Introduction We may work while it is day! (John 9:4). There is still great openness on board the ships. Many seafarers are grateful when we come to visit them. They have again received wonderful beautiful and valuable spiritual food. We also help with clothing, hats, scarves, suitcases or travel bags, bookmarks, crosses and especially the bottle ships are very much appreciated. Do you like knitting? Hats and scarves are very welcome or if you have any good clothes left that you no longer wear and if you have a suitcase left? Seamen are grateful for it. We would be happy to come to your church or circle for a presentation of the work.
Eemshaven and Delfzijl – One keeps on sowing and praying for growth In Eemshaven, very good contacts and many nice conversations with seafarers from Ukraine, Russia, the Philippines, Denmark, Lithuania, France, Indonesia, the Netherlands and more, but the special thing was a Jewish woman with whom I had a good conversation. She had her doubts about the faith and lived on the Golan Heights. Also a nice conversation with an inland river skipper and his wife, who had nothing to do with the gospel. Nevertheless, the woman gladly accepted the Gospel of John and some other material.
I was welcomed on board another inland vessel with the skipper and his family. I was given a cup of tea and it was fine there! I was allowed to explain the Gospel to a Russian captain and he was very happy with the hats, Bibles, calendars and other material and also with the pens. I was allowed to bring the Gospel everywhere again and they were all happy to receive everything. So one continues to sow and pray for growth.
With warm regards, Harm van Zwol.
Region IJmuiden - The ship gets a place of honour on the bridge Once on board, the crew appeared to consist exclusively of Russians, White Russians and Ukrainians. The young Russian captain received me very kindly. A mini-four-master in a bottle of Gert made him very grateful. The ship gets a place of honour on the bridge. Then the “kapitan” read the 2,000 year old Bible text in Philippians 4:6,7 aloud in a Russian City Bible and nodded in agreement. He placed the booklet open, upside down in a corner of the chart table.
I was able to give a testimony of the possibility of approaching the God of the universe through the Lord Jesus. The “tretiy styrman” (on all seagoing vessels, regardless of nationality, the 3rd mate keeps watch from 08:00 to 12:00) accompanied me to the messroom where I could put down a number of Bibles, text cards, children’s Bibles, a poster and a wooden JESUS cross. A Russian walked with me to Anneke in the car, where he unexpectedly received a box of clothes, woollen hats and trinkets for the women at home. Pleasantly surprised, he climbed back on board, his arms full.
The second ship also turned out to have a Russian captain. “I am actually Ukrainian, but Crimea, where I come from, has been annexed by Russia,” he confided to me. When asked, the man declared that he was a Christian, but he did not have a Bible, so I gave him a copy in Ukrainian. When I offered to pray for him, he brushed it off by saying that his mother in Crimea was already praying for him. Apparently the other two people present in the deck office were a barrier. He thanked me heartily for the bottle ship. He kindly received the Bibles and other literature, which he took with him for distribution to the rest of the crew: Russians, Ukrainians and Indonesians. There was general amazement among these Eastern European crew members that I could communicate in Malay with their East Asian shipmates. One Ukrainian asked me: “Is your dear wife in the car? She’s a real Mum to seamen!” Isn't that encouraging to hear for Anneke! Also this time I observed that Russians and Ukrainians just mix well together, where as to the contrary some 1500 km to the East, they are at war with one another. Lord, bless the Bibles and all the other gifts to the hearts of these hard working men far away from their families. Please continue to pray for us, in particular for Anneke her health.
With friendly greetings and God's blessing, Jan and Anneke Best.
