Dear Judy,
These thoughts are what flows out of my Heart about my beloved friend, Hans. My few paltry and inadequate words can not begin to express what my heart holds and feels at this time.
It is difficult, for me, to remain standing on my creaky, wobbly wharf in time when such a Friend as Hans Puts Out to Sea. As the tide of his mortality recedes low, my emotions rise up, protesting against his departure.
My heart and soul cries No! Not yet! It is too soon! Hans...wait...I wanted more time with you! I had yet envisioned a time of more visiting, laughter with you, eating together. MORE of setting in intimate conversation with you...descending more deeply into the Bible via your gifted mind. What I had desired to do, with you, at a time ahead. With you and your beloved Judy.
But...time. "Time and tide waits on no man." Time and mortality bound in an inexorarable flow, and always outward.
I could say many things about Han's influence on me,...how and why I came to respect and admire him. His influence on my thinking, the way I approach thought, the understanding of how our whole beings are so completely rooted in the person and will of God was significant beyond my conscious grasp. And there was no dichotomy between Han's relational and intellectual knowledge of The Lord Jesus Christ. Hans was one of the first Christian believers, that I knew personally, who challenged, and imparted content to me where I needed it most. With Hans, I took real steps toward not being afraid to Think, to be cautious of partitions erected between "heart" and "mind", to evaluate and not to be afraid of the hard labour of discernment. He not only overflowed with the truth that we have a foundation to stand and build on, but especially of WHO that Truth is.
If I could be in your presence today, what would flow from heart about Hans is about who he was. The way he was. Inside. His real impact on me was in, and from that element of his person and spirit which, in all of our intellectualizing, will remain forever a mystery. As I release Hans,it is his friendship, the touch of Godly love..the fact that such a man of the stature of Hans Weerstra would befriend and extend himself to one such as I, and so genuinely and sincerely.
Hans, as the receding tide pulls your barque into the rising sea of your great passage, the void you leave is filled with the memory of your love and grace. I grieve for my own loss, but it is swallowed up rejoicing that your Passage is into the Dawn of Life, Himself.
I grieve. I rejoice. I give Thanks for the life and friendship of Hans Weerstra.
His friend, and brother,
Gene Atkisson
Arvid and Nilda Avery (missionaries to China)
We have been praying for you and hearing your heart beat from here. Hans, we miss not being there with you; we just miss both of you so much.... Your life Hans has been so woven into our lives, our kids, so many people...truly we are a blessed people because of you... We love you Hans and Judy.... Judy, I wish I was there for you (Nilda)... I was able to read your blog once on a secure line....Gd truly is building us into His own house...How I miss being with you Judy!!! Christine wrote and told us that the presence of the Lord was so there!!! That truly your home is an abbey...Gd rests on His people.....We continue to wait to hear what the Lord speaks to you Hans...Is it here or home with Christ?......May the fullness of His grace shine ever brighter in you all....Love, Nilda and Arvid
Dale Walker (Heart for the World Vineyard)
A truly a great and special warrior has been raised into the arms of his beloved king... well done, good and faithful one, I am so proud of the race you ran, surely these words he heard his master say. Few men have seen with God's eyes the vision and passion He has for all peoples everywhere to know his Son. Hans painted the picture for me of God's heart for the world that challenged, enlightened, and equipped me to pursue God's heart for the nations these past 20 years. I had the unbelievable privilege to meet weekly with he and Judy in their home and receive the Perspective course in a mentoring relationship with them. That experience helped me fall in love with God's heart for the nations the way that they carried and communicated that from their heart into mine. I feel so privileged to be a witness to the fruitfulness and greatness of his life. I pray for Judy and the family God's comfort and God's joy to celebrate Hans' glorious homecoming and the unspeakable glory he is now experiencing with His Lord, his love and treasure-Jesus!
From David Morrison, (former Vineyard Pastor Eastside)
“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.”
-Psalm 84:5
I will always remember Hans as a man on pilgrimage. These kinds of people are rarities—most people are comfortable with settling in and building social and theological cities with tidy lawns and enclosed walls. Not Hans. He consistently had a heart that pressed ever inward into the heart of Jesus and ever outward from his own cultural beginnings and personal experience. This was most demonstrated in his love of the scriptures. He taught not as the teachers of his day, but as one who had an unseen authority. I believe the source of this internal authority came from the fact that he at some time in his life made the decision to be an eternal student of God and his word, and never as one who “had arrived.” He taught as one who was in a constant state of learning and wonder himself. He was most alive and passionate when he was engaged in studying and teaching. Jesus described such people best: ““Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old” (Matthew 13:52). Hans was a “new scribe” in the kingdom of God.
Hans could have chosen a purely academic route as a missiologist, and no one would have a criticism for such a career. But as a pilgrim, Hans had a vision of a “better land.” he chose to brave the unknown seas of foreign mission and local communal ministry. Hans was what I call a “hiddenite.” He was one of those people who serve the Lord not from the motivation of public praise, but for love of the master who most often calls us to that secret place—the desert of obscurity. He truly was one of those “beloved wanderers,” of whom the scriptures say “the world was not worthy.” His wandering is done and he’s found that homeland for which he was holding out. There’s only one family in heaven and earth according to St. Paul, and so we sing the same song. And we sing with Hans and all the saints assembled:
“…We will meet in the golden city, in the New Jerusalem
All our pain and all our tears will be no more.
We will stand with the hosts of heaven and cry, ‘Holy is the Lamb’,
We will worship and adore You ever more…”
Hans, I thank God for your pilgrimage—all of it. I celebrate your life that was, and I mourn the life that’s no longer here. I rejoice in your life that is now: as you are refashioned into that ancient beauty and that original blessing of God’s image. I look forward to a continuation of our profound conversations in the New Creation.
In the Beloved with you,
-David Morrison
Jake Knorpp (Vineyard N.E now live in Missouri)
Hans was the person who introduced Renee and I to the importance of missions. He and Judy taught "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement" at Vineyard Northeast where I went to church. He awakened in me an understanding of how God has moved throughout history to show His love to people groups of all nationalities. Hans' life embodied the desire of God to reach souls who have not yet known the love God has for them. It was truly a pleasure to learn this from him and to come over to his and Judy's house and hang out in the atrium. For a rural Missouri boy, these were unique cultural experiences! These times were especially exciting because they were the backdrop for Renee and I to get to know each other!
Hans, and also Judy, hold a special place in our hearts not only because of their faith and spiritual influence, but also because of their matchmaking prowess! I'm thankful for their insight and wisdom in encouraging us to get to know each other.
I'm sure he will be greatly missed by thousands of people that have known him and have been helped by his love and willingness to be faithful to the Lord. I'm also sure that he is now enjoying the company of thousands of people that he touched along his journey on earth! I know that I am one of them and greatly look forward to seeing him again!
By Jennifer Ferraro
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