Introduction The photo shows a small impression of the “tulip action” on March 29. It's the fourth year that we hand out tulips on board of ships because of Easter. This is greatly appreciated and suitable vases are often immediately sought for in which the tulips are then shown off. We often see sailors wanting to take photos of it for at home. We give an explanation of Easter on the back of the flyer and one can read how to get Sailor Bibles and/or Keychain Bibles and calendars. In all, what a joyful occasion that is! We would be happy to come visit you to give a presentation about this missionary work.
IJmuiden region - Go into the world, preach the Gospel to all creatures Normally I would give a summary of what we have done here during the ship visits in recent months. But now I would like to bring something else to your attention. In the Gospel, written by the apostle Mark, chapter 16 verse 15 he states very concisely our motivation to visit the crews of seagoing vessels coming from all over the world to visit our ports. They are the words that the Lord Jesus himself said and was subsequently recorded by Mark:
GO INTO ALL THE WORLD, PREACH THE GOSPEL TO ALL CREATURES.
I recently discovered using my Strong numbers app that the first word GO in the Greek original text reads as: POREUOMAI. The Dutch word POREUS is derived from this. This then indicates that there are, in specific materials, small openings through which for instance dust can enter.
I immediately thought of the bottle ships that our old brother Gert Huisman manufactures. These small works of art have melted the hearts of sea captains many times when they were presented as an introduction to our visit. And thereby the mini three- or four-masters act as a kind of icebreaker in order to streamline the delivery of God's Word.
Because the captain is the boss of the ship, becoming favourably disposed by his present, in many cases it facilitates the distribution of Bibles. In other words, a bottle ship promotes the bringing of the Gospel onboard. POREUOMAI! Brother Gert has provided a relentless stream of little boats in a bottle over the past decades built in his mini workshop while his dear wife, our sister Ursula, assisted him kindly providing cups of coffee. All those ships under a roof of glass are now sailing in many a captain's cabin across the oceans.
Hopefully the “Huisman-Shipyard” will deliver many more square-rigged gems for us and so is a not insignificant contribution to supporting the aims of Het Havenlicht namely:
BRINGING THE GOSPEL TO THE WHOLE WORLD.
May God bless you Gert & Ursula! More news about our ship-visits next time. And, oh yes, please pray for Anneke's health.
Kind regards and God bless, Jan and Anneke Best.
IJmuiden, Scheveningen, Amsterdam - Last month he even received his theology diploma A captain who constantly makes jokes about Jesus. A Hindu colleague running away as soon as you start talking about Jesus. A Muslim colleague claims that at all costs Jesus was only a prophet. Jehovah's Witnesses who come on board along the way and tell that Jesus is the angel Michael….
What is this when it comes to Jesus? There's something going on with that Name: The Bible is clear about it, in Acts 4 it says; “And salvation is in none other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” That was also our message for the past period to sailors.
We are also regularly privileged as believers to encouraging sailors. That's how I had the chance in January to meet my Indian friend Rohan again when I was together with Felix in the port of Rotterdam. We have been in regular contact for years and it was great to meet each other 'live' again and also get to know his colleagues. 'How wonderful that you have come to visit us,” they said. Of course we had to have dinner there too. Rohan is now back at home with his family. Last month he did manage to even receive his theology diploma.
It is really special how he has been able to combine his work and studies. Traveling with Gideon in Amsterdam is also an adventure, it is truly a blessing to be there to work together, we complement each other well. That's how we ended up with sailors on board a ship from Syria. They were not allowed to disembark, but we were able to provide items and listen to these men and their stories. And some of these men wanted an Arabic Bible. On a another ship a sailor from Cape Verde burst into tears upon our arrival because his best friend had died in a motorcycle accident the night before. Our attention comforted him visibly. In the meantime, preparations for our Tulip campaign are in full swing. On Good Friday we hope to hand out tulips on the ships again. That's always going to be much appreciated and is also a great opportunity to explain the meaning of Good Friday to the sailors.
Thanks for all the hats, encouragements and prayers!
Kind regards, Marien Gijsbertsen.
Delfzijl, Eemshaven - a crew from all over the world Just a short report from last winter. On board the ships I visit with Gods help, we usually meet crews from all over the world. I have a lot of questions from the seafarers to answer and in the meantime a lot could also be told of the riches that the Lord gives in His Word. Sometimes I met brothers and sisters, and that was always very encouraging for us all.
Regarding the times we live in now and especially regarding the Middle East and Israel, I see, also on a social level, the end approaching. I look forward to the Lord Jesus and His returning to teach the world law and justice and much more. I wish you all a healthy and blessed time.
Kind regards, Harm van Zwol.
Rotterdam - Every week he prays with the entire crew and reads to them from the Bible We are very happy that we can welcome many seafarers again in December and surprise them with a Christmas gift. Thanks to your active support we were even able to do it again and set a new record: 2563 packages were distributed on 141 ships! The whole team was involved this time - even our captain Johan was home this time to lend a helping hand. And although René was ill for some weeks, we still managed well. One of the reasons for this was that I was on the second largest crane vessel where we delivered more than 250 packages ! And although there are so many packages to give out, there were always beautiful opportunities in between to talk to sailors about the gospel. Lots of people, especially from our church community, came to accompany and help for a day.
I always like the reactions we receive and attached you find a short film I have made without a Facebook account. It can be viewed online at the following link: https://fb.watch/pQH6k5xFtv/ In January I was able to go together with my friend and colleague Marien to visit a tanker. Also Rohan, a nice Christian friend, was on board from South India. Rohan and Marien have known each other for a few years now and Marien has been able to visit him several times in various Dutch ports.
