October 2023

Dear friends and missionpartners,

Jesus promised us that if we would abide in Him, we would bear lasting fruit. And even though this was recently brought to our attention, it is sometimes difficult for us to be here.

The culture is not ours, the language is a barrier and there are hardly any development opportunities for our children. We live in a village of 2000 people, which is known as “the village where children disappear”. That's a documentary you can find, in Danish. And this area is known for (relatively) the highest suicide rate in the world (Youtube).

A few months ago, our son's best friend was removed from home, along with the other children, because of his home situation. But before that, he stayed with us every week, had his clothes in our son's closet, borrowed an unlimited amount of socks and was part of our family. This was how it went for years. Sometimes our children asked whether or not he was a brother. But from one day to the next he disappeared to another village on another island and we lost him. That's what childcare had decided.

Provisions
Nature is rugged, which means we are more cut off from the outside world in the autumn season, when the snow starts to fall. The last ship to supply our village will arrive in November. We were recently able to buy a good third freezer of 300 liters through donations, which we completely filled with whale meat for our four sled dogs and with salmon that we caught for ourselves and others.

Live more effectively
We are still very happy with our car, which had to be repaired with another second-hand engine. During storms we can now get the boat on land and put it back in the water if possible. But this season is now over. Thanks to the car, our lives are a lot more effective. We no longer have to spend half a morning picking up a package at the post office or hanging up invitations for the soup kitchen in the village. We can bring friends home or pick up our own kids. This saves a lot of time and gives us more options.

This also gives us more time to do other things. As previously written, we now have four sled dogs. There is very little to do here, so we just have to participate in what is possible. We have to accept the costs of food and buying a sled and equipment for the dogs. It is healthy to be outside and be able to relax mentally.

Now that the sailing season is closing, there seem to be more seats occupied in the church. The building is starting to fill up again. Unfortunately, we were unable to expand this year because we could not muster the energy and cooperating parties did not respond. It is a desire for next year.

God's Spirit moves...
In all this, God's Spirit moves the hearts of people. Hopefully we can baptize 4-5 people soon. We have also started two home groups, which are slowly starting up. New people come in almost every week and become convinced to commit their lives to Christ. We see how God suddenly transforms people. But the persecution that follows is not small.
Sometimes there is great strife in families. Why? Because the changed lives gnaws at the conscience of the other family members, who still live in darkness. Being scolded, rejected and misunderstood sometimes means that some people give up and stop coming. Discipleship is also a difficult topic... it feels like sometimes we take three steps forward and two steps back.

We could use outside help, for example for our website, which is now almost 10 years old. Otherwise the costs would be around 700 Euro if we had it done. Is there anyone who can help us and possibly keep track of it (or teach me)? It would also be helpful for Katharina if someone could think along with her about practical implementation of children's ministry.
Prayer is always helpful, especially since we are looking for a somewhat larger home here in Tasiilaq.

Zoom meeting
We would like to tell many more stories, but it is too much for an update. That is why we want to organize a Zoom meeting soon to catch up.

Tuesday, November 14, 7:00 PM Dutch time is the date on which we will hold this meeting. Please let us know if you want to join so we can send you a link. Hope to see you soon!

Kind regards,
Peter and Thinka