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Life Overview Dec. 10, 1967...Born in Dordrecht, Holland Sept. 1973...Joins Children Of God with her mother Esther 1975...Her mother, Esther, marries Peter Picture who legally adopts Rejoice 1973-1976...Travels around Europe with parents 1976...Moves to Indonesia with family 1981...Meets Jonathan for the first time in Jakarta 1983...Dedicates herself to Jesus and the Family March,1984...Flees to USA from Indonesian persecution Oct. 7,1984...Marries Jonathan in Copenhagen, Denmark at 16 yrs old 1986...Jonathan & Rejoice move to Japan. 2001...Temporarily moves to Melbourne, Australia for Jonathan’s kidney transplant Feb 2 2002...Graduates to Heaven at 34 yrs old just weeks prior to planned return to Japan.
Life Overview
Dec. 10, 1967...Born in Dordrecht, Holland
Sept. 1973...Joins Children Of God with her mother Esther
1975...Her mother, Esther, marries Peter Picture who legally adopts Rejoice
1973-1976...Travels around Europe with parents
1976...Moves to Indonesia with family
1981...Meets Jonathan for the first time in Jakarta
1983...Dedicates herself to Jesus and the Family
March,1984...Flees to USA from Indonesian persecution
Oct. 7,1984...Marries Jonathan in Copenhagen, Denmark at 16 yrs old
1986...Jonathan & Rejoice move to Japan.
2001...Temporarily moves to Melbourne, Australia for Jonathan’s kidney transplant
Feb 2 2002...Graduates to Heaven at 34 yrs old just weeks prior to planned return to Japan.
Leaves behind as of Feb 2004
Jonathan, Australian 42 yrs old
Jodi (Michelle) 18
Christian 16
Maria 13
Catherine 10
James 8
Left to Right: Maria, James, Jonathan, Catherine, Christian, absent:Michelle
Family
Peter Picture, American, 51
Esther, Dutch 58
SGA Rose (Shaye) 26
SGA Richard 24
Rejoices Story
Rejoice joined the Family at the age of 5 with her mother Esther in Amsterdam in September 1973. After Esther got saved, she witnessed to Rejoice who also got saved. One time, Esther was witnessing to a passenger in the bus with Rejoice. Esther gave him a Holy Ghost class and Rejoice overheard it and right there and then said she wanted the Holy Spirit as well. She was always very bold and knew what she wanted. Before joining Esther would teach Rejoice the classes she had learned after visiting the home, and they would memorize the set card together. Often brethren would visit them while on road trips. On one occasion, Esther was sad to see them go. Rejoice was standing on the stairs and she quoted the verse „He that forsaketh not all that he hath cannot be my disciple.“ (Luke 14:33) Soon after that both mommy and daughter joined. When they went to Germany, they met Peter Picture. Peter and Esther were married and he adopted Rejoice. He was a great influence on Rejoices life, loving her as his own daughter, taking her on many adventurous witnessing and fun educational experiences. She was a very bold witness and a great provisioner. She even raised her own school tuition by witnessing. She was very lively and outgoing and a great witness. In Indonesia she witnessed to her friends in the neighborhood and at school. She learned to speak Indonesian fluently, and much to the surprise of the native people, even local dialects. In her youth she would often play dumb at first and then shock the locals by blurting out something wild in the local tongue! She leaned to play guitar at six years old and used this talent for Jesus, winning many souls. She first met future husband Jonathan (then Josh) at a NAFM in Jakarta when she was 13 and he 20. No romance then though! Her Jett and early teen years were difficult. She drifted from the Lord somewhat. Although she went out everyday for 2 hours litnessing, she also got involved with local gangs, (rich kids who did joyriding and communicated to each other with CB’s – read the whole story in Hope #2). She was a Sagittarius and used her sharp tongue to tease and shock people and to express her rebellion. She upset the neighbors by noisily riding around the neighborhood on a motorbike or with a convoy. Once one of the boys in the convoy fell out of a car and died, an incident that sobered her up immensely. There were very very few teens in the Family at the time and many young parent adults in Indonesia, seeing Rejoice at her adolescent worst, wondered what our second generation would turn out to be like! The ML „Teen Terrors“ really spoke to her, helping her to decide to rededicate her life to the Lord. She realized that she was going the wrong direction. She often told of the time she attended a National Area Fellowship when she was 15 years old. Having gotten fed up and disillusioned with her system ‘friends’ and all the things she had tried, she was trying to do better. One night at the fellowship an inspiration was held where they were singing ‘My Family, My Family“. This song touched her deeply and moved her to live for Jesus again. At the same fellowship she again met Jonathan and they struck up a friendship there. She soon moved to his home in Surabaya. She would go witnessing in Surabaya with another young disciple and they would act like they were foreign tourists. Since she knew the local language so well, she would pop out with a joke and have the whole bus in stitches. Her jolly spirit broke the ice and she could witness to them. Despite having recommitted herself, she still had some wild teen habits. Jonathan, being pretty conservative at the time, corrected her often! They went witnessing together a lot and she soon fell in love with him, though he didn’t feel the same towards her. He broke her heart by sending her off to her parents when the Indonesian persecution broke, telling her that they had no future together. Heartbroken, she returned to her parent’s home only to be arrested along with them a few days later! After two months of house arrest they moved to the USA where Rejoice got discouraged and again slipped into some old bad habits. Jonathan meanwhile had gone up to Copenhagen, Denmark to work in the East Block. Somewhere along the way the Lord got through to him telling him to marry Rejoice. So he wrote her inviting her to his home and on October 7th 1984 she 16 and he 23 were married. Their oldest child Michelle (Jodi) was born there and they soon left for Japan where they spent the next fifteen years. She had another four children, some of the first TG kids (Third Generation, according to the TRF definition) in the Family. Her commitment to Jesus, marriage and children changed her tremendously. Though still as bright, sunny and cheerful as she always was she settled down to seriously serve Him and others. She was one of the first SGA's to go through the 'Overcoming the Generation Gap' battles. With few Letters on the subject she struggled with this her whole adult life and often felt misunderstood. She was also aware that she also lacked understanding of the older generation. She never gave up though and was a tremendous blessing as a teacher in the school and combo days where her talents were very sought after.
