Tom & Deb de Ruiter
Mary Kaldeway
Sheila Dykstra

Tom & Deb de Ruiter

Our work history has included many things. Tom worked with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources at the Sault Ste. Marie and Petawawa Fish Culture Stations for 8½ years. He left this work to become a licensed carpenter in the Pembroke area. During this time in Pembroke, he also raised pigs in a farrow-to-finish operation.

Deb was a stay-at-home Mom for many years, but in 1988, began part-time work in a fabric shop, which evolved into full-time, and a management position.

All this changed in 1996 when we went on a 2-week work group/mission trip to the Dominican Republic. This trip strengthened in us the strong desire to turn our love for God and our talents to the mission field. Tom took several courses at Ontario Bible College at the beginning of 1997 and in May 1997 we became career missionaries of Christian Reformed World Missions. We left for West Africa in August 1997 with our 5 children, at that time aged 18, 16, 14, 12 and 11. Tom was officially ordained as a ministry associate in the Christian Reformed Church in December 2003.

We are evangelists among the Fulani, a traditionally nomadic cattle-herding tribe with deep Muslim roots. We are posted in a remote region where we try to live as our Fulani neighbours. Building relationships with the Fulani, presenting the gospel and showing Christ-like behaviour in our daily lives is the main thrust of our work. It is slow as it takes time to build trust. But the Holy Spirit is at work among the Fulani and there is a small fledgling group of Fulani Christians in our area. We teach and disciple, using Scripture, the Jesus film, Fulfulde cassettes and picture books. The vast majority of Fulani are illiterate. Many as yet do not see the need to read. They are an old society.

Our vision is to see a Fulani church rise up, a truly indigenous Fulani church. We have tried to maintain a hands-off approach in leadership, letting the Fulani develop their own leadership, worship methods, prayers, and goals.

Needs

Daily prayer support is vital for this ministry as we work among the Fulani. We need prayer for:

our language skills, that we use the right words when we speak.
our health as we work in remote rural areas with heat, dust, poor water quality
safety as we travel on poor roads
for the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of the Fulani

Financial support is also vital. We are partly funded by ministry shares from the Christian Reformed Church but it is still necessary for us to raise $58,080 (Canadian) each fiscal year.

Mary Kaldeway

INTRODUCTION

I was born in the Netherlands and immigrated to Brockville, Ont. with my family at the age of six. By professsion I am a Registered Nurse, Nurse Practitioner and Midwife. From 1968 to 1981 I served with Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM) in Nigeria as a missionary nurse midwife. I worked for a few years as a nurse in Canada as well. This has given me an understanding of nursing in both western and developing countries.

The years in Nigeria were blessed in many ways. I learned much and was able to help many through nursing and midwifery. However, one thing that troubled me during those years was that I felt very inadequate to meet the spiritual needs off my patients and staff. Though I tried to help them the best I knew how, I often felt that I had failed in this area. This produced a lot of turmoil in my life because I felt this was actually the most important aspect of my calling and ministry.

In 1983 I came in contact with Healthcare Christian Fellowship (HCF), did their fulltime HCF Training in 1984/85 and have been serving with them in partnership with CRWM since 1986 - mainly in Africa. It was through the HCF Training that I finally felt that I was equipped to meet the spiritual needs of patients and healthcare staff. Seeing how it practically changed my life and made me so much more effective in every aspect of my ministry has given me a strong urge to make this training available to as many healthcare staff as possible. I desire to see them equipped to serve the Lord Jesus Christ effectively in their places of work as well. The Lord has honoured this desire in many wonderful ways.

I am currently based in Benoni, South Africa, at our international centre there, and am serving in the training department.

HCF Beginnings

HCF started in 1936 when Carl and Francis Grim, during the terminal illness of their father, recognized the great spiritual need in hospitals and saw the potential for meeting that need. If hospital personel could be won for Christ, they would be in a key position to communicate His message while ministering to the needs of patients. A fellowship was formed which over the years has grown to be a worldwide movement known as Healthcare Christian Fellowship International.

HCF Vision and Mission

The vision of HCF is to be a prayerful evangelical fellowship with trained people implementing Christ's Great Commission within the healthcare field.
To accomplish this we endeavour to:

evangelize, disciple and train healthcare personel
evangelize the sick
train, equip and disciple HCFI / HCF staff members
communicate effectively with supporters
mobilize and train members of local churches

This is our mission.

