Praise Report

Johann and Louise: Training Disciples to Make Disciples in the Netherlands "You people speak as if you believe Jesus is real." Several women that attended our Annual Women's Conference did not know Jesus, but attended because they were invited by their friends who do know Jesus. The area the Lord has called Louise and me to work in is either called the "Red Province" because of its socialist leanings, or it is called the "Black Hole" because of its non-Christian character. Actually I've met quite a few folks that would sooner believe in witches and fairies and spirits than in a benevolent God. Heiloo is north of what is known as the Bible belt of the Netherlands and many of the old church buildings have either been abandoned or have been repurposed to serve as community or cultural centres or restaurants, bars, and breweries.  And yet, the slow and methodical method of friendship evangelism has proved to be the most effective here and that is why we hold annual conferences like this one for women. Our members make friends at work or at the schools their children attend and they invite them to attend a safe, friendly gathering where women can enjoy each other's company and participate in workshops like candle-making, soap-making, how to raise your children and so on, but also experience Christian worship and hear a Christian message. Each participant also received a homemade bag with a Christian book and other goodies in it. One participant told Louise that she had been "rescued" by a local Christian lady and given a home and whatever was necessary to function on her own. She had been homeless before, sleeping on the beach. Although she still has issues she was able to pray with Louise...her first ever prayer! Slow, methodical, effective... We rejoice with the angels for these single victories for the kingdom. And we thank you for making this kind of impact possible. We simply cannot do this work without you. Which leads me to a bit of an urgent request. Our support has slowly been dwindling and our SAMS account has gone down from a steady $30,000 to $17,000 since we moved to the Netherlands. I realise that there are many reasons for this, but nevertheless it does give us cause for concern. Would you please pray with us for more supporters who see the need for missionaries in Europe?  If you know of anyone who has a burden for Europe would you please consider passing on our support information? They can either make contributions payable to SAMS and indicate "Vanderbijl" in the memo line, mail to P.O. Box 399, Ambridge, PA  15003, or then could go directly to our SAMS web page: https://give.samsusa.org/missionary/johann-and-louise-vanderbijl A tax deductible receipt will be sent for income tax purposes.   Rejoice with us and pray with us! The Lord will build his Church! Blessings Johann & Louise van der Bijl Support Us Johann and Louise spent two years helping to develop the St. Frumentius Seminary in Gambella, Ethiopia. They then worked in Southern Africa, serving in seven southern African countries, while continuing to work with the Diocese of Egypt, North Africa through engaging in a disciple making movement in order to grow the body of Christ. They are now serving in Heiloo, the Netherlands. We are sent  through the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, a missionary sending community, engaging in building relationships with the worldwide church to experience the broken restored, the wounded healed, the hungry fed, and the lost found through the love and power of Jesus Christ.  Support SAMS Copyright © 2016 Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, All rights reserved. www.sams-usa.org      Our mailing address is: PO Box 399 Ambridge PA 15003 Attention to: Johann and Louise van der Bijl Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

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