Emmanuel- God with us!

Newsletter November

I hope we’ve been quiet for long enough that you are happy to hear from us again. For a while there, we were quite regular visitors to your email-box- now it has not been necessary. Life is (mostly) peaceful and happy. So, what do you write if the highest point of drama for the day, was a dead chicken? I thought I would take you on a small tour.

Welcome to project Nongo. It means clay pot in our local language, Tonga, and represents the widow’s clay pot that never ran empty as long as there was need. This is part of Project Dignity- which is the orphan and widow outreach leg of Hope Builders ministries (a pastor’s training 

ministry).

This is Emma, and her son Amos, our shopkeeper. The little shop serves the local community- with their daily needs. Emma’s heart desire is to become a teacher. She is academically strong, good with children, and has the right motivation. Her husband has recently taken a second wife, and this has caused her to withdraw and decide to pursue her dream. We are trying to help, without interfering in their marriage. 

This is the hammermill. It is the social meeting place on Friday evenings when everyone comes to mill their maize/corn for the weekend/week. This is also to help with development of the community, and providing income for the project.

Here is kiddies corner. Luckily you do not have to be able to speak Tonga fluently to have fun.

You are now in  the chicken house. This is our biggest sustainability program. We have 80 old layers, that we are ready to let go. And then we hope these little guys/girls will take over the job. We are trying to see if it is cheaper to raise the layers ourselves, or to buy at the age when they start to lay eggs. I guess it does depend a little on how many survive. We have just short of 400 little girls. Trying to raise them free range in a safe environment. We can not allow them to go outside, it is just too dangerous, but we try to give them enough of what they need.

Our fields are ready, waiting for the rain. The rain is in the air, but has yet to drop. This will be the first moisture to break the long drought. How lovely!!! Carl will be planting maize/corn, sunflower, soya beans and maybe some sunhemp. He will use conservation farming techniques, but not do it by hand. The area is too big and the hands too few. He is working on an implement to make the holes as prescribed by conservation farming guidelines.

 Here is the storehouse, for storing maize. For ourselves and others- to keep the harvest safe. It is also workshop, and general store place. It is made from old tobacco driers- works like a charm. We’ve just finished the last part, allowing for work to be done outside in the shade.

On the developing side, we are seeing things draw to an end. This will hopefully provide us with more time to relate, train, talk, learn the language. Reaching the people. This has of cause been happening, but it can soon become our focus.

And now you are welcome to have a bit of refreshment with our family in our house. Carl has recently brought down the in-house temperature with about 10 degrees Celsius, by placing a ceiling. I can not humanly explain to you the difference between 38 and 48 degrees. It is lovely. He also did the ceiling in the training/guest side. It came at high cost. The scaffolding disappeared from under Carl and his right hand man, and both of them landed extremely hard. Carl is still limping, even though nothing was broken.

 Welcome to ‘Paalman@home’- our official school name. This is where young minds are formed, and mothers made grey. Just joking, it is really lots of fun to be forced to do arts with your children. Simon will still stay in crèche away from home next year; they all go there first for some English influence.

 And here we have the two new rooms for the children. Dad and mom were tired of having to go to bed at 20:00, so we didn’t wake the children.

And this is Isabel, who many of you have asked about. She is doing extremely well. The doctor has firmly instructed me to forget all set milestones. Isabel will develop at Isabel’s speed. She is so very tiny, but becoming the little princess that she was created more and more. Her life has been one long lesson to us. Two weeks ago, she provided us with another testimony. She has been doing much better since the operation, but she was still regurgitating and she really struggled to pick- up weight. Two weeks ago, she became very weak and sick- as babies do. She has very little reserves to fall back on though. I finally realized that I was not in control, when she had lost three months of weight, had extremely high fevers and started to vomit blood (she had already been vomiting constantly for a few days). So, off I went to our friend the paediatrician. The nurse in the practice made a good and quick assessment, and she stayed with us for the rest of the day. Slowly, with a few injections, Isabel started to revive. We left in the afternoon, with a bunch of medication. Isabel responded well, and was quick to recover. But the testimony part was still to come. The doctor started her on a specific medication due to the blood in her vomit. We had discussed this often, but was not convinced that it would make a difference. Man o man, what a difference it has made over the last 10-14 days. We can not believe how much she is eating- one night she had 4 bowels! She is almost not spiting up at all. For her weight we will wait until the end of the month. But she is much more chatty and happy. In this week, for the very first time since her birth, she squilled with happiness to see me. It has been amazing. A week after she was started on the medication, the paediatrician sent me message to say that someone has just donated a bunch of this medication, I can come get it. The Lord has walked this road with us, every single day. All glory to Him!

