Nicaragua, removal and the future

In the meantime, more than a month has passed. A month in which a lot has happened. As we wrote last time, we went to Nicaragua for 10 days. There we were allowed to support local churches, encourage people, preach, share our testimonies, lay hands on the sick, bring food packages to poor households and invite people to church.

It is wonderful to see how open people are to the gospel and prayer. Many were deeply touched by God and encouraged, gave their lives to Jesus or rededicated it to Him. One boy who had a headache and fever was healed. A man had been in an accident with his tuk tuk (motor taxi), which resulted in a painful knee which made it impossible to go to work. He started working again the next day because his knee was doing much better.

As we went from door to door in the area around the church to invite the people to a special church service the next day, we were welcomed into all the homes. Everybody gladly received prayer. A substantial number of people who were invited actually came to church the next day.

We really learned to be led by the Holy Spirit, even when we had no idea in advance what He expected us to do. Johanna was able to handout small toys, gospels of John and mirrors with John 3:16 on them.

One day after returning home, we continued our journey to Germany for 2 days for a birthday and family visit. Meanwhile, the date April 2nd approached quickly, the day on which we had to leave our house because new tenants would arrive. This definitely tested our faith in God, since we didn’t know where we would be living a few days later. Thankfully, He has shown Himself faithful again. 3 days before April 2nd, one of the leaders of our church called to tell us that they would let us use the apartment behind their house. That is where we live now. We can even use their cars. The kids are thoroughly enjoying the other kids they can play with, the dog and cats, the trampoline and canoes and much more. We are also enjoying the quietness and space of the countryside and the fact that God once again provided everything we need, and much more.

By now we have been in the Netherlands much longer than we had anticipated when we left the US. Although our visa application had already been rejected at the time, it still seemed like only a matter of time to collect the required documents to apply again. Since then, the situation has changed completely. Our assignment was to support our brother(-in-law) and sister-in-law. He was the pastor in a church which wanted to employ me (Selmar). This created the possibility to apply for a religious visa. A while back, the leadership of the church already decided to not continue with the process to obtain the documents which we need for our visa. This means that I will not become an employee of this church and also will not be able to obtain a visa this way. In the meantime, my brother-in-law also resigned as a pastor in this church. He will focus his attention on extending his ministry in which he supports other churches, just like it was the case in Nicaragua. Our mission to support remains unchanged. What that will look like exactly, is still unclear. Also, we don’t know in what way we will get the necessary visa.

When we had just returned to the Netherlands, God spoke through several people that He wanted us to join the church we are now part of, as long as we will be in the Netherlands. Also, it was confirmed multiple times that this would be a time of preparation. Initially, we had no idea what this meant, but it soon became apparent that we can see here what a healthy church looks like and how it is practically still possible today to build a church according to the blueprint of the first church, which we see in Acts chapter 2.

The question remains how long these preparations will take. If we stay in the Netherlands long enough, we have to register again. This would have big implications. We would be required to get health insurance again, the kids have to go to a school again, we would need a more permanent place to live, I would have to find a job again, etc. We are praying about this situation every day and hope to gain more clarity about how to continue soon. It is extra challenging to keep trusting God when we don’t know what will be next and when we don’t understand why things go the way they do. We only know that God is good and has good plans for us and that He is faithful.