Snow Everywhere

It’s been a snowy January, here in the US and in The Netherlands. It was on a snowy day in January six years ago that we packed our 9 suitcases in a van and headed for the airport for our flight to Colorado. We can hardly believe it ourselves, but January 26th marked our 6 anniversary here in the US. My how the time has flown.

A couple of weeks ago, during an unexpected snowstorm, Jolanda tried to bring Sarah to school. We live in a valley so every way she tried to go, she had to go uphill, and everywhere there were cars sliding back down those hills. Driving in the snow continues to be an adventure, but we are slowly getting used to it.

American Citizenship

Jo has started the official process for becoming a naturalized citizen of the U.S. Last December, we started wading through the paperwork. And there was a ton of it, but we managed to get it filled out and submitted. January 15th she was called in for her biometrics (fingerprints and photo) and now it’s just a matter of waiting until we hear something more from them. In the meantime, she will be studying U.S. history and government, and by the time it’s all over, she will probably know more than all of us.

You may be wondering about her Dutch citizenship, but, don’t worry, she can keep it. Just like Lisa and Sarah, she will have dual-citizenship.

Debriefing Retreat in Pennsylvania

This coming Friday, Feb 22nd, Jo will be flying to Pennsylvania for a Debriefing Retreat in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. The debriefing team will meet first, starting on the 23rd to prepare, and then on the 26th the participants will arrive. Two families with several children and teenagers and three singles will be participating. The children and teenagers will also be debriefed. Some missionaries will be coming directly from the mission field to the retreat and others are on furlough here in America or are just about to transition back to their passport country. Jo is happy that she can help with the process the participants are in at the moment. Pray with the team that the participants will be refreshed and built up and that they can continue their ministry with new dedication and resilience. Some, however, need a good closure of the work that is now behind them. These missionaries are taking a new path and will receive “tools” for the transition back to their passport country.

Jo will be in Pennsylvania until March 8th and Rodney’s parents are flying in to help him out with the girls (and probably spoil them) while she is gone.

Church Youthgroup

A couple of months ago, the company Rodney works for moved to a larger location. Business is booming and so they needed some extra space to accommodate extra staff. He is privileged to have his own office which, being an introvert is very nice.

Last year, August our church started a Middle School youth group which meets on Sunday mornings during the regular service. Sarah is attending, and Rodney has also been volunteering. It’s a fun, lively group with a great team of leaders.

A few weeks ago, together with several girls from her youth group, Lisa went to Winter Camp at Camp Elim. It was a fun weekend for High School kids filled with games, worship and teaching.

✈ Trip to The Netherlands! ✈

You have probably already heard the news that Jolanda and the girls will be visiting The Netherlands again this year. Almost as soon as school is out, they will be flying away and leaving Rodney behind (sniff, sniff).

This will be a great time of reconnecting, lots of coffee times with friends, biking everywhere and enjoying the Dutch beaches. They also hope to be able to make a trip to the YWAM Heidebeek base.

To help fund the trip, we started a GoFundMe. We hope to be able to cover some of the costs of the trip with this fundraiser. We have already raised enough money for two tickets. Only one more to go.

UPDATE: We have reached our GoFundMe goal! A special thanks to all those who gave.