“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
During Advent the verses from Isaiah chapter 40 and 41 came to our attention. Whilst we celebrated Christmas Eve with 750 people packed into the village church, the message was loud and clear: Do not be afraid! Christmas has been special as the dark days have been lit up with our first family Christmas tree and decorated candles made by Samuel at school. We really admire his teacher for encouraging him, and another 15 peers with craft. The lights shine the message of the gospel. ‘Do not fear, for I have come and I will be coming again, to light up your darkness.’
We watched one of the Narnia series yesterday with the boys, and Samuel understood that in our world Aslan has another name. ‘Aslan is God’ he said. Whilst everything around us may shake us up, our faith in God can remain strong as we see God’s continued presence in the world. Aslan is the Lion in the Narnia series and is described by Mr Beaver in ‘The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe’, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
We are glad to say that we have started settling in. On the 1st of December we moved into our new home. It fits us like a glove! The boys have their own bedrooms, the living room has a fireplace with plenty of space for a Christmas tree and a warm open kitchen where we also spend lots of time sitting together. Most of our ‘new’ furniture came our way from families in the village. Tonn has started a 2 day per week work/study role at the local hospital in the Cardiology department, and he uses his other days to study or build things out of wood in the shed. Yes it even has a shed! More recently Hannah has been working three days/week, but we feel blessed as we have enough to live and enough to give. We have had many visitors at our dining table already, and LOVE to be able to welcome people in our own space again. A side note is that this home is owned by an old classmate of Hannah, and it has been on the market for 6 months but until it is sold we can rent it, 6 months minimum. This gives us some space and time until we find longer term housing. It has floor heating! We don’t understand why it hasn’t sold yet.
In October while we were still with Hannah’s parents, Samuel started school, and already he is using Dutch more consistently. Jonah also speaks mainly Dutch and has recently begun attending kindergarten in the village, which he calls Playschool 🙂 Opa and oma can pick the boys up, if we are working, and so we are all settling into a nice routine here. Samuel after some practice rides his bike without trainer wheels, whilst Jonah has taken to puzzles. This last month has been busy with the little things; seeing Sinterklaas arrive on the boat, weekend at l’Abri, moving in, riding our bikes to and from school and enjoying the European winter here on the island. Our hope is that as we become more settled and regrouped, we can build into something that God is already doing here. A little period of acclimatization, perhaps, for what is ahead of us; out of our sight but palpable. This tension reminds us about what is coming when Jesus returns to this world and will bring peace under his rule, forever and ever, hallelujah, hallelujah! We went to see Händel’s Messiah in Rotterdam, it was fantastic.
One development that is fun to mention is that we have met a family that has given a big part of their lives to helping and supporting refugees in the area. There are approx. 40 families spread over the villages on the island, many of them are busy learning Dutch, but others have been here for a longer time. In the op-shop/café that was opened by the church recently, games nights have been organised where Hannah got to make puzzles with some young Syrian girls. Materially they are well provided for by the government, which can make you forget how wounded, confused and homesick they must be, hearing constant news about home, but unable to return home nor settle. It must be especially difficult as winter sets in. We met a man who was placed in a small village where there is no supermarket or public transport and he has no car. The games night are an opportunity for the people to meet each other and speak in their mother tongue. We help out with picking up people and returning them home. The language barrier makes it difficult to connect, but for now this seems a good project for us to put some of our love and energy.
Goedereede in the snow
The coming months we will continue to get into a routine and settle into our work. Hannah is completing an EMDR course which has proven to be helpful in her counselling practice, and she has recently discovered a local counselling practice that is implementing a biblical worldview in it’s practice, she will meet up with them in the New Year. Tonn is getting his head around improving his Dutch while he works in the hospital, and has 3 years of self-directed study ahead of him. We hope to speak with the local minister about what outreach and ministry is happening and where there might be space for us to use our gifts and experiences in the community of Dirksland.
So, bye for now. Come and visit us while we have a home, and remember not to be afraid. He is near, Aslan is coming.
Love and light,
Tonn, Hannah and the boys.
SOME RECENT PICTURES TAKEN BY SAMUEL
Living in two countries 
beautiful to hear from you that you’ve settled so well! and read how happy the boys are, and how well God has provided for your needs :)!!
On Fri, Dec 29, 2017 at 5:20 AM, Living in two countries wrote:
> tonnenhannah posted: ” “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, > for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on > to you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 During Advent the > verses from Isaiah chapter 40 and 41 came to our att” >
Lovely to hear from you, guys! How wonderfully you’re all settling in, with the provision of a house, and here’s trusting for a long term one! Bless you heaps, continuing to pray for you, xx
Elly