Newsletter Jurgen & Katja Hofmann, December 2023

It is a privilege to update you again on our adventures in Madagascar.

We've Booked the Tickets!

How quickly time goes by! We are already moving towards the new year. That also means that 14 February is approaching, which is the date we hope to cash our plane ticket to the Netherlands. After three years, we are coming back to the Netherlands for some months of furlough.

We have set aside a somewhat longer period for this furlough. We have several reasons for this. One reason is that Vanya will be taking her final exams. Issa will also take an exam (but not all of them yet). That means that, especially for the first few months, it won't be a holiday for them. They have studied their modules very well, but that doesn't mean they can sit back and relax.

During the furlough, we also hope to preach and give presentations about our work on Madagascar. We’ve noticed that maintaining contacts can become more difficult the longer you stay away—and three years is quite a long period. That is why we hope to give some presentations, across the country. Meanwhile, the weekends in March and April are already fully booked. We are really looking forward to catching up with everyone again.

Still Here

Before we go on furlough, we have some time to finalise things here on Madagascar. That sounds very promising ... But wrapping up actually means something like making sure we can pick up where we left off without much hassle when we get back.

Samibivelo

Jurgen hopes to travel to the village this month. He is going together with Vanya. They hope to have a great time together as we expect this will be Vanya's last trip to the village for now.

In Maroamboka, they hope to meet Sambivelo. The hospital in Ambovo has donated another box full of medicines and other medical items. Malaria medicines will be especially welcome. We don't really know at the moment how Sambivelo is doing because we can't reach him. Maybe his phone is broken, or the transmission tower has sunk into the ground.... You never know :) We'll just bring a new mobile phone for him just to be sure.

As recently as September, Jurgen spoke to Sambivelo in person. He said he was doing well and that he was also going back to school. People are starting to discover that he has a good grasp of healthcare. Every now and then, it is difficult because, as we predicted earlier, there are also people who want to take advantage of the fact that Sambivelo is still young. Even the official doctor down the road already let it be known that he is not too keen on the help Sambivelo offers to people. The doctor did not even approve of Sambivelo testing people for Malaria.

We had also anticipated this jealousy, and had prepared Sambivelo for it. When the doctor called him out, Sambivelo said he was doing this with the permission and help of iaban'i Vanya (Jurgen, that is), and the other elders in the village. So, Jurgen hopes to speak to him again later this month and give him a heart-to-heart.

Our House in the Village

Jurgen will also bring various building materials. The wooden house could use some refurbishment. At least we hope to reattach the metal plates on the roof properly before the cyclone season arrives again.

Furthermore, Jurgen and Vanya will give the house a good cleaning.

We hope, our the furlough, to start using the house for Malagasy missionary students. Several initiatives are already under way in which enthusiastic Malagasy Christians are being taught about doing missionary work among their own countrymen.

Translation Work

Meanwhile, a good start has also been made on the translation of the book of Genesis. The first five chapters are digital and ready to be re-checked.

In the previous newsletter, we wrote that Menja (our translator) really wanted to have a laptop. We thought that to be a good idea and purchased one, which we gave to him in September. We hope it may be a blessing to him.

You can view the translations via our website:
Genesis [ https://www.jurgenenkatja.nl/nl/genesis-in-malagasy-antanala ]
The Book of Acts [ https://www.jurgenenkatja.nl/en/acts-mg-antanala-dialect/ ]
The Gospel of Luke [ https://www.jurgenenkatja.nl/luke-mg-antanala-dialect/ ]
Al het werk [ https://www.jurgenenkatja.nl/#translations ]

Iaban’i Velotia the King

You may also remember that in the last newsletter we told you the amazing news about the King of Beono. He had an impressive confrontation with the spiritual world. An evil spirit had taken shelter within the daughter of iaban'i Velotia. The daughter was delivered by the power of Jesus and this made the king decide to follow Jesus together with his family.

ALast September, Jurgen interviewed him, and that interview can be seen online, including subtitles:

Iabani Velotia's Amazing Testimony! [ https://www.jurgenenkatja.nl/amazing ]

Car

We would also like to thank you for the generous donations we have received for the maintenance of the car/motorbike. As we have explained before, here on Madagascar, cars get a lot of wear and tear and that means an ongoing cost in terms of maintenance/repairs. But since our appeal, several generous donations have come in, so we don't have to worry about this for the time being. We are grateful that you have also come alongside us in this way!

Thank You!

We hope that after reading this letter, you, like us, are also looking forward to what the future holds. We can make plans but one thing we know for sure: "what the Lord intends, happens." (Proverbs 19:21)

We feel privileged to receive so much support in our work.

Thank you for your prayers, compassion, and support! Together with you, we want to keep trusting in the Lord! For God is good, always! And always God is good!

We sincerely wish you God's blessing!

Katja & Jurgen
Vanya, Issa, Abbey, Dani & Simeon Hofmann.