Stories from our field
Mentor Betty: “I’m able to be of value, and that touches me profoundly”
Our volunteers are the people on the front lines. They talk to people around the world about faith, and sometimes experience extraordinary things. Some of them are dealing with illness and physical limitations. How do they manage to keep serving God despite these obstacles? In turn, what do they receive? In this story you will meet mentor Betty and Ruth, one of her students.
She has been involved with GlobalRize since 2012, when GlobalRize did not even officially exist. Betty Krooneman helped set up the very first Facebook page. Seven years earlier, she had fallen ill, causing extreme fatigue and debilitation. As a result, Betty had to quit her job as director of the Dutch Come Over and Help Foundation. She ended up sitting at home and, precisely because of that, had an opportunity to get involved with GlobalRize.
At the beginning of her time at GlobalRize, Betty was always the spider in the web: she managed the GlobalRize designers team, coordinated the chat operators’ team for a while, arranged a lot, and structured the workflow.
Unfortunately, the disease she suffers from is a progressive one, and Betty has had to resign those coordinating duties. She is currently active as a mentor. Betty herself says: “Actually, I enjoyed everything I did. When I could still handle the organizing work, I really enjoyed that, too: all the contacts with volunteers and the streamlining and structuring of work. At the same time, I particularly like personally connecting with people. First as a chatter, now as a mentor. Mentoring gives me a lot of satisfaction. I focus more on quality than quantity. So, not too many students at the same time. And sometimes I spend a long time with just the one student, like Ruth. Mentoring is well compatible with my limitations. I am very grateful for that!”
Despite her serious illness, Betty is one of the most responsive mentors. She means an awful lot to the students she mentors. A wonderful example is Ruth (not her real name) from India. Ruth writes of Betty, “She is wonderful, she is my friend. The Lord God has given me the best teacher and friend there is. Sometimes I feel discouraged, but she is always there for me. The way she has told me that God loves me, that I am His work in progress – that really gives me the strength to persevere. I’ve never heard her voice, but I’m sure it’s gentle and kind.”
Conversely, Ruth means a lot to Betty: “God gave me the blessing of being able to do something for her. That touches me deeply in my own circumstances, where I can’t do so much anymore. That is quite difficult. But I guess I’m still of use to God; He showed me that in the contacts with this student. And for that I am very grateful…”
Betty mentored Ruth in three courses: Bible Basics, The Life of Jesus and Teach us to Pray.
Ruth is a young woman from India, residing in Dubai as a migrant worker. Her father’s side of the family is Buddhist, her mother’s side Christian. Ruth heard about Jesus from her mother, but never gave Him her heart. Within two months of arriving in Dubai, her relationship of ten years with her Buddhist boyfriend came to an end. Ruth was devastated. But this caused her to seek God. “At the time, I wasn’t going to church, but I came across GlobalRize’s Facebook page and signed up for the course. It was all part of God’s plan, to get to know His love better.”
And that is what happened. “Jesus means everything to me. Not following Him I now find a frightening thought, because I can’t live without Him. I myself am amazed at how I have changed; isn’t that wonderful?” Ruth doesn’t keep the good news to herself: “I testify about Him to my roommates very often – how He has changed my life, how He protects me and can protect them too, how He can forgive their sins.”
Initially, Ruth doubted whether she had received the Holy Spirit after coming to faith. Therefore, Betty worked through the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22 with her. Ruth demonstrates deep spiritual insights. About peace, she wrote, “It is not something we can make ourselves. We receive peace through the words and wisdom of Jesus Christ. Honestly, I used to worry a lot about my future, how to become successful. But now there is peace in my heart because Jesus provides for my needs. My trust in Him is built by His words and love.”
On joy: “Joy in faith is given by One who is greater than the earth, the sun and the moon; He Who was and is, the Creator of all things; He Who loves us, gives us faith and freedom, waits for us, teaches us better than our teachers and parents, Who forgives us and Who, in our ups and downs, is always there for us.”
Betty built a deep bond with Ruth through the courses. “She also asked me reciprocal questions. I don’t often experience that. For example, in response to the Parable of the Seed, ‘What soil are you, do you think?’ or ‘What does it mean to you to follow Jesus?’ I really enjoyed those questions. They gave me the opportunity to share personal things with her.”
On January 15, Ruth was baptized. Betty: “It is so beautiful how God’s Spirit took her by the hand and made her long for baptism. But also that she wanted to wait for God’s time: she wanted to be baptized after she had returned to India, in her mother’s church. Not in Dubai.”
Ruth recounts how the pastor responded to her baptism: “He said, ‘You’re back after two years and the first thing you do is get baptized! Today your mother won; she married into a very Buddhist family, but her prayers have been answered today, the curse that lasted for generations has been broken.’ After I was baptized, we went home. There I hugged my mother and cried with joy.”