Stories from our field
“I have a firmer footing in life”
Hilda didn’t know much about the Bible, but felt a longing for God. She started the online course ‘The Life of Jesus’. After that, she did another course, and then another… Until she had done all the courses that GlobalRize offers. Hennie has been her mentor through all of this.
In November 2019, Hennie and her husband Hein gave a presentation about GlobalRize at the Chapel at Hulshorst, The Netherlands. Unknown to them, Hilda Koenraads watched the presentation on YouTube. ‘When I saw the presentation, I immediately thought: I’m going to do this! (Follow a course)’, tells Hilda. ‘I was not really raised with the Bible. I was baptized in the Catholic Church and I had the teaching as a child for my First Communion. But that was it.”
Footsteps
Hilda signed up for ‘The Life of Jesus’ course. ‘For me, this was the ideal course to learn more about the faith’, she says. Hennie tells, ‘I could taste the desire to learn more about Jesus and that is how Hilda set her footsteps on the road to faith in God. We had good contact and she really wanted to learn. She wanted to know more about God and faith so much. After the first course, she started the ‘Eternal Life’ course. Through this course Hilda developed a desire for God’s future.’
Hennie kept in mind that Hilda did not have much background knowledge. ‘I tried to make the answers as simple as possible, especially for the open questions. Sometimes Hilda did not understand, so I could give her further explanation. I loved doing it. I learn so much myself when I need to seek for the best way to word what a life with Jesus means and how that can influence your life.’
One course after another
Hilda experiences the contact with her mentor as very helpful, ‘because she not only checks my answers, but also gives me a good explanation when I don’t know the correct answer or don’t know how to word it. I learn a lot from that.’ She shares that she has grown in her relationship with God. ‘Through faith in God, I have a firmer footing in life. That doesn’t mean that I never have any doubts, they come up through everything that is happening in the world. Then sometimes the thought comes, ‘Why doesn’t God intervene?’ But soon after that, I think, ‘It is people that cause all that suffering.’’
Hennie, ‘Hilda is a faithful student and takes the courses very seriously. It’s lovely to walk alongside someone who longs to follow Jesus more and more; and to see that she is growing in her faith.
She does one course after another. Now we are doing the ‘Read Scripture’ series (which uses teaching videos, ed.) This is really difficult for her since she wasn’t raised with the Bible, but Hilda pushes on. We are now on part 5 and she told me that she watches the videos two times, but still makes mistakes. I said that you learn through your mistakes. God’s Word is inexhaustible and we all remain disciples of Jesus our whole lives.’
To the Church
Online contact is not our only goal at GlobalRize. Our motto is ‘From Screen to Church’. Hennie always asks her students if they already go to church, and she asked Hilda that, as well. As it turned out, Hilda is going to the Chapel in Hulshorst.
There, she is well supported. She was noticed when she first started going there and has had a visit at her home. Hilda tells, ‘They came as a pair, a man and a woman. We had a good talk and agreed to come together every once in a while.’
Hennie asks on Mondays how it was in the church service. ‘It is so good that she goes to the services. Personal contact is so important. I am thankful to God for what He has done and is still doing in Hilda’s life.’
