Hi, as most know, I am a Flemish-American Missionary Doctor and I just came back for a short time to Belgium to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with my family. Also to do some much needed medical examinations...before I leave again.
I met a lady online who always gives to me monthly for my medical mission work in the countries I have gone to, including the country where I just came from. Her name is Elsa. She is actually from Canada. I thought that she was from the USA :))
Although I am very tired and still recuperating from all the work we just did in the Andes and the Amazon, Elsa pushed me to do an interview before the end of the year as you might still consider tax-deductible gifts before December 31st, which is coming fast. I know it's a pretty narrow window of time, but it was the only way as I just came out of the 110 degrees Fahrenheit jungle where my team and I were surrounded by 2730 wildfires, working to save the lives of as many children, elders and all people as we could.
Elsa wanted me to tell you the whole story from my childhood on and I warn you that it became a pretty long interview :)) of 56 minutes, as she wanted to see the red line that God defines if you have a passion for something or you really want to set your love in action.
We would be very pleased if you could hear at least some part of the ministry and then go to: https://doctorsonmission.org/english/donate/
So here comes the interview! Again, sorry that it became so long and that it is in broken English as I normally speak in Spanish and Flemish (Dutch).
God bless you all very much in the coming year!
Rik & Carolien together with their Medical Teams who are already much younger than me and don't stop working in the field!
And now, here is the video!
PS. This is Elsa. You will hear about Rik’s aunt and how she introduced him to what became his lifelong passion. You will also hear about very difficult early experiences doing his best to help the poorest of the poor - and how those experiences motivated him even more.
(Link to the video: youtu.be/kYW9vBw7wdM)
And again, to donate: https://doctorsonmission.org/english/donate/
I heard something very disturbing about the Amazon. I was told that 'the powers that ought not be' have been spraying toxins over the Amazon for years to destroy it and to get rid of the native peoples. And, now learning here of the wildfires, makes me wonder if they were not deliberately set - given the past year's 'weather anomalies' and 'natural disasters' around the globe. And it's always good people who are left to deal with the aftermath.