February Update 2026

Things have been going very this past month. The highlight was a couple of weeks ago Ada could have her cast and pins removed! She was very nervous about going back to the hospital as she had some very painful memories of going there the first time. With thanks to our heavenly Father it all went well and she was back home a couple hours later with a little jar containing two pins. Her biggest excitement about having her cast and pins removed was now she could run in the rain again (as a wet cast in a very humid place does not bode well for healthy skin). She still can’t bend her arm to its full extension, but we are praying with time this will improve.

With Ada back to her normal self the kids have been able to venture further from the house again. They have been getting braver and braver playing with the nationals and beginning to make good friends amongst them, which is a blessing for us as parents to see. Although the language barrier makes it a bit of a challenge, kids always seem to find a way to communicate with each other despite.

There are a number of animals on the college grounds which the kids (especially Matthew) like looking at. Although they are still getting familiar with the big guard dog (Caesar), they enjoy walking to the pigs and the chicken pens and often come home with a bird nest or two they found. Thankfully no frogs yet! The female pig is pregnant at the moment. Late last year she gave birth to 10 little piglets, all of whom survived. As pigs are somewhat of a delicacy here, they can each sell for around a thousand Kina each (a lot more if they’re bigger). It will be an exciting time when they are born. The college also welcomed a new puppy recently. It is very cute and loves chasing the little kids around. Caesar is very protective of the puppy, so the kids don’t get to play with it much.

Johan has been kept busy these last few weeks. With enrolments finished and student numbers somewhat finalised, the teachers have been settling into a routine with the new students. Johan has been busy with board training mostly. So far this board training has mainly involved good record keeping, accountability, open communication (which is very challenging due to limited access to phone data) and good organisation.

He’s also had to go into the city to visit a number of places. This included going to the Kina bank, the Investment Promotion Authority (to register the schools) and a further education campus. This can be quite frustrating as you often must wait in line for ages or can get sent all over the place or have promises made that aren’t kept. It was good for him to visit these places and get initial contacts or people to speak to next time.

Another thing that Johan has been busy with is preparations to renovate the house we plan to live in more permanently. At the moment, it has 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom and is quite high off the ground (as can be seen below). With the fans in what are quite small rooms, it is difficult to have bunk beds in them. We plan to build extra bedrooms underneath the house. At the moment the renovation work has involved making plans and a budget which involves driving around Port Moresby to see what is available and at what cost.

For some reason we always seem to have a lot of photos of Matthew by the end of the month. He is a very loved young man at the college and it is looking very likely he will grow up thinking he is the centre of the universe. As we walk around the college it is often as if we the parents are invisible with loud shouts of ‘Morning Matthew!’ or ‘Aahh Matthew, Matthew!’ coming from everyone but no acknowledgement of his parents That is more than okay with us though, we’re pretty proud parents of all our kids and love seeing them thrive here.

Lastly, on a more serious note. This past fornight saw the sudden passing of Johan’s cousin, Jeroen van den Dolder, in a motorcycle accident in Australia. It has been hard being away from family during this time and not being able to comfort and support those most affected. We are praying God can be bring comfort to the van den Dolder family during this time. Thanks again for your ongoing love and support. Johan, Evelyn and the kids

Prayer Points:

Thankful – Ada was able to have her cast and pins removed with no complications

Thankful – Everyone is healthy and well (something we can’t take for granted here)

Request – The kids may continue to have the confidence to go out and play and learn and grow in this new environment

Request – the van den Dolder family as they grieve the loss of a loved one