During this past year you may have seen advertisements for a Reformed Education Support Worker (RESW) in Papua New Guinea. With much thankfulness to God, we can inform you that Johan van den Dolder has been appointed to this position. Please read on to get to know more about him and his family and the work they hope to begin next year!  

Can you tell us a bit about your family and your background? 

Evelyn and I were married in 2019, and soon settled in Golden Bay before having our first daughter, Adaline in 2020. We have since had two more children, Phoebe in 2022, and Matthew who was born in August of this year.  Our family currently serves in the Free Reformed Church of Comet Bay.  

I have worked as the Year Six teacher at the Rockingham John Calvin School since 2019, and have been blessed to observe the positive effect of our covenantal schools on the growth and endurance of the church.  

Usually in the school holidays you’ll find us packing the kids in the car and heading out with the camper trailer. We love to explore God’s creation as a family, and recently enjoyed a quick camping trip at Jurien Bay a few weeks after Matthew was born.  

What will be the focus of your work in PNG?  

There are currently four covenantal schools operating at different capacities across PNG. My main task will be to bring them together and build teachers’ skills and confidence, while working to have the schools registered with the government.  

My first focus will be to learn the language and culture to build relationships in the school community, so I can be most effective in my task.  

What led you to applying for the Reformed Education Support Worker position? 

Since having our children, we are increasingly committed to the value and necessity of a thriving Reformed school that supports parents in their highest calling: to instruct their children for a life of love and service to God and their neighbour.  

I had been in my current role for just over 5 years and we had been praying about how we could grow and serve in a different way. We were interested when we heard about this role, but didn’t talk about it until a few weeks later. Neither of us had stopped thinking about it and we realised this was something God was laying on our hearts and minds. We applied for the role in faith, and we are praying that God will use us to bless the schools and churches in PNG for His glory.   

What excites you most about this opportunity? Are there any aspects you're nervous about? 

The opportunity to serve and grow as a family excites us the most. We know there is a strong need there and it’s exciting to think how we can be used to further God’s kingdom work. We’re also excited to explore a new part of God’s natural world and see his work in a different church context.  

There are a lot of aspects that we are nervous about. What if we can’t achieve the goal we set out? How will our children adjust to the move? We’re also facing the daunting task of learning a new language and a new culture.  

There are a lot of unknowns about the next six years, and we are constantly being reminded to lean on God’s grace, to trust His direction for this role and our lives.  

How are you preparing for this new task?  

We can’t do this in our own strength, and we are praying daily that God will bless our preparations and that He will receive glory through us.  

The schools have been functioning for some time, so I am getting an idea of where each school is at by having conversations with those involved and going through the paperwork.  

We are also at the beginning stages of learning the culture. We’re looking forward to a visit planned in mid-January where we can begin to build relationships.  

How can people pray for you and your family at this time?  

Pray that God will be glorified and his church strengthened by our work. 

Pray that the arrangements for the move will go smoothly. 

Continue to pray for the schools in PNG, that they may flourish and thrive. 

Pray that our family will grow in our love for God and our neighbour, and our children will thrive in a new environment. 

What are some other ways that people can support your work?  

The RESW is a unique position in that for it to go ahead we will need to raise financial support for our stipend. We are currently seeking financial partners to make this possible and will be reaching out with more information shortly.  

If you feel called to partner with us financially in our task or you would like more information, please email me - johanlvdd@hotmail.com.  

As the Australian Mission Aid committee, together with committees in Canada and New Zealand, we will be raising funds to support the extra living costs associated with living in PNG, including travel and relocation costs. If you wish to support this aspect, please contact our treasurer – treasurer.missionaid@gmail.com.    

Today I hope to provide a brief overview of a recent project that Mission Aid was able to assist with funding. Recently we were able to support the Living Water Christian School (LWCS) in Lae in the purchase of tin to replace their roofing. While our main projects are ongoing, we also sometimes provide support for once-off projects and this was one such project.

The LWCS roof has previously been made of morota, a roofing made of woven sago leaves. The morota is common in PNG, but is also susceptible to rotting due to the high humidity and rainfall in the tropical climate, as well as being eaten by insects. In January 2023 some of the morota was replaced due to rot, but it was seen that the rest of the roof would need replacing soon. In April last year, the board of LWCS approached Mission Aid and asked if we would consider funding the shortfall of a budget to replace the morota roofing with tin. Mission Aid agreed to fund this project, with the expectation that LWCS would also fundraise a significant amount for the project themselves.

