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Testimonies

Els Berghuis

Martha and I were tired and fulfilled on our return trip from Israel. We had waved goodbye to the van hard workers in the morning, had been waved goodbye by Fulp and Fabiola and left with hundreds of storks that morning. By bus to Beersheva, the train to Ben Gurion, from the desert that bloomed through an ever greener and yellower Israel. Friendly soldiers and passersby who showed us the way….sitting on the plane on our way home, a woman sits next to us and halfway through a conversation develops about her maternity visit to her daughter in Jerusalem. The reciprocates by asking about us and our story. To which she exclaimed several times: why don’t we know this, my daughter needs to know this, because she feels so alone in Israel….I am going to tell her right away, how special that I am sitting next to you! She thanked us several times!

Johannes en Janneke Moerman

Johannes and Janneke were confirmed in a special way to make their trip to Nitzana. Both of them were able to encourage many Israelis, which they began right after they landed at Ben Gurion. The photo shows them together with Yariv, one of the many grateful farmers.

In late November/early December we saw several calls from gardeners in Israel to come and help. After prayer, we decided to go to Israel for 10 days to help around the turn of the year. Very special was that God confirmed this choice 2 weeks before we left. Just after I hung out the flag of Israel on our house one morning in December, the doorbell rang. An unknown man and woman stood at the door. They told me that the Holy Spirit had made it clear to them to ring our doorbell to say that God is proud of us. Praise the LORD!

It was an amazing experience, so special to be in the Promised Land when the need is high. To help where we could, encourage and just be there. We had received many cards and gifts from our church to distribute to soldiers and Israelis. Their surprise and emotion will always stay with me. We received many questions about our presence. With love and caution, we were allowed to testify to our faith in the God of Israel. And even though the citizens of Israel feel alone, God is near them! With our prayers we surround them in love. We thank the Eternal that – as the Israelis themselves said – we could be a light in this black period.

Heartfelt greetings, Johannes and Janneke Moerman

Drieka Bac & Diny Madern

Diny and Drieka have been at Nitzana for a while and they want to give you a little insight into their findings and the unity they experienced. Unity is part of our vision and it is the unity Yeshua spoke about in John 17.

An impression of a short stay in Nitzana…. What impressed us during our trip to Israel and stay in Nitzana? It started at Schilphol where we were questioned by a young woman from the security checkpoint, “It’s because of people like you that I keep faith in humanity.” Also impressed was the closeness between volunteers from various countries with diverse faith backgrounds, a great sense of unity during the work, meals, campfire and in the cottages. Moving was a flash of a conversation between Nachum and a German volunteer in which she asked forgiveness for what the German people did to the Jews. We were also impressed by the gratitude of farmers, even though we didn’t work so fast, they saw our love for them.

Impressive was the visit to the site where visitors to the Nova Festival were horribly ambushed by Hamas, and then a little later a visit to a pop-up restaurant and relaxation spot for soldiers near the Gaza border. Young people whom we were allowed to briefly show that we are behind them. Then kibbutz Be’eri where Hamas brought its chaos on Oct. 7.Nachum translated for us there a gruesome account of death and destruction, but also of miraculous survival.
An impressive stay where we were able to make a small contribution to the mission: Comfort My people!

Drieka Bac & Diny Madern

Henk van Spanje

Attached is the testimony of former Dutch table tennis champion Henk van Spanje.
This testimony shows how God sometimes gives confirmation in a very special way when we are on the path where He wants us to be.
May this testimony contribute to the fact that you too will sign up to come to Nitzana, to help the farmers but above all to encourage them by showing them that we are right beside them.

Herewith my special testimony, which I was able to experience in Nitzana upon my arrival. I always say “that in my previous life I was a table tennis player. If you type my name into google you will see all kinds of things that have had to do with that.

About 4.5 years ago I suddenly became very ill, due to an almost fatal allergic reaction of the liver to 2 courses of antibiotics. I was brought up ned.reformed, but because of sports little or nothing came of that. However, the seed was planted and when I got sicker and sicker I finally started to seek God and prayed a lot if he would give me another chance in this life and he did. After my illness, I started taking an Alpha course and from then on God and faith have been number one. In January of this year, I decided I wanted to take a few months off. I needed new energy and inspiration for my life, or so it felt. I kept asking God in my prayers if he would show me the way, and once again it was answered. I was thinking about a pilgrimage myself, but through the grapevine, volunteer organization Lema’ancha suddenly came my way. I hesitated for a moment, but I thought, if you knock and God opens the door, then you have to go in.

