The long view often reveals God at work. But it is almost always the most difficult view to take. This fall Resonate Global Mission recognized the 100th anniversary of the departure of Johanna Veenstra for Nigeria. Veenstra was the first Christian Reformed overseas missionary. As a single young woman, Veenstra was not embraced by many in the CRC who thought she would be better off at staying at home. Also, there were many racist attitudes against Nigerians within the CRC in 1919. Against all odds, God worked through this young woman from New Jersey to bring many to Christ until her death in 1933. During this time, Veenstra’s passion and eloquent writing changed perceptions back home about international missions and encouraged many young people (including women) to get involved in Gospel outreach. Through Veenstra’s work and that of many other missionaries and Nigerian evangelists, two Nigerian denominations were established that number many hundreds of thousands of more believers than are within today’s Christian Reformed Church in North America. In 2002-03 Sharon and Zach had the opportunity to teach at Veenstra Seminary in Donga, Nigeria, not far from Veenstra’s original mission station. We personally witnessed the “long view” of what God did through the early ministry of the CRC in Nigeria.
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