Introduction What fantastic and beautiful work it is to be able to share God's Word with sailors. Many were once again grateful for a visit from the people of Het Havenlicht. Do you happen to have any good clothing left over that you no longer wear? Sailors are grateful for it. We would love to come to your church or small group for a presentation on the missionary work.
IJmuiden Region - I am incredibly happy with your visit Anneke's health has been problematic for a very long time, and has been getting worse lately. The “adversary” is hindering us in our ministry with this. Last night, Anneke suggested that we pray and fast for one or two days for this. At the same time, I saw two ships lying at TATA on “Marine Traffic.” I prayed: “Lord, what should I do / choose? Please tell me!” I opened my English Bible, which I use daily, in a single stroke: 2 Timothy 4:5. My eye fell solely on that verse… “But you, be sober, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry”. Could it be any clearer? Thank You, Lord! In short: This morning, after our prayer to be brought to the right people, with the right words and deeds, we drove to IJmuiden. First ship, all Filipinos. Chief Officer and Chief Engineer in the deck office. After my introduction, I offered both of them a Tagalog Sailor Bible and had the C/O read the text from Philippians 4:6 and 7 aloud. (I do this on almost every ship, to illustrate the relevance of the 2,000-year-old Bible text). Both men nodded in agreement. They hold positions on board in which they sometimes have to make difficult decisions themselves, without the opportunity to consult. They gladly accepted my offer to pray for them and their families back home. When I was already back on deck to go to Anneke on the quay with three sailors, the Commander ran after me. He clung to me with both hands and said in a confidential tone (the crew was standing nearby): “I am in a particularly stressful situation, but with this text, God has now let me know what I must do. I am incredibly happy with your visit. I saw no way out, but I have found one now! When I got up this morning, I couldn't have imagined that He had this message in store for me!” Well, another answer to our prayer before we set off this morning. While I am sitting in the garden typing this, a Piper Cub flies over with a banner trailing behind it: KIESLEVENJEZUSCHRISTUS.NL! Anneke showered the three men with the usual gifts of clothing, toiletries, chocolate, and trinkets. In a circle, we prayed for these men and their families back home. For Two of them it turned out to have a little daughter; they were given a doll to take home. The second ship was moored very deep to the quay. It was Low Tide in the outer harbour. Because of this, the gangway could not be lowered normally onto the quay. Boarding proved to be quite dangerous as a result. I used to not shy away from that, but to be honest, I didn't dare face the arduous task of climbing and jumping now. From the quay, we gave the Bibles, poster, small wooden cross, Bible verse cards, as well as all the bags and boxes containing material gifts to the Filipino sailors. Finally, we prayed for them. At this ship, too, Anneke provided the men who turned out to have young children back home with fluffy animals. “Lord, thank You very much for this blessed day. Be with these sea wanderers, who worldwide, with their labour thus provide their family and sometimes entire families with the necessities of life.” And you, dear prayer warriors, thank you very much for your prayers! Jan and Anneke Best.
Rotterdam - You are the only ones who come for us! Since September 2025, I have been able to dedicate myself full-time to the sailors in Rotterdam – a great privilege! The many visits consistently result in special encounters. Beautiful conversations about God's Word often arise, and there is a demand for Bibles or tracts. The appreciation is sometimes expressed aptly. For instance, an Indian officer once said: “You are the only ones who come for us!” I find the encounters with other Christians on board to be the most special. For instance, Wout and I were once on our way to a tanker. While Wout was tying his shoelaces, he was reminded of Ephesians 6:15: ‘And feet shod with the readiness of the Gospel of peace.’ That was also our prayer for the ship we were about to visit. On board, a special conversation arose with the Filipino crew. Some possessed a remarkable amount of Bible knowledge and spoke from the heart. A moment later, the captain came in to thank us. He told us that there is a Bible study every Sunday evening and that they recite Psalm 23 together! It was his personal mission to introduce as many sailors as possible to the Gospel. His question was therefore: “Do you have any more Bibles?” We emptied our bags onto the table, but that wasn't enough for the entire crew. So we drove back quickly to the warehouse to get more Bibles. The captain was so grateful that he hugged us goodbye and sent another message of thanks a week later at sea. In all of this, over the past few months, I have primarily experienced what is written in Revelation 3:8: “I have given you an open door, and no one can close it.” Arjan Karels.
