Finding Purpose - Song of my Life - Kristine van Dooren

Translation for "Hoffnung in der Trauer" -TV Interview ERF 2007 - “Hof mit Himmel”

Welcome back friends! Last week you saw the German interview that was filmed shortly after my autobiography was published. Naomi and I have tried our best to recreate the interview in English. I hadn't seen the film for a long time so it was fun seeing my younger self. This was the first time, I ever did an interview, and then on German TV! I had no idea what kind of questions the host would ask, but I thought he did a great job.

Because the interview was based on my book, it includes my story about our family's struggle dealing with cancer, and finally my husband's death, at age 47, in 1999.

You can listen to the details of our early life together by going back to the beginning of my podcast.

Follow me on Instagram at: vandoorenkristine

A Christian Talk Show for German TV - 2007

This is an interview for ERF TV - Hof mit Himmel - with Kristine van Dooren

This program was filmed shortly after my autobiography, “Das Lied meines Lebens”, was published. The title of the program is, "Sagt mir wo die Blumen sind" - “Where have all the flowers gone?”, in reference to the hippie days.

You can watch the video, on my Youtube channel under Kristine van Dooren, FINDING PURPOSE. The film includes some of our personal hippie photos, and a short film of me in a record shop, listening to the Beatles!

I hadn’t seen it myself, for a long time, so I had fun watching my younger self. The host asked some interesting questions. It was the first time, that I had ever given an interview, and I had no idea what kind of questions he would ask me.

Because this interview is based on my book, the questions included, my story about Thomas’ death from cancer. In the introduction he says, "Who or what, upholds us in life? Kristine's husband was dying, and she was with him, until the very end."

I share honestly, where I found comfort and strength, in the midst of this shocking experience. Stay with us to hear the whole story!

In the next episode I will give a summary in English of the interview. Hope you enjoy listening and watching the fun film on YouTube!

No words could describe how happy, Thomas and I, were with our third daughter. Naomi and Esther, were learning to be mommies, to their real- live dolly. They wanted to help with everything, and couldn’t wait for their turn, to sit on the couch and hold her. Pretty soon they had little Elisabeth lined up on their beds, with their dolls playing house. Like I had said in the last episode, I had somewhat of a hard time physically the first couple of weeks. But that didn’t damper my thrill of taking care of my sweet baby girl. When Thomas had called his mother with the news, she was anxious to plan her next trip to Munich. We were excited that grandma Nadja could come and visit us again.

Now we had three children, and a completely different kind of home for them to grow up in. So much had changed since our days, of singing

Our desire in marriage and family life, was that it would reflect our love and commitment to Jesus. As missionaries, we hoped that our personal lives, would encourage others to also want to know the truth.

As I said in the last episode, I still had the baby blanket on the shelf, representing my last pregnancy. The whole story had continued to hang over our heads, leaving us a bit confused. Confused meaning, we thought, we understood the situation correctly. That’s why I saved the blanket, with the name Samuel, embroidered on it.

In Episode 58, I told the bizaare story, of what took place in Nienburg concerning our baby. A couple that had come from the States, had taken it upon themselves, to say they had a word, or a vision about Thomas and I. They dared to tell us, that my baby could die, if I didn’t have the right attitude towards God. Unfortunately, we trusted and believed them, when they also said the child is a boy. They added, that he will be a prophet to Germany, and his name will be Samuel.

There you have it; the reason that one of the sisters embroidered a scripture on a blanket as a gift. It said, “His name is Samuel - His whole life, he will be given to the Lord.” It sounds like a strange story, but we believed it, because we trusted them.  

When our second baby was born, all the women in the house were watching, and heard the midwife say “Ein Mädchen.” Everyone was surprised, because we were expecting a boy. My first thought was, what is her name? Instantly, the name Esther, came to my mind. Thomas put his hand on her and said “Welcome, little Esther.” We were all rejoicing, because a birth is such a miracle, and the Lord had given us a healthy baby.

What better way to start off our second spring in Munich, than with more parties. One was a wedding, and our little family, had three

And we rejoiced, with Brian and Christine, they had a healthy baby boy, and moved into the downstairs apartment. With some flowers and a

Daniel and Susan, were going to be the first couple of the team, to get married in Germany. They were able to book the Chapel at the American base, for their wedding, which included a multi- purpose hall for the reception. Many of our friends worked, and led a Bible study at the base, so it was a familiar area for them. I think Susan also bought her wedding dress, bridesmaids dresses, and flower bouquets there.

We could have been a wedding planner business in those days. All of the preparations were taking place in our house. We had cooks, cake makers, musicians and singers, and were good at organizing such productions. The house was bustling with excitement. Judi and Randy

- Since I have mentioned Nadja, I decided to add a few excerpts from a tape, that I recently found. It was recorded at an earlier date, when she had come to visit. Thomas asked her, if she was brave enough, to talk to

Steve took one last photo, of Thomas and John, standing on the gangway after unloading the vans. None of them could imagine, what

But Peter reminded them, that he and his family, had also been with Thomas and I, on a cruise ship in the winter. He said we only had a couple of days that were stormy, where everyone was sick, but we survived. Steve agreed, that if their cargo ship was embarking as scheduled, it couldn’t be too bad.

