Netherlands Mission Trip: Witness to life blooming through seeds of hope
28-OCTOBER • Nederland •
40 Days for Life started in the Netherlands in 2023 and witness to life in the country is beginning to spread hope and inspiration to the country. It is hoped the current seeds sown will blossom into a solid nationwide campaign.
International experience shows that liberal countries and states can be among the most spiritually fruitful places to have a public pro-life witness. It can take one inspirational person to recruit a whole country and the current situation is at a catalyst turning point situation for the national development of the campaign. At present it will not take long to reach that goal.
In 2023, 40 Days for Life started in two cities, and this Autumn a new city joined. Prayer vigils are being organized in Arnhem and Heemstede (close to Amsterdam) outside the largest abortuary in the country this Autumn, thanks to the courage and witness of Daniël Eijkelenkamp and Maru Lizarraga.
Daniël Eijkelenkamp began a pioneering first vigil in spectacular fashion. A baby was saved from abortion from the first day of the first campaign in 2023 in Arnhem. A girl started to cry, walked into the abortion centre and took her boyfriend out. They hugged each other, obviously having made the decision not to continue with the abortion.
In Heemstede, the volunteers prayed early one morning for a pregnant woman from Kurdistan, who attended the abortion centre with a relative. The woman spent all day at the abortion centre where late term abortions are performed up to 5 months. The team felt the gravity and intensity of the late term abortion heavily. Volunteers witness with a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, while Maru has had her sister travel from Mexico to support her running the campaign.
There are 18 million people in the Netherlands, with 18 abortion centres and 35,606 abortions (2022). As many leaflets as annual abortions were distributed during this campaign across the country.
The campaign team desire to have a nationwide campaign in the near future having seen similar European 40 Days efforts in other countries. It is desired to have a public pro-life witness outside every abortion centre in the country.
With this goal in mind, talks were organized in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Heiloo, Heivoirt and Utrecht in October to spread awareness and to connect with existing pro-life efforts. The auxiliary Bishop of Den Bosch, Mgr Rob Mutsaerts attended one of the talks to encourage pro-lifers. A talk was organized at the largest Marian pilgrimage site in Heiloo. Ruben Stolker helped to organize many of the talks from nothing as sprouts of hope for the future, building relationships and a growing national awareness and consciousness.
Feedback from talks were surprisingly optimistic with open interest, inspiration and a desire to go deeper and further. Volunteers said they were in need of hope, inspiration and to learn what is effective in other countries. Some volunteers were interested in the spirituality of 40 Days for Life, how men could get involved in pro-life activism and the Marian dimension of pro-life work.
Over 10 Priests had a desire to support organizing a public pro-life witness. Public witness outside abortion centres already takes place in Amsterdam, while Utrecht has one of the largest abortion centres in the country.
Volunteers have had items thrown at them from a car in Heemstede, where the vigil receives a polarized response. It has been reported that the civil authorities do not have a strong adherence to free speech, and liberal tolerance often does not always extend to the public expression of pro-life views.
Other pro-life organizations are well established in the country with TFP having a solid presence in the country with considerable staff, pro-life public witness and presence. In addition, a national March for Life takes place this year in November in the Hague, organized by a Protestant pro-life organization: Cry for Life with around ten thousand expected to attend.
Overall, the Netherlands now stands at a crossroads with a rallying national call for Christians to publicly witness for life. The Netherlands is rich with opportunities to publicly witness for life and evangelize in the face of liberal adversity. We continue to pray that many Christians will respond to the call to witness for life, for more opportunities to save lives from abortion.
Video of Talk
International experience shows that liberal countries and states can be among the most spiritually fruitful places to have a public pro-life witness. It can take one inspirational person to recruit a whole country and the current situation is at a catalyst turning point situation for the national development of the campaign. At present it will not take long to reach that goal.
In 2023, 40 Days for Life started in two cities, and this Autumn a new city joined. Prayer vigils are being organized in Arnhem and Heemstede (close to Amsterdam) outside the largest abortuary in the country this Autumn, thanks to the courage and witness of Daniël Eijkelenkamp and Maru Lizarraga.
Daniël Eijkelenkamp began a pioneering first vigil in spectacular fashion. A baby was saved from abortion from the first day of the first campaign in 2023 in Arnhem. A girl started to cry, walked into the abortion centre and took her boyfriend out. They hugged each other, obviously having made the decision not to continue with the abortion.
In Heemstede, the volunteers prayed early one morning for a pregnant woman from Kurdistan, who attended the abortion centre with a relative. The woman spent all day at the abortion centre where late term abortions are performed up to 5 months. The team felt the gravity and intensity of the late term abortion heavily. Volunteers witness with a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, while Maru has had her sister travel from Mexico to support her running the campaign.
There are 18 million people in the Netherlands, with 18 abortion centres and 35,606 abortions (2022). As many leaflets as annual abortions were distributed during this campaign across the country.
The campaign team desire to have a nationwide campaign in the near future having seen similar European 40 Days efforts in other countries. It is desired to have a public pro-life witness outside every abortion centre in the country.
With this goal in mind, talks were organized in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Heiloo, Heivoirt and Utrecht in October to spread awareness and to connect with existing pro-life efforts. The auxiliary Bishop of Den Bosch, Mgr Rob Mutsaerts attended one of the talks to encourage pro-lifers. A talk was organized at the largest Marian pilgrimage site in Heiloo. Ruben Stolker helped to organize many of the talks from nothing as sprouts of hope for the future, building relationships and a growing national awareness and consciousness.
Feedback from talks were surprisingly optimistic with open interest, inspiration and a desire to go deeper and further. Volunteers said they were in need of hope, inspiration and to learn what is effective in other countries. Some volunteers were interested in the spirituality of 40 Days for Life, how men could get involved in pro-life activism and the Marian dimension of pro-life work.
Over 10 Priests had a desire to support organizing a public pro-life witness. Public witness outside abortion centres already takes place in Amsterdam, while Utrecht has one of the largest abortion centres in the country.
Volunteers have had items thrown at them from a car in Heemstede, where the vigil receives a polarized response. It has been reported that the civil authorities do not have a strong adherence to free speech, and liberal tolerance often does not always extend to the public expression of pro-life views.
Other pro-life organizations are well established in the country with TFP having a solid presence in the country with considerable staff, pro-life public witness and presence. In addition, a national March for Life takes place this year in November in the Hague, organized by a Protestant pro-life organization: Cry for Life with around ten thousand expected to attend.
Overall, the Netherlands now stands at a crossroads with a rallying national call for Christians to publicly witness for life. The Netherlands is rich with opportunities to publicly witness for life and evangelize in the face of liberal adversity. We continue to pray that many Christians will respond to the call to witness for life, for more opportunities to save lives from abortion.
Video of Talk
