Newsletter Jurgen & Katja Hofmann, August 2024

Exams

First things first. The biggest news! Last months, Vanya took her final written and oral exams, and Issa has taken the exams for the English subject.

Vanya had checked her answers at home each time. Overall, she seemed to have done well. But then again, she had prepared herself very well, so we were confident.

But when she received the results, we were still staring at her with big eyes! Vanya passed her exams with distinction cum laude. This means that she passed with an average grade of eight (out of ten). We are very proud of her.

To celebrate, Katja and Vanya went out for ten days. Before Vanya goes to college, she wants to come back to Madagascar with us for another year.

Issa also did very well with his English exam. His grade was also very good and we are super proud of him too! He hopes to complete the rest of his exams in 2026.

Nice Development

In the previous newsletter, we wrote about a Christian printing company in the Netherlands that is willing to print and send our translation work free of charge.

Jurgen has since researched how it can be sent and how others have done so. This turned out not to be so easy. Madagascar is not known for its reliable postal delivery. Through a missionary friend of ours on Madagascar, we came across a Swiss company that can arrange shipping. This company handles all customs clearance and delivers the goods directly to the capital.

Through the Veenendaal-based (the Netherlands) ‘City Bible Foundation’, the translations have now been printed and are being sent to Madagascar via the Swiss transport company. All costs are taken care of through sponsorship set up by, people affiliated with this foundation.

You probably understand that we are extremely happy and grateful about this.

We are very Busy

Katja and I always try to have a cup of tea together in the evening. Just talking through the day, or just enjoying some nice time together. We agreed that we haven't been so busy during a furlough before.

Of course, the preparations for the exams. Yes, we knew that in advance. But that we would be invited so often to preach and giving presentations ... That was a new experience. We were hardly home in the weekends during the first few months.

Recordings of our presentations and sermons can be watched on one of our video platforms:

https://odysee.com/$/invite/@jurgenenkatja

https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jurgenenkatja/

https://www.youtube.com/user/jurgenenkatja

Now you won't hear us complaining. Giving presentations and preaching is something I really enjoy doing. Before we go on furlough, we always ask the Lord how we can encourage and help build up the congregation(s). And you know how it is, when you ask the Lord to use you, you usually don't have to wait long.

We are grateful to have been received so incredibly warmly at so many different churches. We are not finished yet. In September we are invited to about our work in a Dutch Reformed Church, and I am invited to preach in the Full Gospel Congregation in Middenmeer.

Rest

Back in 2011 We have lived in England to do my theology studies. Something we had been looking forward to for a long time was to visit our friends again. We saved up for it and in early August we got in the car and travelled to Calais, French, to take the ferry to Dover.

We were welcome to stay at the house of our friends, Marc & Sue Fensome. It was lovely to see them again after such a long time. Their three little boys are now three grown men! We also got to meet our brothers and sisters at Bridgnorth Baptist Church again. It was a warm reunion!

Before we left for the Netherlands again, we spent a few days in Wales. In 2011 we were also on holiday in Wales as a family—in a tent with six of us (Simeon wasn't there yet). That seemed a bit too cramped now so we opted for a cottage. There we visited smugglers' caves on the coast and other very old structures.

It was good to get away from ‘normal’ life for a while as a family. We enjoyed the holiday and each other.

Financial

During the presentations, we discussed finances as little as possible. We don't want people to get the idea that we only come to raise sponsorship. Our sincere intention each time was to encourage people with the stories of God's work on Madagascar.

Nevertheless, we cannot escape mentioning our financial situation in this newsletter. Since our last furlough, several sponsors have had to withdraw. We are very grateful to them for all the years of support! Unfortunately, we did not get any new sponsors to fill these ‘gaps’. As a result, we have an average shortfall of 500 to 1,000 Euros per month. Of course, this is not only because some sponsors have stopped. We also have to deal with increasingly expensive things like food, travel and housing. In other words, with 25 Euros we could do more three years ago than we do now.

We would like to ask you to join us in looking for new sponsors. But also to look into it together with the Lord to see if you can give a little more. After all, your donation is also subject to inflation. As we described above, your donation three years ago allowed us to buy more than we do now. It is good to bring this to the Lord in prayer.

You can find more about support on our website:

https://www.jurgenenkatja.nl/en/geven

We are very grateful for every donation!

All in All

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 is that “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! Because God is good, always! And always God i s good!

We sincerely wish you God's blessing!

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