Dearest friends,

I am at the edge of a cliff, I look down and there is nothing, just air, a deep ravine. My heartbeat is all I hear, I take a step forwards and hold my breath, I let myself go. Air… that’s all i feel swishing past me, I close my eyes, is it fear, insecurity or peace? This is how it feels sometimes to live in the dependency of God, you don’t know exactly what is coming, but still you are challenged to step out in faith, even when there doen’t seem to be anything under your feet to pick you up…but before you know it He has already put you on solid ground, if you let Him guide you. In our case the solid ground was Lesvos. By now Jonathan and I have been back and forth to Greece and are working hard to finish the Invisible Heroes project, maybe you have seen some of it on Facebook and Instagram.

Rerouting…

These past months we were able to experience well that we can make our plans, but how important it is to always stay open for His direction, even when nothing seems to add up! “A person plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” 

Our trip to Lesvos was not part of the plan. It was a last minute call. The refugee situation in the camps was already something that was on our hearts, but we didn’t have any plans regarding it. When a call to action was made for people to help in a practical way but also for people that could make visual promotion material about the work being done in order to attract more volunteers to work in the camps, we had the idea that we should go. We were able to depart quite quickly, a week after we heard the call, and Gods call in our hearts seem to grow bigger, we were already sitting in the plane to Lesvos. All the puzzle pieces seemed to fall in place nicely. Jonathan’s mother was able to come straight away to look after our girls because of a gift she received from friends to buy her plane ticket from Holland to England. Jonathan and I were able to pay for our ticket and accommodation because of a fee that AirFrance payed to us due to delayed flights a month ago! Amazing isn’t it! We already had the money before we even knew what we would need it for!

Inspiration from above

For us this was true literally and figuratively speaking. We wrote the entire Invisible Heroes project while we were in the plane to Lesvos, up in the air the inspiration ‘suddenly’ came. The name of our project, the format, the questions for the interview. We had to keep it as simple as possible, because we didn’t have a lot of time there. We would only be together in Lesvos for two weeks and we didn’t know anyone there yet. We felt very insecure and at peace at the same time in the knowledge that God had called us and that He would lead us. Time after time we had to give back the reins to God during our time on the island. So we came up with a format that we could work with. We knew that we would not be able to film in the camps, so how could we tell the stories of the refugees? We decided to tell their story through the volunteers that work there. When we thought of them we had to think of the name ‘Invisible Heroes’. The volunteers that works there serving the refugees do many different things, they hand out clothes, food, set up tents, guard compounds, make conversation, facilitate therapy moments, sport activities, etc…and this all in the anonymity, in a selfless way. They make a difference with the help they give, they bring hope and love where they are. And people like them, that’s what we need more of, people that give of themselves, Invisible Heroes.

Nine Portraits

The Invisible Heroes videos are very short portraits of these heroic volunteers who tell us a little bit about what they do, what has inspired them to come and what they have come to learn and see during their time working in the camp. Our hope is to give people around the world just a taste of what it is like to give of yourself, of helping someone in need, and to spark the desire to come and make a difference in someones life. We know very well that one person cannot change the whole world, but one can change somebody’s world. Would you be willing to come? Would you be willing to get involved?

Something for you?

We want to challenge you to watch these films with an open heart. Is this something for you or for someone you know to get involved? We decided to make short films of about 2 minutes so they can be seen and shared easily on the social media. The first film will be out on the 23rd of november. Feel free to share these films on Facebook, this will help us by giving the project more visibility.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/invisibleheroes.eu Website Invisible Heroes: www.invisibleheroes.eu

Video

Familieleven

Yes, we also have a family life on the side haha, and we are happy to say that it is going well with us. Elina, our youngest daughter has just turned 5! Three years ago it was Iara, our oldest one that had her fifth birthday here! At the end of this message we have attached several pictures of Elina’s bday, enjoy!

Would you pray for us as a family? Our time here in England is slowly coming to an end, in a months time we will be in Holland for Christmas and a time of furlough. We will be facing many changes again, especially the girls who will go to a new school, a dutch one this time. We would also like to thank you for all your prayers and support! I can’t say it enough, but if you hadn’t been there for us we wouldn’t have been able to be where we are. Thank you for your obedience and sensitivity towards the Lord.

Lots of love and god bless,

Jonathan and Johanneke.