Terri told me later what really happened. She said that after a couple of days, when the boat was away from the coast, a huge storm hit them. Steve even took pictures with his four year old son out on the deck, showing him how exciting it was, to see the big waves. The powerful winds were so strong, that the ship was stuck for a couple of days, in one place. I think it took them at least 15 days to finally make it to New York. The reality was, she and Steve could have flown with their children to the States, and avoided such a horrendous experience. The good thing was, we had all prayed for their travels, before they left!

You have been listening to the stories about my past, and have also heard from a couple of my daughters, and grandchildren. Their lives have been influenced by the important things, that Thomas and I learned, in the first years at the Trudering house. Even my youngest grandchildren, unknowingly, are reaping from the fruit that comes from having parents that love God. Even though they are too young to listen to the podcast, I like to show them old photographs, and tell them about how their mommy grew up. I feel like I am, at the same time, planting seeds of faith in their little hearts. It reminds me that even though Thomas and I, were adults, we knew that Jesus said; “You must become as little children."

I like to look through Thomas’ first Bible, the one he bought in Eureka, and find the gems, that truthfully motivated us. Here are a couple of them: In Luke chapter 16, 10 it is written simply “He that is faithful, in that which is least, is faithful, also in much.” And another verse was “For we walk by faith, and not by sight,” This helped us to accept, both the good, and the difficult things that came our way.  

Speaking of children, maybe you remember an early episode where Thomas and I, talked about having more children. I think we were living in the tipi with our first baby girl. I told Thomas, that I loved being a mom, and couldn’t wait to have more children, maybe even five! We talked and prayed about our future, and asked God, to give us four more children.

So here we were in Munich with our two precious little girls, loving being parents, when I said to Thomas one day, that I believed it was time for number three. Even though Thomas’ responsibilities had grown, we were in agreement that we both wanted a larger family. We prayed together, asking God, to bless us with another baby.

Through my weekly stories, you having been getting all the details, about the early years of my life with Thomas. With the addition of the “video conversations”, you can get a tiny glimpse into what my life looks like today. Along with all the unique experiences we had, I think the most important thing, is what goes deeper than the outward events, that were taking place.

God was changing our hearts and our minds, through each new phase. I can just imagine Thomas in those days, reading Proverbs, twenty three, verse 26 and hearing God’s Word; “Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes delight in my ways.”

Our daily challenges came down, to making a choice. To either hold on tight to what we wanted, or to surrender, accepting the circumstances as part of God’s plan.

It was fascinating for me, talking with my daughter Miriam, and granddaughter, Adina. As my children were growing up, it was natural for them, to take for granted our particular lifestyle at whatever time that was. So it was fun for me to listen to the questions that they have now.

Our conversation caused me to reflect on the parallels, between our home life at Trudering, and how it evolved over the next 30 years. In talking together, we were trying to connect the dots from the past, to the present. If that’s even possible!

The main two questions were; How did we teach our children to pray - and to know Jesus in a personal way!   

Welcome back friends!

Today we are having a family talk, that includes three generations! My daughter, Miriam is hosting our talk that includes my first granddaughter, Adina. You have probably heard her name mentioned before! She is Naomi’s daughter, and was the person who said to me, “Grammy, you should do a podcast about your life.”

We discuss priorities for family living, mom and dad’s example, and teachings when we grew up. How we learned to seek, and find God’s will, in both the small and big decisions in life.

All three of us live in Germany, but we are spread out between the north and south. As you can hear, we speak a lot of English, in our family! We talk and see each other regularly, but this video podcast was a new experience. I hope you enjoy listening.

Bye for now!

(We referred to this song written by the Van Dooren Sisters: SHAKEN

https://youtu.be/bzqozpqIIFY?si=egopNL9hEca4_OXw

You can find the whole album on Youtube and on Spotify!

My recent stories, take place in the fall, of 1976 in Munich. I even have to remind myself, how different life in the world was at that time. Our communication consisted of writing letters, making tape recordings

I recently found, in my “go to book,” the Bible, a verse about the importance of learning from generational wisdom. It’s in the Old

“Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations, ask your father, and he will show you, your elders and they will tell you.” So that leads me to think, if we don’t talk or write about our lives and families in the past, how will the next generation know what their foundation is.

Song: "To Dwell in Unity"

https://youtu.be/qAs3fKpZ4p8?si=ZrhPCeYP46tJQdcU

Song: "I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live"

https://youtu.be/33H16zNiGeg?si=t51YAIMClgcfEgMM