The only other news we wanted to share, is that we hope to visit the Netherlands in April/May next year for three weeks. It has been four years since myself and the children have seen our family in the Netherlands, so we have bought the tickets, and are looking for the logistics now- place to stay, car etc. The children are expecting snow, so I hope it is a late winter. Just joking, we would not know what to do with ourselves in the cold.

Good bye then, till we meet again!

A trip to explore Zambia

We left our home, all packed and ready for action. Just to return that night... We got 50km down the road, before

boom crash, we went into another car. When all went quiet, Simon just asked: 'Mom, is the front of the car still flat?' Yes, slightly flatter than before. Anyway, it took Carl some time with his favorite toys, glue and duck tape, and we were ready to go again, two days later. Actually, we found lots of extra things to pack in those two days, for which we were thankful later.

So, we did a 3700km trip, visiting different projects within Project Dignity. In other words, they have some connection to the Pastors in training with Hope Builders Ministries.

They are all in different phases of projects to support the orphans and sometimes widows in their churches and community.

It was good for us to just talk and find out what they are already doing and see where we can help, This will unfold in the next few months and years. And then hopefully grow as a model of truly sustainable care of care of the vulnerable people. A few things we made clear, we are not just here to give, but to assist them in sustaining themselves. The spiritual need for Christ will always come first. And they need to first look at what God has already given them.

We drove from place to place, and camped as far as we went.

And it was good for our understanding of the country we live in, to just watch and learn.

But we did also try and enjoy some of the beauty of the country with the children.

Lake Tanganyika- met lovely people that allowed the children to play with kayaks. Guess what we are saving our money for now.

Kalambo falls- second highest single drop waterfall in Africa.

Not even here are the lions in the wild. But we could still enjoy their majestic beauty,

All in all, it was an intense and good trip. And now we can start to plan...

September 2016

Wow, how time just passes by. We’ve been quiet for too long. How can we ever be silent about a God who loves us, shows us grace, is good to us and gives us hope and life.

Wooow, de tijd vliegt voorbij. De hoogste tijd om iets van ons te laten horen. Want hoe kunnen we stil blijven met God die lief voor ons is. Die genadig voor ons is, Die goed voor ons is. Die ons Hoop schenkt en leven. 

We’ve been home together now for almost 8 weeks, and we still appreciate every moment. We also love and appreciate the fact that we can watch Isabel grow and develop so well. It is truly amazing to behold the difference. It warms out hearts so very much. 

Want we zijn alweer heel wat weken samen thuis. Met een kind wat ontwikkeld en groeit. Dank u Here! Het was Zijn genade dat op het laatste moment de dokter niet zeker was dat de ingewanden recht zaten. Dit na een kijkoperatie bevestigt werd en dat er een operatie gemaakt is om alles op de rechte plek terug te zetten in Isabel’s maag. Een situatie die levensbedreigend kon zijn als ingewanden gedraaid zouden worden als het onopgemerkt was geweest. Alles op de juiste tijd. Geduld is een vrucht van de Geest en we moeten dat leren. Bid en wacht.  Al met al is Ilne 2,5 maand in Zuid Afrika geweest. Voor de Zuid Afrikaanse papieren wachten we nog steeds. Gelukkig konden we het Nederlandse paspoort krijgen om terug te komen.  We danken de Heere voor zijn leiding en voorziening. Na onze noodkreet mochten we vele giften ontvangen*. We zagen het lichaam van Christus reageren op een nood. 

Ilne and Isabel came back to a few guests from America. A couple from Tenessee stayed with us, with some extra insight into farming techniques. They use plastic to cover the ridges that keeps the moisture in the ground- moisture that is provided with a dripline under the plastic – and stops weeds from growing. Unfortunately the quality of plastic here is not quite the same as in the states, so the plastic just about disintegrated. So, we are trying to simulate the same conditions with maize rests. We also need to fence this area.

