Newsletter November 2020

A newsletter from the Hofmann family. From the beautiful and quiet Dutch province, Drenthe.

In the Netherlands

We are doing fine. We are blessed with lovely family and friends around us. Living in the countryside of the Netherlands is peaceful. We can enjoy nice walks. Look for sweet chestnuts and mushrooms in the forest or simply enjoy nature.

The children were really looking forward to the typical Dutch holidays. The eldest still remembered these holidays and now the youngest can also build up memories.

Now it is already time for the Sinterklaas holiday (not to confused with Christmas). It is nice to be able to let the younger children have a taste of these nice times. We did celebrate Sinterklaas on Madagascar, but it all seems just a little bit more exciting in the Netherlands.

While we are still here, Vanya, Issa and Abbey have signed up for a small-scale Christian teen camp in December. They look forward to that. The list of ‘don't forget’ includes an air mattress, sleeping bag and slippers ... We trust it will be very exciting and encouraging for them.

These are the things that you can long for when it isn't available (like on Madagascar).

Work

Jurgen is digitising the Gospel of Luke in the Tanala dialect. You can download and view our materials via our website: Downloads. The work is progressing well. The chapters that Jurgen brought with him to the Netherlands are almost finished. The rest is on Madagascar. Hopefully Jurgen can start right away with the remaining chapters on our return. If all goes well, our translator, Menja, will have finished the translation of the book of Acts as well.

The website has also been completely updated. We now also post our videos on an alternative video channel, called Odysee.com. You can continue to follow us on Youtube, but we hope to reach and encourage more people this way.

When Jurgen started to get some more time on his hands, he started to focus on giving presentations and delivering sermons. In recent months we have been in many different churches. We especially wanted to encourage people, but, as is often the case, we ourselves came home cheerfully and happy. What a privilege that we were welcome in all these different congregations and that we could glorify the Lord as brothers and sisters.

On Madagascar

In the previous letter, we wrote about our friends in the capital, Sue and Kim Midgley. Their children were stranded in Australia for more than 5 months because of the lock-down. But now! The family has been reunited! God is good!

It remains difficult to get good information from Madagascar, especially from our village where few people have internet. Through Facebook we do have regular contact with some friends in Maroamboka and it seems that life there is just going on like ever before. Apart from travel restrictions, they have not noticed much of the Coronavirus. We do miss our neighbours and friends and they let us know that this is mutual.

Meanwhile, the strict measures in Madagascar have largely been lifted and the virus seems to have been suppressed, but many are suffering from poverty. The restrictions that applied particularly hit the lowest paid hard. Many people depend on the money they earn that day; there are little or no reserves. We received the disturbing news that prostitution is on the rise: people no longer see a way out and are forced to sell their bodies. We are concerned about people in places like Ranomafana, who rely almost entirely on tourism. How will we find our friends there?

To Madagascar

Maybe later…. Unfortunately we don't know yet when that will be. The airport in the capital is still not open for regular flights. We hear several reports: Rumours are that the airport will reopen in January or February, but others report that it will not be until March or April.

Tourism on Nosy Be, a large island to the north, is allowed again. We had hoped that we could return home via this island. However, because a relatively large number of reported corona infections in the Netherlands, Dutch tourists are not welcome. We are not tourists, but residents with all the necessary papers. Unfortunately, papers don't always guarantee a smooth process in African countries. The risk of being denied access is not unlikely. The consulate of Madagascar in Holland could not say anything about this situation, They didn’t even know tourism was allowed again. The tourist office on Madagascar wasn’t able to tell us when, and under what conditions, we might be able to return.

We are investigating another possibility. We might be able to enter Madagascar through a humanitarian flight. AIM has good ties with various humanitarian organizations. These organizations regularly fly to Antananarivo with all sorts of relief supplies. Often they have seats available for passengers who do humanitarian work themselves. Last month, we had a colleague who took this opportunity and that went well. After the necessary tests and a short quarantine in a hotel, she can resume her work on Madagascar: Encouraging news! Hopefully we can go with a flight like this as well. This will, however, be in January at the earliest.

Finally

We appreciate your prayers and support. We have also noticed, through all the conversations we’ve had we you, that we are definitely not alone in this period of uncertainty. It is an uncertain time in which we try to find our way. A time in which we sometimes get that typical ‘never ending story’ feeling. Whenever there seems to be some hope of a speedy return to Madagascar, circumstances seem to change. This is very frustrating and it brings tensions that we prefer to keep out of our lives. At the same time, we also know that God is faithful and will not allow us to be tested beyond our strength (1 Corinthians 10:13). We want to hold on to that promise! Again, thank you very much for your support, encouragements, prayers and sweet messages.

Many blessings,
the Hofmann family

Hoofdweg 73a
8383ED Nijensleek, the Netherlands
Whatsapp (Jurgen): +261 34 85 472 82
Temporary phone number (Jurgen): +31 6 27269000


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