On Monday, October 7, Rev H.P. Brandsma passed away at the age of 93. The last years of his life were not easy. Yet he kept longing for the moments when he could preside in church services.
Rev Brandsma was confirmed in 1959. He served the congregations of Rozenburg, Hilversum-Oost, Drachten, Middelburg, Amsterdam NIeuw-West and Den Helder. From 1967 to 1976, he played an important role as a missionary in Indonesia for the Gereja Toraja Mamasa, the Toraja churches, on present-day Sulawesi.
Deputies mission remember with gratitude and love his commitment to the churches in Indonesia. For eight years he lived in Mamasa on the island of Sulawesi. In those eight years, less than a tenth of his life, he lost his heart there. He told of this when he was a pastor for sixty years: 'One of the most beautiful things I inherited from my father was the urge to reach unbelieving people. But my best period was still the time with the Toraja churches around Mamasa.'
How that came about? He did have an explanation: 'I worked as a teacher at the Bible college and travelled around a lot with the students. We slept on mats, as there were no beds. I was often away from home for long periods of time. Because you were so closely dependent on each other during those trips, deep bonds grew with these students. The opportunity my wife Jolanda and I had to take in several foster children as a family also created close ties. We received so much love and hospitality from the Toraja people! The little they had, they gladly shared with us.
The area around Mamasa felt and feels like home. Once someone asked me: 'Do you want to be buried here?' I thought then: where did that man come up with that? I really didn't think I would die already. For Toraja people, knowing where you will be buried is not trivial. They say, 'I want to be buried where I belong.' I replied, 'As long as God knows where I am buried, it's fine.' If that were in Torajaland, that would be quite nice!'
We heartily pray his children and further family God's comfort and closeness as they come to terms with the loss....
You can here view the obituary. An extensive in memoriam will be published in The Alarm Clock soon.