Before joining Esther would teach Rejoice the classes she had learned after visiting the home, and they would memorize the set card together. Often brethren would visit them while on road trips. On one occasion, Esther was sad to see them go. Rejoice was standing on the stairs and she quoted the verse „He that forsaketh not all that he hath cannot be my disciple.“ (Luke 14:33) Soon after that both mommy and daughter joined.
When they went to Germany, they met Peter Picture. Peter and Esther were married and he adopted Rejoice. He was a great influence on Rejoices life, loving her as his own daughter, taking her on many adventurous witnessing and fun educational experiences. She was a very bold witness and a great provisioner. She even raised her own school tuition by witnessing. She was very lively and outgoing and a great witness. In Indonesia she witnessed to her friends in the neighborhood and at school. She learned to speak Indonesian fluently, and much to the surprise of the native people, even local dialects. In her youth she would often play dumb at first and then shock the locals by blurting out something wild in the local tongue! She leaned to play guitar at six years old and used this talent for Jesus, winning many souls.
She first met future husband Jonathan (then Josh) at a NAFM in Jakarta when she was 13 and he 20. No romance then though!
Her Jett and early teen years were difficult. She drifted from the Lord somewhat. Although she went out everyday for 2 hours litnessing, she also got involved with local gangs, (rich kids who did joyriding and communicated to each other with CB’s – read the whole story in Hope #2). She was a Sagittarius and used her sharp tongue to tease and shock people and to express her rebellion. She upset the neighbors by noisily riding around the neighborhood on a motorbike or with a convoy. Once one of the boys in the convoy fell out of a car and died, an incident that sobered her up immensely. There were very very few teens in the Family at the time and many young parent adults in Indonesia, seeing Rejoice at her adolescent worst, wondered what our second generation would turn out to be like!
The ML „Teen Terrors“ really spoke to her, helping her to decide to rededicate her life to the Lord. She realized that she was going the wrong direction. She often told of the time she attended a National Area Fellowship when she was 15 years old. Having gotten fed up and disillusioned with her system ‘friends’ and all the things she had tried, she was trying to do better. One night at the fellowship an inspiration was held where they were singing ‘My Family, My Family“. This song touched her deeply and moved her to live for Jesus again. At the same fellowship she again met Jonathan and they struck up a friendship there. She soon moved to his home in Surabaya. She would go witnessing in Surabaya with another young disciple and they would act like they were foreign tourists. Since she knew the local language so well, she would pop out with a joke and have the whole bus in stitches. Her jolly spirit broke the ice and she could witness to them.
Despite having recommitted herself, she still had some wild teen habits. Jonathan, being pretty conservative at the time, corrected her often! They went witnessing together a lot and she soon fell in love with him, though he didn’t feel the same towards her. He broke her heart by sending her off to her parents when the Indonesian persecution broke, telling her that they had no future together. Heartbroken, she returned to her parent’s home only to be arrested along with them a few days later!
After two months of house arrest they moved to the USA where Rejoice got discouraged and again slipped into some old bad habits. Jonathan meanwhile had gone up to Copenhagen, Denmark to work in the East Block. Somewhere along the way the Lord got through to him telling him to marry Rejoice. So he wrote her inviting her to his home and on October 7th 1984 she 16 and he 23 were married.
Their oldest child Michelle (Jodi) was born there and they soon left for Japan where they spent the next fifteen years. She had another four children, some of the first TG kids (Third Generation, according to the TRF definition) in the Family.
Her commitment to Jesus, marriage and children changed her tremendously. Though still as bright, sunny and cheerful as she always was she settled down to seriously serve Him and others.