Over the past 4 years, I, like probably every other person, have sometimes doubted whether I was on the right track. However, that doubt was completely gone when I opened the door of the room where I would be staying for several months on Monday night, March 11, at Nitzana. On either side of the room was a bed and in the middle against the wall was a small desk. And what was lying in the middle of that small desk……A ping-pong ball… To me it was really a sign from God as if He wanted to say, this is where I wanted you and this is where you are at. Nowhere in nitzana is there probably a ping pong ball, but in my room God had put one down for me. That little table tennis ball was my past life and God, of course, knows that. For me, coincidence no longer exists, and thanks to this sign from God, I am now 100% sure that I am on the right path. Hallelujah!

I have been here for 3 weeks now and it still feels like a blessing to be able to be here and work in the holy land and God’s vineyard. I sincerely hope that this story may encourage others who, like me, sometimes have doubts whether they are on the right track.

With kind regards,
Henk van Spanje

Rianne Nijsink

Rianne spent some time at Nitzana rolling up her sleeves. As with many other volunteers who come to Israel, her special experiences began on the plane on the way to the Holy Land.

Let me introduce myself-I’m Rianne, went to Nitzana with my friend Ria. I think about it every day and pray more fervently than ever for Israel. We left on February 19. And right on the plane there was a Jewish Dutch man sitting next to us. He asked why we were going to Israel. When we told him why, he was very touched. He thought it was very special that we were going with a group to help the farmers. That there were still people who loved the Jewish people. I told him that we love his God , the Creator , the God of Israel and that he belonged to the chosen people. Thick tears , we read a piece from my Bible together . He had to give a speech at his son’s wedding in Israel.
He wanted to speak about Moses coming near God in the desert. So special to look up that piece with him. He was amazed that my Bible contained the same story. At the end he said , you will be very blessed when you go and do this and he remained so amazed. I sensed God the Lord making a connection in his heart. Praying sitting beside him, that he may recognize Yeshua as His Savior.

There are many more stories. So beautiful to be able to use these opportunities

Greetings Rianne Nijsink

Adi Topper

Testimony of Adi Topper, one of the farmers where volunteers from Lema’ancha Foundation regularly reach out. We not only help farmers in Israel save their crops but we also bring hope and encouragement, by our presence we show them that they are not alone at a time when almost the entire world is turning against them.

Adi Topper on the volunteers. “They are not my workers – they are my family!” I told them said it: in difficult times, when I feel lonely, they just come and say, “You’re not alone! We’re here for you!” They are not here for the work – they are here to do everything together! And the energy I see in the morning I see… That we talk and see each other…. this is more than just support! This must be a part of me – a part of my life! And even when they go home, they need to know: they have in my heart a part that is theirs because they embrace me in terrible times that affect my whole people! And they say, “We are not strangers – we are One. Am Israel chai! We are together!” This is the most important thing.

I am not concerned with the amount of work. Some people work hard, others work less. Some can do more, some can do less, but the eyes and the hug and the warmth I feel inside-that has more effect. When we talk about emptiness, now is the time when Israel feels emptiness. Now we feel the struggle of the whole world against us. Now today! It is not something from history, no today! When you see someone fall, there is someone who wants to reach out to help you, but someone else wants to keep kicking him. And now everybody is kicking us, because now it is very easy. Even when we want to fight back, they tell us, “No, why are you fighting back? Give up, be weak!” And in this time friendship and real life energy become a reality at the moment when people say, “I can’t stay at home. Now I will leave everything behind. I will share this time with you, because NOW is a historic time!” People will learn this over time. They will learn: this war is about Israel’s border. This is just the beginning…now is just the beginning! It will continue. It is just the beginning. Eventually we will we will know what the border of Israel is. And we don’t have much choice. We have nowhere else to go. So we must win! And we have to be strong be. And this is the moment when a true friend’s energy and time here with us. Thank you everyone for being here.

Adi Topper, 23.02.2024 (farmer from Nitzana, Israel)

