Author: Jurgen & Katja

On the Seashore
By Jurgen & Katja

On the Seashore

n Thursday 22 November we arrived in Den Helder (The Netherlands), where we have lived before our move to England. Friends, who are away on a 5 month mission trip, have borrowed us their house. The house is quite big and there is a playground out front. Jurgen even has a seperate study!

The coming months will be used for study as Jurgen starts his second year of Theology. We would also like to take the time to strenghten the relationships with family and friends. Our contact with Africa Inland Mission (AIM) will be intensified. An interview will be planned for January and we begin our orientation to the possibilities for us within AIM.

To prepare ourselves further as a family, we will study a special online curriculum about Bible story telling, a way in which many peoples are introduced to the Word of God.

Accepted at LST
By Jurgen & Katja

Accepted at LST

This week we received a letter of acceptance from London School of Theology. Jurgen can finally begin his second year of study. We are very happy about that. For the Diploma Level Jurgen needs to complete at least 9 modules.

The first module is titled: ‘Encountering God and Neighbour’ and deals with our relationship with God and our fellow man. Many Old Testament books will be studied, especially Genesis, Micha and Proverbs.

The theological books in this module relate to questions of origins, possessions, Old Testament Spirituality, poverty and guilt.

A Cozy Little Cottage
By Jurgen & Katja

A Cozy Little Cottage

On the third of October we moved from West Farm Cottage in England to a little cottage in Holland. The journey took us about 20 hours. The first few days were spent unpacking boxes, but now we have settled into our nice little cottage. The cottage, which used to be a pigsty, belongs to Katja’s mother who moved to the old farmhouse three years ago. The children have quite some room to play, and the ducks have found their way to granny’s pond.

Since last week the children’s lessons have been resumed. All goes well, although it is not an easy transition for us. We miss England and our friends there, and we have not returned to the Netherlands to stay. We all realise we are only here temporarily.

Please pray for our family as we settle back into Holland, especially for peace as we seek to trust the Lord to unfold His plan with our lives

One more time…
By Jurgen & Katja

One more time…

Time flies, especially when it is almost time to say goodbye. We have now less than two weeks ahead of us before we return to the Netherlands. It is a time of looking ahead, looking back and goodbyes.

We look forward to spending time with family and friends in Holland. We also long to smell the salty air of the sea, to walk on the dyke and the beach. It will be good to be back, but at the same time we realise things will not be the same as when we left. We are not returning to Holland to stay, it is just a pitstop before we move on to our destination.

Looking back we are enormously thankful to have been in England these past 13 months. We have experienced what it is like to make a fresh start in a different country with a different culture. We have had a taster of living away from loved ones. We feel we leave richer people in many ways. We have gained more trust in the Lord to take care of us when we go to the mission field, as we have experienced his care over the last year. We know God is faithful!

Then goodbyes, certainly not the easiest part. Having become richer means we are leaving behind people who and places that have become very dear to us. So we hope to enjoy every minute of what time rests us here. One more time to the swimming pool, going blackberrying, goodbyes in church, one more meal with friends… thank you all so very much for being part of our lives!

Application LST
By Jurgen & Katja

Application LST

Last week Jurgen was notified that the last marks of his studies have been determined. Jurgen received an overall mark of 61%, with which he is glad. It has not been easy to study at university level for the first time – and in English – but his efforts were rewarded.

Now that the last marks are known, the application for the distance learning course of the London School of Theology can be posted. This was taken care of yesterday. Jurgen hopes to commence his second year of study shortly after our arrival in Holland next month.

Although we regret that Jurgen can no longer study at Trinity School of Ministry, we are thankful for this next step. Distance learning frees us to be wherever we need to be and for Jurgen to study at his own pace. Thus we have the time to invest in our contact with missionary organisation AIM and to orientate ourselves as to where the Lord wants us to serve him.

Continuation of Home Education
By Jurgen & Katja

Continuation of Home Education

29 August 2012

Our planned departure to Holland is drawing near. It is time to make plans regarding the education of our children.

In England we started to home educate our children. We are very content teaching the children ourselves. Being able to choose what, when and how they learn is a great privilege.

The children have an abundance of subjects to study. They not only learn about the history and culture of Holland and England, but also about world history and cultures around the world. The company we purchase most of our curriculum from, Sonlight, is very mission orientated.