She was one of the first SGA's to go through the 'Overcoming the Generation Gap' battles. With few Letters on the subject she struggled with this her whole adult life and often felt misunderstood. She was also aware that she also lacked understanding of the older generation. She never gave up though and was a tremendous blessing as a teacher in the school and combo days where her talents were very sought after.
We, who were fortunate enough to share our lives with her, will never forget how she walked into a room and filled it with such joy. She was always ready with a cheerful smile and a funny joke to lighten our load. With Rejoice you could always find a sympathetic ear or a shoulder to cry on. She stood with her husband though his difficult four years of kidney failure, dialysis, and the eventual kidney transplant.
Her son James said, „Mommy is the most beautiful lady in the whole world. Not even Jennifer Aniston is as pretty as she is!“ These few childlike words sum up how we feel. Her life was beautiful in its sacrificial nature. Her memory lives on in our hearts and lives.
One of Rejoices hobbies, which really brought out her personality, was balloon sculpturing. She would dress up in full clown costume with red nose and make-up to create balloons and witness. Whether she was performing at an orphanage or old folk’s home Mama Rej (her clown name) enthusiastically brought joy to many hearts.
She was one cool lady. She talked like a teenager and was always able to relate well to her children and Family young people, amongst whom she influenced many to serve Jesus. The young Japanese mothers of her own age whom she witnessed to and befriended loved her and looked up to her as an example of a wife and mother that they should emulate.
She had an insight into what people needed and often made craft presents to give as gifts to those she knew. She used her many talents to show that she and the Lord loved them.
In the combo days she was a wonderfully creative teacher who made learning so much fun and she poured her heart and soul into her groups.
Rejoice was an excellent cook. People would e-mail her from across the world for her muffin recipes. She could throw together a few ingredients or leftovers, add her touch of love, and somehow end up with an incredibly delicious meal. She was the type that made the house a home and was constantly doing creative projects towards this. She was also a great seamstress and made quilts for newborn babies.
During her time in Australia (her first visit there) she had a profound influence on Jonathan’s family. It was like her last final witness. She was such a good sample and so loving a caring towards them that they grew to love her deeply. One of Jonathan’s sisters who was noted to be quite skeptical and sharp-tongued was overwhelmed by Rejoice's kindness and positiveness under the difficult circumstances of Jonathan’s sickness. After Rejoices graduation she told Jonathan the following: "I am amazed at Rejoice's grace and dignity in spite of her difficult circumstances. I have never heard her complain or gripe once. She is always cheerful and positive. If it was me, I would have been bitching about things constantly. On New Years Eve, just before her hemorrhage, my New Years resolution was to be more like her."
Well that just about sums things up. All of us want to be more like her.
Since going to Heaven, she immediately went to work and some amazing things started to happen. Oldest daughter Michelle who had been drifting waywardly since leaving the Family, suddenly did a U-turn and settled down and enrolled in school. The other kids found renewed vision for their schooling and began witnessing, soul winning and following-up like never before.
Rejoice also seems to have had a hand in the graduation of both her grandmothers who both passed on within a month of her. No doubt she greeted them There! We have certainly felt her presence and help from the spirit world and have heard from her many times.
Though we are heartbroken at her sudden departure, rather than mourning her ‘death’, we have been celebrating a wonderful life lived to the full for Him and others. Her funeral held in Melbourne on February 8th and attended by over one hundred guests was just such a testimony.
So why did Jesus take her and what is she doing in Heaven? We asked Rejoice to speak to us about this and this is what she said:
(Question from kids: ‘What job does mommy have in Heaven?’) Let me explain to you what I know so far. Some of you kids know what’s happening in the Family right now about the board vision. You know about the Board vision………. So now me and some other people from the Family have been appointed to the Board up here in Heaven to help the Family to be a better witness and to win more people to Jesus. To help the Family be a better witness, to help the teens be better witnesses, to help the kids and the Jetts to be better witnesses. It’s like that in Heaven. The Lord has called a lot of Family members to strengthen His army in Heaven. I’m one of those called to help the Family be a better witness. Children, if I was on earth what board would I be on? The one that would most suit my talents. It’s not so hard to imagine the kind of things I would do here.
1TH.4:13 -- But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (passed away), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 1TH.4:14 -- For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 1TH.4:18 -- Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Quotes on Death Death from this life is just graduation from this grade. Death is our graduation!--We've finished our schooling in this grade & we pass on to the next grade! For us who love the Lord, death is a relief, release, freedom, promotion, graduation, & passing on to a better realm!
1TH.4:14 -- For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1TH.4:18 -- Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Quotes on Death
Death from this life is just graduation from this grade. Death is our graduation!--We've finished our schooling in this grade & we pass on to the next grade!
For us who love the Lord, death is a relief, release, freedom, promotion, graduation, & passing on to a better realm!
Let’s keep in touch!:
Jonathan: all4one_9@hotmail.com
Peter: cpvangorder@mailandnews.com
Rose: ajayroserich@hotmail.com
Richard: reachrichy@yahoo.com
