November Update 2025
As you would have seen from the last update I (Johan) held a school leaders conference in early November after which having to leave immediately for America to attend a curriculum conference. This meant I was away from the family for almost 3 weeks.
My time in America was beneficial for my work in that I had the opportunity to see the My Fathers World curriculum in action. My host, the founder and author of the curriculum, organised a few visits to Microschools (single room, multi-level ‘discipleship academies’). It was great to be there in person and spend time brainstorming how we can make the use and implementation of this curriculum sustainable in a PNG context.
Although the experience in America was amazing (even glimpsing the northern lights one night!) it was good to finally arrive back home to the family. God was certainly good to me over my many hours of traveling and meetings, and I’m grateful for His sovereign care over me during that time. The photo to the right shows me being reunited with the kids.
After I arrived home, we had a week to re-group while we also cleaned and packed our rental to move to Port Moresby, where we’ll be based next year. Thankfully we got it all done.
In that week, I also visited the schools on the Northeast side to do inventory and touch base
with the teachers before leaving for Port Moresby in the South. The picture to the left was taken on a quick trip to the school in Wantun during this week.
With the house all packed up, we attended the Reformed Ministries conference in Ukarumpa during the last week of November. The week was an edifying time with colleagues where we could refine our priorities for the new year and reflect on the work done this year by God’s grace. We had several great presentations from Dr Arjen DeVisser from Canada and some local presentations as well that will be very beneficial for our future time in PNG. We also spent some time discussing the future of the schools and it was great to be able to have everyone there to share their ideas and thoughts. Below are some pictures of our time together.
On Saturday 29th November we woke up at 4:30am to drive around 3 hours on a bus with our Port Moresby based colleagues to the airport in Lae. We flew to Port Moresby and spent the weekend at the Reformed Churches Bible College, settling into our new home which we’ll live in as of next year. It was also a chance to touch base with the two schools I haven’t been able to give much attention to. We spent a beautiful Sunday with the people of Beretete (where the other village school is) building relationships and sharing stories.
On Monday 1st December we headed off to Australia. Overall, the flight went very smoothly with the kids sleeping most of the 4 hour-ish flight from Brisbane to Perth. We are happy with how the kids have handled all the flying and travelling.
It’s a lot for their young minds to take in and it has certainly led to some big emotions. They don’t really know what to call home yet and have been following their mum and dad around to lots of different places. We as parents also would love to settle down and be able to make a place home. We are thankful to our Father in heaven for His continuity and faithful presence in our lives.
The main reason for our trip to Australia this month is to attend the wedding of Evelyn’s younger brother, Levi. We look forward to seeing some of you during our time in Australia and also some restful time with the immediate family.
Thanks for your continued prayers and support. It means a lot.
Johan, Evelyn and the kids
Prayer Points:
- Thankful – we were kept safe through all the traveling that has happened
- Thankful – we have some time in Australia for a wedding and some relaxation
- Request – that our time may indeed be restful and the kids may cope with the changes
Request – that we may be able to settle into Port Moresby next year and call it home.
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