In conversation with
Assie Friso
Part 1
From Workum to Dubai
A life in the service of Ishmael
In a beautiful country house, I sit opposite Assie, a woman who tells me with visible pride that she is 67. Her life story begins in Workum, a small Frisian town with 4,000 inhabitants. “I am a true Frisian,” she says with a smile. “I still speak Frisian with God.”
Roots in a grocery store
Assie grew up in a Reformed family with two younger brothers. Her parents ran a grocery store, and she helped out from an early age. “I’m used to nothing else but rolling up your sleeves and getting stuck in,” she says. Her father was a righteous, strict, but above all Bible-believing man with a big heart for politics. He even founded his own party.
Yet it was definitely not a cold, religious family. “We worked together a lot and, of course, always went to church twice. When we stopped doing that at some point… well, that was a bit different,” she laughs. Her awareness of God was always there. “I can’t remember when I first started praying. I think I was already praying when I was a baby!”
As an eleven-year-old girl, she played pastor, with a box on the table as a lectern, reading the pastor’s reflections and singing psalms. “I always wanted to do something with ‘the kingdom’. I didn’t call it that then, but I wanted to do something for God anyway.”
Youth for Christ and living faith
Puberty, which is often a time of rebellion against faith, went remarkably smoothly for Assie. When she was fifteen, Youth for Christ (YfC) came to Workum for the first time. “‘I’m going there,’ I thought immediately,” she recalls. “We were used to gospel groups in church that sang three songs and then sat down again. But what these guys, with their denim jackets and long hair, sang made us think about what they were singing. It came from their hearts, not their heads. And then I thought: I want what they have!”
It was her first real encounter with living faith. People from different churches came together in the YfC Bible study groups. “I think we really had a revival in Workum in those years.”
But the theme of conversion caused confusion for the always shy Assie. “I thought: yes, guys, hello. Haven’t I always been with God? How am I supposed to be converted? What are my sins?” She heard people around her talking about what they had all done, but she didn’t notice that in herself.
The breakthrough came during an evening with Tonneke Bijker in Lemmer. She explained about the two trees: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the Tree of Life. “On that tree of knowledge were things I did recognize: jealousy, gossip. Then I went to the aftercare. I could only cry, it touched me so much. That’s when I really made a choice for Jesus.” She was fifteen. “Not that my life suddenly changed drastically, but it was a very clear moment.”
From the Netherlands to the world
This conversion was followed by an intense period. Assie worked at the YfC headquarters, did a diaconal year, and later became a staff member. She attended the School of Youth with a Mission (YWAM). From an early age, she knew: “I’m going to go on a mission again.”
Later, she ended up at Teen Challenge, the shelter for drug and alcohol addicts in Haarlem. When it closed, she was in doubt for a while. “My heart was really in prayer. I also found it very difficult when there was no prayer.” At JmeO, the world opened up to her about what intercession is, what is prophetic, and that God can speak. “Ministry, prayer, deliverance… That was it.”
When Teen Challenge closed, Assie attended intercessory prayer school. “Then it became very clear: I’m going into missions. But God hadn’t given me a specific country yet.”
Meeting Piet van Walsem
She ended up at Shelter (formerly Berea) in Haarlem. “I knew I had to go from the Immanuel church to Berea.” There she saw Piet van Walsem walking around. “He was a leader. People said I should talk to him about Eastern Europe and his work in the Middle East.”
“I didn’t immediately feel that I should talk to him. It was all still too new. God also has to show it; that process has to mature.” But God did say to her, “You have to pray for that man.” For six months, Assie prayed for Piet van Walsem, without him knowing.
Until two months later, when the elder of the church, who is responsible for intercessory prayer, came to the intercessory prayer team and said: “Piet is going to organize a prayer trip to Bahrain, a small country near Saudi Arabia. He would very much like the intercessory prayer team, of which I was a part, to go with him.”
Coming home to Bahrain
For Assie, this was her chance. “I got off the plane in Bahrain and it was like coming home. I had never been there before, never been to a Muslim country! I felt God’s love so strongly.” While many team members were intimidated by the black dresses of the women and the white robes of the men, Assie felt, “I’m coming home.”
That week, Piet shared his new mission. While jogging, he had a vision: a baby in his arms, wounded, unattractive, bruised. A baby that was not pleasant to look at. “Who is that baby?” he asked God. “That is Ishmael. Ishmael is wounded, rejected. In fact, no one wants this baby.” “What should I do with this baby?” “Would you like to bring My love to that baby?”
