Blog 16 - Three years in Canada and a couple big steps

It's Friday! Normally, this means one more day of work, and we can get ready for the weekend. But in the past two weeks, Fridays have been a little more special than other Fridays.

Friday, February 28

The day started with some nice sunshine. After a morning at the office, I decided to take the rest of the day off. I had already asked Abby what she wanted to do, and on this first sunny day of the year, she wanted to go to Chilliwack Lake. Little did she know that I had actually planned this as an opportunity to get down on one knee.

With a ring in my bag and two fresh croissants from the bakery, we drove to the lake, about 40 minutes from Chilliwack. This was the place Abby and I first visited when I had just arrived in Canada and we got to know each other. Now we were going there for a different reason. We found a spot with a view of the mountains, and while Abby calmly read her book, I started to feel a little nervous.

After about an hour, I noticed that our friend Zack had positioned himself with his camera in the bushes behind us, and Abby still had no idea what the real reason was for spending a quiet afternoon in nature.

There, on Friday afternoon around 3:00 PM, just before the last rays of the sun would disappear from the beach, I asked Abby if she would marry me. Her answer... YES!

Friday, march 7

This Friday wasn't as special as the one before. It marks three years since I first left for Canada and started my internship with Hungry For Life. Of course, it was a somewhat nostalgic but also a grateful day. I realize that with my move to Canada, I am far from my family and friends, and my life has taken a very different path than I might have envisioned before. Over the past three years, God has pushed me far out of my comfort zone, but He has also carried me through every moment.

The verse from Ephesians 2:10: "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" has been and still is the verse that summarizes my life over the past three years.

Looking back on these three years, several grateful moments come to mind. I've had the privilege of meeting so many people from around the world who believe that Jesus is the way that leads to love, happiness, and life—people who dedicate their lives to serving Him and their neighbours. I have been able to work on projects that have helped thousands of people living in poverty. Sometimes it was one-time programs, but also projects that have a long-term impact on their lives. I feel incredibly supported by my support team—the group of people who financially and prayerfully support me every month. Because of them, I have been able to do this work and live this way. Above all, I know this wouldn't have been possible without God who prepared it. I am grateful that I get to walk this path and look forward to what is coming next.

It has also been a while since I gave an update on what I've been up to the last few months. It has been a rather hectic period in November, December, and January due to various travels and our unexpected visit to the Netherlands because of my grandmother's passing.

In November, I was in the Dominican Republic with Abby and her family to enjoy some time off, meet our partners, and evaluate projects. This year, we will send various teams to the DR to work on projects. After Easter, Abby, Dave, and I, along with two other colleagues, will organize a leadership conference in the Dominican Republic for our partners to invest in the leaders we work with.

In this video, I explain more about my role as a project manager for one of our projects in the Dominican Republic.

After that, we unexpectedly traveled to the Netherlands due to the sad news of the passing of my grandmother. During this time, it was comforting to be with family and know that, if needed, I could head to the Netherlands. We were grateful for the encouragement and comfort we received from so many people during this time.

After the Christmas period in Canada, I left in January with a team from Southern Irrigation to Malawi for the third time to work on the agricultural project. This year, the focus was on adjustments and repairs to the water system, and primarily on training the farmers working the land. Hopefully, we will be able to stay in better contact with them this year to continue supporting them with questions about the water system to help their crops grow better. It was a great team to work with and guide. The project grows every year, and we hope that in the coming time, we can see more success with the crops.

On our return journey, I left the team at Addis Ababa airport and, together with my colleague Ashley and her husband Brandon, visited our partner Simple Acts of Kindness (SAK). We visited their projects, spoke with the employees who SAK had hired in the past year, met with several mothers and their children, and organized a lunch event for street children.

Additionally, we are already working on the youth project of PGR. Thanks to one of SAK's volunteers, Tilahun was able to rent a building that will become the center for Simple Acts of Kindness. They can move their office there and from there, offer programs, training, and support to the street children and single mothers they serve. As Hungry For Life, we continue to support them with their operational costs so they can locally raise money and gather supplies for their projects. Thanks to the new employees, they were able to support more than 180 single mothers with food packages in 2024, and some of them were able to start as street vendors.

I’m back in the office, and the weeks are flying by—thankfully, because I’m more than ready for spring. Here at the office, I’m currently working on project reports, and we’re busy planning multiple projects. We’re also organizing a Week of Unbroken Prayer from April 4 to April 11. We’re doing this in collaboration with 24-7 Prayer, a global organization committed to non-stop prayer, with a passion for encountering God and transforming the world through prayer, mission, and justice.

I’ll share more about this soon, and I also want to invite you to join in prayer for our communities, because we believe that God’s kingdom will come in Chilliwack, in Rijnsburg, in Addis Ababa, or anywhere else in the world.

In addition, Abby and I will start planning our wedding. In a few weeks, I’ll travel to Ontario to visit several churches and groups we collaborate with. After Easter, we’ll head to the Dominican Republic, and we also have two friends’ weddings to attend. After that, I will likely travel to Guatemala at the end of June, and Abby and I will visit the Netherlands for three weeks at the end of July.

There’s plenty to do the coming weeks, and I remain committed to the projects we are planning worldwide. To make this possible, I rely on the support of people like you. Your prayers and financial contributions make a huge difference in the work I do. If you’d like to learn more about how you can contribute or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send me an email or make a donation through my support page.

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Bedankt en tot de volgende blog! - Ruben