Richard & Sandra van Dillen

Richard & Sandra van Dillen             Holland                 1 March, 2011

                                                             PRAISES

1.      1.I really LOVE my new college level Dutch class which just started last week. I have four Muslim women in my class. My class is made up of mostly women.  

2.      2. Paul-Duffy is required by the Dutch government to apply for his residency permit through his future college. Thank you for your prayers because we had our appointment at the police station for foreigners just in time. Had Paul-Duffy been living in Holland for 3 months without applying for a residency permit,  he would have had to return to America. Thank the LORD we can now apply through his college. We plan to take his necessary papers to the college tomorrow. Peter Daniel found a wonderful major for his little brother. The major is in communications with an emphasis in advertizing and graphic design. Paul-Duffy, like his Grandma van Dillen and his Aunt Howard, is a wonderful artist and he loves creating artistic projects. The college where he wants to go to is called Inholland and is only four kilometers (2.5 miles) from our house so he will be able to ride his bike!

3.      3.Perry-David is turning 25 on 7 March! We can’t believe how fast our 4 PD’s have grown up!

4.      4.Our only remaining living aunt on Mama’s Perry side of the family, Aunt Howard, is celebrating another birthday today. Thanks to your faithful prayers, she is doing very well physically.

5.      5.Manisha (Hindu) has enjoyed letting me play with her 20 month old son while I visit her. The week my Dutch school started I spent 9 hours in 2 days with Manisha and her son, Rikash. He really enjoys spending time with me! Manisha always asks me for prayer for her relationship with her husband, Vikash. Vikash is Bea’s 30 old son. Manisha always says, Tante (aunt) Sandra, do you still remember to pray for my family? I tell her that Richard and I, as well as our many faithful Christian prayer partners in America, pray for her young family.   

6.      6.Last week some Muslim Hindustani men appeared at our door asking Richard to translate from Dutch into English some official papers for them. At least ten Muslim Hindustani families lent money to a fellow Muslim brother who worked at the Indonesian Embassy. He and his wife convinced their neighbors and local merchants to invest thousands of dollars.  The couple instead left for Indonesia with the money. The man is now running for mayor of the city he is living in Indonesia. Pray for Richard’s Christian witness to these families as they struggle with the loss of their lifesavings.

7.      7.Two days after Valentine’s Day Richard finally got his letter about Dutch class. He was tested and made an almost perfect score. He is now on a waiting list for a college level Dutch class. Thank you for your prayers in this matter!  

                                                       PRAYER

1.      1.Please pray for the Muslim women in my Dutch class: Arzu,, Saba, Leila, and Faranaz to open their hearts to the love of Christ. Please also pray for the other unbelieving women in my class: Jilsa & Marcia from Brazil, Junko from Japan, Shelly from South Africa, and Zoa from Eritrea.  Pray also for a Muslim man, Akraam, whose entire family is suffering through the uprising now taking place in Libya. He has not been to class since last Monday due to the stress and turmoil it is causing him. We had a wonderful discussion in class about how Akraam and his fellow Libyans have suffered long enough under this dictator!  

2.      2.Pray for Paul-Duffy to obtain his residency permit easily, and that he will be accepted into Inholland for the fall semester of 2011. We plan to visit this college with him tomorrow in order to submit his necessary papers for a residency permit and the paper work needed for acceptance into this Dutch college.

3.      3. Please continue to pray for Perry-David to find a full time job in media production. Pray also for his lovely wife, Amber, to  pass her state exams in order to become a certified nurse’s assistant. Pray she can then work in the nice nursing home in Grand  Rapids where many of the elderly speak Dutch! She would love to practice her Dutch at work!

4.      4.Please pray for our dear Aunt Howard to continue to be blessed with good health so she may enjoy many more happy birthdays.  

5.      5.Pray for the salvation of Manisha and her husband, Vikash, her sister-in-laws, Anita and Sandia, her mother-in-law, Bea, and our neighbor Soenita. Anita and I had a great talk about Jesus last week. Anita thinks that just because Jesus is one of the many gods she worships, that Jesus is with her. Most Hindus believe that all religions are basically the same. When they see that prayers made to Jesus are answered they try to incorporate Him into their Hindu worship. Manisha and Soenita both do this as well.

6.      6.Pray for the Muslim families to open their eyes and realize that they need Christ as Savior more than the savings they have been swindled  out of. Pray for Richard as he plans to make contact with these Muslim Hindustani families in the near future

7.      7.A childhood friend of my brother, Stevie Perry and I, Thomas (Tommy) Yearout has been suffering with walking pneumonia since before Christmas. Please pray for his healing and for his salvation. His sister, Mary Kay, was my childhood best friend. She was killed by a drunk driver when we were in our 20’s. His other siblings, like Mary Kay, are wonderful Christians and prayer partners and some long time financial supporters of our church planting ministry among Asians in Holland.

8.      8.Please pray that Richard can be placed in an evening class with several Muslim men, who are disillusioned with Islam. He is still waiting to be contacted by mail about being placed in a college level Dutch class.

                                                                          Biking in Holland

Last week our Dutch supporting church had a missions meeting which we attended. I specifically asked Richard not to bike us through the woods (the shortest route). We needed to bike to Els and Harry’s house which is only 6 miles away. The last time we were at their house in the summer of 2008 with Patrice Danielle and Paul-Duffy we all had a beautiful bike ride through the deep woods to their house. Last Wednesday night it was very cold, foggy, dark, and raining cats and dogs. We started out going through Rijswijk (suburb of Den Haag) and ended up right in the middle of the dark woods. There were no lights in the woods and it was pitch dark except for the little front and back lights on our bike. I asked Richard, Do you know where we are? He answered, Ongeveer!  Translated that means “somewhat” which really meant we were lost!! It was cold and started raining harder and no lights were in sight. We had already been 9 miles when at last we saw a glimmer of some street lights. We ended up biking 10.5 miles to a house that was only 6 miles away! Needless to say we did not bike home through the deep dark woods! We went through downtown Delft along a major thoroughfare with other bikers, cars and streetlights!