Serving at Sea - Well prepared for sea A highlight of the past quarter was the visit to a large maritime school in the Philippines with an international group. Of the approximately 90 maritime schools, this is one of the largest with 800 students. This means a lot to the economy of the Philippines, especially when you hear that most students come from "poor" families and the income of one sailor usually supports entire families. They do make enormous sacrifices: away from home for a long time, pay for their own training, sometimes being treated badly on board, etc. Perhaps that is precisely why their dedication and self-discipline are so impressive. Here you do not see bragging students who find school boring and criticize the system. In terms of content, the school is also strong and versatile with the usual theory, practice with complete ship systems, sports and "soft skills" such as assertiveness and knowledge of culture shock. The spiritual basis of this school is also special. Even though it is a secular school , the faith of the students is being invigorated by real discipline and the integration of books from the port chaplaincy. (https://bit.ly/seabooks). This also has its roots in the work of ship visitors in recent decades, where religious sailors find a pastor in the port. After all, it is ex-seamen who form the leadership at maritime schools. On the day of the visit, the students were divided into smaller and smaller groups, so that we could have personal conversations. Just like in West Africa, I was able to draw on my experience as a student on board, in addition to the testimony of the church at sea.
Kind regards, Michiel Kramers.
Rotterdam - Sometimes a sailor wants to share his personal story with us What a privilege to meet sailors. They are people like us. Just like any other person, they have a need to be known. You do not receive the certainty of faith through all kinds of outward appearances, which may give you a good feeling for a while. The Bible speaks clearly: entrust yourself to Jesus, make a choice, and leave your old life behind. In the letter to the Hebrews, chapter 9 verse 27 it says: "And as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that to face judgment". If you are in a group with several sailors - for example during a coffee break - and you are allowed to pass something on, there are sometimes 1 or 2 sailors who want to speak to you personally about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes a sailor wants to share his personal story with us. Like - Edmund - he lost his wife, son and brother-in-law at the same time in his home country three years ago in a traffic accident with a car, while he was at sea. A sailor Simon - read - while I was there - in the Bible study booklet, - and he asked a question about what he had read. We were sitting in an office space on the ship. This is an example of how a conversation often starts with a question. That was nice! Also short, but beautiful encounters with two Filipino sailors, Brian and Richard.
On another ship with two Indian ship officers, - both with a Christian background - read something from the Old Testament together. On yet another ship with some sailors read John 1: 1-3 and John 3: 16 and 17, two Bibles and a tract were allowed to be given. We meet sailors from most parts of the world, to help them in practical and/or spiritual areas. It remains a privilege. Will you continue to pray with us, - for the seafarers mentioned, - for us: for guidance and protection? Thank you very much for that!
Kind regards, Wout de Vries.
Amsterdam, IJmuiden, Scheveningen - Jesus, He is our Peace In the past period we have had many different encounters; With an Indonesian captain. He had researched all the world religions. And his conclusion was: it is all the same, just make sure you live well, then everything will be fine. But that is a lie. We are never good enough and Jesus has already done everything to save us. He said: “it is finished!” It was good to share the Gospel like this while enjoying a cup of coffee. An Ukrainian blows off some steam. His family is far away from home in Poland, and last week the house of a good friend was completely wiped out. In the meantime, all kinds of things are being thought up on the world stage, but no one has the real solution. Here too there was an opportunity to bear witness to the Gospel. Jesus, He is our Peace. Filipino sailors were very happy with the teddy bears. They immediately called home to show these acquisitions to their children. We also prayed for these men.
On another ship the crew is completely Chinese. I am received and spoken to very politely. The Chinese literature is carefully examined from all sides. This is kindly but firmly rejected. All Chinese Bibles and literature must be put back in the bag, none of it may remain on board. Let us pray persistently for opportunities to share the Gospel with the Chinese. We were also able to help practically again. The hats were very popular in the cold weeks. And a sailor friend from Ghana was very happy with a bicycle we had received, we cycled a round on the quay together. He is a club leader in his own church. The name of his ship is also special: the Braveheart Spirit; that brought my thoughts to this appropriate Bible text that I would like to conclude with: “Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not loose heart”. (2 Cor. 4:1)
Kind regards, Marien Gijsbertsen.
