Testimony of a New Life
“Hello, my name is Peggy. I am a single mother of three who wants to tell what God has done in my life. For a long time, I have had an on and off relationship with God. I would decide to follow him, but then disappointment would quickly set in and I would reject Him because ‘if He loves me, then why does He let this happen to me?’.
I found that I was repeatedly let down by people and running to beer as a source of comfort. It would give me only temporary relief. After drinking too much I would find myself again empty and in the need of something more. I decided that I wanted to give God another chance.
It was then that I got a flyer in my mailbox from this church. I really liked its name, New Life, because that is exactly what I wanted, a new life. Since coming here I have connected with God in a very real way. Now I have found a new peace and joy which I did not know before. I know that I can trust in Jesus and am so thankful to Him that He has given me a new life and a new community of friends.”
Healing Testimonies
A few months ago, I met a man in the park who started telling me about his struggle against cancer. For four years he had been facing an aggressive form of cancer in his bladder which required an invasive surgery every few months to take out the tumors. One day he told me that in two days he had to go back to the hospital again for surgery. I shared with him my testimony of how God healed me of Cerebral Palsey as a child and asked him if I could pray for him. He agreed, and there in the park I asked God to heal him of cancer.
Six weeks later I ran into him at the grocery store. He told me that the doctors could not find any trace of cancer in his body. He also told me that he really felt something that day in the park when I prayed for his healing. His story not only elated me, but also encouraged me to always pray for people whenever they share a problem with me. You never know what God may do through our prayers.
Holiday Outreaches
By the time you will read this, the Holidays will have passed, but now we are busy getting together 40 ‘boxes of love’ to families in our community. These boxes will not only contain food, but also the movie ‘the Nativity Story’. About 10 boxes will go to Muslim families. We look forward to telling you all the exciting news about this special outreach.
We are also cooking a 3 course meal for people in our community who have no one to spent Christmas with. Our churches’ motto is: ``making Gods love tangible in Amsterdam West’. Our prayer is that people would really experience Gods love through these Christmas outreaches.
So whether we share stories about a single mother giving her life to Christ, a man being healed of cancer, or getting the message of Christmas out to people who might have never heard it before…it is all because of you making it possible for us to be here! THANK YOU!
Personal News
Judah has just finished his first semester of kindergarten. He loves it and comes home daily singing songs he learns at school. Hannah turned 2 this fall and is a wonderful little personality who loves princesses, puzzles and books. Femke’s pregnancy with our third child is also going along really well, she is due May 1st.
We ask your specific prayers for two things: the selling of our home and for our support account. We need our house to sell before the summer of ’09 and our support account has gone into the red for the first time in three years. Even though our support has been strong, the cost of living has gone up by more than 30%. Please consider supporting us monthly if you are not, or giving a little more this new year if you are already supporting us. We are so grateful for your generous support which that allows us to continue living and working in Amsterdam.
Gods richest blessings for the new year!
Matthew & Femke Helland
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