(Suzanne and her son Caleb have been very busy this Christmas season; witnessing on the streets and at Christmas markets in order to share the Love of Jesus with as many as possible! God bless them! Here are a few pictures and a testimony from them.)

While going from door to door, raising support for Helping Hand and leaving a touch of Jesus’ love wherever possible, I was starting to meet more and more Polish people, who have come to the Netherlands because of the poor economic situation in their country. It’s evident that the Polish community in the Netherlands is quite large, as cars with a Polish number plate have become a very common sight on the road. There are even shops that sell exclusively Polish groceries.
In October, a Polish man bought a Mottos for Success inspirational calendar in Dutch, to improve his language skills and also out of appreciation for the work in Africa, which he was very happy to support. About a month later I met someone who told me he would gladly take a calendar from me, especially if they would be available in Polish. After some research I found out the “Mottos for Success” do exist in Polish also, and ordered a small box. Meanwhile, a number of weeks had passed, so my second visit, with the Polish product in hand, came as quite a surprise. The couple was very touched, though, that I’d gone to the trouble of searching for a calendar in their mother tongue, and really appreciated the beautiful quotes accompanied by impressions of Poland. Their reaction was very encouraging indeed to try to reach out to more of their countrymen.
Close to where we live there is a bungalow park where a lot of foreign workers live temporarily, to get their bearings when they first arrive in this new country. I’d often passed by this park, and seen the young people commute to and from the shops in town, and I had often said a silent prayer for them, thinking it must be strange for them here, and imagining they must miss their family and friends back in their home country. Now I felt the Lord encouraging me to go and meet with the people there, having something to offer that might inspire them and give them a touch of home. So I did, and soon found out that there are not only Polish young people staying there, but also Czech, Slovakian, Hungarian and other nationalities, practically being our neighbours without us realizing it. In spite of them being young and undoubtedly trying to save as much as they can, lots of people were very happy to support the work in Cape Town, showing a great deal of interest and concern for others who are struggling, even though far away. The Polish calendars were of course a hit, especially with Christmas fast approaching, but so were the Christmas CD cards I offered. Last year I had ordered a stack of the Christmas issue of Activated in English, which had turned out to be harder to distribute than I thought. However, now they were a great blessing, like the Lord knew that I was going to need them to give to young people in need of encouragement, as they faced having to spend Christmas away from their family.
Thank God that His rendition of Christmas, the one and only true Christmas message, brings joy to every heart, regardless of the circumstances, and thank God for His wonderful love that always finds a way to reach out to whoever is open to receive it!