The Emmy Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by the married couple, Esther and Martin. The mission of the Emmy Foundation is to foster health, healing, and wellness for people of all ages in a compassionate and loving environment consistent with the Christian principles on which we were founded.
Esther is a certified Art Therapist. She worked for multiple missionary agencies in Russia, the United Kingdom and in the Netherlands.
Martin is a professional and certified Electrician, Sound engineer, IT Specialist and Biblical Counselor by trade. He worked for multiple missionary agencies in the US, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Serbia, Poland, Croatia, former Czechoslovakia and more.

However, It’s easy to say that you’re a great person, but we do believe it’s better to be humble and let other people do the talking for us. So, that’s why we would like to share some recommendations that others wrote about us:
(Written bij Marjolijn)
Dear Esther, thank you very much for the therapy sessions. Thank you for your patience, wise insights, creative ideas and confidence in my process. I have indeed gone a long way, but they were life lessons that I learned. I wish you God’s blessing in the beautiful work you do.
(Written by Rev. Darryl Joseph Moss)
Martin has been through some very hard times in his life which has made him a compassionate and caring person. He is also constantly thinking about how to further God’s kingdom on earth. His practical skills are put to good use when advancing the mission. He is not just a ‘Sunday’ Christian, but a daily Christian. He is a very down-to-earth Christian, which is refreshing! He is also very hardworking and will see a job through. I would compare him to the wise servant who invested the master’s talents and made some more. (Mt 25:14-30).
(Written bij Elena Butrina)
Esther was my student for over 2 years, when she lived in Russia, in Novosibirsk, and studied Russian at the “Респект – 2000” Language School. Esther, from the first days of her studies, showed herself to be a responsible, hardworking, motivated student, as well as an honest and principled person. Her progress in learning the language was evident from the first months. Of course, she is talented in learning languages, as she knows and speaks fluently not only in Russian, but also in English, Frisian, Dutch, … Over the two years of our regular meetings, I discovered for myself that she is a very creative girl, (she draws beautifully, sews, knits, and she is also a great musician, plays the saxophone), and she’s just a very interesting person, with a good sense of humor. Esther loves God and trusts Him and wants to be close to Him and serve Him. Esther is also a generous person, she loves to help people who need help. She is a good friend, loyal and reliable as a friend, colleague, employee. Esther has empathy, she is an attentive and empathetic conversationalist. I really like that she loves to learn and learn something new. She is always motivated for more personal development.
(Written by Pastor Kent Staton)
I firmly believe that Martin and Esther are Spirit filled and guided, born-again followers of Jesus whose desire is to please Him in everything they do. I have witnessed and personally experienced their sacrificial generosity on many occasions. They have a sincere passion to help people draw closer to the Lord, giving of themselves to help see that happen. They both have an extensive knowledge of the Scripture and are firmly grounded in the truths therein – not just in word, but in deed as well.
(Written by Evelien Merkx)
Esther is a person who is fully committed to her goals if she has chosen them. She has experience working abroad and is interested in the world of others. She is skilled at analyzing what is needed and converting it into action. In her posture she has a calm, pleasant appearance that invites you to tell your story. She can listen without prejudice and has enough experience to convert this into visual works. She gives you the feeling that you can be there as you are, which is a nice basis to connect to. In summary, Esther has her heart in the right place and is an addition to every project.
(Written by Debbie Staton)
From the first time I met Martin, I was impressed with his passion to serve with
complete selflessness. We met in Warsaw, Poland, when he arrived at our church with his great, big, blue van functioning as his home for many months while helping international churches throughout Europe. Skilled in all things technical (sound systems, computers, etc.), Martin helped the tech team immensely. While his skills were impressive, I was greater touched by his heart. Despite suffering a severe back injury and the resulting daily pain he must endure, Martin’s love for the Lord and people did not stop him from driving hundreds of kilometers for months on end to share his skills and talents with those in need.
(Written by Nelleke van Harten, art therapist)
Passionate about her profession and independant are words that characterize Esther. One of her qualities is connecting with people who suffer from a whole range of problems. She is driven in giving the best possible care. To illustrate this: in a groups therapy session all cliënts had their own needs. One cliënt however got seriously stuck. Esther was able to help the cliënt who got stuck, they looked together at what happened in that moment and what was needed for the cliënt to be able to continue. All this time she managed to keep the peace in the group and never lost track of the needs of the other cliënts. Esther is a colleague on which you can build and she can be entrusted with the care of others.
