Author: Erik de Kievit

To give you a little bit more of a background on all that we do, we have made an overview of all the pioneering work we did so far, and the activities we have planned in the near future.
We are so grateful that, despite of the situation in the world, we can continue to take steps in building up the ministries that are needed here. 

In the last couple of months, we had the incredible honor of hosting a DTS outreach team from YWAM Heidebeek. During this time, this team ministered to hundreds of people on the beautiful island of Aruba. They helped at the local foodbank, a community center, a rehab center and several churches. They were organizing activities for children and teenagers. They did yard work at a youth camp center and at our YWAM base. They picked up garbage in the neighborhood and some beaches. They were doing street evangelism, prayed for people in the streets and did public Bible reading. It was a huge blessing to have them with us. Here is a short video, showing some of the awesome things they did. Enjoy watching it!  

Hi everyone, 

Here is a new update!

Team YWAM Heidebeek
Over the last two months we’ve had a DTS Outreach team from YWAM Heidebeek in the Netherlands visiting us. It was a real blessing to have them with us. And although it was challenging to live with 12+ people (also some guests) in the house, we enjoyed it a lot. We plan on showing you the outreach video soon!

Ministries
With the help of the outreach team, we were able to do much more. The team helped in several churches, with preaching, sharing testimonies, organizing child work, youth groups and worship. Next to that, they were helping at the local foodbank, a community center and a rehab center. They did yard work at a youth camp center and at the base. They picked up garbage in the neighborhood and some beaches. They were doing street evangelism, prayed for people in the streets and did public Bible reading. All in all, they were ministering to many people on the island. We were able to join in doing the ministries several times and it was a real blessing to see how God is working in Aruba.

More…
In the meantime, our own work went on as well. Hanneke has started with language lessons for two new groups of refugees. And out of one of the earlier groups, started a Dutch conversation group. In this Dutch conversation group, she is able to arrange things on her own terms, which means that she has the opportunity to share the gospel with these people. 
In the last couple of months we we also able to connect to staff of several organizations in Aruba (like Teen Challenge Aruba) In a deeper way. We are so thankful for God helping us to build strong relationships on the island!

Hiep, hiep, hoera!!!
The business bank account is here! After 1,5 years of continues hard labor, God blessed YWAM Aruba with an Arubian bank account. For now we will only use this bank account to fundraise for YWAM Aruba. This makes it easier for us to separate the finances of the foundation from our own finances.

This is everything for now. Don’t forget to also watch our latest update video (below).

Blessings from us!

In recent weeks we took regularly walks along the beach in the late afternoon. Just to get out of the house, to get some exercise, and – honestly – because we have time to spare at the moment. And what a beautiful view we see when we walk. The beaches and the sea are empty. Here and there a stranded American. And some Arubans who have recaptured the beach from the 1.2 million tourists who wash up here every year. But that’s about it. And so, we have wonderful beautiful views of rediscovered nature.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Today I heard that a shark has been spotted at Noord. That is unprecedented for Aruba and it is a long time ago that the last shark was spotted. And although the last shark attack took place in 1939 near Curacao, we don’t tell Hielke. He would not get in the water again for the rest of our time in Aruba.

We are doing well. We are all healthy, Jorian is doing better than expected in the Netherlands, and in our daily life we ​​do not have much to tell about ourselves, thanks to Corona. We read a lot, pray a lot, and also have many digital encounters. YWAM consists of all missionaries who, like us, are trapped in the country to which they are sent. Some are working hard arranging food for the poor, some are setting up water stations, some are providing digital training, and some can’t do much (yet) and take the time to pray for all the others.

We mainly belong to the last category. Other than some practical local services, we can’t do much. We recognize that we’re still in the very early stages of pioneering. Our contacts and resources are still limited, and because all facilities are closed, we can’t offer much practical support. So, we choose to encourage others. Although we find it difficult not to see results, it is wonderful to be able to encourage people. And in this way, we also hear testimonies about people who are just now being reached with the gospel because of the situation we’re in. What a blessing!

Aruba is doing really bad. The country is almost bankrupt, 88% of the economy here revolves around tourism. All of this came to a sudden halt, with the result that half of the working population has become unemployed. For many people, this means that they no longer have an income. Fortunately, we have several organizations in Aruba that distribute food packages. Some of those organizations also distribute food packages to people who cannot prove that they had a job. But there is much invisible suffering. If you ask an Arubian how he is doing, he will always say “bon, bon, danki” (“good, good, thank you”), even if he has nothing to eat at night. The outside appearance counts over here. Aruba is and remains “One happy island”, even when everything collapses.

Arubians are therefor suffering and are still trying to keep up the good spirit. Fortunately, we see people here who are speaking of -, and offering hope. People who talk about the beautiful view that we have. And we could also testify about this in the last couple of weeks, usually at unexpected moments. Isn’t it amazing that we got to celebrate Jesus’ death and resurection in this time? He gave us the best view into the future and slowly but surely it is getting closer. Not much longer and it’s here!