The play park

We finally finished something we've been busy with for a while. And I just couldn't wait till the next newsletter.

We are hoping to make the children feel comfortable close to us, without them sitting on our veranda staring at me. Even adults come sit on the tyres and have a conversation.

Tim turns 4

Our oldest son, has turned 4- a wonderful day for all of us. Reminding us how blessed we are.

For their fourth birthday, they get an Afrikaans
bible.

His one request was a ride on a quad bike, so we went to friends who own a quad bike, and they allowed his dad to take him for a spin.

 

And then he got to blow the lights out of the airplane.

 

He asked to go to bed at night- always a good sign;)

 

We thank God for this little boy, and pray that God will carry him into this new year, teaching him more of who he really is in Christ.

Newsletter November 2014

I promised to have a different format this month, and I want to keep my promise. I asked for input into the name our place/project. There was almost complete consensus by all who replied. And we feel at peace with the name too. So, we are planning to name this place Nongo Farms. But….

 

We serve a faithful God! We sent the request that people should tell us what they think, thinking it was our own ideas. But God came to confirm that it was much more. While on the ladies retreat I wrote about last month, a lady told me that she believes God will give us the ‘strategy for ministry’- she told me three times. I forgot. Then when I came home, I send out the e-mail, and the responses started to roll in. At the exact same time, separately, it clicked for Carl and me. Nongo Farms, is our strategy. We received a copy of what the lady said, and Carl heard it for the first time. The next morning, what she said, and what we received from the Holy Spirit, was confirmed by two men visiting our church. They prayed for me and Carl separately, since I was in the Sunday school. Their words were completely in line with what has been said, and what started to grow in our Spirits.

 

The picture is not completely clear, but slowly a picture is starting to emerge, of little farms all over Zambia. Farms that are focused on providing- like widow’s claypots, not running dry until there is no need. It sounds beautiful, at least it does to me. But it is hard to imagine, as we are standing in a spot now, where things are small, and failure seems to follow close behind us. We just have so much to learn, so much to grow, so much, so big…. I guess that is where faith comes in. Not in ourselves, that would be VERY pointless, but in a Faithful God.

On the farming side, it seems to be a constant fight- against diseases, against mice, against even the cute guinea fowls. Things just don’t always turn out as you expect. So, we keep fighting. We hope to get our first layers before the end of the week. I might wait to get you a photo of them. We have big plans for all our eggs;)

Anyway, I was suppose to answer questions.

 

How do people react to us: are they open and friendly?

That’s a really easy question. They are some of the friendliest people you will ever meet. I could literally stop anyone on the street and they would smile and start a conversation.

 

Are they open to the gospel? Carl firmly feels that evangelism has been thoroughly done in Zambia. Most people have heard the gospel, and you can find churches almost everywhere. Mostly Seventh day Adventists (I mention this first, since in our area it is most prevalent), Catholic churches, Baptists, Anglicans and most Pentecostal churches. How clear the gospel message is? Uhm, more difficult to say. I think the fact that you need to believe in Jesus, and that He has died for our sins, that part has been conveyed, what is lacking, is how do I live this out in my everyday life- discipleship.

 

Because people are so open, it is very easy to do. People also like to talk. Carl, especially, spends long hours discussing whatever people come to ask. Because we are in a SDA area, we often have to answer to not celebrating the Saturday as Sabbath. But truth be told, it gives us a lovely launching plate for discussions about having a relationship with God instead of just following rules.

 

 

A maize shelter

Do you preach?

No (not yet). As I’ve mentioned we live in a SDA area. So, people are trying to convert us! We are careful not to step on toes, and yet speak up for what we find in the Bible. Mostly, currently we are working on a more personal basis- getting people to trust us. The other big stumbling block is the language. Many people just do not speak English. This is not really a problem in churches, because you can use a translator, but makes things like children’s clubs (which we would love to do) much harder. Almost none of the small children speak a word of English. So, we wait. Sow seeds- showing the Jesus film, becoming part of the community, praying for people, and focusing more on personal discipleship. The organization we work for also strongly believe more in indigenous missions. Equiping the saints to reach out to their own people. It allows people to choose Christ for the right reasons.

 

What does the culture look like?

There is a lot of diversity, but in general people are always welcoming. Modest in some ways, but very immoral in other ways. Your body needs to be covered, yet you can have as many girlfriends as you would like. Polygamy is fairly common.We have learned to count the amounts of huts in a clearing. Weddings come when you have the money Funerals take precedent over all else. People come from far and wide, and stay for four days, expecting the bereaved family to feed them, and very often have no idea what the person died of. Children are treasured until they can start working, and then they learn to work!  People in general work very hard- there is no way I can keep up with them. All those stories about lazy Africans, were not written here, that I can promise you. But they are indeed always late, and never worried. We love it! I’m not sure how to filter what the children take on.