My Responsibilities

My main responsibility in this context is to coordinate the HCFTE (Healthcare Christian Fellowship Training by Extension) arm of the Training ministry of HCF. HCFTE makes the training we offer available to those who for one reason or another cannot attend residential training courses. My responsibilities include developing Biblical Healthcare Extension (BHE) courses based on our residential course materials; promoting the courses, teaching HCFTE Group Leaders courses, corresponding with/ advising those who are involved, and motivating translation into other languages.

BHE courses are relevant to people all over the world. Some are geared exclusively to healthcare staff and those involved in ministry in the healthcare setting; others are also geared to churches - in particular those who are involved in visitation of the sick, the grieving and the suffering.

To stay up to date, I teach part time in our residential courses, help with outreaches, etc. as well as read relevant materials and take courses when possible.

BHE Courses available are:

Serving God in the Health Field
Biblical Spiritual Care of the Dying
Visitation of the Sick
The HCFTE Group Leaders Course

Prayer Requests:

For additional team members to work with me in the HCFTE ministry, particularly in the writing of materials and eventaully to take over this ministry
Clarity and wisdom for those involved in translation of courses
Wisdom and enabling for group leaders of courses in progress
Adequate quality time to write courses (Current course in development is "Suffering - A Biblical Perspective")

Sheila Dykstra

Please visit my blog at www.sheiladykstra.blogspot.com

I was born and raised in the Ottawa Valley (Osgoode to be exact). As I look back on my life, I can see passions for children, service, teaching, learning about new people and culture, that God has woven together to bring me to the place I am today.

I am a teacher by profession. After graduating from university and teaching for a few years in Canada, God called me to Hillcrest School in Jos, Nigeria. It was a wonderful experience. I had the opportunity to meet so many people and was impacted by the lives of the students in my classrooms. I was also impacted by the friends I made along the way. I fell in love with Nigeria, its people, its culture. I was challenged to look beyond the walls of my international school setting. As I experienced life in Jos, I was also keeping my eyes open to the opportunities that were happening outside of my Hillcrest life. I was able to be involved in a wonderful church. I met friends who opened my eyes to the beauty and the brokenness of the country I was living in.

After 4 years, I knew that God was not calling me to be in an international school for the rest of my life. I wanted to work more in the area of development...working with local schools and systems. The state of education in West Africa can be a very discouraging picture with many schools available, but offering varied qualities of education. However, it is exciting to see many Christian teachers and schools fully aware of their needs, and many opportunities are opening for meaningful dialogue and exchanges in envisioning how a biblical world and life view can transform lives and communities in Africa.

I presently serve with Christian Reformed World Missions as a Christian Education Specialist, serving in West Africa. The position is a new one, and I am excited for how God is working in the area of Christian Education Development in this part of the world. I am living in Abuja, Nigeria working out of the Daniel Center, a transformation ministry center of CRWM. I travel throughout Nigeria and other parts of West Africa such as Niger, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

Mission

Being involved in this new area of ministry includes the following: teacher training, curriculum development, dialoguing with Christian schools throughout West Africa, mentoring and encouraging key leaders/administrators, participate in the African and worldwide discussions of Christian education. I am especially passionate about:

· Working alongside teachers, exploring what it means to live and teach from a biblical world and life view.

· The opportunity to have a farther reaching impact than just teaching in one classroom: but having West African teachers to work alongside with in this venture who are hungry for further education and hungry to make a change in their schools and systems!

· The opportunity to spread the kingdom of God, changing the lives of children on a variety of levels. There are SO many children and parents eager to give their children quality education. This includes families from ALL religious and economic backgrounds who are willing to send their children to Christian schools because of the quality of education that is offered there. What an opportunity to make an impact!

As I look forward, I’m excited and terrified. For me, it’s the best place to be, having no choice but to rely on the One who has placed me here to be used by Him. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

How can you join in this ministry?

Pray for opportunities for me. As I begin – that I not just come in and teach what I know. Pray that I listen – to the Holy Spirit, to the needs of teachers, children, and schools. Pray for partnerships with people as we develop this area of Christian education together.

Pray for teachers to be transformed by the idea Christian Education as not just a sprinkling of Bible verses and prayers over each day, but by seeing that this world belongs to God – each child, each subject area, each blade of grass and leaf and tree.

Pray for the children. For those who do not yet know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. For growth and development that is life changing. That these children will become kingdom citizens with a grasp on their calling to their families, communities, countries, and world.

Pray for and give financial support: The goal is for me to raise $55,000 each fiscal year.

In service: I would love for teachers and others passionate about Christian education to enter into dialogues and relationships with like-minded people here. I would love to see exchanges happen with individuals, schools, etc..

In care and communication: Emails, letters, general encouragement!