We need your Support!

We would love your support for our work at Lae City Mission. Most importantly your prayers for the work being done, and that we will be well equipped to deal with a new home/culture/job and everything that comes along with working in mission.

Here is a copy of the post on Dave's blog Content to Contend:
As you likely know already, if you happen to be perusing this blog, I plan on uprooting my family and traveling to a (not so) far off land with the purpose of spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.

This is not without its challenges: distance from loved ones, a new language, a new culture, and, in our case, getting financial support. 

I am going to be working with a group called City Mission PNG, in the city of Lae. Lae, like the larger city of Port Moresby, has a great deal of poverty, a great deal of homelessness, a great deal of crime, a great deal of unemployment, and a great deal of suffering. Lae City Mission aims to help the people of Lae, by giving them a hand up: the boys coming in off the streets are trained and taught skills which they will be able to use once they leave; skills which enable them to provide for themselves, to be in a better position than when they first came in. All this, and connected with the Gospel!

My role will be to work alongside the boys, as they become young men - and future elders, deacons, preachers, and teachers - teaching, guiding (and probably learning a whole bunch myself). 

But, to be able to do this, we need to get there.

While we will be provided with a house to call home, transport to make use of, and an amount towards our day-to-day living expenses, we need to raise funds for flights, for vaccines, for the remainder of living costs, for insurances; costs which easily run into the tens of thousands per year. Costs which we cannot afford without a whole lot of help.

And that is where I must swallow my pride, and humbly ask: will you help us?

Any donation - from a couple of cents, to the largest number you can think up - will help us get to Lae, help us to stay in Lae, and help us to work with Lae City Mission, help us spread the Word of Christ.

If you wish to give us financial support, please fill in the pledge form here, or download here, and email it to Adrian at vanderwalsinlae@gmail.com or donations can be made to:

VanderWal Lae Support Committee
BSB #: 086 116    Acc #: 772861417

We appreciate your support!
xx Dave and Cheree, Nikolas, Isaac, Calvin and Madison xx

Our Newest Blessing

Our newest family member has arrived! 

Madison Joy, 4 hours old, enjoying cuddles from Aunty Natasha Joy

We have been richly blessed by the LORD with a beautiful daughter, who arrived 5 days after her due date, in the early hours of Saturday 15th August (5:32am), weighing in at 4140g and 57 cm long.  

We have named her Madison Joy van der Wal (Madison meaning 'Gift of God').

First night home. "Laps are for naps. The cot is not."

She is greatly loved, and her big brothers are proud as punch to finally have a sister!

Now we are settling in and getting used to being a family of 6, trying to catch up on missed sleep, making new routines, and of course enjoying lots of newborn baby cuddles!


And just a few more photos:

Definitely one of ours :)
top left is Nikolas, top right is Isaac,
bottom left is Calvin, bottom right is Madison.

Ready to go home!

First dress and headband

First shopping trip (Nikolas is at school)

Schooling the boys

After our move to Lae, PNG, we will be homeschooling our boys!  At the present moment we are researching the different homeschool curriculum and programs that are available, in hopes to find something that we can work with.

 
We are leaning towards the programs offered by Sonlight, as that is what other families in the area are already using, making it easier to share ideas and resources together, to make the homeschooling journey easier!


For now, the boys are getting used to the idea that school will be held at home with Mum as their teacher.

In the meantime, we have started teaching some common Pidgin words to the boys, which they are picking up very fast! Their favourites are:

Pikinini man = BOY

Pikinini meri = GIRL

Liklik = LITTLE, SMALL

Bikpela = BIG

Bagarap = BROKEN

Haus sik = HOSPITAL

Skul = SCHOOL



If you want to join us in our new language adventures, join the course 'TOK PISIN" on the website 'MEMRISE'- it's a great learning tool!

The beginnings of our new home!

Rev Ian Wildeboer kindly sent us some photos of the progress of our house!

It is in one corner of the compound where the Reformed Ministries mission workers live.

Outer frames are up!

Inside walls getting ready to go up, with family Wildeboer's house in the background

Our view (this is the field where the youth play a lot of their sports).

A little bit about Suambu Plantation

Lae City Mission opened its doors in Lae in January 2006. Lae is the second most populated city in PNG, with an escalating law and order problem.  Lae City Mission (LCM) purchased Suambu Plantation at 11 Mile Lae. It is an 150 acre fruit plantation that has become the home for up to 150 homeless or underprivileged youth between the ages of 16-23. 

Many of the youth that come to the Mission for help have been rejected by family and society and have been forced on the streets and join criminal gangs to survive. They have had little protein in their diet and many come covered in sores, scabies and grille, wearing their only possessions.

The Mission feeds, accommodates, clothes and provides medical treatment for these youth free of charge.  It is remarkable to see the difference that a clean bed and clothing, medical treatment and a healthy diet does to improve these young men.  They are then put through the same four phases as the Port Moresby City Mission youth.

The first phase is physical rehabilitation, which consists of introducing the youth to Jesus Christ, and working in the fields and gardens.  In this phase the focus is on structure, discipline and work ethic. 

One of the many gardens at the Suambu Plantation

The second phase focuses on building mental capacity through literacy, numeracy and vocational training. We offer vocational training in carpentry, welding, cooking, hospitality, security, animal husbandry and screen printing.  
(Dave will mainly be involved in the vocational training in carpentry).

Some of the youth in the literacy and numeracy program.

The third phase places each participant in on the job training in a field of interest, while still living at the farm.

Working at the plantation as part of the vocational training.

Some of the youth preparing food for themselves and others who live on the plantation.

The fourth phase helps them find permanent employment as well as mentors to help them on budgeting money and continuing to live a Godly lifestyle. 




The Mission is Christian based and the young men are encouraged to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ. The youth also attend church services and morning devotional times on the plantation, as this helps them to develop a healthy life style.  The hope is to turn young men who were previously a burden on society into quality, engaged citizens of PNG.

Buablung Haus, which accommodate up to 70 young men that have come through the Mission program and have been assisted in locating permanent employment in the city.

News of a Move

We are now in the beginning stages of preparing for move to Papua New Guinea, D.V. January 2016, where we hope to join Lae City Mission, on the Suambu Plantation.  (for more details about City Mission, visit http://www.citymission.com.pg/)

We are excited for the move, yet at the same time it is daunting – the unknowns of life in PNG, the change in culture, in language, a move overseas, knowing we will be away from family and friends etc.

We know it can only be done with Gods Blessings and your support.

Introducing...

Introducing the van der Wal family – David, Cheree, Nikolas, Isaac, Calvin and due-in-August'15 Bubs.

We tried to get formal photos of our tribe. Turns out, we don’t do formal. And these are much closer to who we are.

Presently we live in a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. I say ‘presently’ as we have recently made the hard-but-equally-exciting decision of relocating to Lae, Papua New Guinea to be involved with mission work!

Things we love to do as a family include spending time in Gods beautiful creation, camping (even if its just in the backyard!) reading, swimming/sports, imaginative play, movie nights, and quite simply: spending time with each other.

We are creating this blog page as a place where we can share information with those who are interested, a place for you to learn about us and what we do, and for you to share your support or suggestions with us – Please do! :)