United with Dan on a Mission

Public Transport Encounters 

The flight back was indeed an experience. Upon entering the plane, the guy in front of me had a classic confrontation with a woman wanting his seat and him telling her that she should have booked it if she wanted it. In the end he gave it up and took the free space next to me, with a moan and a groan. This gave ample space for dialogue. It turned out the guy was helping to start up drug labs around the world, and was on his way back from Vietnam. He was very interested to talk about God after I told him I’m a missionary. However, the quality of the conversation deteriorated as the flight went on, as he was ordering whiskey after whiskey. Soon he was terribly drunk and became a bit aggro and incredibly loud. He had started to make trouble with many of the other passengers around. I was like, “God please help, he’s right next to me. It will be a long flight if he starts harassing me too”. To my relief, he soon decided that I was his best friend and caused me no trouble…other than that I almost became his ‘guardian’ after that, helping him keep calm and defusing the arguments he got into, which he repaid by offering to fetch me a chocolate, or whiskey, or something from the cabin crew every 5 minutes or so.  During this time he said that while he doesn’t believe in Jesus, I’m the best representation of Jesus he has seen. My hope is that he was able to see Jesus through or in me, and that it will move him to a turning point in his life

Settling in

I reached Cape Town safely and pickup and escorted home by my family back to Worcester. It was wonderful seeing them again after so long.The following few months were incredibly hard. On top of the culture shock of being back, my emotions were all over the place. The way everything I had put into Scotland was ripped away, caused deep wounds. I had no capacity for human interaction and really struggled not to project the experience of the one YWAM base onto the other. It was a constant battle to not let the hurt become bitterness. I went back to my application papers, and the communication I had had with the base leadership before arriving. It wasn’t me who breached the contract. In my application, DTS was always of secondary importance. I had a vision of joining the mobile homecoming team, I wanted to work with the youth. We had agreed that I could complete FCM outreach during the quieter weeks, and that I would have the freedom to travel for outreach and ministries in Japan, or for Word by Heart schools when the opportunities came. I still don’t understand why they cut me off. I didn’t breach contract, by the grace of God I exceeded them. [Chapter 13.1 – I list some of the goals and how they turned out. ]

Initially I had great expectations and many ideas as to how I could found ministries and make a difference in my local community. Yet, each one seemed to run into a deadend, which made me feel much worse. Luke 4:24 “But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.” This verse really encapsulates the internal conflict since being back. Why else did everything fail? Why else is ministry and work with the church so difficult for me here? Surely people are still people, shouldn’t it be easier to share with those you have a history with? More common ground? Yet, if this was so for Jesus himself, how can I expect it to be any different? In many other places I just had to cast vision and recruit people toward it, here almost everyone seems to try to shut it down. This verse plays tricks with my mind. I keep hearing that it is just a scapegoat and an excuse to leave again. Yet, my most successful ministry, my bread and butter here, has been the English Language School, and almost everyone there is a foreigner. The biggest challenge for me in the ELS, (while I love each one  individually) has involved the teachers who are all locals, more so they are the parents or grandparents of my school friends. How much of this is true, and how much is in my head? How much is it a self fulfilling prophecy?

The English Language School

My main goal for ‘taking a break’ from Scotland was for experience and knowledge of how the ELS school in Worcester functioned, for fundraising and to catch up and support my family for one more Christmas/New Year’s.

The ELS has been a real rollercoaster, yet it has been an incredible blessing to be a part of it. I started off in the deep end, as I became the academic supervisor for the school. Fortunately I did not have to teach a class at the same time, at least not for the first term. I very quickly realised (in humility) that my English may be the best there, and that my qualifications and experience made me the point person for almost everything academic. The leadership asked me to restructure the academics for the term, and then to digitalise as much as possible, because ink and paper was costing a small fortune.  Unfortunately, most of our teachers are of a ‘technologically  challenged’ generation. I also found myself being the middleman between the teachers and the school leadership. I can summarise the term as such: “A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely simple and foolproof, is to underestimate the ingenuity of people to mess it up…”

I am very grateful to God for giving me two amazing friends during this season of change. They always found a way to put a smile on my face, even if a bit forceful at times. The first term ended in success and all our students passed. 

