Copy of a Letter by Janneken Munstdorp's Own Hand, in the Year 1573

My dear father and my dear mother, I wish you a true understanding, and a contrite spirit in your hearts, to fear God, for an affectionate greeting.

After all cordial and proper greeting, I now leave you, my dear and most affectionately beloved father and my dear, beloved mother, not forgetting all my dear brothers and sisters, whom I must now leave for the Lord's sake; and I do not expect to see your faces any more in this world, because I am imprisoned and bound here, and this for the Lord's sake, and am daily expecting to be sentenced to death.

So, my dear father, since the Lord through His great grace has still given me time to write you a little, I am moved to tell you about my bodily health; so I write to you that I am still tolerably well according to the flesh, and after the spirit I am still determined to hold to the living, almighty, eternal God, and not to depart from Him for any tortures which they may inflict on me, for it is written: "Whoever shall confess me before men, him I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven." So I know that this God will deliver me out of all this sorrow, if I only remain faithful to Him, and seek no other God besides Him; I therefore hope that He will help me finish the good work He has begun in me, so that His name may be praised through me.

So, my dear father and mother, I wish from my heart that it were also with you according to the spirit, as it still is with me at this present time; it would be a great joy to me if you should yet come to fear the Lord. Oh, that you might yet at the last hour work in the Lord's vineyard! Though you seem to be free, and are not imprisoned, you are not certain of a single hour as to how long you will live.

Therefore, my love, you also are commanded to watch; for in the last day you will have no excuse that you can make, that you did not know which is the narrow way that leads to eternal life, of which Esdras speaks, on the one side of which there is water, and on the other side fire; and there are many who know this way, but few who walk it.

So, dear father and mother, water and fire are set before us, and we may choose which we will, life or death. So, dear father, we have here in this life sought the salvation of our souls, that we may exchange this death for eternal life, this corruptible for the incorruptible; for the sufferings of this world are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed to us. Though we are here robbed of all men, and counted as a sport and a spectacle to all the world, they shall yet have to confess in the last day that they shed the innocent blood; they shall then see whom they have pierced. Though we are counted poor here, we shall yet have much wealth, if we fear God and shun sin.

So, my dear father and mother, though you must now sometimes hear that I am imprisoned for a base sect, or heretical doctrine, which I suppose is said and has been said, many things are said about us which are not true, you well know that it is not for any evil, but that it is only for the sake of our salvation. Though we are despised here, it is nevertheless the genuine truth, and there shall never any other be found; I have sought nothing else in this.

If I did not want to be saved, I should seek an easy life as gladly as others do; for whoever would fear God must expect all of these, tribulation, suffering, bonds, and imprisonment, and we can nowhere have a free place; for it is given to us not only to believe in God, but also to suffer for His name. So, my dear father and mother, though I must die here for Christ's sake, and men say all manner of evil about me, do not let it cause you sorrow; for if they have called the Lord Beelzebub, how much more those who believe in Him? So do not be surprised, and only deal kindly with my little child, which I bore and gave birth to in great sorrow here in my bonds, which I love as my own soul, so that I cannot write of it without tears, when I think of my dear husband, of whom I bore it, and that I must now leave it here. But the Lord knows why He has so ordered it that I had to leave a little orphan child here. I commend it to you, and to Him who created and made it; I trust that He will not let it be wronged, though it is here deprived of father and mother. The Lord well knows how I bore it, and for whose sake it was; so show a parent's care for it, my dear father and you, dear mother; as long as you live, show the love which you bear to me to my dear child; whoever loves the tree will also love the branches.

Oh, oh! that the Lord would take it, what a great joy it would be to me, since I must die. O that it had been the will of the Lord that I could yet have brought it up! In what great regard I should have held it for my dear husband's sake; though I should have suffered want with it, I should not have parted with it; but the will of the Lord be done. I am possibly not fit to offer up a sacrifice to the Lord; He has perhaps some purpose with me, that He still allows me to be confined here. I did not think that I would remain in confinement here so long. So, dear father, I was much afraid of long imprisonment, and it has now come upon me, which grieves me greatly, since I well know that the expense here is very great, and that I am a great burden to my sister; for she has great trouble and expense here, though I know that she does it gladly from the heart. But, my dear father, I know that her means are not great, and yet I do not know how to thank her fully for it, nor have I ever deserved from her what she has shown and given me; for she has shown her love in time of need; one sometimes has friends indeed, till he needs them. In time of need one will know his friends. Oh, that I had been taken away at the first, so that you would not have needed to have any expense on my account. But, my dear father and mother, I hope that you will not leave me in need; I hope that you will help my sister in paying for the board, though I wrote you in the letter that it should remain, that you should keep it for my child.

My father, you might well think that we did not have much to live on, since we did not have much when we were married, and our married life did not last long. Therefore I thought that you should keep what there was, though it is not much, for my child; and since you wrote that my sister would care for me, I thought that you were helping me in that, though my sister has done her best to help me, and I know that it is a great burden for her. And they have given me much, so that I should not go into the dungeon, which I was willing to do, because it lasts so long, and the expense here is so great, though one is also not confined without expense in the dungeon, in which one also cannot see; so they do not wish to leave me in want, nor to let me go into the dungeon because of the money.

Further, dear father, I inform you that I sent letters with Hans van der Dam, but I have not yet received an answer. If I am taken away from here, make inquiries whether there is still anything left; it would stand my child in good stead. I also wrote my child a testament, to remember me and its father by it. When it comes to the years of understanding, and you are still alive, have it read the same sometimes, that it may know why its father and mother died. Further, dear father, I know nothing special to write you; but if I should write you no more, and I should soon enter on my journey, write me a letter quickly, how it is with you and my child; and if you should hear from Hans, have my brother Passchier write a letter to send to his father.

Nothing special for this time, but I hereby take leave and say farewell to you, my dear father and mother, and to all my dear brothers and sisters; and for my sake do not forget my dear child; always remember me by it. Once more, adieu; greet my lady very heartily, and tell her I thank her much for all the favor she has shown me; the Lord will leave no good deed unrewarded. Herewith farewell; kiss my child for me, and often visit it. And greet Pleuntjen and Lieven most cordially in my name, and tell them that I ask them to do the best with the child, for I have the confidence concerning them that they love it for my sake, for it is a pledge of love, which I love more than all else that is upon the earth. I hope now soon to follow my husband, if it is the Lord's will. Oh, that I might have died with him, to obtain the kingdom of God together with him. Herewith farewell, my dear father and mother; I commend you to God.

By me, your dear daughter, imprisoned at Antwerp for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

JANNEKEN MUNSTDORP.