This week the annual fasting and prayer retreat for christian leaders was held in Doorn, close to our office. I was invited but did not attend, because of the upcoming events at home… where I am much needed these days. It would have been a good opportunity to meet up with some old friends. I had almost forgotten about it, but some of my friends did not forget about me: yesterday Henk Medema came by, we had a very good time together, shared vision for 2006 and talked about some personal struggles. And today another surprise showed up: Joost de Jager from Amsterdam. He is a dear friend that we meet up with far too little, these days. Their church building has been put on fire at Newyear’s Eve, again. They have had lots of trouble with the local youth over the last few years, starting when we were still there. This time is the worst – the building cannot be used for at least three months.
This news does not hit the papers, but in my opinion it shows the severity of the current societal issues. In contrast to this behaviour, the church, situated in Amsterdam-West in a mostly islamic neighbourhood, is really positively reaching out by organising kids’ events, renting it out to neighbours, and so on. Let’s hope that some day normal relations will be possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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