History

Sister Marianna Hulshof

Sister Marianna Hulshof and Eric (2006)

Marianna’s actions are linkable to 1 Samuel 2:8 KJV. He rises up the poor out of the dust and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes…..
She spent all her life trying to bring hope to the hopeless; she struggled to enable those who could not afford health, education, housing to access them. She brought hope where there was no hope

Eric’s translation of the book “Gods Riches” 

In the Netherlands in 2006, Eric did finish the translation of an English book, called Gods Riches into Kiswahili. This was to provide the people in Kenya with a better way to learn about the Lord. Over 200 books where printed by KoPietje in Barneveld and distributed by volunteers from the Netherlands.

The translated book, Tjeerd Veenstra and Eric

More about sr. Marianna Hulshof  (from Eric’s book about her life)

The scene is in the old people’s house in Beukenstein Driebergen Holland and the date is 24^th January 2006. Here during our lively talk, I asked her, to describe herself in one word. She answered that she was ‘a healer’. She spent all her life trying to bring hope to the hopeless; she struggled to enable those who could not afford health, education, housing to access them. In the Village where she resided and in the far off ridges people referred to her as Mama. To the Abakhulo clan of the Samia People of Western Kenya where she worked, they gave her the name Nakhulo –meaning daughter of the Abakhulo clan. Indeed she was a mother to many and a father to the orphans too. The paramount chief, the late Kanoti Okwaro offered her a piece of land to enable her put up her home if she so wished!

When I asked her if it was fine with her for me to put down in black and white an autobiography for her, at first she brushed it off. Then I knew exactly what she meant-that some people could easily take it for granted that she wanted the glory to herself instead of God! My explanation answered this before she could raise it up, since I told her that the motive behind it was not only inspiring the young people in Europe to think more of continuation of the lamp she lit burning, but also to challenge the Africans to be outgoing and serve mankind throughout the globe by engaging in similar activities as she did. She accepted the idea and gave me her recorded video tapes about her work and contributed most of the information during my interviews with her. One of the interviews I quoted from was done sometimes back by her contact person Jose Van Kasteren in Kenya. After making copies of the material, I later returned the recorded video tapes to her.

Dr.Ineke Puls helped Eric to trace Sister Marianna in the Netherlands.