By the second term I was teaching a class on top of the previous term’s responsibilities and started to settle in at the ELS and being back in Worcester. The term started well and I really started to enjoy myself. Then without warning, the leadership of the ELS left. It was probably at the best time in the term for it to happen but it had real implications. First, the base leadership stepped in and told us that the ELS will now be a ‘leadership team’. Initially this meant that most of the responsibilities fell on me. Teachers, students and other staff looked to me to have all the answers. While it was challenging, I enjoyed the challenge. Most of all I had an opportunity to influence things towards getting a level 4 teacher. I had identified a level 4 student (potentially 3) before the term started. However my superiors overruled me and put these students with the level 3’s. So finally I could check with the finance department and try to get an additional teacher for level 4. Trying to influence this change for justice became a priority. It felt really good to eventually deliver what I saw to be justice in this instance, while in many ways totally out of my control. God made sure justice won in the end. 

On the second or third day after the new level 4 teacher arrived. My class and hers merged together to ease the teacher into things as the students had an oral assessment: Testimonies. Then the most amazing thing happened. The teacher shared her testimony as an example for the students: In the past year or 2 she had retired, struggled through covid, lost many loved ones and was struggling with having no purpose for her life. She prayed about it and soon afterwards the ELS teacher post was offered to her and it added great value to her life. Then one of the level 4 students shared her testimony, how the ELS level 3 wasn’t challenging enough and that she had looked into booking tickets home. Then while praying she felt God tell her to delay action until week 4. She was incredibly surprised with the news of a level 4 teacher and thanked God and everyone involved. It was wonderful to see this unfolding in front of me. How these two were an answer to each other’s prayers and how privileged I was to have been a part of it. Truely, the fullness of life is in God. 

As the term went on I became increasingly more concerned about what I would do the following year, 2024, as the ELS was envisioned for just a short period of time. I joined a team working towards pioneering a base and missions in Gordons Bay and wondered if that would be the next step, or if it was finally the time to go East. Then, at some point during the term I suddenly became aware that in the University of the Nations (the accreditors of the course) this course falls under the College of Applied Linguistics and Language, and that what we offer is Communication & Culture (level 1-5) in English. So, I am the academic supervisor for the University of the Nations, equipping missionaries with English for the world of missions and there is a special emphasis on culture. Wait… that sounds familiar somehow… Chapter 1: New Beginnings – 1st of March 2018

“Then suddenly I saw it: White / grey stone stairs. I looked up and they led up to something which can only be described as an accident Greco-Roman temple of sorts. I went in and it was like an endless library. It reminded me of a dream from years before: “As the Great Royal Library in Alexandria Egypt (A major centre of scholarship that produced many of the most famous thinkers of the ancient world) was a centre for ancient cultural knowledge; I would like to start an international chain of universities, centred on the study and preservation of language and culture.” That was a contributing reason, or hope, to my choice to do BA Sociology; I wanted to study languages and cultures.”

For now, I think it means that I will remain here, contributing to the ELS school and culture. It is valuable career experience and an incredibly fruitful ministry.  I can’t help but wonder where this may lead to next, but I am re-energised and full of zeal to see this through. God will complete the good work He started.

2023 Roundup

Reflection on the highlights of the year: DTS Outreach in London; Holy Spirit week in Japan; DTS roommate visiting me in Scotland; The continuation and fruitfulness of partnered ministries in Scotland; Seeing my family again, the ELS in Worcester and watching the rugby world cup with all the nationalities in YWAM. It’s also been a year of many wonderful meetings, friends, conversations, stories and experiences from all over the world. It’s been a year where I have seen the hand of God partner with us to build His church. If you are inspired to partner with me, please join my Whatsapp group, and or message me personaly.

Dear friends and family, thank you for your part in it, and making so much of it possible. The fullness of life is in God. Its His great gift to us. “Best blessings to you and your families as the year’s end draws near. May your new year be full of things to celebrate. When hard times come, may you remember the good times and remember to celebrate what you have with each other and our Saviour. May you not shy away from telling others the good things God has done for you. May the year end and you one treat you well. Amen“