Ina van der Plas-Terra
By Hanno van der Plas and Ina van der Plas-Terra, Joure, the Netherlands
The Urantia Book has been available in the Dutch language since 1997 thanks to the efforts of Henk and Baukje Begemann’s team who worked on the translation for over 20 years. Het Urantia Boek was published as a hardcover book and was initially distributed by Frontier. The company went bankrupt in late 2016, and distribution stopped until August 2018.
Because of Hanno’s involvement as a board member with the national affiliate of Urantia Association International, Stichting Urantia Nederlandstalig (UAI/SUN), and his personal experience with online distribution and online entrepreneurship, he was approached by Henk Mylanus, the Foundation’s manager of European book sales. It was during the 2018 Urantia Association International Conference in Noordwijkerhout. It was a special meeting and conversation in which Henk asked him if he would take on the distribution of Het Urantia Boek. The experience of the conference was amazing, and the request to handle book distribution was icing on the cake!
We (husband-and-wife team Hanno and Ina) felt a great honor and responsibility in taking on this project together. After the conference we made preparations, built the website heturantiaboek.nl [2], found suitable packaging material, and designed a bookmark to include with each book.
Finally, we were ready, and the first book shipped in August 2018—a milestone! Since then, sales in the Netherlands and Belgium have been growing every quarter. We are trying new ways to bring Het Urantia Boek to the attention of potential readers via the website, UAI-SUN, and social media platforms such as Facebook [3] and Instagram [4]. We also post a daily quote from the book on Pinterest. [5]
Every book distributed is handled with love and packaged with care. We are so thankful for the privilege of sending the revelation to new readers. The bookmark we include has links to information about The Urantia Book, affiliated sites and organizations, and how to contact study groups.
Many readers have expressed that the teachings of The Urantia Book have touched them deeply, have often changed their lives, have inspired them to achieve spiritual growth, and have given them increased understanding of the value of human life. We sincerely hope that many more new readers will discover the ennobling message of The Urantia Book.