(Written bij Henk Huisman)
I got to know Martin as a friendly and a correct person who considers Christian standards and values of paramount importance. Martin easily establishes contacts and is accessible to everyone. German and English are no obstacles for him to address anyone. A computer also holds no secrets for him, building a website is only a small job. Always willing to help anyone and anywhere. With all the help and compassion, he sometimes loses sight of his personal interests. A go-getter when it comes to getting ideas realized. He also stands his ground when it comes to odd jobs, electricity, plumbing or other jobs are no problem for him. Cutting corners to get a job done is not his way of doing, and he doesn’t expect that from anyone else either. He can lose himself endlessly in his model railroad hobby, which also produces beautiful work. Personally, I always look forward to doing something together again.
(Written by Nathalia)
Dear Esther, I want to thank you very much for all your help and listening ear during our sessions. With you, I dared to open up. I will miss you.
(Written by Sophie van Capellen)
Working with Martin goes in 2 ways, which is a very nice combination for me. You have a serious and professional man in front of you with a lot of knowledge in various matters. He is also very open-minded. But you also have the fun side of Martin, with humor and jokes, fun guaranteed. Don’t take life too seriously and look at its positive sides. As a warning, he can eat your entire chocolate supply!
(Written bij KunstExpress @KunstenHuis De Bilt-Zeist)
Esther is a natural. She uses a wide range of assignments and fits in well with the child his / her needs.
(Written by XXX. Because of privacy and safety concerns of our clients, we cannot share these names online. Sorry for the inconvenience)
Martin has been a Volunteer Spiritual Coach with XXX since 11/2019. XXX is a Multi-media chat platform. We leverage mainline and social media to encourage people to log on and chat with a coach in a one-on-one chat environment. The intent is for the coach to listen, offer advice, prayer and a biblical perspective if possible. The ultimate goal is to make sure that the person hears the Gospel message and has an opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as their savior. In this time, I have seen Martin express patience, kindness and wisdom. He has a gentle and friendly communication style. He has accepted in excess of 700 chat requests through our system. I hold the highest respect and admiration for his ministerial efforts here.
(Written by Gerben Roefs)
I got to know Esther as an inquisitive woman who is very positively developing, both personal and as a professional. In the three years that she has now been on the study program, I have seen her grow in both areas. She is aware of what she is doing, why she is doing it and is able to respond fluently to the needs of the client. She senses that and can act on it. This is largely due to her personality; her soft appearance, soft voice and friendly facial expression ensure that she invites the other to get in touch with her. She listens well to the other and is using that to help the other person.
In addition, she can do this in accordance with her artistic means: visual design. She receives good feedback on her actions from the training and from her internship, both personal actions and therapeutic actions with the means of visual design. Finally, Esther is a go-getter, a woman with a plan, who keeps the goal in mind and is willing and able to work hard to achieve that goal. This is evident, for example, from the fact that in addition to a part-time study, she knows how to combine a family and a workplace, no matter how challenging this may be.
(Written by Liesbeth)
Esther is someone who shapes her work at (the psychiatric clinic) calmly, friendly and faithfully, keeping an eye on who she has in front of her and how she can best connect with that person. Esther is task-oriented; she acts towards the goals she has in mind. She really seems like someone to operate in an independent position.
(Written bij the Kroko’s)
Erik got to know Martin from the train hobby, a hobby they share together and for which many fairs were visited, both as a visitor and as an exhibitor. Martin is usually the organizer, or the big connector who brings parties together and arranges it all. He can and does this from A to Z. When you spend a number of years together, you get to know each other and each other’s families better and better.
As a person, Martin is very generous and open to people of all walks of life. Always looks for the connection with the person, his / her motivation and motives. Has a lot of interest in what the other drives, immerses himself in it, thinks along but allows the other to stay himself. And where he can, he will not fail to help others. We really appreciate this.
Martin has had many setbacks in recent years, and we are glad that we, to a small extent, could have meant something for him during this period. We admire the way in which he has picked up the thread and given the situation a positive turn.
And we are thrilled that he found support, faith and love with Esther. We see that they have an excellent time together, are happy. The step they are now going to take together suits Martin very well and as far as we know Esther now also with her. And we are convinced that they are super suitable for this step, given their nature of helping people out of their sense of charity, their broad interests and empathy, and without self-interest. Much will be asked of them, but they are both willing to give a lot because giving is better suited to them than taking. And it will not be the preparations, everything is meticulously prepared. We wish them the best of luck and where we can, we will support them.