Dear HeartCry Family,
First of all, our desire and prayer for you is to have a blessed 2014, in regards to your marriage, family, and your ministry. Our church has the good practice of meeting together on the first day of the New Year. This year I shared a message from Acts 11:23 – “Then when [Barnabas] arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord.” There was joy and gratitude when I expounded on the first part of this verse. The Lord is at work in our church and His grace is visible in our brothers and sisters. Amazing. I then sought to encourage and exhort the church from the second part of the verse to continue to stay close to the Lord throughout the New Year, with one purpose of heart, whatever happens. I made a comparison with a bicycle wheel, the spokes representing the saints, the tire representing the circle of the local church, and the axis representing the Lord Jesus. If we, as children of God, live our lives near to the Lord Jesus, we will automatically live near to each other, as well.
On the 2nd of January this year I had a bad fall and landed with my full weight on my right elbow. The doctor initially diagnosed me with having a severe contusion, but when the pain continued, we went to the hospital and X-rays showed that there was a fracture. I have been prescribed rest and am able to do my work to a much lesser degree than before the fall. As a result I have had to cancel a number of speaking engagements, but recently I have started preaching sermons while sitting down. I’m not allowed to drive yet, but several of the brethren are willing to take me to various towns and meetings, and during those trips we have wonderful conversations.
Since the beginning of our ministry in 2010, I haven’t had as many speaking engagements as I have this year. In addition to doing regular Sunday lectures, I’ve been invited to speak at a number of conferences. I’ve been asked to perform two weddings. Additionally, there are a number of (tent) evangelistic meetings on the agenda, plus we’re continuing with several weekday Bible studies. Furthermore, a group of Belgian brothers and sisters founded ‘Heart Cry Belgium’ last year, and several conferences are planned. I hope to speak at a number of those in May. The fact that this ministry was founded is a beautiful and encouraging development for Belgium, where there is such spiritual darkness.
Last December I was invited to speak at the “March for Life” in the government city of The Hague. This is an annual event where we as Christians seek to draw attention from people and politicians to the many abortions that are being performed in the Netherlands in numerous abortion clinics. The event made a deep impression on me, and it was a privilege to be able to speak.
Our search for another car is still underway. It’s not easy to purchase a suitable and affordable car, especially since in the Netherlands you pay not only the purchase price of a vehicle, but are also required to pay the government a monthly motor vehicle tax. A knowledgeable brother is helping us in our search. We trust the Lord that He will provide.
We are very thankful for the blessing of the DVD series “Born to Grow’, produced by Stichting Heart Cry, which we recorded last year. In 23 short and basic lessons (7-8 minutes each) I give practical instruction about the fundamentals of the Christian faith, such as discipleship, fellowship with God, the crucified life, etc., and how to apply these in everyday life. It is a unique project, since there was previously no DVD available, which, briefly and succinctly, teaches fresh and contemporary lessons on the Christian life. Almost a year later testimonies are coming to us that the Lord is using the teachings. For example, parents are using the videos to speak with their children about basic Biblical truth. What a blessing!
With each speaking engagement we also provide the necessary follow up. This is increasing greatly and requires a lot of time, and especially wisdom and spiritual understanding. In our previous report, we spoke of the 4-city tour that we held in the Netherlands, during which we talked about “The Purpose of Life.” During that tour we met a homeless woman. She actually went with us from one of the cities to live with friends of ours. Now she has been given a place in a Christian aid institution, where I visit her regularly. Pray for her that the Lord will do a deeper work in her life. She is doing well.
As you can see, we have plenty of work to do, for which we are very grateful. In all of these things we need constant prayer, and we are grateful for the group of intercessors among which the Lord has placed us. We are looking forward to what the Lord is going to do in 2014. He has made it very clear to us that we as humans are weak, but His strength is sufficient in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
United in our Savior!
Jacques & Annette Brunt