News from Kenya - But we want to commit to their future Career opportunities for officers—engineers and mates—vary greatly by country. Many factors play a role: 1. Shipping companies have their fixed "assortment" of nationalities, and only in those countries do they have ties with recruitment agencies. 2. Not every flag state recognizes every sailing qualification. 3. In wealthy countries, officers are becoming too expensive for “normal” shipping, so shipping companies look for them elsewhere. 4. Global unrest isolates countries and complicates crew changes; as a result, shipping companies have started seeking more variety in crew.
The last two points present an opportunity for emerging seafaring nations. For Kenyan officers, it is particularly difficult because the sailing qualifications from local training programs are only valid in a limited number of flag states. Countries are slowly being added, such as Singapore recently. Studying abroad is unaffordable for most. But we want to be committed to their future. Since around 2018, an explosive number of Kenyans have been working on cruise ships in all other ranks, where the issue of sailing qualifications does not exist. However, there must be a local employment agency connected to the shipping companies (for example, Royal Caribbean, MSC, etc.).
We are involved with MCN, Mission Campaign Network, which is active at universities with, among other things, the “KAIROS” course on global missions. By participating in the course this spring at the Technical University of Mombasa, I met a student engineer with a heart for missions. He also asked me how best to prepare for an internship. Because this question applies to all maritime students and opens an entire book, we decided to hold a Question and Answer session at the university, just as we did with Logos Hope teams in West Africa in 2022. Due to the situation in the Middle East, a marine engineer friend was still in Mombasa and was happy to participate as an alumnus. We answered the questions based on experience and the Bible. Michiel and Christine – Mombasa, Kenia.
Eemshaven, Delfzijl - Philippinos sang together in their own language I read Psalm 117 this morning and thought what a wonderful work we are allowed to do: Bringing the Gospel to the nations. For us from the ships, in particular the work among sailors. Personally, we have been struggling with illness quite a bit, but things are going in the right direction now! Praise the Lord! It is wonderful that Het Havenlicht has many volunteers in the background who pray and work, knitting hats, etc. Also, a heartfelt thank you to the Huisman family for their ships in bottles and wooden crosses, and to the other volunteers for their quiet work! Then, the ships I was allowed to visit were also consistently pleasantly surprising to me.
In Eemshaven, it was special: the Filipinos sang together in their own language. Everyone was happy with the Bibles, calendars, pens, and other things. Here you can see a photo. On one occasion, the ladder to get on board was lowered separately. Afterwards, very personal matters came to the fore, and I prayed with the Filipino crew members. Praise the Lord! Kind regards, Harm and Fenneke van Zwol.
Rotterdam - Yes, there are worries, hope, and sometimes injustice on board I get into a conversation with Deniz. He has several questions. For instance, I am allowed to tell him that the Bible also teaches that people must live in peace with one another. Are you a good person? Yes, perhaps on the outside. But on the inside, hidden sins can be concealed, such as envy, lust, but also impatience, lovelessness, self-centeredness, the inability to forgive someone, not opening your heart to someone in need—these are sins. Is one then a good person? If we think that we are a good person rather than a bad person, we are missing the point. It is important to know what you live for now, and what your future holds after this life. Every believer in Christ can testify to this. By God's grace, we were allowed to start our lives—from within—completely anew, through Christ, who loved us and died for us, so that we might come to God. That offer-out of love- is for everyone, including the sometimes very lonely sailors we get to meet!
On a large tanker, I meet Mingo and Mark, two of the fifteen Filipino sailors on board this ship. One of them has had a baby born at home. He is allowed to go home this coming month of May. He is serving out a nine-month contract. Only then will he be able to see his wife and their little boy—one year old—in person again. Yes, there are worries, hope, and sometimes injustice on board. Jesus tells us: "Go out..." I am so grateful to Him, and so is Hanny. Warm regards, Wout de Vries.