 

 

Witchcraft and animism?

Lots, mixed right in with Christianity. And it is very real. There is an explanation for everything that happens. And it is very seldom scientifically sound. We just had a lady die because demons (in the form of small children) locked her mouth.

 

Future plans for traveling?

To be honest, we don’t know. Anyone that knows us for a while, know that financially we trust God in the big and the small things. We do not safe up for it. The budget does not quite allow that. Ilne and the children are trying our best to get to South Africa in December. But will probably just make it to Pretoria. Carl is too busy then, and is looking forward to getting things done without us bothering himJ The Netherlands and America is another story, since our car will probably not like to take us over the Mediterranean/Pacific, but who knows…

 

OK, that was a lot of reading. I’m trying to think if there was more urgent news:

Our president passed away today, which is always a good time to pray. He’s been sick for a while, so it is not unexpected. So, we are waiting to see what happens. (the flag on the picture in half-mast, but you need a magnifying glass to see that).

 

Our children just had their 44^th cousin born. Congratulations to my sister and husband- we praise the Lord for one more South African/Turkish/American. How beautiful is new life!!!!!

 

Also, a big thank you to all those supporting us in so many different ways. There have been parcels, gifts from people’s weddings, people doing different fundraisers for us. It is hard to convey the feeling in our hearts. So, please take the thank you, and know it comes from deep in our hearts!! May God bless you for your faithfulness.  

 

If there are more questions, keep them coming- it makes for very easy writing ;)

 

Blessings to all

Elephants on the shores of the Zambezi

Having the right attitude

The other night I was laying in bed, in my pajamas. Someone came to our door, knock knock. A lady needed to go to hospital. What for, I ask? Stomach ache. It took all my training in casualty and motherhood to keep my face straight. I explained at length, that in general it is not necessary to go to hospital for STOMACHE ACHE! I asked every question I could think of, but there were no other symptoms. The guy listened and then asked if we could now go to hospital. ARGH. My attitude was terrible. I eventually asked, if I should come see her. Yes, please.

So off I went in the dark. I took a picture of the bridge I had to cross in the dark.

 All the while I was praying: Lord, please I need Your heart for these people, not mine. Mine is slightly irritated. Then I walked into the hut. The entire place was covered with blood. The woman was in immense pain. My irritation fled as quickly as it came. Again I asked every question, but it was like running into a wall. Eventually I said, well, obviously this is not stomache ache, and she needs to get to a hospital. It probably was a miscarriage, but she would/could not admit she was pregnant. Why? I don't know, but I'll leave it to the One with the Right Attitude, an attitude of Love.

It taught me again: don't listen with your i'm-tired-and-want-to-sleep ears, listen with the Spirit that God has placed within you.

Newsletter September

The wind is slowly leaving and the days are slowly turning into true summer days. Often the heat drives us inside. The plants are begging for water, but they will have to wait another two months before the rains normally start to come. So, we move with the rhythm of life here in Africa. When it rains, we plant, when it is hot we rest, when it is nice outside, we work as hard and fast as we can.

(Het vertaalwerk van de augustus brief is er bij ingeschoten) De wind word een beetje minder en de winter is over. We maken ons op voor de warmte. De planten beginnen nu dagelijks voor water te smeken en de omgeving is nu aan het verdorren. Alles zo als het altijd gegaan heeft in het ritme van Afrika.

 

Carl has been working into the darkness of the evenings, trying to finish all the building and plastering, before the true heat comes to dry the cement out too quickly, leaving it cracked. The rhythm of inner rest. Moving as and when God leads: sometimes through the time of the year, sometimes through the prompting of His Spirit, sometimes through circumstances.

 

De laatste weken Carl heeft elke dag gewerkt van 6:00-20:00 om te proberen om zoveel mogelijk werk klaar te krijgen voor dat de echte warmte eraan komt. En tussendoor hebben we onze eerste gasten gehad uit Japan die hier samen waren met Ilne’s vader om te zien hoe de organisatie hier werkt. Verder was Ilne’s moeder hier ook nog.