The children also enjoy being taught at home. They like it that they learn a lot in a relative short time, and they appreciate the time spent together as a family.

Furthermore we do not want to put the children through all too many changes in their schooling. In Holland we will be living in several places and do not exactly know when we will go to the mission field. Home education provides us with stability and continuity, which is much desired. We expect to teach the children ourselves on the mission field also, making the transition less impacting when education stays the same.

However, laws and regulations in the Netherlands regarding the education of children are quite different from England’s rules. In Holland children are subject to compulsory school attendance, with only a few exceptions. The only exception that can apply to us is making a formal notice of objection to the orientation of the schools within reasonable distance of the home. A Compulsory Education Officer (CEO) checks whether the exception is lawful. Depending on the CEO and the local municipality home education can be made very hard. If you would like to read more about this, you can visit the website of the Dutch Home Education Association. Your prayers concerning the safeguarding of the home education of our children in Holland is much appreciated.

Back to the Netherlands
By Jurgen & Katja

Back to the Netherlands

21 August 2012

There is an important change ahead: after having lived in England for 13 months we will return to Holland. We had not expected to go back so soon, but our financial situation has urged us to go this autumn.

Since Jurgen will continue his studies by distance learning, we no longer need to live in England. Over the last year the euro has dropped considerably, so our money is worth a lot less in pounds. Our housing costs have also increased, which prompted us to think hard about finances. Finally we have come to the conclusion it is no longer wise to stay.

We hope to go back on October 3rd. We will then live in a small holiday cottage that belongs to Katja’s mother. After that we will return to Den Helder, from where we moved here a year ago. Missionary friends have offered us to use their house while they are away on a 5 month mission trip. They hope to return in the spring of 2013, by which time we hope to know when we will step out into mission ourselves.

We look forward to seeing our family and friends in Holland again, but we will certainly miss the many friends we have made here. We count ourselves rich to have been embraced by the people we have met in school, church and in so many other places.

Certificate Awarded
By Jurgen & Katja

Certificate Awarded

18 July 2012

On 30th June Jurgen was awarded his certificate in ‘Theology and Ministry’ from the Trinity School of Ministry in Rugby. We went to Rugby as a family for a very enjoyable day. Students gave their testimonies about their study experience and there was a meal after the official part of the day.

Sadly, the bible school was not able to offer Jurgen and the other students from his year the diploma level. Government rules and a shortage of students were the main problems. Although this is a regretful circumstance we are in no way sorry that Jurgen has studied at this school over the last year. He, but also we as a family, have been enriched en strengthened in our faith and in our longing to serve the Lord on the missionfield.

The official transcript is still to follow, but we can proudly say Jurgens overall grade is above average.

At the moment we rejoice in the fact that Jurgen has more time for family life and leisure activities, but he hopes to take up studying at diploma level at a different school shortly.

Application AIM
By Jurgen & Katja

Application AIM

6 June 2012

After our return to England, half April, we have received application forms from Africa Inland Mission (AIM). On the forms we apply for a membership of AIM. After having shared information this is the logical next step when we wish to go into mission with AIM.

After having given the above a lot of thinking, prayer and consultation we have decided to apply for AIM´s membership. So now we have to take the first step to fill in the (rather extensive) application forms.

We have started filling in the forms right away, but Jurgen does not have enough time to do this at the moment. He is at the end of his third trimester of Bible School and the assignments take a lot of effort and engagement. We hope to finish the application forms this month and send them in. Representatives of AIM will contact us to let us know what else is required of us.

The Last Trimester
By Jurgen & Katja

The Last Trimester

April 20th, 2012

We just spent the Easter Holiday in the Netherlands. It was good to meet with family and friends there and to smell the sea again. Apart from taking a break, we have made some progress towards the mission field.

In the Netherlands we have had a first official interview with representatives of AIM (Africa Inland Mission). It was a good and fruitful conversation. We will be sent the application papers for a membership of AIM shortly.

Jurgen has started his last trimester at the Trinity School of Theology. He is studying the modules ‘The Development of Christian Faith in History’ and ‘Introduction to Religious Diversity’. Jurgen is quite thrilled with these modules since they are so relevant to our longing to serve the Lord abroad.