We had bags full of materials for Rohan with also some belated Christmas presents for the crew. Rohan was extremely happy with the visit and I was happy to get to know him. Rohan actively evangelizes on board. I also met a sailor from Trinidad there for the first time, who was very happy to receive a Bible.
At the end of January I received a message from John, a Filipino brother in the faith. I met him four years ago during the Christmas Season. He was still first mate at the time and I was so happy that this sailor contacted me again and invited me to visit him on his ship. So a week later the time had come. I was invited to come to the dining room and when he came in he beamed with joy and hugged me so tightly that I almost lost my breath. He was now promoted to captain. Every week he prays with the entire crew and reads the Bible to them. He also organizes a weekly Bible study with other Christians on board. For this he needed 15 Bibles! Of course I was happy to drop them by. In two days we had a great time together for a few hours. I realized again how important it is for our lonely brothers and sisters at sea to have a friend and to have a brother in other ports. Please pray for more workers in the Sailor Mission.
Kind regards and God's rich blessings, Felix Henrichs.
Amsterdam - but it was precisely there that we were able to comfort and encourage someone! On February 17 I have visited two ships with colleague Marien. The first ship had a Turkish and Syrian crew. The people were not allowed to disembark from the ship.
It needed some time before the ice was broken but after this we had good and beautiful conversations. The second ship we visited was just about to leave right then, but we could comfort someone and encourage him. It was a Cape Verdean man who had just lost a friend that day in his home country Cape Verde. Both visits, to us, make the work for the mission Het Havenlicht very valuable, we can be there for them in their circumstances and share the Word of God. It can also be providing other things such as a pair of socks or a warm hat but also a supportive chat.
Kind regards, Gideon Smeding.
Rotterdam - He says that he has memorized at least one Bible text I look back on this last period with gratitude. There was for instance Jonathan, a young Filipino sailor and I hear that he has a Bible. I talk about the importance of feeding yourself daily with the Word of God. It is like your daily meals eaten to stay alive, That's how it is also necessary to read the Bible, to receive peace, to come and have contact with God through prayer. This way you will be able to grow spiritually. The opposite is to spiritual go backwards by failing to do so. He tells that he has learnt at least 1 Bible verse by heart in Tagalog. It is John 3:16.
On a next ship I speak briefly with John and L.A, which means Leonardo Angelic - both from the Philippines, about being busy with the things of God. He received a Bible study book written by Volker Lamaack. On this ship there was also a request for general information and about practical matters, such as the Seamen's club and a supermarket nearby where they wanted to go to.
A Turkish sailor, on an earlier ship, shared with me what had happened to him. His sister recently had had a baby and he shows the photo of it on his phone. Two friends of his, one of whom is on another ship, also enjoy his company. That visibly cheers them up.
In between his talks I also wanted to tell him a few things and I said “I want to say that as a Christian I have put my trust in God and that I can go to Him talking to Him in prayer”. Earlier on another day people were happy with clothes, but I was also happy with the Filipino Rick during a conversation about the Bible, through which God can speak to us. I also had a pleasant contact with the Russian sailor/officer.
He took the time for this conversation, and he also listened well. There was another man there too, a sailor from Cape Verde. In closing would you like to pray for the people mentioned above?
Kind regards, Wout de Vries.
Amsterdam - My day can't go wrong anymore, you made my day! On board cargo ships, tankers, cruise ships, inland vessels, we have met many “nationalities”, including Indonesia, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Poland, South Africa, England, Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands, Philippines, Romania, India, Vietnam, Portugal and one sailor from Basque Country!
In this way we have blessed many seafarers with the gospel. We have seen beautiful open hearts. We always could direct the people's attention to the Lord Jesus .
A captain had tears in his eyes when I told him that he too could simply go to the Lord Jesus. The Bible has been opened and there is a lot going on when seafarers are led in prayer. We could bring spiritual food to the people on board. There are also many items of clothing, knitted hats, socks, shoes, suitcases, travel bags given to grateful male and female seafarers.
Recently a captain said that we will cause many sailors to say: “My day can't go wrong anymore, you made my day” and I found that a very encouraging statement. We may bring to them, and sometimes enliven to them the Word of God telling them Jesus is the Light of the world and are happy to hear that seafarers give their lives to Jesus. God is at work and so are we.
Thank you very much for your faithful prayers and other expressions of compassion! Theo and Yvonne van Zuilekom.
For privacy reasons, the real names of the sailors are not mentioned. The photos in this newsletter have been posted with permission. Our thanks go to: Bible Factory, WIN-NL Seafarers' Ministry, Dutch Seafarers Centrale, Seamen's Centre Amsterdam, Gospel Recordings Netherlands, Evangelization of Foreign Languages Service, The Bible Association, Pocket Bible Association, Christian Aid Ministries, Operation Mobilization, Our Daily Bread Ministries and others not mentioned by name, who all contribute in their own specific way to doing the job well.
We would like to ask you again to continue to pray for the health of the people of Het Havenlicht and their families, but especially for: Kerstin Henrichs, Jan Peter Kapteijn, Inez de Baat, Hanny de Vries, Anneke Best to be able to continue to go and persevere in the special work that God has given us to do. Please also pray for opened doors and opened hearts! We believe in a God of miracles! Thank you very much for all your faithful, valuable prayers and other expressions of wonderful compassion!
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!
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