Finding Purpose - Song of my Life - Kristine van Dooren

A NEW ERA !

This was the beginning of a "new era" for our little family. We were leaving the USA and returning to Germany. This time we would not be living in Thomas’ home town, West Berlin, which was the walled city within East Germany. We were on our way to West Germany, near the city of Hannover, to a very old quaint town called Nienburg. It was going to be a brand new experience for Thomas, myself,’ and little Naomi!             

And it is also a new era for me, in writing the upcoming episodes! Like I said in the introduction of the podcast, I had no idea when I first came to Europe, that I would end up raising our children in Germany. So now, I get to go back into the time machine, and review everything that happened. With a little help from my friends, and looking online, I am finding out all kinds of cool things. So let' s get started, this is what took place, back in December of 1974!

I said in the last episode, that we were flying from San Francisco to New York, with Peter and his family. Some friends we knew from Living Waters, would be picking us up at the airport there. The goal within our ministry, was to reach the young hippie drop outs, that lived in the inner cities. That’s why so many of us were prepared to leave the seclusion, and beauty of the ranches, in the country. It was time to be out sharing the gospel, the love of Jesus, that we had so miraculously come to know.                            

After that emotional evening in Eureka, and hearing the prayers and songs over us, we were ready to go to Germany. And not in a couple of months, but in exactly two weeks! But that, wasn’t such an unusual plan for us, as it might sound. We had been sent out, quite a few times with tree planting teams, in a similar way. We packed up, drove hours into the mountains, and sometimes joined other groups that had already set up camp. Thomas would head out early the next morning with the men, carrying a bag of mini trees and planting in all kinds of weather. I would be getting to know the women, as we did the outdoor cooking, while our toddlers played. We made new friends, and were glad to have the opportunity, to earn money to support the ranches.

Now after that service Thomas and I, left with Jim’s words,“go in the joy of the Lord.” We had said goodbye, to everyone we had known, over the past year and half. The next morning I called my mom to tell her the news.

We would be flying out of San Francisco in two weeks, and would like to come and stay with them. Of course, she was surprised, but said she would get thebedrooms ready for our visit. Now, I had to tackle the project of sorting our belongings, that we had brought from Living Waters. Since we wouldn’t be staying in Eureka, there were things that we wouldn’t need anymore.

Thomas, Naomi and I, had said our goodbyes to Living Waters and drove away. We were ready for the next adventure. But after our

We had never been there before and I don’t remember that place. The only reason, that I know we were there, is because of the tape that I have from that day. It was a recording by the ministries’ media group called Radiance. The title sticker says; November 19, 1974, Redwood Camp, Germany Team Sending.

For Thomas and I, that second service was of great importance. We had talked to Jim about our concerns, but he reassured us, that he believed it was the right time. Of course, he said, it was up to us, what we wanted to do. So we had from Sunday to Tuesday, to talk and pray about the situation. Thomas had been anxious, for at least a year, to go back to Germany, but he needed a confirmation about the right timing.

For the two of us, we had known ever since we became Christians, that we would be returning. When Jim had announced on Sunday that a team was going to Germany, he made a big deal that they were going to a foreign country, and entering the unknown world of Europe.

For us, that was not the case at all. Thomas was born and raised in West Berlin, and had been to other countries. When I met him in 1970, I had been traveling in Europe, and then lived and worked, for over a year in Berlin.

We would be returning to a familiar place, Germany and Europe. Thomas was interested in hearing about the group of Christians in Hannover. He was  excited, about the idea of meeting German Christians, like us. In all of his years in Berlin, he had never met any believers, or people who shared the gospel.

Saying goodbye to my family in the Bay Area, we headed back to Living Waters. We had enjoyed our long vacation, which was a change of pace from our lifestyle at the ranch. So much had happened during those few weeks. Especially, revisiting San Francisco, which turned out to be a special day for our little family.

It reminded us of the days we had spent there, when we first came to California. We were totally into our hippie life, and hoping to starting afresh after a difficult year living together in Berlin. Thomas had brought his instruments with him. He had dreams of being a musician, in the scene of San Francisco, the way he had experienced it, growing up in Berlin. He was also looking forward to finding new friends in the drug scene to “turn on” with.

Walking through Golden Gate Park with Naomi that day, it really hit us, we were completely different people. God had saved us out of the darkness, given us a new purpose in life. Our hearts were filled with thankfulness, realizing that God himself had set us on a new path, to teach us His ways. We didn’t know what the next steps would be along that path, but we had confidence that the Lord would guide us.

On the drive home towards Garberville, we talked about the subjects that had come up with my parents. Now they knew, that we might go to Germany, sometime in the future. And Thomas said, he felt sorry for dad that he had to turn down his offer to work for him. Since we had been somewhat integrated into their Methodist church group, it could have given dad the impression that we might want to stay and get involved. But for both of us, that was the farthest thing from our minds.

Its true, that our circumstances were changing, we would be leaving the Living Waters Ranch. One of the leaders who used to live there, had moved with his family, a few months before that to Eureka. He was already making arrangements for Thomas and I, to live in one of the communal houses. We would only be a couple of hours farther away from my parents, but we could still visit them, after our baby was born.

Turning off at Garberville, we had another half hour drive before we arrived at the ranch. When Thomas pulled into the dirt road of the Big House, we knew we were going into, the final countdown, of our last couple of weeks living in that cosy cabin.

Welcome back friends! Let’s get started with my 50th episode!

