Koen and Anne-Laure Verdonck serve in support roles at the mission base in Papua New Guinea.
Things had to be adjusted in PNG too with social distancing etc. A lot more thought is given to hygiene with hand gel, washing of hands, facemasks etc.
Koen works with the Aviation team but had been working from home during the time of social distancing. He was very happy to return to work at the aviation hangar mid-May because he really missed his team.
For Anne-Laure her work at the dental office has started up again and between twelve and twenty patients are scheduled a day.
Recently some more people left on home assignment including their son Josh (a mission pilot) with his wife Erin and little Lucy Mae.
They were going to leave at the beginning of May but because of Covid-19 things changed. Koen and Anne-Laure were blessed with some more time with them. They eventually flew out early June at short notice, having a week to pack up their house, clean and be on their way to the USA. They have a few weeks of quarantining themselves, deputation work and sharing with churches, family and friends about the marvellous things that God has been doing in PNG. They are scheduled to do some more missions training and in their second year go to Arizona for Josh to train to become a helicopter pilot. Koen and Anne-Laure miss them and are a little sad and yet grateful for the time they had together.
At the end of September Koen and Anne-Laure plan to travel to the USA for meetings but that all depends of course on the virus. They hope to then also go and see their kids as they have not yet seen one grandchild, Sam and Hilleen’s. All is in God’s hands.
Pray for the team on the mission base and for Koen and Anne-Laure as they continue to serve the Lord and support the tribal missionaries. Praise the Lord that very few cases of Covid-19 have been reported in PNG and pray that there will not be any further outbreaks.