NEWSLETTER

9/11/2009
Serving the Nations - Intercessors letter nr. 15

Dear Intercessor Friends,

Our latest letter, July 2008, closed by telling that a double anniversary was to be celebrated in October. This did not refer to our 40year marriage anniversary (that was already in 2007), no, mid October 2008 it had been 25 years we had the privilege to work full time for the Lord, AND it has been 10 years that we did so out of Serving the Nations (after 15 years in YWAM).
We have so often been utterly amazed and deeply thankful for the wondrous and turbulent and un-expectable thrust of adventures of the last 25 years. It really was time to celebrate.

After the crowded winter and spring of 2008 we sat down to prepare this celebration, among others by writing/finishing four booklets:
1 “Stories about Reconciliation”, 13 testimonies of international reconciliation. In spring and autumn Pieter had told 20 of these on a Christian channel (they are still being repeated, every Thursday evening). It was a joy to tell these precious stories of God acting, and many appreciated them very much; it was a joy and challenge to put them on paper; already a second printing came of the press just now.
2 “Elijah, how a prophet was molded to restore the altar of the Lord”, an incisive bible study and application by Helene.
3 “Sexuality, Political Spider webs”, also by Helene, explaining how the public debate on sexuality has become a political debate to push for a-moral sex, as a human right and as must for society. A very sharp and cutting edge analysis. Also of this booklet a second printing came of the press just now. Unhappily for you these three booklets are in Dutch.
4 The fourth booklet is also in Dutch, but a translation is available on our site: five articles “Towards Re-Mythologisation Of International Politics? A New Direction In The Church-State Debate”(Beyond church-state.
The thrust is: When Jesus returns, he will be king of kings and presidents, which is an international political function! But Merkel and Obama are not planning for this; rather politics is growing towards a one-world government, with “sustainability” as main thrust, which is in fact the worship of Mother Earth: international politics is re-mythologizing. Is the Church aware of this; is she partnering with God in this, or is apostasy around the corner? Challenging examples of 21st century God-state relationships are presented.

Double anniversary. It was a challenge to have the booklets ready in time.
Then came the anniversary: October eleven 2008. What an international crowd showed up; we were amazed and overwhelmed. We had a wonderful venue, a modern round church. We had Bruce Kuhn, a Broadway actor, telling sections of the gospels. We had four non stop power point presentations about our travels. Pieter had been working on re-wording psalms that focus on the Realm of Peace, and presented them with a friend on the grand piano. And we presented the four new booklets. And we had a time of prayer, with Hudson Mukunza from Nairobi, of the Europe-Africa Team, and Karl Heinz Lindner from Germany, of the Rhine-Project Team, praying over us. And we had good food! It was a wonderful day.

Now walking through our agenda and skipping all details, will give you a picture of the fact that, though we try, we are not really slowing down yet.

Fasting retreat. Early January Pieter joined the annual spiritual leaders retreat in our nation. The prayer movement and the push towards unity both have ups, which are hopeful, and downs, which are discouraging and confusing. Lately two very young men, leaders in the growing 24-7 prayer movement, started to come to us for a kind of mentoring; it felt of a whole generation was leapt over and now were re-connecting.

Psalm project. The early months of this year Pieter took much time for the Psalm project: rewording Psalms into 21st century prayers, some addressing current history, some addressing the coming tribulation and some addressing the realm of peace. The Serving the Nations mission statement is: “Serving the Nations by equipping the Church to prepare their nations for the return of Christ”. Are we, as Church, prepared for the tribulation, and are we, as Church, eagerly looking forward to the return of Jesus to rule the Commonwealth of Israel? This “third” millennium might well prove to be “the” millennium, the seventh or Sabbath-millennium of world history! Are we, is the Church, ready? This moves him deeply; this project gropes, as intercessors do, for God’s way with nations and cities. In August, with 44 “Prayers”, the project seemed complete, challenging to pray for nations and cities and the return of Christ at heart level.

Evian and Durban II in Geneva, Mid April two events coincided: In Geneva, Switzerland, “Durban II” convened, the UN-anti-racist conference, which again had strong anti-Semitic overtones, through the presence of Ahmediniad from Iran. Simultaneously in Evian-les-Bains, at the French side of the Lake of Geneva, the commemoration took place of the Evian-1938 conference, during which the political powers of the time internationally confirmed the isolation of the Jews, giving as it were a green light for the Holocaust. In “DURBAN II ≈ EVIAN III; NEW ANTISEMITISM” we give a full report of both events, with food for contemplation, and for action. The future has started, with irresistible fierceness for Jews, and for the Church.
A new expression of anti-Semitism is “law fare”: law suits of all sorts against Jewish interests, based on assumed Palestinian rights, assumed hate crime legislation, assumed anti-discrimination legislation. This is a very subtle, sophisticated and at the same time aggressive expression of anti-Semitism in a world that is increasingly under the influence of intimidation.
(During this five day trip no less than four divine appointments took place, too complicated to share, but also too evident to be misunderstood: to stand as Church with the Jews is emphatically on God’s agenda.)