Een week nadat Ilne en Isabel terug kwamen kregen we een aantal gasten uit America ons geholpen hebben met systeem voor het planten van groenten onder plastic. Dit houdt het water vast en bemesting wordt door een drup lijn toegediend. Het werkt ook onkruid tegen. Helaas is de afrikaanse zon een beetje meer intensief voor plastic als in amerika plus de kwaliteit is niet zo goed. Verder zijn er een aantal loslopende koeien over gelopen en de honden wat het plasic kapot maakte. Ik heb nu twee rijen afgedekt met mais overblijfsel, wat het zelfde effect moet geven. Ik zal nu nog een afrastering moeten plaatsen om de geiten weg te houden.

The visit and our resent adventures helped us to refocus on our calling. A lot of our energy goes into maintaining the project, and we sometimes forget to lift our eyes to the future, and where we are suppose to go. Now, we took a deep breath, and feel renewed in our plans and motivation. We love being here where we are, but we need to not get bogged down. So, we hope to soon be visiting some of the projects we would like to work with, in order to stimulate self-sufficiency. We have just had our 5 yearly general elections in Zambia, and it did not go very well, so the political situation has been quite tense. We are just hanging on, to make sure we don’t get stuck somewhere in the rest of Zambia because of unhappy people.

I, Carl, am reading a very good book, “When Hurting helps”, and it makes me think in many ways. One of the things I appreciate, is the definition of poverty. It comes down to the fact that poverty is far from material lack only. It is a breach in one of our primary relationships. Poverty can also include loneliness, if we are no longer in relationship with our neighbours, or a low self esteem if we are not in the correct relationship with ourselves. But ultimately it comes back to not begin in the correct relationship with God. If the relationship with God, and ourselves, and others are in good shape, then we can be the riches person in the world without any material wealth. Like Paul.

We’ve also had Ilne’s Mom on a visit, always nice when she comes around. Our fruit trees are starting to bear their first fruit. We added two rooms for the children to sleep in, and a schoolroom since Tim started with school, and the garden is also slowly taking on shape. So, little by little things 

Een ander iets van dit bezoek was dat het onze roeping weer onder de aandacht heeft gebracht. We genieten ontzettend veel van ons plekje waar we wonen en werken. We zijn weer vernieuwd in ons denken en hopen binnenkort langs een aantal projecten te gaan in Zambia. En waar mogelijk te helpen meedenken om zelf voorziening te bevorderen. Ik ben momenteel boek aan het lezen met de titel “When helping hurts”. Dit geeft vele nieuwe inzichten op verschillende gebieden. Onder andere over armoede. De definitie van armoede is een verbreekt of slechte relatie. Armoede is niet alleen materialistisch. Het kan ook eenzaamheid zijn. Of een laag zelfbeeld. In zekere zin komt het altijd neer op de relatie met God. Om het andersom te stellen. Als je weet wie je bent in Christus en leeft in een ware relatie hoef je niks te hebben, maar kun je je de rijkste persoon op aarde wezen in alle opzichten (zoals de apostel Paulus).

Daarna hadden we nog een week gezelschap van Ilne’s moeder, wat lekker ontspannend was. We zijn bijna op het punt waar we de vruchten van werk kunnen eten. (Het planten van vruchten bomen. De groei komt van God) Zo stukje bij beetje gaan we voort met het ontwikkelen van de plek en het bouwen van relaties.

 Inmiddels, hebben we ook twee slaapkamers er bij gekregen waar de kinderen nu slapen. We hopen nu onze woonkamer een beetje op te knappen. We hebben nog geen plafond en de zon word intenser. We hopen dat we een plafond krijgen zodat de hitte een beetje minder in het huis zal zijn. De kinderen hebben nu ook een nieuwe klaskamer omdat Tim met zijn thuis school is begonnen. Hij geniet het erg om les te krijgen. Rashelle kan nu lezen en is haar eigen onderwijzer. Zij heeft soms een beetje motivatie nodig om door te werken maar doet het verder goed. Simon wordt nu een echte boef. Hij praat lekker Afrikaans met Engelse woorden. Een beetje een kletskous. Hij wordt door sommige werkers soms omschreven als de radio. Het is nu ook de tijd dat we kunnen genieten van een aardbeitje zo nu en dan die Ilne groeit. Haar tuin wordt mooier en mooier. Al met al gaat het goed me ons. We zijn rijkelijk gezegend.

