Can the world handle another Jochem?

Josephine was such a lovely lady; with a great smile and very warm personality. She lived with her mother, Ida, and two children- with another child on the way. She lived in a small, two bedroom house, but she was very proud of what she had. Her children were initially a bit intimidated or scared of me, but I quickly coaxed them into smiling ear-to-ear within minutes. Pastor Jeffrey, Ashli, Amy, Angela, Isaac and I were doing house visits in the town of Backdoor after lunch. It was Monday, October 8, and it was our first visit to Backdoor. We didn’t really know what to expect, we were just going with the flow of things- we knew that God would show up. We walked maybe 500 feet off of the main road and opened the gate to a house. It was Josephine’s house. Pastor Jeffrey knew her; she attended the local church in Backdoor. We all introduced ourselves. I have a habit of having foreigners repeat my name after I introduce myself to see if they really know how to say my name. Of course she couldn’t understand my name at first, but once she understood how to say it she commented on how beautiful it was. 

For some particular reason, I was a bit out of the conversation at first. Other nonessential things were floating in my mind. I snapped out of my daydreaming and realized I had no idea what was going on. I intentionally moved and sat down a few feet directly across from where Josephine was sitting in front of her house. She was seven months pregnant; she was due to have a boy (I have no idea how she knew that!?). Her mother had pain in her shoulder. 

Our team asked if they knew Jesus as their Savior. They responded that they did. We asked if we could pray for them. They responded that we could.
Our team prayed for Josephine and Ida that afternoon. We prayed for a healthy baby boy, that this child would grow up in a Christian home, that God would bless the home, and that the boy would grow up to know God. We also prayed for Ida and the pain in her shoulder. After the prayer they both commented on how blessed they were that we could spend time with them and pray for them. Of course we said that it was no problem and we were happy to spend time with them as well. 

Soon afterwards, we got ready to leave. Ashli and I started to play with her kids, we began to take pictures of the gorgeous scenery there, and we talked among ourselves. Pastor Jeffrey and Josephine were speaking in a native language to each other. We began to move on and I gave one final blessing upon the unborn child. Then Pastor Jeffrey told me, “You know Jochem, the baby will be named after you!” I laughed, kind of nervously, and said something along the lines of, “That would be cool, but really, does she have a name yet for him?” Other members of the team couldn’t believe it either and thought the Pastor was joking, but now we could clearly see that he was not. Josephine asked through the Pastor for a note with the correct spelling of my name. I wrote it, gave it, and then had a quick photo-op :). 

What an incredible blessing this visit was! What an honor it is for a mother to be so grateful for a visit and prayer from visitors 8,000+ miles away! This child will grow up, though not with red hair, to his classmates and peers asking about his name. To be a permanent part of that child’s life is a blessing and honor beyond words. 

Pastor Jeffrey has promised to keep me updated with baby Jochem and will let me know as soon as possible when he is born and the details.
I couldn’t have asked for a better first day of ministry in the town of Backdoor.
I guess I’ll be back in a few years…