On our drive down to the Bay Area, Thomas and I, as usual had a lot to talk about. Naomi fell right to sleep, after we were out on the highway past Garberville. We had made this trip so often over the past year, but this time it was different, because our minds were still spinning, concerning our talk with Jim Durkin in Eureka.

He had encouraged us to be prepared to go to Germany, which could be at any time he said. We knew we should tell my parents about all of this. Thomas was uneasy about the idea, of possibly leaving before we paid

He wasn’t quite sure how he should convey that information to my father. I said, that Jim had made a good impression on dad when they talked at Living Waters, so we shouldn’t worry too much.

But we did agree, that it could be unnerving for my parents, when we told them we needed to go to San Francisco to get new

At least we had the fun news that I was pregnant, which we wanted to share with all of my family, and friends. Of course my mom already knew, and was excited to have us around for an extended visit. She told me on the phone, she wanted to take me shopping for maternity clothes, which was going to be a real treat.

Welcome back friends!

Besides our big adventure to LA, we had exciting news of our own. I was pretty sure that I was pregnant, so Thomas and I, were

Quite a few months before that, Thomas and I, had prayed together, asking the Lord to bless us with more children, so we felt

Thomas and David, were making plans coordinating the cars needed, to drive up to Eureka on the coming Sunday. It was always a

Once again, we were out on the road with our friends. It was a beautiful fall day, and the drive through the majestic Redwood Forest, was always impressive.

Arriving in Eureka, we found a place to park near the Veterans Hall. We could see all the happy people filing up the steps and

When the music began, Thomas and I, always felt lifted up in our spirits. We imagined ourselves entering the throne room of God, with

https://youtu.be/7tOrDC5ICV4 "Clap your Hands"

https://youtu.be/vdjV6Tt7oyM "Thy Loving Kindness is better than life"

Above are the links to the songs I referred to!

They were both written in the early 70s! Maybe you would like to sing along! 

One evening David made a surprising announcement, all

Our ministry in Eureka, was planning a big event that

There were already some communal groups from our ministry

It was mid August 1974 and Thomas wrote to his mother,

Thomas told Nadja that approximately 100 brothers and

It would be at least a 10 hour drive from Garberville,

There must have been a lot of coordination plans

We were getting excited about this adventure and were

The name of the city is Spanish and means the City of

For Thomas and I, it would be our first time together

We were sure that we could relate to the hippies that

I had this idea to do a recap now, because it has been exactly one year, since I published Episode One, of Finding Purpose.

This has been a fun and challenging experience to say the least. I am looking forward to sharing with you guys, more of our stories.

I hope you will continue to enjoy listening, and find out where our coming adventures take us. Even doing a podcast, writing and recording, is an adventure in itself for me. Every week, I am learning something new.

Many of my regular listeners have been asking me, how Thomas and I, ended up in Germany. So stay tuned, that interesting story is coming very soon!

First of all, I want to begin this recap episode, by thanking everyone who got me started on this project. It all began with my oldest granddaughter Adina, telling me I should do a podcast of my story, rather than writing a book in English.

She listens to podcasts, like most young people do I suppose, and prefers that to reading books. My first reaction to her comment was, I don’t like the sound of my voice, but she responded by saying, oh, that

This all came at a season in my life, where I had a lot of free time. I had already started going through my original English files, that were the foundation of my book in German, The Song of my Life. (Das Lied Meines Lebens)

In closing today,

I would like to thank you, for all of the interesting, and nice messages you have sent me. I can’t say enough, how much that helps me, and gives me new inspiration, to keep writing and recording. This is in the

Welcome back friends!

For some of you, my stories bring back memories of your own life and relationships. For others it is interesting, watching and listening, to my oldest daughter and I talk about the past. It is also fascinating for Naomi, and her adult daughter, to listen to my story episodes, and hear about her early years as a baby in California.

In this interview we will be talking about when Thomas and I, were in jail and then ended up getting married. We were not prepared, to hear what the Justice of the Peace said to us, at the Civic Center in Marin County. The questions that follow,

It's funny for me telling about those days, with my daughter, and her birth story!

Enjoy listening!

You can also watch this video on my Youtube channel: Kristine van Dooren under the title “Hippie Home Birth”

Please like, share and subscribe – that helps to grow my channel – thanks a lot!

The way things had developed at the ranch, Thomas and I, had taken on more responsibilities. It made a difference for me, once Naomi was a year old, that I was a little more flexible. I became the kitchen steward,

Once a week, one of the brothers would drive a couple of us, up to Eureka to do the grocery shopping. Thomas stayed at the ranch with Naomi, and one of the other moms babysat her, while he was working in the

Part of the responsibility of being in charge of the kitchen, was to teach some of the girls how to cook, make bread and keep up with the schedule of preparing the food and setting it out as a buffet. Of course the clean up, washing dishes and the huge pots was part of the job.

We usually had around 50 people, counting on us, to have the meals ready in time and we wanted to be happy servers. I liked to add the touch, of fresh picked flowers to set out on our redwood tables.

At the ranch such a stewardship, as we called it, meant also encouraging the team to look to the Lord and serve with a joyful heart. We always started with praying together, holding hands in a circle,

Being in the kitchen a lot during those days, reminded me of the first day when we arrived. The women

When the food was ready, one of us rang the farm bell that hung outside of the kitchen window. The first thing we did was gather around the tables and benches, asking the Lord “to bless the hand of those who