Rotterdam - My Trip to the Philippines Every few years there is an international conference for harbour missionaries. These meetings are always an encouraging opportunity to meet colleagues from all over the world. I was able to attend such a conference in Manila and spend almost two weeks in the Philippines in February. The conference was attended by 40 delegates from all over the world and we had excellent speakers from different parts of the maritime industry who gave us valuable insight into aspects of the life of seafarers that we know little about. We had a great time of fellowship with colleagues and seafarers. One of the highlights was our visit to the maritime academy. The director and many of the teachers are born-again Christians who wanted to share the gospel with the 200 cadets. Two faculty members gave a testimony to the entire delegation. The second teacher was Fernando. I have known him for many years and have visited him during his career as a captain on several ships. Imagine my surprise when he told me how the Lord had used Rene and me in his life! I was overwhelmed by what he shared. I also took the opportunity to visit a number of seamen friends and their families before and after the conference. When I landed in Manila, I met Rene and together we flew to the beautiful province of Bicol to meet our old friend and brother Aurel. He is a retired boatman and enjoys spending time with his wife, two children and three granddaughters.
It was such a joy to meet all of them and also many from their church. Aurel even threw me a big party, the night before my birthday. After the conference, I flew to Davao on the island of Mindanao. It is said to be the safest city in the Philippines. There I was able to visit three friends who were or are all chefs. So of course I was treated to lots of food. I enjoyed spending time with these three friends and their families. Larry was my host and tour guide. Robert arrived home just a day before I arrived in Davao, so he was quite busy. And on my last day, I spent half a day with my dear brother Jeff, his wife, two sons and mother-in-law. What really stood out to me was the impact our ministry can have not only on the seafarer, but on his entire family and community. When he introduced me to his family, Jeff said, “This is our brother Felix, who the Lord has used so much in my life.” Since our ministry is primarily about planting the seeds of the gospel and ministering to men and women, many of whom we may never meet again, this behind-the-scenes look is a tremendous encouragement to continue reaching the many seafarers who come to our port. The Lord is so great!
With warm greetings, Felix Henrichs.
Amsterdam - The cook spontaneously started singing a beautiful worship song This quarter we visited sailors from Sri Lanka, Georgia, Ukraine, Philippines, Indonesia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Bulgaria, Finland, the Netherlands, Myanmar, India, Sweden, Vietnam, Poland, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Wales, Ghana, Pakistan and Croatia. Once we went with Yvonne to a ship that was not so easily accessible. I had to walk carefully over two flat barges and then climb up the wobbly stairs. Eventually three men walked with me to the car, where Yvonne was already waiting for them. A beautiful bottle ship, Cebuano Bible, cuddly toys, knitted hats and scarves, plus three suitcases and a few bags were very gratefully received! Finally we prayed with them. How surprised and grateful they were, and so were we! By appointment we went to a ship where we were warmly greeted at the gangway. The Filipino cook immediately gave us a fantastic meal (very carefully packed) to take home. I knew him from a previous time and I quote his words: “Uncle Theo, if you come again next time, please let me know in advance, because then I will prepare a special meal”. Yvonne was able to tell how God had healed and helped her. They listened attentively. The cook then spontaneously started singing a beautiful worship song. When we said goodbye, we prayed with- and for them. “Until next time”, was said. Many sailors want to receive all kinds of things such as: crosses, bookmarks, Sailor Bibles, calendars, Qr-code keychain Bibles, hats, scarves and various items of clothing. A believing Dutch inland river skipper invited me to come on board and treated me to a cup of coffee. A fantastic encouraging conversation developed. Everywhere on board the ships, we were able to share a lot of wonderful, blessed spiritual food. The word of God never returns void. 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 posted with permission. Our thanks go to: Bible Factory, WIN-NL Seafarers' Ministry, Dutch Seafarers Centrale, Seamen's Centre Amsterdam, Bible Factory / Gospel Recordings Netherlands, Evangelization of Foreign Languages Service, The Bible Association, Pocket Bible Association, 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: Harm van Zwol,Jan Peter Kapteijn, Kerstin Henrichs, Inez de Baat, Hanny de Vries, Anneke Best and Wim de Baat 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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