My older brother and I did weekly markets in different places around Holland and although it was hard work, it good money. On Monday morning we had very busy market where we served fruits and vegetables with about 6 or 7 people manning the booth.
The stall next to us was a gentleman who enjoyed a drink and sold foam rubber for mattresses and couch cushions etc. Seeing Monday was not a good day to sell foam this gentleman was usually enjoying his drink and sleeping on one of his mattresses.
However this particular Monday morning he was not there and his booth was assigned to another older gentleman, who arrived on a bicycle and put up a big sign “Jesus is Alive”. At first we were joking among ourselves. “He is alive is he, haven’t seen him lately have you?” Yet something inside of me made me admire this man. He looked to me similar to something that the early apostles must have been like. I spoke to him when most of the customers had left and it was time to clean up. I was impressed with his gentle manners.
He gave me a little 40 or 50 page booklet to read called “The 
Betty Baxter Story”. I had only read one pocket book since I left school and did not like reading as I felt it was a waste of time.
But that night when work was done and dinner finished I went early to my room, closed the door and started reading.
In the booklet she describes how Jesus touched her and healed her spine. Incredible this was not possible. I started crying, again those tears. I had experienced Jesus but not in any way that she was describing.
The week after the gentleman named ‘Ome Dirk’ gave me another book called “Cross and the Switchblade”. This was about a preacher who started to work in New York among the gangs. Amazing People who had a complete life change.
But where did this leave me? During a discussion ome Dirk explained that I should read the Bible. No Way!
Now for me the Bible was only read in church with stories about the life of Jesus and it was only for the priests to read the Bible.
My mother had explained to me that many people had gone crazy while reading the Bible and that it was for people who could not enjoy life. Well that had cured me enough to ever want to read it or even go near it. Yet my parents had this big two part Bible sitting on the shelf which they had bought from a missionary on one of his fundraising trips. He worked in Indonesia and had sold Bibles with these 
fascinating drawings of Gustave Dore in there. 
My parents could not say no to him as he was a missionary that grew up with them together in the same street.
Well I took it off the shelf and started reading and although this particular Bible was explaining creation in such a way that God could have made the world either through creation or the evolution process. I did not care anymore about how the world came about and how long ago whether it was 6000 or 40 million years ago, because all I wanted was answers for today how to live my life and what I should do, besides making money?
I was fascinated and I started getting answers to my questions of why and wherefore and what is happening and where are we going? It became all so clear. Being Dutch and having my two feet on the ground I was wondering at times if this was sci-fi, or was it real.
Yet more and more peace came with the reading. Even on Saturday night when my friends would come to pick me up I would at times prefer to stay home. ‘I’ll stay home’ “but why what’s wrong?” ‘Oh, I am reading’ “Well what are you reading that is so important?” ‘I am reading the Bible.’ 
“No, come on John we can see that you are calmer, but hey man this is not where it is at.” However I kept reading and getting more and more answers to life.
When I started reading the New Testament I realized how totally unconventional Jesus was and was nothing like the statues and paintings that I was familiar with where He looked more dead than alive with little white flowers between his toes. No this Man was totally different and I really liked Him, He was not scared of anything or anybody. He defended the underdogs, He was politically totally incorrect and messed up every protocol and hated religious hypocrisy. I admired the amazing amount of wisdom that He put in such simple words. The desire started growing in me to want to change and become more like Him or maybe become one of his disciples. Would that still be possible nowadays or was that only for 2000 years ago?