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At the beginning of October, I, along with a group of friends, attended the National Gathering of 24-7 Prayer USA in San Francisco. While the bustling city of San Francisco often made its presence felt outside in unpredictable ways, this stood in stark contrast to the presence of the Holy Spirit in the conference room, in prayer and worship.
Outside, noisy workers protested in front of the hotel, many addicts and homeless people lay in a daze on the streets, and the chaotic traffic only half-followed the rules. Inside, we listened to speakers such as Pete Greig, Tyler Staton, Jon Tyson, and Mark Sayers, addressing the theme “praying in colour.”
For a few days, it felt like two different worlds in the same place, and as Christians, we sometimes find it difficult to navigate between them.
One of the recurring themes during the conference was the rhythm of breathing. By this, I don’t mean that we should perform various breathing exercises during prayer—although that can help us find focus in prayer. What I mean is this: living in a rhythm of breathing. As Christians, we breathe in when we connect with God through the Holy Spirit during prayer and worship. This happens during our quiet times in our rooms, when we spend time in prayer and in God’s Word, or during church services and conferences we attend.
We breathe out when we “place our feet where our prayers are.” We breathe out when we go into the world to bring the compassion and love of Jesus to a world longing for true peace and justice.
This is a rhythm. Just like with physical breathing, we must first breathe in before we can breathe out. Moreover, we can’t keep doing one without the other; we need to alternate between them.
This rhythm is also evident in the lives of the disciples immediately after Pentecost, as seen in Acts chapters 1 through 4. In the first chapters, where the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples and the first believers, we repeatedly read that “they all joined together constantly in prayer” (1:14) and “went up to the temple at the hour of prayer” (3:1). Afterward, they breathed out by sharing the story of Jesus with the crowds, as Peter did during Pentecost (2:14–40), or by healing the sick (3:2–10).
This conference caused me to reflect deeply. I’ve realized in my own role how easy it is to focus on the many projects I’m involved in without recognizing that they can only succeed if God breathes life into them. Listening to His voice is so vital for our lives. Kneeling in prayer is the first step I personally need to take more often before rising and stepping into the field of work.
I firmly believe that, in the midst of the immense need and suffering today, the world is longing for a Church that falls to its knees to be in the presence of God and then shares peace, justice, and above all, the salvation from sin through Jesus Christ with all people living in darkness.
Back Home in Rijnsburg
In September, Abby and I were in the Netherlands to introduce her to my family, friends, and the Dutch culture. We enjoyed the time spent with family and friends, all the cities we had the chance to visit, the Jubilate concert, and the many people we got to meet. It is incredibly encouraging to feel the support I receive for the work I do.
Recently, I asked Abby what her funniest cultural moment was. Without much thought, she said it was the rustling of candy wrappers just before the sermon—an unique phenomenon. She experienced this as if someone had given the entire church permission to grab one candy at the same time. She was also fascinated by how quickly you can bike anywhere in town to get some groceries or to visit someone.
Hopefully, we’ll be able to visit the Netherlands again soon to spend more time with friends and family.
What else is happening?
The past period has brought many plans my way, and I am already preparing for various projects and trips for 2025. Most of the teams have gone out on their trips, and together with our international partners, we are wrapping up all the project reports for 2024.
At the end of October, we organized our first International Partners Meeting. Our international partners from all over the world participated in a video call. We talked with them about our vision and mission for 2025, with a particular focus on leadership development. With this renewed focus, we hope to provide more training to local leaders of communities, churches, and organizations in the coming year.
In the development sector, much is written about the localization of leadership, a theme that is also important to us. With our Canadian donors, we want to contribute to the improvement of schools, churches, and other projects. However, it is the local leaders who must carry and sustain these projects. Hungry For Life therefore wants to focus more on the development of these leaders so that the projects are more sustainable in the long run and supported by servant leaders who transform their communities.
On Friday, November 8, we held our annual Fundraiser, where we celebrated another remarkable year and looked ahead to 2025. During this Fundraiser Gala, we raise funds for our operational costs. We were able to raise more than $225,000.
I am sometimes asked what Hungry For Life as an organization does and how our finances work. One of our core values is to offer donors the transparent giving. This means that 100% of a donation goes to the purpose chosen by the donor. This can be a project in Ethiopia, a donation for our operational costs, or, for example, donations that Hungry For Life receives to pay my salary.
The video below provides a brief explanation of what we, as a charity, are involved in.
Looking forward to…
Next Monday, I’ll be getting on a plane to spend time with Abby and her family in the Dominican Republic. We’ll be visiting the projects, meeting Carlos and our partners, and also enjoying some time on the beach.
In the second week, a medical team from Canada will arrive to provide medical treatment to people in the batey villages in the sugar cane fields.
After that, I’ll be preparing for the Christmas season. In my next blog, I’ll share more about my plans for 2025 and the projects I’ll be working on.
Greetings from Canada,
Ruben
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