Jesus vir my, Jesus vir ons, Jesus vir almal.
Nuusbriewe uit Madagaskar
“You are what you leave behind.”
What is written on T-shirts always catches my eye and this one in particular, as I was sure that the wearer had no idea what it meant. In fact, it set me thinking. Politicians like to refer to leaving a legacy once they are no longer in power. More often than not, it turns out not to be what they originally had in mind.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus: Madagaskar – The Week 18 Mei 2025”
Our island had a visit from the President. On the one hand, that was a very exciting prospect, simply because we knew that we’ll have uninterrupted electricity and water, but on the other hand it meant that just about the whole population was called upon to clean, sweep and then clean some more. Not something that all people here are naturally inclined to.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus: Madagaskar – The Week 18 Mei 2025”![Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19th June 1834[1] – 31st January 1892)](https://www.nggrootbrak.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Spurgeon.webp)
You would think that starting off a new week with a morning devotional from Charles Spurgeon, is simply the best thing.
“And all the children of Israel murmured.” – Numbers 14:2 –
This devotion was not for me as I am not the murmuring kind…that was my last thought before Mr. Spurgeon started admonishing me in his best King James English. It was intense; both keeping up with the doths, thous and thees, but at the same time thinking that Spurgeon had it in for those murmurers, grumblers, complainers, whiners etc.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus uit Madagaskar – The Week 4 May 2025”
I am slowly getting back on my feet…literally that is. It helped that the school was closed for the Easter break and that I did not have to walk much. It gave me some time to do the preparation for the final term before the end of this school year in June.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus uit Madagaskar – The Week 20 April 2025”
It is good to have Dries back at home. He has so much to do and the fact that April is one of our hottest and most humid months, must have made him feel right at home.
On the other hand, we have to say goodbye to Annika and Anne who will leave on Tuesday. They had their final Royal Ranger meeting on Saturday. They have been teaching the Rangers about Germany as well as some useful German phrases for the past five weeks. The girls were surprised by how much their students remembered, because they did well in the quizz. Dries made the girls some neck ties to remember us by and Annika gave him her German one.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus – Madagaskar – The Week 6 April 2025”
Lovako School in Russian Bay has fourty-eight pupils this year and the space is filled to capacity. Euphrasie and I were once again impressed by the dedication of the three teachers and the fact that everythings is clean, organised and neat. An added blessing is that the village built a well right next to the school and this makes life at school much easier.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus – Madagaskar The Week 12 March 2024”
With just one month left of Anne and Annika’s three-month stay, time is flying by, and there’s still so much to do and experience! Last week, Annika and I began working on the mural in the new classroom. We managed to complete the background for our underwater-themed design, though I’m still finding traces of blue paint under my fingernails! Our goal is to finish most of it in the coming days. Every now and then, some of the children would put their heads around the door and encourage us by some ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus uit Madagaskar – The week 9 March 2025”
“God has not forgotten you, He loves you”
It was Anne’s turn this week to start her series on the characteristics of a Royal Ranger leader. Sometimes we need to return to the basics and reflect on our relationship with the Lord. It was therefore very fitting that Anne’s teaching started there; reading and studying the Bible, praying and cultivating a thankful heart, so that we are able to share this with the children. As I was on my way to school in a tuctuc that morning, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the day ahead, a tuctuc passed by with a sticker that read: ‘God has not forgotten you, He loves you.’
Lees meer “Sendingnuus uit Madagaskar – The week 2 March 2025”
Dries arrived safely in South Africa, welcomed by heavy rains. In fact, the flooding in some northern regions was so severe that entire communities were cut off, left without electricity for days. He is enjoying a well-deserved break, spending time with his daughter Anlie and her family. As is often the case when Dries is not here, my quad broke down on the very first day after his departure, leaving me stranded on the road. Fortunately, PM came to the rescue once again. The journey home was anything but smooth, with a few nerve-wracking moments where I had to cling on for dear life while being towed. Now, with the quad out of commission, it’s back to walking and relying on tuc-tucs.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus Madagaskar: The Week 16 February 2025”
The saying, ‘one man’s trash, is another man’s treasure’, rings true in our daily lives. After the new classroom was completed, we had to install a railing and a gate for the safety of the children. PM mentioned to Dries that he had some old railings and burglar proofing materials lying around at the factory and that we were welcome to use it. Given the high cost of rebar her, that was a big help. It was also a rush to get it all done before Dries leaves for South Africa on Tuesday.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus – Madagaskar The Week 9 February 2025”
“Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.“
Psalm 25: 21
The Adventure and Expedition Rangers are currently exploring a Bible series on the Book of Psalms, and this past Saturday, we were especially blessed by Psalm 25. Every verse in this chapter is rich in meaning and deeply relevant to our daily lives. It was a comforting reminder that when we place our trust in the Lord, He provides for us and delivers us from the schemes of the wicked. The Rangers also reflected on God’s call to live with integrity and righteousness, striving to walk in His ways.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus – Madagaskar: THE WEEK – 27/01/2025”
January 26, 2025
We had a couple of eventful weeks to start off the New Year. The clean-up after the cyclone is still ongoing, but everything is up and running. Dries has almost completed the work on the new roof of our balcony. He is paying extra attention to make sure that it stays attached in the event of another cyclone.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus – Madagaskar: The Week 19 January 2025.”