Ed Maliepaard

Besides helping farmers save crops, we also make occasional trips to kibbutz Be’eri, among other places. We do not go there as disaster tourists; we are invited by someone who lives there and has experienced everything up close. There in Be’eri it becomes clear why we who love Israel must remain right alongside Israel NOW. Read Ed’s report.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks Israel in the Negev. The suffering inflicted on the residents of Be’eri, among other places, touched me deeply, not knowing that a few months later I would be there myself and would see and hear from eyewitnesses how terrible it had been. It was hell, according to the man who showed us around Be’eri.
His daughter had been raped and murdered by members of Hamas. The interpreter, a Messianic Jewish man, couldn’t keep dry while translating, which had a huge impact on my emotions. After I went to the restroom I inexplicably lost the other fellow volunteers from Nitzana and even fairly naively thought they had left without me, because I no longer saw the bus where it was parked. The bus had been moved inside the gate of kibbutz Be’eri . At the gate, I reported my problem to three Israeli soldiers who were standing guard there. Jonathan, Lev and Coby. At first they looked at me in a way of “here comes another crazy tourist in a T-shirt and shorts”. The communication was not quite right, but Jonathan called a Dutch-speaking family member about my problem and with what purpose I was there in Be’eri and Israel. When this got through to them the atmosphere changed completely, I was presented with a cup of coffee with a hamburger sandwich and a little later indicated that I was cold, after which Coby, the commander of these soldiers, took off his coat and gave that warm coat to me. After this we found out that the group of fellow volunteers who were quite worried about my absence were still in Be’eri. After contacting Coby by phone, the bus came to the gate, where I symbolically gave the warm coat back to Coby. My symbolism is in the warmth I received from a Jewish man and was allowed to give back with a deep firm hug.

With my story I absolutely do not want to ignore the terrible suffering that took place in Be’eri, but I hope that there will be more understanding for the circumstances of Israel and the Jewish people. I am grateful to God for allowing me to volunteer in Nitzana for three weeks through Lema’ancha.

Peace be with you all.
Ed Maliepaard

Rilana Panday

I did volunteer work with volunteer organization Lema’ Ancha from May 1 to May 13, 2024. This was a great gift from Abba, our Heavenly Father. How wonderful, to be able to be a blessing to the farmers in the region of Nitzana through this organization. But also for the people you meet along the way and beyond. I heard one farmer say, that he was super grateful, that we were so crazy to come to Israel to help! People are especially happy that you are there, and that you are coming to help them are also happy, but more important they think you are there. So nice to hear that you can make a difference in such a simple way!

The people leading the work are full of God’s love for Israel, but also for the whole body of God. The project is run in dependence on Abba and with a humble and serving heart. And it is very beautiful to see God blessing and growing the project in this way.

Working with so many different volunteers from many different Christian backgrounds is colorful and enriching. So nice to get to know so many different people, and yet be one together. How much I have enjoyed all the conversations and lovely people who have participated. I have been so blessed by the unity and togetherness, despite all the different church backgrounds and opinions. How beautiful to see what God can do when we are one together!

The work with the farmers is fun to do. On the one hand, you work with different farmers, but sometimes you work with the same one a few times. Which is both nice. You get to know different farmers and crops, but you also visit the same farmer often enough to really get to know one another. Very nice to experience that way. It is nice that, if you can and want to, you can work two half-days. But it’s also nice that you can work one part of the day if it gets a bit too much. The work and the physical strain have all been very pleasant for me. I was also really amazed at how people who were many times older than me also participated in the work with the farmers. I notice that God carries everything. I only had one day of muscle pain, I felt my knees and back, but I really got used to that very quickly. Also, not once have I been stung by mosquitoes (that seemed to be a thing, but it’s really not that bad).

The accommodation in the cottages is fine, there is even air conditioning! The food is fantastic! The heat is definitely bearable and with work it is really not that bad because of the layout.What I also really liked is the joint celebrations and the studies that were given. Also nice that there is room for initiatives from the group. I enjoyed and only enjoyed, I felt like when I went to summer camp as a child again, but with adults! I felt safe, secure and loved.

I would say, if you can go, I would not let limitations or worry or fear hold you back, it is all worth it!!! You will return home incredibly rich. You will definitely take something of change and growth back with you.

Kind regards,
Rilana Panday

Judith Treur

Hi All!!! I am Judith (19) and I am now in Nitzana for the 2nd time with the organization Lena’ancha. My first time was in the Christmas vacations for 2 weeks and I liked it so much that I came back. I am here this time for a total of 3 months and definitely hope to come back more often. What I love about this organization is the intensive contact with the farmers, you really build a bond with the people in this area. The farmers often say that they like the fact that we are here to do physical work, but that they find it really encouraging that we are supporting Israel at this time. That means much more to the farmers than the work we do.

I myself often work at an herb farmer (Golan Cohen) and help harvest, dry and process herbs into products such as tea, soap, salve and even medicine. The farmer is an herbalist himself and helps people with complaints to get better naturally. He knows an awful lot about all the herbs and enjoys telling me about them and teaching me everything there is to learn. He also has a webshop where he sells the products we make. If you want to support him please look around on this site. He also delivers to the Netherlands so you can support the local people in this difficult time.

shirathamidbar.co.il

For anyone who has some spare time I will definitely recommend coming here! It is intense work, but it gives so much satisfaction and unity with Israel. And besides the work, of course it is just super fun to be here with a group of volunteers, you meet so many nice people and all with a heart for Israel!