All in the Name of Jesus Christ
“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.”
Deuteronomy 10:18
I shake my head in awe of friends like Jan van den Bosch. We call him the Flying Dutchman because Jan serves on our International Board of Directors, and ever since 1982 he’s been flying back and forth between Holland and America, helping to develop and strengthen our international outreach.
Jan is a treasured friend. He’s famous in the Netherlands for his pioneering work in Dutch Christian media, as well as for his global investments to empower the poor, children-at-risk, and people with disabilities.
And Jan does it all in the name of Jesus Christ.
When we began helping to evacuate Ukrainians with disabilities, it was Jan who was the first to roll up his sleeves and do everything he could to find accommodations in his nation for these refugees. And he’s still working to locate additional accessible housing.
But Jan isn’t the only one helping…
I’m thinking of behind-the-scenes helpers, like the bus drivers who hoist Ukrainian refugees with paraplegia up in their arms and carry them up the bus steps to their seats.
Many of these drivers do not know Christ, yet they tirelessly log hundreds of miles to bring these people to safety. Some drivers have even changed the soiled disposable underwear of children with disabilities.
This is how God “loves the foreigner residing among you” as the verse says above.
Hearts are being transformed and the Gospel of Christ is being proved over and over with each evacuation.
Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, is using the ‘weak of this world’ to bring his Good News into Dutch living rooms, Polish hotel lobbies, German care facilities… and yes, even into the hearts of bus drivers.
One more thing. I have been utterly overwhelmed by your generous gifts and profuse prayers, all of it making possible each evacuation.
Thank you, dear friend, for showing that Jesus Christ is the same compassionate God of Deuteronomy 10:18 – defending, loving, and giving his hope to Ukrainians with disabilities and their caregivers!
-Joni Eareckson Tada
