E

We were so happy inside to be able to do this that I immediately presented it to the doctor the next day, who foresaw some difficulties, but did not reject the proposal. We also informed my brothers and sisters about this. Yes that would be very nice, but is that possible with your busy family and all the work you do? During the next visiting hour, I told Mother of our plan. She cleared up completely and wanted to go with us right away.

My oldest brother, of course, felt responsible for this whole event and came straight from Amsterdam where he lived to talk this plan out of our minds. So the next day we sat together at the doctor to discuss this. However, my brother's arguments did not outweigh our arguments, and so the plan was carried out. All mother's care supplies were requested and delivered promptly including a ward nurse who came to care for her every day. On the bedside tables next to her bed I had put the beautiful photos that were at her home. Also the cassette recorder with tapes with her favorite music on it. And so Mother came to our house within a few days. No more fixed visiting times, The door was open for the family when there was time to come.

Our three children were also able to visit grandma every now and then, which both grandma and our children enjoyed. The little bit of food that Mother could still swallow, I could give her at her own request if she wished I could go to her when I heard her cry in pain and gently ask for Jesus' help. I would sit at her bedside and put my hand on her head and pray with her after which she calmed down again, The gratitude for this opportunity that God had given us filled us with such joy every day. We knew that this plan was inspired by God who saw his child suffer so and wanted to relieve her pain, It took ten days before she could go to her Savior in complete peace, surrounded by the love of her children and grandchildren.

She always found her comfort in the text of Psalm 139: 1-6
O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

W

After another harsh winter and fearing that we would have to go out again for a while, our new pastor suggested we move the coffee bar to the church building. After some hesitation, we decided to do that.

We were given the large hall of the church building, where the coffee was always served, and we converted it into a cozy coffeebar every Saturday.  We wanted to take our children with us, so we asked to use one empty room where we could stay overnight. Our neighbors later said they thought we were going every Saturday for the weekend. They saw us pass by with full bags. Yes, we did go on weekends, but not for ourselves as a getaway, but to work for the Kingdom of God!

Those were good times, but also very tiring. We wanted to use as much time as possible to continue our work within that one weekend. We left home at twelve o'clock, when we arrived there we converted the hall of the church into a coffee bar. Blowing up our air mattresses and whatever else came with it. After that, flyers with employees outside with invitations to come to the coffee bar in the evening.

We always had a good program with films, musicgroups, etc. At 2 p.m. there was a children's club for which we had also handed out invitations. We made a circle for about 10 children, but to our great surprise we had to move to the large church hall, so many children had come to our invitation. After the coffee bar evening, we brought the hall back to its former state. It happened quite often that the air mattresses we slept on had deflated slightly and we woke up the next morning shattered with backpain. Then we took breakfast very quick, then washing and tidying up again. John went to help the sexton again and then often led the singing service in the congregation. When everyone went home, we stayed there for lunch with the musicgroup and we practiced until 4 pm. We became a bit famous by now and had a performance every now and then. Satisfied, but very tired, we went to bed on Sunday evening!

O

I

I

Meanwhile, I had had an experience while reading my Bible. I was reading Isaiah 61 when I clearly heard a voice say; Go on to Isaiah 62. I finished that chapter and understood well that the Lord wanted to make something clear to me with this, namely a commission for His people Israel. For seven months I pondered these words, until one afternoon I felt the command of the Holy Spirit to sit behind my typewriter. (we didn't have computers back then) 

I put out a blank sheet of paper and waited. And then my heart and head flowed over full of revelations about the end times based on biblical texts. I started typing furiously, my fingers seemed to move on their own. When I was done I still felt the current going through my body! 2 A 4 on full on both sides. I picked them up and started all this information under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to read. A deep sigh seemed to rise from my toes. What do you want me Lord what I am going to do with this? Something like reading a prophecy at the front of the congregation? I thought not so! But then what? These were quite important things that the Lord had given me to written it down.

Then the clear voice of the Lord spoke again; Has this church no angel? You mean a pastor? I was reminded how the Lord addressed the congregation of that time in the last book of Revelation. Again and again the Lord there said to John; And write to the angel of this church; So I have to give this letter, this writing, to the angel of the church, our pastor??!

