“Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.” (Psalm 24:10)
King of Kings
Last month we were able to celebrate King’s Day together as a family. It was a pleasant day full of Dutch tradition (including our orange outfits), in honor of the representation of our current homeland. And just about that time, God revealed His majesty to us by bringing the budget for Thailand to the necessary 90%. As a result, we received our last green light from OMF BE and NL the following week.
Lord of Lords
And now we received news that we couldn’t wait to share with you: OMF’s head office in Singapore has given final clearance!!! Woohoo! Thailand, here we come!
But, there is still so much to do before we get there. We hope to leave for Singapore the weekend of July 1st for the Orientation Conference of OMF where all new missionaries will start. After this 4-week training we travel DV July 29 to Thailand. For now, a lot of arranging and packing. And saying goodbyes, lots of goodbyes. Please keep on praying for that. This is just the beginning! Praise the Lord! (Scroll down for praise and prayer requests; thanks in advance!)
Double Trouble
The children were very excited that Annelieke came to visit. Annelieke is OMF’s TCK coordinator and she came to play games with the children to emotionally guide their departure. We had a very nice afternoon together!
So what are TCKs, you may ask? TCK is the abbreviation for Third Culture Kids, children who grow up in a different culture than the culture of their origin or nationality (NL/BE as first culture), and also live in a different environment for a considerable part of the development of their childhood (Thailand becomes their second culture). They therefore come into contact with cultural elements of the new country as well as with cultural elements from NL/BE. Because children are in full development, they will try to integrate these elements. In this way, a third, new culture is created, which brings many beautiful things, but sometimes also challenges. It is very enriching for the children, and it sometimes requires extra attention, which we give with great love and also receive from OMF both in NL/BE and Thailand.
the last two weeks we enjoyed the May holiday: Playing nicely, at home and on the move, and also some practical preparations for the departure, like getting their new glasses. They increasingly have their own idea of what they should look like and were therefore allowed to help choose. How functional can be beautiful.
Introduction Alicia
Our sweet friend Alicia has been walking along for a long time, and as a co-founder of the Belgian Home Support Team, she introduces herself to you:
Hi everyone, my name is Alicia and I’ve been coordinating the Belgium-and-Beyond prayerteam for a couple of months now. I live in Brussels and attend a church there too. I have a heart for the gospel and in particular church planting, I actually was part of the church planting team of my current church Eglise Emmanuel Etterwerk. Profesionally, I am a reasercher at the ULB where I try to unravel the history of glass recipes in the early middle ages through chemical analysis. If I’m not at work, or serving in church you’ll find me cooking for family and friends, reading a book in the sofa or hiking somewhere.
I hope to see many of you either at one of our monthly prayer meetings or helping the Roobols in some other practical way and in so doing support the Mission in Thailand.
Contact: alicia.vanhammeert@gmail.com
From the Home Support Team
The first Partner Day is about to happen!
We would like to thank you and together look forward to how God works in Thailand. That is why we look forward to meeting you on Sunday 21 May.
In a relaxed atmosphere you will hear the latest updates before departure, enjoy coffee/tea with delicious home-baked cake (free), meet other friends who are involved. We conclude with a barbecue (at a cost of 15 euros pp, if you come with a family of (more than) 4 people, you pay 50 euros) in the cozy courtyard. Feel free to bring someone. Children are also very welcome, fun games are provided for them!
Register
(both for cake and/or barbecue): roobols.tothailand@gmail.com
(until May 14)
Location
Farm Molenaar (Engewormer 36 in Wormer, NL)
Program
2:30 pm Walk in
3:00 pm Word of welcome, start games
4:00 pm Update Jesse and Katrien
4.55 pm Closing words and kick-off barbecue
Invitation Sending Services
Just like in the Netherlands, we also want to work in Thailand in dependence on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the indispensable blessing of the Lord. We are therefore very grateful that our sending churches want to give this blessing to our family. We hope to see you there!
(Both churches will provide lunch after the service; please register using the email adresses below, thank you)
Praise and Prayer
We praise the Lord
- For final clearance!
- For knowing God and finding rest in Him.
- For the good health of our family.
- For the steady increase in the budget coverage rate.
Please pray
- For a successful visa application and approval.
- For new people who want to help practically and be part of the Home Support Team.
- For more individual partners and churches who want to journey with us so we can reach 100% budget coverage and thrive in Thailand.
- For the practical preparation of our departure: that everything may just go smoothly.
- For a great first Partner Day.
- For a good (preparation for) transition period. Saying goodbye to family and friends has gradually begun. Please pray for rest, for enjoyment, for guiding the kids well in the process, for looking forward to what God is doing and will do. Pray also for our families and friends, this is a big step for them too.