Amsterdam, IJmuiden, Scheveningen–another wonderful encounter in the harbour ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.’ Things sometimes turn out differently than you expect. For instance, on my way to the harbour, I encountered a group of Filipinos. They were suddenly standing there along the road near the prison in Scheveningen, supporting their former president (Duterte). It was good to speak with these people in this way. They are concerned about their leader's well-being and the injustice being done to him. A number of these people wanted a Philippine Bible. For Christ also once suffered for sins, writes Peter, He who was righteous, for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God. Further along the boulevard, to my surprise, I saw a Bible shop. I stopped here briefly as well; it was very good to speak with this fellow worker. Sailors regularly drop by this shop, he told me. The Bible shop's extensive selection was thus supplemented with our Sailors-Bibles. . Eventually, I had another wonderful encounter in the harbour on various ships with my Indonesian friends, for whom I had also brought a guitar. It was put to good use right away. I have known a number of these men for over 6 years now. Some are Christians, most are Muslims, but always particularly open to the Gospel. For instance, we talked about Noah; he was the first sailor. The ark had no rudder, compass, or sail; God Himself steered the ark. Noah trusted God and obeyed God. These sailors understand Jesus as the Ark of Salvation very well. Let us pray that they make the right choice in this matter. There is also a beautiful point of thanksgiving. We regularly receive reports from the Amsterdam Seamen's House that the stock of Bibles has run out again. With a request for new copies, something we are happy to comply with. It is remarkable that this demand is increasing; God's Word will never return void. Warm regards, Marien Gijsbertsen.
Amsterdam - Sometimes you also encounter surprises When we go to the ships, we always ask the LORD for protection for the journey in the car and to lead us to the right person. And HE has always done that for 51 years! Good contacts with sailors, including those from the Philippines. As is usually the case, they were very open to the gospel and gratefully received wonderful spiritual food, such as the “Sailor Bible”, crosses, and bookmarks. I also gave suitcases, backpacks, painted breakfast plates, and stuffed dolls to some crew members for their children. I also met a full crew from Canada (mainly French speakers) on board another ship. Again, good conversations while a lot of valuable material was received. The captain received a ship in a bottle (from Gert Huisman). On board yet another ship with mainly a crew from England, good, constructive conversations unfolded. Sometimes you also encounter surprises, such as the moment when I wanted to go to a ship that was just about to be moved to the dry dock. And the dry dock was going to fill with water within a few minutes. They joked that I was of course welcome on board, at least if I could swim very well. They chuckled when I replied that I would come back later. And that is exactly what happened; I spoke high up on the ship's bridge with the Dutch captain and the first mate, who initially reacted a bit reservedly, but I eventually prayed with them. And in the meantime, Yvonne is very actively busy making stuffed dolls and knitting hats and scarves! The life of a “dockworker” is always full of wonderful surprises, and God guides us down to the last detail. It is all HIS work! Thank you very much for your faithful prayers and other expressions of sympathy! Theo and Yvonne van Zuilekom.
For privacy reasons, the real names of the sailors are not mentioned. The photos in this newsletter have been published with permission. Our thanks go out to: WIN-NL Seafarers’ Ministry, Nederlandse Zeevarenden Centrale, Seamen’s Centre Amsterdam, Bible Factory / Gospel Recordings Nederland, Evangelisatie Anderstaligen Service, GlobalRrize, Zakbijbelbond, Our Daily Bread Ministries, and others not specifically named, who all contribute in their own specific way to enable us to do the work well.
We would like to ask you once again to continue praying for the health of the people of Het Havenlicht and their families, but especially for: Michiel Kramers, Harm and Fenneke van Zwol, Jan Peter Kapteijn, Wim and Inez de Baat,
Hanny de Vries and Anneke Best, to be able to continue and persevere in the special work God has given them to do.
Would you also pray for open doors and open hearts! We believe in the God of miracles! Thank you very much for all your faithful, valuable prayers and other expressions of wonderful, kind sympathy!
This is how the Lord works through you, so that sailors can hear and accept His Word!
We are very grateful to the Lord God for the many opportunities to be a blessing to sailors, among others!