B

I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

I

As we sat in church that Sunday morning, John asked me if I had the letter with me. I confessed to him that I really had not dared to give it and that I had thrown it away. John didn't know what he was hearing! When the pastor arrived at his pulpit, he seemed to think for a moment and then said, "Suppose, not that this will actually happen, but suppose our sexton came to me and said, 'Pastor, I have a letter here. for you, and it says, "To the angel of this church"! Something like this will probably never happen, but just imagine! John nudged me and gave me a questioning, very indignant look.

I didn't tear it up, I said, I'll take it out of the trash and put a clean envelope around it and give it to our pastor after all. My heart was beating wildly throughout the service. Lord you have tested me and I have failed to believe you. Sorry Lord it won't happen again, please forgive me.

A

Also not a single response visible, perhaps through his preaching, to the things that the Lord had let me write in the letters regarding God's plan in our days with His people Israel. However, other things happened. John was asked to become an elder, but then he had to let go of the coffee bar work.John was quite upset with this question because he didn't want to let go of the coffee bar work. He asked for time to think and pray about this.

But the Brothers' Council had assumed that no one would turn down such an honorable position. John had seriously prayed about this but received no confirmation, and communicated this to our pastor who felt 'betrayed', because he had already had the announcement included in the weekly bulletin of our congregation. He would have been better off waiting for John's reply! My prayer friend started to work on my gut feeling and thought it was better not to do any work outside the church.

The pastor also requested an interview with me and also asked me if it was not better that I should stop the Aglow work, after all there was plenty to do in our congregation. I shared this question with my prayer friend who took it up a notch after hearing my doubt about it (as I was doing more than enough work in my church) that you should always obey your pastor.John thought this reasoning was utter nonsense and that it couldn't be from the Lord! But then that annoying voice inside starts: 'Yes, maybe you should put your Isaac on the altar. You like this so much, maybe God wants to test you if you want to sacrifice this for Him. The pressure got stronger and I decided to answer my predecessor's question.

I first called my pastor and told him I was going to retire from the Aglow work. He was very pleased with my decision and already started thinking of tasks I could do. I also called the president of our Aglow department and told the same story. She was deeply disappointed and didn't understand the pressure of my congregation, and frankly, neither did I!

The next day there was an Aglow meeting in the morning where I would announce that I was leaving the team. That same afternoon, I had scheduled a meeting with our pastor to discuss his proposal further. But before I opened the door that morning to the living room of our president's house where the meeting was being held, I saw in a flash a figure standing in front of me doing only one thing: He closed his mouth with his finger. My first thought; "Jesus, shouldn't I say I'm quitting?"

That morning we worshipped, gathered and ate. After the closing, the president realized that she had completely forgotten to tell the other ladies on our team that I was going to stop. It doesn't matter, I said, and told of the apparition who had stood at the door of the room and forbade me to say this. We looked at each other, and were glad that it had turned out this way. But then I had to go to church to meet our pastor, because that's how we arranged it right away, He would be surprised! Smiling cheerfully and rubbing his hands, he came up to me from his office and asked: So is the bullet through the church? He knew I was having a hard time with this. Yes, I said, the bullet only went the other way, the Lord has informed me not to stop the Aglow work.

He had not expected this, there was a silence. Too bad he said and turned around. He felt rejected again, but I went home happy and glad I didn't have to give up Aglow.

N

He had not allowed us to do that for fear of schism in the congregation.Distrust everywhere and that's why we had to explain what we now actually planned. We had to appear before the Brothers Council!Before we left home that evening, we had prayed to stay calm and to listen what they had to say and not to be intimidated.

After the apparently friendly hands shaking of the brothers, our pastor set out. We had disappointed him and we weren't doing enough in the congregation. We wanted to influence the youth and pull them away from the church and so on. After all the accusations he sat back in his chair expecting to accept our contradiction.

