First generation Christians; I had to think about it for a while. It was mentioned in the testimony of our three Albanian CHE colleagues. Although with a muslim background they had come to faith at a young age already and discovered what it means to surrender your heart to Jesus. From their stories I hear that the team that they work in is like a spiritual family, amazing how they work together for the Kingdom of God.
With that I thought of my God fearing parents and nine siblings who all have chosen to live for God, together with their families. This means so much to me, and I can’t imagine doing what I do without the prayer and support of my family. It is so great to see how God gives us all our own testimony in our walk with Him.
Hessel and I were with these three Albanian colleagues on a trip to the US, which was quite a happening, and what a blessing that we were able to do this! Thanks to some financial help with the tickets we were able to go with the two of us, and it became two weeks, that we will not easily forget. We traveled to Phoenix in Arizona; we were hosted by Ron and Jeannie who used to do the work that Hessel is now doing as coordinator of the CHE network in Central Europe and their lovely neighbour Jeri, who gave us a perfect place to rest in between all the excitement. Ron and Jeannie are still very active and got us in contact with many Christians in their area who are involved with mission. They also showed us the beautiful nature of their country and we were deeply amazed by God’s greatness in that.
The International Wholistic Missions Conference was the main reason why we were going, and that became a very special time together. The program was full of encouraging and contagious teachings. For example, there was a pastor from Africa, who told that they had started CHE some 15 to 20 years ago in his church, and right now it had spread from there to about 1.200 other churches in the area! Also the workshops about human trafficking and trauma healing were very inspiring and encouraging for our work among the Roma. Next to that this conference was also a special opportunity to network and be encouraged by so many people who are working with CHE worldwide: wholistic mission, that focuses on healing of the whole human being: spiritually and physically.
An important task at the conference was also to advertise next year’s conference, that will be in Albania, and which Hessel will also help to organize. On the picture you can see our table with information and our colleagues all in the same T-shirt with an invitation for next year’s conference.
Another highlight of our trip was the meeting with our friends, two couples, that had both worked as missionairies in Hungary, but were now back in the US. In Hungary we miss them very much, we enjoyed very much spending a few days together with them. We are grateful to God for this very special trip, it was a huge gift. Getting to know our Albanian collegues better and spending time with them was also unforgettable. We are happy that Albania is not so far away, and we hope to meet them soon again.
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