EU prayer Prague. The end of April Helene joined again the half-yearly EU-prayer, this time in Prague, Czech Republic. There was good teaching and much fellowship and intercession. Intercessors cannot stop praying; sometimes the spontaneous prayer gatherings were the most anointed. Much focus got the upcoming European elections, not the least because of the growing anti-Christian attitudes in the European political climate, so easily deeming a Christian stand as fundamentalist.

Jamaica. Early May Pieter attended the 3rd Caribbean Prayer Summit in Kingston, Jamaica, for the reconciliation part of the summit. He joined David Pott of the UK-based Lifeline Expedition, to represent Europe.
The Prayer Summit as such was good, the reconciliation part was good but it seemed that the audience was not really ready. But the latter evidently sparked much thought and enthusiasm, and when leaving, through the networking of David Pott, a high level invitation for a “real reconciliation event” was staged for next year. Besides that also for Pieter the networking was nothing less than divinely guided: among others he taught on city-prayer in North East Jamaica, his Dutch role coming back as fresh as in the eighties and nineties in Holland.

Complete German holiday. We had a hotel voucher to spend. We choose Sauerland in mid Germany, we choose mid May and we choose both on our way there and on our way back to visit friends in the Ruhr area. How can five days become so packed of beauty and friendship and leisure and May sun other than because God wanted us to relax? It was glorious.

Togo double portion. Late May Pieter taught in a YWAM School of Intercession in Togo. He loves to do that and one or two times a year he does so in some nation. This time again was mutually very fulfilling, with seven nations represented and much tribal differentiation emerging, to be dealt with. But this time something, rather: two big things, extra were prepared: the lessons were pushed to the weekends, and a one day conference in the region and a two day conference in the capital city of Lome staged midweek. Much was at stake: the good will of YWAM in the nation, the credibility for the leading pastors, the openness for a quite radical message concerning the responsibility of the church for her nation and an understanding of the end time. But both the hosts and Pieter were very thankful for the outcome: joy, conviction and friendship emerged.
Altogether this was a very full and taxing week. African situations remain surprising. But one experience stood out: sitting on a shaded balcony during midday, lush view all around, hearing no, none at all, mechanical noise, but only the murmurings of the village down the slope, with a dog barking or a cock crowing. Pieter was in Africa again.

African situations, Gabon. For middle August we were invited to give “eschatological teaching” in a national spiritual leaders conference in Libreville, Gabon. Both of us were scheduled and we took much time to prepare, as we see it as a great responsibility to prepare the Church at large for the things we must be ready for.
What a surprise it was when 50 hours before flying off, we received the message: “international speakers cancelled”. What had happened? This spring the president of Gabon passed away. The election of a new one brought all turmoil that can be expected. Now it so happened that one of the spiritual leaders seems to have said something displeasing the leading political party, and then this party blocked the entry of the international speakers of the conference. Two years ago, when we were there, we noticed and saw the fruit of a beautiful unity of the Church in the nation, and this present action of the ruling party is a bad sign.
(In the mean time the media report on the elections: the leading party claims the victory and severe riots occurred in several cities.)
Our cancelling-assurance would only work till 48 hours before flying off. We quickly did.

Dordrecht for Jesus. The city of Dordrecht is the oldest of all cities in our nation. A congregation felt from the Lord to set up a strategy to “take Dordrecht for Jesus”. Pieter taught in many situations in many nations on prayer and spiritual warfare for the city, with joy and conviction. But to stand before a congregation that is actually endeavouring to do it, that is awesome, moving! That started just last weekend. “God, have mercy; God, go before us”.

Right now Helene is in New York, for the bi-annual prayer-for-the-UN; she is contributing for one of the sessions. Immediately following we (by then Pieter has flown in) will participate in a Native American Alcohol Prayer Initiative: From the foundation of the city the Dutch imported alcohol and used it to manipulate the Natives, in the end causing the wide spread alcohol addiction among all Native American Tribes. We are going there to repent on behalf of the Dutch.

We have been surprised lately by intense contacts in India, France and Burundi, as a response to the book “The Nations Called”. Helene’s health is much better now than it was two years ago, Pieter’s is excellent. In other words: it seems then that we are still going on.

Thank you all for your friendship and openness (and even prayers form some of you!!)
It is a joy to serve the Lord, though some circumstances seem at the moment hard to endure. Will we be ready and alert when He comes?

Pieter and Helene.

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