At first light this morning, people could see the damage done by the cyclone last night. The strong gusts started at about 10 o’ clock and within two hours the bashing of the waves and the screaming wind, showed me that this was definitely not caused by a 35 knot wind as forecasted. It turned out to be closer to 75 knots. The papaya tree fell first, then the roof of the veranda started shaking and simply blew off and the mango trees took a serious beating as well. I walked up and down in the house, praying for the safety of the people and their boats. Gabriel is out on land at the boatyard in the north of the island and Dries let me know that the wind was much lighter there.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus uit Madagaskar: Dikeledi … “Tears””
The final week of school was a busy one. Exams, parents meeting and the fun day of the Discovery and Kids Rangers. As we have no place at school for outdoor activities, we walked down to Ficus hotel which is closed, but always allow us to have our camps and fun days there. It is not really suitable for swimming, because of the rocks, but the children enjoy the open space. It was muddy walking there and barefoot was the most successful way to ensure that you don’t leave your shoes behind. The leaders prepared games and there was never a moment where anyone sat down. I am always amazed at the energy levels of these kids.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus – Madagaskar: Die week 15 Desember 2024”
It is that time of the year when all the ‘End of the Year’ activities start. Exams will kick off on Tuesday and after that we plan to have a fun day with the school Rangers and a Christmas crafts day with the Saturday Rangers. The Discovery Rangers completed the Tool Craft merit on Wednesday and there were some moments when I couldn’t help but laugh. The boys and girls had to put what they have learned into practice. This included using a wood saw and a bow saw, hammering in some nails and remove them, and using an axe. They put in a lot of effort to be able to swing that axe. Lavarel, who is in my patrol, is very small for his age and showed me his ‘muscles’ and asked whether I thought they were big enough for the task. I couldn’t disappoint him so I replied that he would do just fine. He managed well, but could not really make a dent in the trunk of the palm tree. I had to constantly remind them of the safety rules as they got so excited and I did not want anybody to loose some toes and fingers. We ended up with an audience of people walking by, probably wondering what we teach the children at our school. Some of the men commented on technique and offered some tips. That’s community living for you.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus: Madagaskar – The Week 1 Desember 2024”
Dries and I are very thankful for our good health. So when we succumb to one of the sicknesses that goes around from time to time, we don’t complain. I was the one to end up in bed for a couple of days this time around. So did our neighbours and almost everyone at school. I think for once Dries was happy to go off to the boat and not catch what we all suffered from.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus: Madagaskar – Lynette – Week 24 Desember 2024”
The last two weeks were mostly spent on getting the Land Rover back on the road. That entailed waiting for the replacement parts to come from Antananarivo, removing what seemed to me most of the inside of the Land Rover, fitting the new clutch and then putting everything back. When you have to work alone, you use everything available to you to make life easier. In this case, bamboo was used to lower the gearbox. For those mechanical minds out there, this will all make sense, while to me it looked like chaos. Well, I am happy to report that the Landy is back on the road and Dries can return to the boat this coming week.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus – Madagaskar: The week 10 November 2024”
Dries and I spent the week working on Gabriel. We managed to get in a full week’s work. We had to get going early in the morning as the heat made work between one and at least half past three impossible. School was closed for the mid-term break and it made perfect sense for me to spend the week on the boat. I did my share of painting and cleaning, but it was more to be a support to Dries. It helps if he doesn’t have to worry about meal preparation.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus Madagaskar: Lynette se nuusbrief 27 Oktober 2024”
November is always the hottest month on our island. That uncomfortable heat arrived already well in October this year. There is not much of a breeze where Dries works on the boat and he needs a change of shirt a couple of times a day. I walk around with a little towel to wipe the sweat as I go through my day. Everything happens a little slower now.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus – Madagaskar: Die week 13 Oktober 2024”
Euphrasie and I were off to Russian Bay after an early start on Thursday morning. We were suppose to make the trip on Tuesday, but the wind was strong throughout the night and the sea was subsequently too rough the next day.
Lees meer “Sendingnuus Madagaskar: Die Week 29 September 2024”