One of our goals here is to set-up the project to be self-sufficient. The problem with agriculture is that the income is seasonal. So, we are trying to think of ways to keep the income slightly more steady. Following the need around us, we have seen that there is a way we can help our community, and keep the project ticking. We can supply things that people up to now have to cycle to town for, or at least the next village. So, Carl started selling a few products from home.
Verder heeft de dienstverlening aan de gemeenschap hier ook een grote tol geeist op onze tijd, als we proberen de mensen te helpen door benzine te verkopen.  waar ze anders speciaal een 20 km voor moeten fietsen. De vraag naar andere goederen was ook groot en zo is ons assortiment zo uitgebreidt dat we besloten hebben om een klein winkeltje te bouwen. Een van de goals van de organisatie is om deze projecten zelfvoorzienend te maken.

 

But, it takes money to make money. In August the Seventh Day Adventist Church (to whom all our neighbours belong) had a big camp very close to where we live. They came with all their matrasses, water barrels and chairs and came camping for a week. There were probably a few hundred people, all camping together. Carl then set up a little mobile store and started to charge people’s phones for them, sold airtime and toiletpaper ( not a bestsellerJ), books and pens, chips, sweets and a few other things. In the morning I would use all yesterdays money to stock him up for the day. It was a quick turnover, and made it possible to now open a small store on our property.

Het gebied waarin we wonen wordt in grote mate bevolkt door mensen die lid zijn van de zevende dag adventisten. Nu was er een grote kampeer bijeenkomst dicht bij ons van een regio van de zda. Zo’n 1000 mensen kamperen in tenten van zakken gemaakt. Met een morgentemperatuur van 6-7 graden lekker koud. Voor deze bijeenkomst hadden we speciaal onze trailer omgebouwd tot een winkeltje om de mensen te helpen in hun behoeftes zoals tandpastaben borstels ,toiletpapier, beltegoed en zakken vol chips en lollies. Carl heeft samen met onze nieuwe shopmanager hier voor een week gestaan. Dit was een goede test voor de nieuwe shopmanager. Zijn grootste moeilijkheid was om nee tegen mensen te zeggen. Als ik iets niet wilde hebben of als er ergens geen ruimte voor was. Mijn grootste reden om daar naar toe te gaan was om ingang bij mensen te krijgen. Hoewel de zda leert van verlossing door Christus wordt er na de tijd tog de wet weer bij gehaald als noodzakelijk iets voor je verlossing. Ik heb geen moeite met het feit dat hun de zaterdag als sabbath bestempelen, helaas wordt de sabbath dan wel weer in zo’n middelpunt gezet dat dat de enigste dag is waar je God kunt aanbidden.  En verder lijkt het dat de mensen wel erg religieus zijn maar niet waarlijk Christus kennen.

 

The aim is thus: as income, as help to the community and also to build a relationship. So far it has been quite successful. So, very soon the doors of our little ‘Come again’ store will open. All welcome. Please, come again.

De naam van de shop is ‘kom  weer’, hier links op de foto. ( hij krijgt nog een afdakje voor en de naam moet er nog opgeschildert worden.) De shopmanager heeft deze naam bedacht.

Our next mission has been to find a shopkeeper. There has been a young man, that has been part of the work on and off since the beginning. He is one in a million: he sings whenever he works, works hard, always smiles (except when I want to take a photo), has no idea of how to be wise with his money, is an orphan, is unsure of his faith, yet touched by what Jesus did for him. He helped Carl in the ‘mobile’ shop, so we’ve decided to take him on as a shopkeeper, and disciple. Praying for him, and asking God to work in his heart. Maybe I should just mention that up to now, he has been 100% trustworthy, his only weakness being that you are 100% sure he will be late, but hey, this is Africa.
We genereren nu een beetje profijt en helpen nu een jongeman met een baan als shopmanager. Deze jongen zijn moeder is overleden en zijn vader is weggelopen toen hij nog jong was. We hopen dat we nu een helpende invloed op hem kunnen hebben sinds hij nog niet erg serieus met zijn  leven is. Hij heeft duidelijk leidende hulp in zijn leven gemist.  Hij kon deze baan alleen krijgen onder een aantal voorwaarden. Een van de voorwaarden is dat hij net voor twee dagen betaald krijgt. De andere drie dagen worden in een rekening gezet om te sparen voor iets wat hem kan helpen om zelfstandig te worden. Hij wil op zichzelf gaan wonen. Dit kunnen bv. dakplaten zijn of een fiets of een bed of zoiets.  Verder hopen we hem om te leren om zaken te doen en doordat we invloed op hem kunnen uitoefenen hem een werkelijke discipel van Jezus te kunnen maken (met de hulp van God).

