By KLAAS van der Heide
DEAR brothers and sisters of
CMA International , blessings and love from CMA Netherlands .
Last year we had a change in the Board of Directors because our longtime leader , Gradus Koningen , stepped down as President after a period of 10 years . We thank him for all this time of serving , and we thank his wife , Netty , for standing beside him all this time . They still are very active in CMA Netherlands and we thank God for that . After the election of a new Board Member , the other Board Members elected me as President . So it is my honour to write this article for you on behalf of CMA Netherlands .
For us , in the Netherlands , the year 2022 was marked by the death in May of one of our beloved members , Chris Koelewijn at the age of 45 . He was a kind man filled with the Holy Spirit . Chris was a living example of Galatians 5:22-23 , as he was the personification of the fruit of the Spirit . He also had a bad-functioning heart , and after a heart transplant ,
there were severe complications which led to his death after five weeks of being in intensive care . During his longtime struggle with his bad heart condition , he never complained and always had an open eye for other people . His life was one great testimony of the love of the Lord . His funeral was attended by many bikers from all kinds of clubs , and the service was also a big testimony . Lots of bikers were touched by the love of Chris ’ family and CMA .
After the ceremony , some of the bikers told us how they were moved by the deep faith and love they had seen . Chris was fully trusting the Lord in his life , and he knew where he would go if surgery was not successful . He went to be with Jesus , and we will meet again !
After such an emotional time , we had to
Chris Koelewijn go on as CMA and try to do what we were used to . We picked up going to clubhouses , visiting parties , organizing church for bikers , pouring coffee at a biker ’ s meeting point , doing demo-races with our unicycle ( we came in second in the season ), telling in churches about the work of CMA , presenting CMA at local motorcycle days , etc . God has blessed us with a team that has an eye for people in the motorcycling world , each with his or her own talents .
Chris ’ life has shown us a great truth : “‘ It is not about what you do in My strength , but what I do in your weakness ,’ God , your Father .”
CMA
Klaas van der Heide serves as President of CMA Netherlands . 24⎪MAY 2023⎪shop . cmausa . org