Aart and Geesje den Breejen are amonsgt CMS Ireland’s newest Mission Partners – and will begin their service in Arua, Uganda, during the summer of 2008.
As their surname might suggest they are originally from the Netherlands and currently live in a small town close to Rotterdam where Aart teaches at a secondary vocational school. Geesje is currently based at home, looking after their 3 children – 5 year old Anne Fleur, 3 year old Ruben and 10 month Jan Lucas.
Aart and Geesje have both worked previously in Africa – Geesje as the coordinator of a Community Health project and Aart as the director of an Animal Health Project in Bor, Southern Sudan.
The family will be based at the Vocational Training Centre in Arua – which is in Madi-West Nile Diocese, North-Western Uganda. Aart will be working alongside the staff and students to build their capacity in his role of Coordinator of the WNEVTC project.
Both Aart and Geesje want to serve the people of Northern Uganda by living in their midst and using their talents, abilities and experience to help build a better future.
First Impressions:
Aart and Geesje have already visited the project in October 2007 where they met up with David Gough (the CMS Ireland Regional Mission Partner for the region) as well as the WNEVTC Management Committee and Diocesan staff. They now believe they have a better picture of how things will work on the ground and are looking forward to departing for Arua in July 2008. They hope that the pictures they took and stories they will tell will also help Anne Fleur and Ruben in their preparation for moving to life in Arua.
They are currently prioritising the setting up of a sound structure for support from their own church (Protestant Church of the Netherlands) and exploring how they can make their work a blessing to all involved (Churches in Uganda, Southern-Sudan, Ireland and the Netherlands).
David Gough who is responsible for the CMS Ireland and Madi-West Nile Diocesan Partnership is also seeking to develop a support base throughout the Church of Ireland for the den Breejens and the WNEVTC.
They feel their biggest challenge will be to make it God’s work and not theirs – to really partner with the people there. They pray that the WNEVTC programme will be rooted in the area and in the hearts of the people.
Please pray for the Den Breejen family as they seek to fulfil God’s will for their lives. They are specifically asking for prayer for God’s guidance during their time of preparation and for the development of the necessary support base.