That was the start of his new organization in 1998: Desert Stream. When Piet shared this, Assie thought: “This is what I want. Of course, I already felt that love.” The next day, he asked her if she wanted to work in his new foundation as a prayer leader. “Just like Reinhard Bonke had Suzette Hattingh. Piet had nothing to offer, no finances. From then on, I also started living on donations. And then things took off at lightning speed.”
A completely different world
Bahrain was a completely different world, a man’s world. But Assie experienced something special: “Now I sometimes think: as a woman, I have been able to do an incredible amount. I went there to serve.”
They worked through the local churches and placed themselves under their authority. “I came to intercede. But I was given many open doors to teach about intercession.”
There were two types of churches: the above-ground church (Indian, Filipino, African, Korean communities) and the underground church (the real Bahrainis and Omanis who had converted). The latter lived in hiding for fear of their families.
“When I went to work there, I knew that I was not only making a choice for the country, but also for my life. One day, I made a conscious choice in that regard.” This was her destiny for the coming years.
Standing in the gap
The work consisted of giving seminars on intercession and organizing prayer teams. But what exactly is intercession?
“I believe that God is looking for intercessors who will stand in the gap,” Assie explains. “Ezekiel puts it very beautifully: ‘I am looking for people who will stand in the gap, who will go to God on behalf of the people, as it were. “
Her favorite example is Moses. ”The people had made the Golden Calf. God said, ‘Go down, I’m done with them, I’m quitting. But Moses said, ‘You made promises about the people. If You quit now, the enemy will have won.’ Moses climbed the mountain again and stood between the people and God. “‘You may erase my name from the book, as long as You save the people.’” “For me, that is the crucial thing about intercession. It is often an invisible role.” Not always visible in the world, but audible in heaven.
Another example is Ananias, who is mentioned only once in the Bible. He was instructed to go to the Straight Street in Damascus, where Saul was, and lay his hands on him. He had his reservations. I wonder how many times he doubted himself during that walk to that address. But imagine if he hadn’t done it! What I find so remarkable about this story is the important role Ananias played. He set Saul free in a worldwide ministry! – the power of prayer, what incredible things it can accomplish.
A special encounter
After years of prayer in Bahrain, a special moment arrived. Assie was standing on the sidewalk with a friend while buses full of Arab people were leaving for Mecca for the Hajj. There was a traffic jam and they were standing close to a car with open windows. An Arab man asked, “Are you also going to the Hajj?” “No, but are you?” “I’ve already been there, I’m not going again for a second time.” “I am already pure, so I am not going again.” He was grumbling a little. Then he suddenly said, “Given the situation in the world, I am thinking about becoming a Christian.”
Assie prayed in that split second, “Lord, what should I say before the traffic starts moving again?” She just managed to say, “Ask the Lord Jesus if He will reveal Himself to you.” And the car drove away.
Later, back with the Arab pastor, she shared this. “This is impossible,” he said. “They are not even allowed to say such things in public.” A converted Muslim woman added, “This is unimaginable.” But for Assie, it was a smile from God, a sign of healing. “God is doing something. Keep praying, guys, the door is ajar, we must continue.”
From Bahrain to Dubai
After Bahrain, Assie went to Oman, where she set up a house of prayer that functioned for ten years. But she had no desire to go to Dubai. “I hate Dubai, such a bubble of prosperity and wealth. I always felt sick in that city.”
Until she was no longer allowed to enter Bahrain. After being interrogated until half past three in the morning, she got her passport back with the message: “You are no longer allowed to enter the country.” An Arab pastor suggested: “Then go to Dubai.”
“Oh no, I’m definitely not going to Dubai,” she protested. But a few days earlier, during prayer, she had strongly felt God saying, “The door through which you entered Bahrain will close, another door will open. Be flexible, you will be faced with a surprise.” Her brother had also prayed prophetically for Dubai before she left, which she dismissed at the time. “Our prophesying is imperfect, she thought, this can’t be right. I thought: my brother is wrong this time, but it turned out to be a pure word.” At the airport, she realized: that door is literally closed, I am now going to Dubai, and God is opening new doors.
In Dubai, she came into contact with a group of pastors who had a plan: to find 31 churches that would pray 24 hours a day, one day a month, so that all of Dubai would be in prayer every day – a chain of prayer. “I said: then I also want to train all the prayer coordinators that each church has. I want to organize conferences on prayer.” She has done this work with many churches. Every year they organized a large conference. This was truly a highlight of her work.
@Wim van Putten