Vander Laan, Miss Marcia

I´m thankful to the Lord for placing me in a godly home. At a young age I accepted the Lord as my Saviour. My "role model" regarding the future was my aunt Anne Vanderlaan who served the Lord in India. Though it wasn't the Lord's will for me to serve Him there, yet it caused an exercise of heart to prepare myself by becoming a nurse and by attending Emmaus Bible School. While studying at Emmaus I became acquainted with short-term mission opportunities and participated in some. This prepared me for joining one of the L.C. "35 in 65" teams to Bogotá, Colombia. After two years I was led to continue on long-term. One of the other team members (Sandi Stirling)also was led to serve in Bogotá. In 1971, after six years in Bogotá, Sandi and I joined others to start a new work in the city of Bucaramanga, and we brought the Emmaus office with us. Unfortunately, in 1981 Sandi had health problems and had to return to the States. A number of missionaries have served here, and during more recent years my coworkers were Carl and Joan Lehmann. Now, after 30 years, Sandi has returned and it's good to again share a home with her. The Lord is blessing the Correspondence Courses with many students studying "Emmaus" and "Source of Light" courses. The majority of our students are inmates in 17 different prisons around the country. Two local assemblies have been formed, and this August (2012) we are celebrating 40 years since the beginning of the Lord's work here. I am grateful for all the prayers on my behalf, and wait on the Lord to direct my future.