However, we remained calm and said that we regretted that they doubt on are intentions and love for the evangelizing work were misunderstood. Then we were given the choice; Do what the pastor and brother council suggested, or leave the congregation. This was a very sad choice because we felt that the basis of trust was gone.The next Sunday I stayed at home, I couldn't handle the goodbyes, but John could. Our leaving was announced at the end of the service and you could hear the disbelief going through the hall. Afterwards, many friends and church members sat around John on stage and many tears flowed abundantly.Our family of three teenagers, for example, sat at our table without community and it felt like we had a limb amputated!

So after some time a group of young and old spontaneously arose at our house. People were baptized, children dedicated. An older brother at that time took on many clergy duties to assist us. After some time John was asked to officially start a municipality from our home. I did notice that this tension became too much for John. We then presented this to the group and ended these meetings at home. However, this resulted in a group of young women who continued to come together to pray every Monday evening for our families and for the residents of our neighborhood, there was a lot of need!

T

One afternoon I was ironing in my room when I heard the voice of the Lord speak to me very clearly; Adrie what did you do with that revelation? Silence.. Lord, to whom and where should I speak about this? The next day there was another boardmeeting of Aglow. I got out of bed that morning with a bright prospect of going to this meeting. Even before I opened my bedroom door to go downstairs, it seemed as if I was being held back.

Again I heard the voice of the Lord; 'This is the time when My word that I once spoke to you comes out' The speaker that was to come this month is not coming, for you are going to tell my message My heart beat in my throat: Lord, can't you mean this? I've never spoken in front of so many people? I went back to my bed and thought; Shall I say I'm sick? but I knew this was a cowardly thought, so,, get out! After coffee, the president immediately started with the alarming message: that the speaker had officially announced that she would not be able to be in the Netherlands on time next week. My heart skipped a beat with fear!

It might be a good idea to explain a bit about this:

Evangelical Rotterdam was turned upside down, because a very well-known American evangelist came to Ahoy Rotterdam. Each congregation was busy distributing invitations. Now we as Aglow Rotterdam had asked the secretary of this preacher to come and speak with us. And she had promised this. But now at our last meeting before the Aglow meeting that was to take place the following week, we heard from our president that she had called the night before to say that unfortunately she would not be in the Netherlands in time to speak with us.

Panic everywhere! What a disappointment. Many pastor women had already promised to come, many women were expected. Meanwhile the Lord was beating on my heart; Well, are you going to tell them what I said to you this morning? Oh no Lord, I really don't dare! There was some cancellation this morning to speakers who could come in her place. Of course it had to be. No one had agreed to replace the speaker. Disappointed, each went home with orders to pray for a miracle that God would send a speaker this morning.

Usually i always helped our hostes with the dishes afterwards, and she said to me; Oh Adrie what should we do now? I felt the eyes of the Lord behind me; Will you tell her what I said to you this morning? And falteringly I told her about the vision the Lord had shown me months ago, I could have predicted her reaction! Oh but then it's clear isn't it? Adrie, but that's great! Why didn't you say that before? I was already afraid that she would react like that, and now I was stuck with it, I couldn't go back.

The morning of the meeting, the room was packed, as was to be expected.The pain in my back made it hard for me to sit against the back of my chair.I hadn't slept that night and prayed to God that He would please let the words flow out of my mouth as He intended. After the worship service, Willemien, our president, came forward and said, “You are getting a very important message this morning. Not from the speaker indicated on the invitation, but from Adrie Hensen'.
She explained the reason for this, and then it became very quiet, you could only hear my heart pounding when you were close to me.

When I was asked to come forward to speak, the rest of God came over me and He helped me to pass on His message about the future of His people Israel and His plan for us as a church in this great plan. It was my first speaking engagement and many more would follow!

I

During the meetings and conferences, the Lord often spoke to my heart about the future of Israel, His return, and this end time. It was no longer a secret where my deep calling lay. As a result, the Lord sometimes put me in a difficult position, as it turned out during a conference, where the message was about the bride of Christ. The Lord began to knock at my heart about His love for His people Israel. The Lord flooded my heart and gave me hints to pass this on.

As an invitation was made up front for women who were in grief, pain, or other need to come forward for prayer, my heart began to glow with Jesus' love for Israel. No Lord not now!! I left my row and fled to my room.....

