Looking back A new season has started. For us this will be the third year in which our lives have been drastically changed. Two years ago Katja gave up her work as a lawyer, we sold our house and moved to England so Jurgen could study Theology there. As a family we started to prepare for a life as missionaries. We became members of the Bridgnorth Baptist Church. Jurgen visited the 'Into Africa' seminar, organised by Africa Inland Mission (AIM). In June 2012 we applied for AIM's membership.

Almost a year ago we returned to the Netherlands, a step we had not anticipated at that time. Due to a shortage of students, Jurgen's college was not able to offer him a second year. A solution was found in distance learning: Jurgen now studies for his Diploma level at the London School of Theology (LST). Friends in Holland offered us to use their house for free for over 4 months. We decided to go back to the Netherlands, mainly to cut costs. After having moved house 3 times in the past year we are glad we can probably stay at our current address until we go to Africa.

Jurgen's studies

Alas Jurgen was not able to commence his studies at LST at the start of September. The school needed to receive a provisional list of marks first. In November he started his first module of the second year. Studying via distance learning has not been easy at first. Distance learning involves more reading and at LST there are more modules in a year with less credits. Jurgen is now working on his last compulsory modules. The good thing is that through all the reading, Jurgen learns many worthwhile things that are relevant to missions. We have interesting discussions on various topics.

Interview in Nottingham

We are thrilled to let you know we hope to visit England in October! We had to wait long and hard, but now we are ready for our final interview at AIM Europe's headquarters in Nottingham. The interview is set for 8 October and will take 2 - 3 hours at least. The interview is held before a panel, normally consisting of the Director of AIM Europe, the Personnel Director and his colleague and a member of the Board of Trustees. We have been asked to hold a presentation on the topic, "The needs and opportunities in Africa, and the way we believe God has prepared and equipped us to respond".

Of course we are not just happy we can move forward in the procedure with AIM, but foremost that this provides a good opportunity to meet friends in England. We have planned our visit from 5 - 21 October, so we should have enough time to see many of you.

Should we be admitted as members of AIM, we will get more clarity on where we could serve on the mission field. A personal profile will be sent to those responsible for overseeing teams working in Africa, to hear what the possibilities are. This information will be returned to AIM Europe, after which we hope to hear where there are opportunities for us. You understand: These are very exciting times for us! We will do our best to keep you informed throught our newsletters and our website.

We hope to see you soon!

Blessings,


Jurgen& Katja Hofmann
Vanya, Issa, Abbey & Dani