Isabel: the epilogue

Just wanted to let everyone know, everyone who prayed, everyone who supported us in the last few months. Thank you very very much. We have the privilege to watch Isabel develop at a very quick rate. Watching her truly thrive for the first time. You will never know how much it means to us. Thank you that we were not alone when it mattered.

An old story: Isabel's last episode

This is old news, I'm working on new news. But for being complete, I just wanted to add this old news.

I have been home since last week. Last night was the first time since end of April that we were together alone at home. Good to appreciate one another!

Isabel recovered well after the surgery/operation. They were so careful to not overload her system, that they had her not eating for 6 days post-surgery. She surprised them all with the amount she could down when they finally allowed me to give her something to eat. The immediate results of the surgery was: 1. considerably less regurgitation, though there is still some. Which means she will keep more food in to grow. 2. Her bowels in general work much more reliably;) 3. The life threatening danger of a volvulus has been removed.

I have learned so much through this time, but maybe I should just mention one. Wait upon the Lord, means WAIT. I tried to bash open the doors to get travel documents for Isabel. But God knew exactly when I needed to have them. In this way He assured I was there until the correct diagnosis was made. Waiting goes with trust, that He knows best. Waiting brings peace. Waiting with peace and trust gives strength. My strength was completely spent by the end, simply because I did not always wait in peace. What a faithful Father we serve.

So, for the next episode, we have to wait. We will have to see how much this will influence Isabel's development. But we will do so with Trust and Peace.

Isabel 3

Wednesday 29 June:

It has been an amazing week. And through it all runs the thread of God's faithfulness. I wrote about the surgery and how the medical insurance refused to pay, since the problem was congenital, and that was an exclusion on our plan. I went to check, and there it was, in black and white. Three times I wrote, and received replies to say that it would not be covered.

I wrote an email, to you (friends and family). Then sat and watched God do a complete miracle- it was like the multiplication of the bread, completely. Everyone just reached out and I so knew exactly why God asked us to be a body- because together we can do the impossible. Moved by the Power of the Holy Spirit. I can not thank everyone enough! It is extremely humbling to be so dependent- but I guess humble is a good place to be. In our weakness lies His strength. As I want I testified to everyone who was able to listen, just how great God is.

And then this morning another continent moved. The medical aid wrote back: and said that they have changed their policy after reviewing my (very passionate) letters of Monday. They are willing to change their policy, to from now on, include congenital conditions. Imagine! Every knee shall bow! They consider also to help with the surgery- though what exactly this means we are not currently sure.

There are so many other parts to this story: Carl and the boys joined me this evening. We made the decision on Saturday, not keeping into account the number of working days. Tim's passport was with me in South Africa. I tried sending it by courier. This morning, at the time they were suppose to fly to South Africa, the passport was still in South Africa (held by customs). And yes, they are here tonight. The passport made it, and they were able to come.

So, tomorrow is the big day. Surgery is scheduled for just after 2pm. She is suppose to spend the first nights in High Care, and then some more days in the normal ward. We will let you know how things progress. Please pray with us. We are a body, and one part of the body is nothing alone.

Friday morning, 1 July:

So, they finally operated on Isabel last night after six. We spend a slightly tense time waiting. The doctor came out with a smile, which is always nice. It was indeed as they had thought (but was not 100% sure), that her intestines were loose and hence would not function properly. Her appendix was apparently just under her heart- they took it out, because they said if she was to ever have appendicitis, no one would be able to find it :) So, they took the whole bowel out, recoiled it and fixed it- sounds like she is a car hey? Anyway, she was taken to ICU last night, and spend the night there, tubes everywhere and under lots of pain medication. The worst part is that she will not be able to eat for the next few days, since her bowels will be completely quiet now.

If all goes well, then this should fix her constant vomiting, so she will keep food in, and start to grow. We are so very thankful, to God, to every one of you. May we one day be able to bless you in the same way.