In early January this year, in the middle of the school holidays, a toksave (message) went out to the congregation of Living Water Reformed Church that the morota roofing needed to be dismantled as it was going to be replaced. The next day a number of church members arrived at the church and helped to remove the morota. A lot of the morota was already quite deteriorated, with insects having eaten large portions of it, and other parts were quite thin and dusty. Within one day, the morota was all taken down.

At this time, steel and tin was ordered and delivered to the school, though some of the tin took a few weeks to arrive. Paul Kamina, the property manager, hired five youths from the church as casual workers. Together they did the bulk of the work cutting metal brackets, drilling holes in them, welding them to the steel trusses, and bolting on the purlins. After that, the chicken wire along with insulation to reflect the heat was screwed onto the purlins. From there the tin was installed, giving the building an improved look.

The project was completed in mid-February, one week after classes began. Since many students had not returned to school yet after the holiday break, this did not disturb the running of classes. The school further hopes to install PVC pipe as gutters and install a tank so they can collect rainwater from the roof.

The teachers were very happy to have this new roofing on the classrooms. It means they will no longer have to sweep the classroom floor regularly because of all the dusty mess created by the insects eating the morota and their classrooms will remain better protected from the weather.

We are thankful to be able to support projects like this to help our brothers and sisters in PNG. We are only able to do this through your generous donations. If you wish to donate to a project please visit our website and click ‘donate’.

https://missionaidpng-ne.squarespace.com/

On behalf of Mission Aid North East PNG,

Brooklyn Visser

One of Mission Aid NE PNG’s annual commitments is to fund a teacher from Australia to travel to PNG and provide some professional development for the teachers there. I was given the opportunity to do go this year. The Reformed Churches of Papua New Guinea have 4 small schools, 2 in the Port Moresby region, 1 in Lae and 1 in Wantun. I spent 3 days with the teachers from Lae and Wantun.

Living Water Christian School in Lae started in 2013, at that time there was only one preschool class. The school grew to have for classes, the equivalent of Kindy to year 2. Upon completion of year 2, students would move to a local public school. In 2021, an additional class, years 3-8 was added to the school. This class has only been open for children of the church. Enrolment in the younger classes are a mixture of community and church children. My Father’s World curriculum is the basis for teaching in the upper classes, while the younger classes use a combination of programs, many of them similar to those used in the John Calvin Schools in Armadale.

Logos Glory Christian School in Wantun offers education for children from Kindy to year 2. As in Lae, students in these classes are from both the community and the church. The school has 3 teachers. It uses My Father’s World curriculum as the basis for its teaching.

The theme for this year’s professional development was Covenantal Education. While the plan was for us to meet on Monday 8 January to Thursday 11 January, due to the unrest and riots in PNG on Wednesday and Thursday, the final day was cancelled.

Monday afternoon gave presenter and participants an opportunity to get to know one another. After initial introductions, we shared a meal together and then enjoyed some ice-breaker activities.

Tuesday morning’s session was dedicated to sessions about what Covenantal Education is and how teachers in Lae and Wantun can teach with a covenantal focus, teaching covenant, baptised children while also presenting the gospel and love of God to children whose parents are not members of the Reformed Churches of PNG.

In the afternoon, the focus was on telling Bible stories. The schools were presented with copies of the Promise & Deliverance commentaries and given an example of a Bible lesson.

On Wednesday, the focus was on a Biblical understanding of classroom discipline. The second session provided practical strategies for maintaining classroom discipline. This session was a repeat of a session given by Julian Slobe in 2018.

Thursday’s session was intended to introduce the My Father’s World Curriculum for 2024, followed by a Bung Kai (festive lunch) and farewells. Unfortunately, this was not meant to be.

Professional development is highly necessary for the teachers in Papua New Guinea. At the moment, none of the teachers have an accredited teacher’s certificate. They do their work out of love for Christian education. It is their hope and prayer that one day trained teachers will be able to work in the Reformed Schools in PNG.

In the meantime, your donations to support Christian education in PNG are sought. Information about the projects can be found on the Mission Aid Papua New Guinea North East website. https://missionaidpng-ne.squarespace.com/

Mission Aid values the donations which come each year in the form of the Birthday Appeal envelopes and through personal donations. If you wish to support Mission Aid in its work, your donations can be made electronically to the following account:

Mission Aid

BSB: 066 131

Account: 00902095

With Christian greetings,

Elaine Vandenbos