CBI is rejoicing with Anne Bruinsma, director of CBI Australia, as she celebrates more than a decade of service. Since 2002, Anne’s great love for CBI students has driven her to work tirelessly on their behalf, ensuring that they have an opportunity to know Christ through His Word.
Anne and her husband, Bob, began serving as missionaries to indigenous Australians in 1980. Their work with the aboriginal people, who are fourteen times more likely to be incarcerated than non-aboriginals, brought them to the prisons.
In 2001, Anne and Bob saw an advertisement for CBI’s prison discipleship program in The Banner, and they contacted the US offices to begin the process of becoming a satellite campus. CBI Australia was officially founded in 2002 with Anne and Bob at the helm.
In the early days, CBI Australia was a homegrown affair with a card system for records and offices in staff members’ residences. Quickly, however, the campus advanced and progressed, and soon the program was spreading not only across the country but also throughout the South Pacific. Anne coordinated the campus’s diverse staff and ensured that operations were running smoothly.
After Bob passed away in 2008, Ray Hoekzema joined Anne as codirector of the program. It was under their tenure that CBI Australia celebrated its tenth anniversary, a milestone that speaks to the dedication and stability of the ministry.
All who know Anne are blessed by her cheerful spirit. “Working with Anne has been a singularly blessed experience; her humble commitment to serving God and great heart for reaching prisoners is evident in every interaction,” said Cynthia Williams, CBI’s deputy director for international development.
CBI is deeply grateful for Anne’s faithfulness and friendship, and we wish her many more years of joyful service.
To read more about CBI Australia, click here.