“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God,
a worker who does not need to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.”

2 TIMOTHY 2:15

We made it!

Months of hoping and praying, and we are very happy to say that we have arrived at All Nations Christian College. After 2 weeks of quarantine, the children could get used to the childminder. What an answer to prayer! This was a great way to start our lessons with peace of mind last week.

You read it correctly! The first week of classes is already behind us. It feels great to be part of this multicultural group of people who want to grow together in and with the Lord. Because we are not only trained in Biblical knowledge but also in intercultural and practical skills that we will need on the field in Thailand. Jesse will do levels 5 and 6 here and Katrien will do level 6 in 2 years. This way we can both obtain a Bachelor’s in Biblical and Intercultural Studies.

Learning by serving

During our time here, we will serve at a local church, ChristChurch Ware. We will attend services there and serve and learn practical skils. For this school year, this means that Jesse is part of their soccer team. The intention is that he will testify within the team to the non-Christians in the team and may help to bring the football ministry within the church to a higher level. Katrien will serve at the same church but the ministry is not yet defined; she is really looking forward to it!

How can you help?

Home Support team

Our Home Support Team is complete! In this newsletter, Ilse (creative designer) and Wicher (chairman) would like to introduce themselves to you:

Wicher Geertsema
Chairman

My name is Wicher Geertsema and I would like to introduce myself as a new member of the Home Support Team of the Roobol family. I am 47 years old and have been married to Jessica for over 22 years. We have two sons, Stan who is 15 years old and Lars who is 12 years old. We live in Koog aan de Zaan, near Zaandam. I am a welding technician and since September 2016 I have my own company called “Staalkracht” (Power of steel). Various companies in the metalworking and the petrochemical industry, can hire myself as a welding expert and visual inspector. I also occasionally do some welding and construction work.

I moved from Delfzijl in Groningen (province in the Netherlands) to the Zaanstreek (near Amsterdam) when I was six and have been working in the Free Evangelical Church (*VEG) of Zaandam almost ever since. When I was 18, I made my testimony of faith after attending catechism and became a member of the VEG of Zaandam. All my life I have been active in this church. I have led the children’s church, served on various musical teams, was a youth leader.

From 2011 to 2018 I had the privilege of serving on the church board as an elder; and even was the chairman for the last year. Now I am a musician in the music team of the VEG and I occasionally write a meditation for our church magazine. I am a professing Christian who believes that Jesus Christ died for my sins so that it opened the way to God the Father for me and allowed me to have a wonderful relationship with Him. This is a relationship that transcends all worldly relationships and in which fidelity, love, forbearance, patience and attention are always assured from the side of God. I wish everyone this eternal relationship. It will have to be made known all over the world so that everyone can get to know my God and have the same experience as I have. For that reason, I am very excited to be able to participate in the Home Support Team of Jesse and Katrien Roobol and share with them the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ.

In this team I have been asked to take the role of chairman. Together with a great team of enthusiastic people, I hope that we from our VEG Zaandam and from various other churches can support Jesse and Katrien in our joint work for the Lord. Knowing that He is with us, we are assured that there will be blessings and that lives will be changed to His glory and honor.

My name is Ilse de Lange-van Eijk and I support the Home Support Team in the field of Creative Design. I am 23 years old and have been married to Robert since August and we live in the church’s apartment since that day. At the VEG Zaandam, we are actively involved.

Robert plays the piano and I help produce our monthly church magazine, am responsible for the nursery and try to help the audio-visual team, when needed. Currently, I am doing a full-time internship at a design agency in Amsterdam that works in food and retail sector in the field of concept, graphic and spatial design. This is the last step in obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree in Spatial Design at the HKU in Utrecht by mid-February. Hopefully I will find a job in the same field by that time. I will try to use this creative mindset and knowledge for the Home Support Team. Did you notice the new logo and the new lay-out of the letters?

Prayer

Currently there is a prayer group in Zaandam (NL) and in Bruges (BE) because our prayer team now has 27 prayers! Do you also want to pray for us daily and occasionally attend a joint prayer moment (online option available), let us know!

We praise the Lord:

• For a smooth move and quarantine time; for a good start at school for Katrien and Jesse and the children with the childminder
• For the good health of us and the children
• For obtaining the Master’s Degree in German Studies (History) from Jesse.

We ask for prayer:

• For the local churches in Thailand: the first real services have also been restarted within the South Thailand team. Pray for open hearts and blessings on their hard work.
• For a nice first trimester of lessons, in which we can grow in knowledge and wisdom.
• For us as a family: that we can quickly find a good work-leisure balance, with attention to the needed priorities.

Financial support

During this period of Bible school and thorough preparation for missions in Thailand, we are completely depending on donations. We trust that God provides so that the people of southern Thailand can hear the gospel too.

Currently, 19.96% of funds for year 1 on All Nations are covered.

You can transfer a single or monthly contribution to the account number of
OMF: NL53 ABNA 513 3911 18 in the name of the OMF Foundation with the mention “gift to OMF for the work with the Roobol family”.
You can always download the commitment card from our website.

And did you know that we also always have a wish list for practical things?
Ask us about it!