Hieronder is onze shop manager. Zijn naam is Dudu, of Francis jr., of DJ. Zover betrouwbaar, spreekt weinig engels en verstaat mij helemaal niet wanneer ik tegen hem praat. Al bevestigt hij altijd iets met ok. Je moet dus altijd in de gaten houden of hij je werkelijk begrepen heeft. We moeten dus geduld met hem hebben. Hij zal ook een beetje uit zijn cultuur getrokken moeten worden sinds we strikte openings tijden willen hebben.

Our home and gardens are also progressing:Onze groente tuin begint ook goed te lijken.                                                              En we kunnen al redelijk wat groentes en vruchten daaruit krijgen.

Now the last big project is the chicken house. Another project that is dragging, as we’ve been waiting for the bricks. Then of cause our bricklayer was injured in a football game. And we got to play ambulance again…

Het laatste project is nu aan de gang, waar we kippen hopen te houden. Het had een beetje vertaging door afrikaanse omstandigheden maar een deel van de muren wordt nu gemetseld. Ook dit zal de zelfvoorzienendheid van de plek beter gaan maken. Het groeien van gewassen voor geld wordt vermindert wegen een gebrek aan water om te besproeien. We zijn nu met iemand in gesprek die naast een riviertje woont. Hij heeft de grond beschikbaar, water en een pomp maar hij kwam laatst langs en vroeg of ik hem kon helpen met pijpen voor de watervoorziening. In eertse instantie zij ik nee, maar later bedacht ik: als we samenwerken kunnen we wel groentes laten groeien voor extra inkomen. We moeten nu de details uitwerken hoe we beide equal zijn.  

In the beginning of August, I was blessed to go with a group of woman on a woman’s retreat. It was my first time gone from my children for such a long time. When they were not there, I suddenly had very little to do
In het begin van augustus was Ilne gezegend om naar een vrouwen conferentie te gaan. Het was de eerste keer om zonder kinderen te zijn voor een lange tijd. Het voelde een beetje om werkeloos te zijn.

 

We had a speaker, who spoke about many things, but one of the things that stuck with me, was this truth: that a lot of the truth (when taken from ‘real life’ and not the Word) we hold on to, is lies. Planted by satan a long time ago, but they grow into a believe system. Example: someone says, ‘you have such busy children’. The lie that is planted is that if my children do not behave well in every situation it must show that I am a bad mother. One thing leads to another, and eventually we do become ineffective mothers. We were challenged to replace such lies with the truth, the truth of the Word.
De spreekster sprak over vele dingen maar een van de dingen die haar het meeste raakte is dat “er veel waarheid uit het dagelijkse leven” genomen wordt maar niet uit de bijbel” en dat dit vaak leugens zijn van de satan. Als voorbeeld: iemand zegt:” oh je zulke bezige kinderen”, de leugen de satan dan plant is dat je eigenlijk een slechte moeder bent.  En van het een komt dan het ander en we worden meer en meer ineffectief. Deze leugens moeten ruilen met wat de waarheid die de bijbel ons zegt.

Our church is to us a blessing, since we are fed with truth, and we also are able to serve the larger community. I’m involved with the Sunday school, Carl has been doing a lot of maintenance work, and I serve in the administration.  

Onze kerkgemeenschap is een zegen voor ons, sinds we worden gevoedt met waarheid. Ook kunnen we hier dienen door zondagschool te geven en onderhoud en adminstratie werkzaamheden.

 

 

Carl’s also been showing the Jesus film in the villages around, together with one of the pastor’s from Hope Builder’s Ministries. He has a church in the area, and can end the showing of the movie with an invitation: come and meet this Jesus, and walk this road with Him.

Een paar weken geleden heeft Carl met een lokale Dominee de Jezus film laten zien op 3 verschillend locaties. Het laat het evangelie aan de mensen zien op een visuele manier en ook een deel van de achtergond en cultuur waarin de joden in die tijd leefden. We hopen dat mensenharten worden aangeraakt en dat ze zullen gaan zoeken en dat mensen bemoedigt worden door de genade die God ons wil schenken door Zijn Zoon.

xxx

 

 

"The Lord bless you and keep you

the Lord make His face shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn His face towards you

and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

 

 

Tim to school

Tim started creche today. No butterflies, no tears. He was very ready.

Our two little smarties:) He loved it. Came back full of stories of the army men with the guns, the black berries and the BIG swimming pool (2m in diameter).

They grow up so fast.

At home in Zambia/ thuis in Zambia

Rashelle in a shetengi

 

Simon with his best friends