B

So this was what I had to say to the women who had come forward with their own grief! The speaker had doubts when she saw me come on stage, but she knew me so well that she also knew that I did not just do this. I asked her permission to pass the message on and she confided in me the microphone. And as I spoke something wonderful happened The women forgot about their own need and began to cry heartbreakingly and pray for Israel. The Lord had not put me to shame, the message had come across. After that, the women were prayed for as was the plan.

In the days that followed, I was repeatedly approached by women who, in the week before the conference, had also felt the urge to stand in the gap for Israel. What a confirmation that was for me. It was another of the many steps of faith that God wanted to teach me. Thank You Lord that You consider me worthy of this.

B

M

First let's get acquainted with the current board. There were no unknown sisters in it for me.They had been the women of the first hour of the morning Aglow. Because of the working women, they had decided some years ago that an Aglow should also be set up for those women. For all sorts of reasons, board members and hostesses now resigned and if no new women came to take over this work, the department would have to stop. That morning they told me about all the beautiful but also difficult moments of this Evening Aglow. There was a lot of work to do to keep this department running, and how could I take over this task?

And so it became quiet in my living room after I told my story about this to the circle of women we met every Monday evening.Some of them had attended the Morning Aglow before, but most hadn't gotten around to it and were busy with their families and the problems that came with it. A new board and hostesses had already been born in my heart and already discussed with the Lord. I have already given them to you the Lord said, they are already prepared around you! And then the question came as I looked around the circle; who wanted to help me to make a new fresh start together and give the evening Aglow a new Change? With this question and to seek the Lord about this they went home that night!

A

We met every Thursday evening in a cozy room. We received musical support from our son and son-in-law. The booktable was also taken care of by a brother, which was so nice that he also set up an 'Israel table'. The evenings were again well attended and richly blessed. We now also attended the annual Aglow conference together, which was organized by the national government. A time of edification and encouragement for all. The Lord also continued to speak concerning Israel, especially during this conference'ś. Thus spoke the Lord after a great message about 'His bride' to me about His impending return. He asked me this question; What are the most important things you will discuss before a wedding? I answered; Discuss room for the date? Yes. Make the invitation?

And again the answer was yes. But the Lord spoke further; How far in advance do you send it? 3 months in advance? was my answer. I went on,, not too long in advance otherwise people might forget, but also not too late because then they might not be able to come on that day. 'Exactly' said the Lord, and went on speaking 'My return is at hand, all things are ready. This is the time for the fullness of the Gentiles to come in! After this He showed me a wonderful sight. I saw a great white sheet descend from the sky and then enclose and then carry away the Mosques standing in the temple square.

My mind tried to understand this face. I thought of the sheet that Peter saw on the roof of Simon's house a tanner with unclean animals. I heard the Lord speak further; As the time of the Gentiles began, so will she end, this is the time she will enter! 

I was deeply impressed by this post. Also the text from Daniel 9:25 brought the Lord into my mind where it says; Know then and understand; from the time that the word went forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed one, a prince, its seven weeks, and for sixty-two weeks it shall be restored and rebuilt, with square and moat, but in the throes of the times. The Monday after this weekend I found the Israelpaper on my doorstep with the big headline on the front page;Until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. What a confirmation! That is why I always told my husband and children what the Lord had revealed to me.

I

If there was a newspaper in the train, I opened it too and sometimes read small messages (how could it be otherwise) about the hostile situation of Israel's neighboring countries. The danger of destruction was always lurking! How important was the call for prayer in my message, among other things, in response to Isaiah 62 verse 1 where it is written; "For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, Until his salvation rises like a light, and his redemption like a burning torch."

It had not escaped my notice by now that not all Christians felt a warm bond with Israel. Ignorance or perhaps better said, disinterest, was often the result of this the basis.It sometimes made me doubt the necessity of my message, but the Lord always encouraged me with unmistakable signs of anticipation when I entered a room somewhere and saw a large flag of Israel hanging in front and a man wearing a 'Kippah' on his head, with a violin and heard him play a Israeli song. I also experienced that as humor from the Lord. No, the message was and is obviously important to this day to wake up the church shaking as to God's plan for His people Israel!