October Update 2025

We’ve enjoyed a productive month, as we continue with our work up in the highlands in

Ukarumpa. I (Johan) have been doing handover with a few members of the Reformed Ministries team and attending board meetings with the schools on the North-East side of Papua New Guinea. I have also had a chance to visit some of the schools in person.

My school visit to Wantun village was coupled with an overnight stay and a visit in the classrooms. I took some photos (below). I was blown away by the grit and commitment that these teachers show – one teacher who is 8 months pregnant managing a classroom of 40 students with her 1 and a ½ year old on her hip and another child (in red below) sitting in the with the others. There is a lot to get our heads around and at times the task can be overwhelming, but we’re confident that God has placed valuable leaders in each school that we’re looking forward to working with.  

Evelyn has been easing into homeschool with the kids so that we have a good routine in place for next year where she can start homeschooling more formally. We’ve been delighted to watch the kids’ love for learning new things and exploring God’s creation in this beautiful part of the world.  

This month also wrapped up our family birthday season for the year, with Ada’s 5^th birthday on the 10^th October. It was the perfect timing for her to get a bit spoilt and have phone calls from grandparents, as she’s been quite homesick for the last month or so. While on the one hand the kids have been great, throwing themselves into play and new friendships, it’s a confusing time for them, and we appreciate your prayers for our kids as they adjust to

this new culture and life.

Last week we held our school leaders’ conference in Lae at the Living Waters Christian School. It was a great few days with everything going very smoothly. The Port Moresby side arrived on Thursday morning without issues and all the others arrived as planned. Certainly not something to take for granted in PNG. We discussed various topics including teacher and school registration, policies, the function of the board, curriculum and enrolment. It was great to also outline what my role will look like (and just as important, what it won’t look like). This time together also gave me an idea of the stage each school was at and the direction they all wanted to head in.  

After the conference, I flew to the Bible College for the weekend in preparation to fly to the United States for another conference. My Father’s World (a US Christian homeschool curriculum being utilised in our schools) is holding a MicroSchools conference which I hope to learn a lot from. Some of the struggles raised at the school leaders’ conference were about this curriculum. It will be great to go over to the MFW headquarters and see how it can be implemented effectively into a PNG context. Other topics of the coming conference will be growing a MicroSchool, registration and tuition ideas and multi-level teacher training, along with some others. I am excited to attend and hopes to raise some questions with them about how to grow our Reformed Schools in PNG.

Thanks again for your ongoing love and support.

Johan, Evelyn and the kids

Prayer Points:

-          Thankful – the school leaders’ conference went well

-         Thankful – the kids are happy and healthy. Matthew is walking and starting to talk.  \

-          Request – that Johan may arrive safely in the US and learn plenty at the conference.