Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Compassion

Some weeks ago I became Advocate for Compassion (http://www.compassion.com). As you can see on my personal website I have a heart for charity for a longer time. Why Compassion? Well, this organization has the best way for investment in a better world. There is a saying: "The children have the future" But in many countries all over the world so many children live in absolute poverty and have no future unless it is given to them. And the difference between Compassion and other organizations like Unicef and Plan is that Compassion also provide food and clothes and education to the children, but go much further in relational way: LOVE is what these children need most. The Love of God, of the sponsor, of the coaches in the project.

In this message I leave the text as is. However I like to tell you much more about my motivation to help this organization as volunteer.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Enjoy the coffee

(sent in by a friend)

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor.

Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. He offered his guests coffee. The professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite, and told them to help themselves to the coffee.

All the students had a cup of coffee in hand. The professor said, "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves; that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself, adds no quality to the coffee in most cases. The cup is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups... and then began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups..........enjoy your coffee.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Website is translated to English

So delighted to announce that thanks to Esther the websaite of SEMA is fully Dutch/English now.
Go and read for yourself. Next plan is (of course) the translation into Portuguese. However that requires a Portuguese or Brazilian volunteer translator. Who feels like helping?


See for your self: http://zending-amazones.nl

Thursday, June 22, 2006

The Last Gospel Tract

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church, the Pastor and his eleven-year-old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts. This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside, as well as pouring down rain. The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said; "OK dad, I'm ready."

His Pastor dad asked, "Ready for what?" "Dad, it's time we gather our tracts together and go out." Dad responds, "Son, it's very cold outside and it's pouring down rain." The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking "But Dad, aren't people still going to Hell, even though it's raining?"

Dad answers, "Son, I am not going out in this weather." Despondently, the boy ask, "Dad, can I go? Please?" His father hesitated for a moment then said, "Son, you can go. Here are the tracts, be careful son." "Thanks Dad!" And with that, he was off and out into the rain.

This eleven-year-old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract. After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted.

Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the doorbell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered. He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited but still no answer. Finally, this eleven-year-old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him. Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch. He rang again and this time the door slowly opened.

Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. She softly asked, "What can I do for you son?"

With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said: "Ma'am, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that *JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU* and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE."

With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave She called to him as he departed. "Thank you, son! And God Bless You!"

Well, the following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As the service began, he asked, " Does anybody have testimony or want to say anything? " Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet.

As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face, "No one in this church knows me. I've never been here before.

You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live. So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck.

Standing on that chair, so lonely and broken hearted I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, "I'll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away." I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly. I thought to myself again, "Who on earth could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me." I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder. When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, for there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you! The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice, "*Ma'am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU." Then he gave me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand.

As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn't be needing them any more. You see " I am now a Happy Child of the KING. Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract; I have come here to personally say THANK YOU TO God's little angel who came just in the nick of time and by so doing, spared my soul from eternity in hell."

There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building. Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated. He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love & honor for his son... Except for One. This Father also allowed His Son to go out into a cold and dark world.

He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of heaven Shouted praises and honor to The King, the Father sat His beloved Son on a throne far above all principality and power and every name that is named.

Blessed are your eyes for reading this message.

Don't let this message die, read it again and pass it to others. We will meet in heaven!

Great News ... I found a translator for our site

Hello,

With great pleasure I like to announce the English version of the site. I found a lady who volunteered for translating. It is nearly finished:

http://zending-amazones.nl/English

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Translation volunteers wanted

Hello,

Sorry that I have been long away for updating my web-log. But we have the new website: http://zending-amazones.nl

The next step is to create an English version for it. And we like to invite volunteers who can help with translation into good English. Thanks in advance for helping us.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Gone into Missionary work


See how God can lead... Between 1989 and 1993 a Brasilian couple came to the Netherland to work ex-patriate. The very first that were in our country God made it happen that I met them in town when they were exploring and looking for a church to visit during their time in Holland. They became dear friends and when they had to go back they asked us to come to theur country. However our kids were little and it was not possible. Last year during Chistmas time our friend came over for a business conference for a week. We organised a reunion and had a nice time. On the Sunday they had to leave again we made the appointment to keep our promise and come over in January 2006... and so it happened. We have had some weeks vacation with them and visited several places. The last one and a half week we stayed in their appartment in Manaus. At my work a colleague who heard about our vacation plan and he told me he knew somebody who went to Manaus to work for a Missionary organisation. He gave me an email address and when we arrived in Manaus, I started looking. The Mission house appeared to be 15 minutes walking from the apartment so I paid them a visit, was invited to visit the shelter house for street children and ... when they heard that I have a website, they were delighted to hear that and hoping if I could build a website for them. After some hesitation I decided to start with a web-log. But since a web-log is like a dairy, I created a website: http://zending-amazones.vision-4-life.nl (Dutch site)

For you non-Dutch people I have also an English Photo page: http://vision-4-life.nl/Pages_GB/sema-photos_pag.htm

Maybe the Dutch site will be translated. I am looking for a good translator. I like to ask for prayer for this missionary work, because Betty's health is not very good and praying for continuation of that work is not a waste of time.

Saturday, December 31, 2005

A Very Happy New Year

Also via my weblog I like to wish you a very happy, especially healthy New Year. May God Bless you in all you do.

I also like to tell you about a plan I have for 2006. Have you ever heard of the music "The First Seven Days" of Jan Hammer (the composer who also made the music of Miami Vice and other movies. This CD contains 7 tracks, one track for each day of Genesis. In total it is 40 minutes of music.
My plan is to collect digital photos, preferrably 1280x1024 or better, which fit in one of these days. For example photos of lava eruptions and melted rock for day 1, Light and Sun settings for day 2, Ocean, waves and waterfalls over rock, continents for day 3, Plants and trees for day 4, Fish, Reptiles and then mammals for day 5, people for day 6 and finally landscapes with all nature elements, expressing rest for day 7

When estimating 10 photo's per minute I will need 45 pictures for day 1, 65 for day 2, 65 for day 3, 28 for day 4, 63 for day 5, 73 for day 6 and 63 for day 7.

Making all these photos myself is impossible. For example we don't have vulcano's here in the Netherlands. So I like to ask you to help me build the collection of photos for this project.

Then I will make a big slideshow with the music in the background and like to offer it to WNF/WWF and other such organisations. Thanks you for your help. Hopefully in 2006 the project can be realised. Or else in 2007.