice club must open'!
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he Ice Club had to open! 'Sorry, but you knew it's an ice club building' That was hard for all of us. What now? The only solution was to give the activities a place in our home. Luckily we had a large living room. The children's club was held at the home of Aunt Ali, head of children's work. She also had the same flat as us with a large kitchen and room. This solution also had its charm. The home meetings were well attended and the children continued to come to Aunt Ali's club on Wednesday afternoons. Our evangelizing work continued and with God's help we would get through this period.
Just a few weeks of ice fun destroyed our many months of work in one fell swoop! Again, windows were broken. The benches and tables were full of skating slots. At the toilet. didn't even want to take a look, it looked that dirty. In short, our question was: Why Lord? Was it an ordeal or an attack on our work?
Anyway, we have put our shoulders to the wheel again and with the help of friends and many of our visitors and by organizing a cozy bazaar, we have made the 'Terebint' liveable again.For two full years in a row we have had great services, Bible study evenings for young and old, and kids' clubs. We were even allowed to keep a large tent campaign behind our building, in the large meadow where the cows normally grazed, which were always taken out of the meadow in cold weather and brought back into the meadow on Sunday morning, which often left traces, which we could then clean up on Sunday afternoon, because well, you don't let a preacher and guests come in through this filth.
Because our coffee bar became more and more cozy and we even got a turntable in one of the corners, the manager apparently started scratching his head, and realized that he could also rent out the building every now and then if there was a party to celebrate, and we hadn't taken that into account. So it could happen that we were sometimes told that we would be there in the coming Couldn't get in on Saturday evening and had to cancel the youth meeting. We came to see after Sunday afternoon how things had been left behind the Saturday night before.
Then John and I would roll up our sleeves again to put the bags of garbage from half-eaten croquettes, empty beer cans and dirty butts and the like, out of sight of the entrance as best they could. The doors were opened wide to allow the smell of beer and smoke to dissipate before the evening shift began. Although we didn't think it was very nice that things were left behind like this, we always went home with a satisfied feeling, because that evening we could have a meeting again!
People started to love our work and feel at home in the simple but cozy space, becoming loyal visitors. We had also gathered a good bunch of youth and a very large children's club had been created thanks to the work of a team of dear sisters who did this work with heart and soul. All glory to God who gave His blessing on our work!
