Daniél and Corinne van der Merwe are bursting with excitement as the Lord’s guidance for them is becoming clearer. Over the past month and a half, they have had several really helpful discussions. These conversations involved several countries as well as worldwide linguistics.
They have started to investigate an option that combines the best of both worlds: Corinne can do translation work for Senegal, Daniél can help with equipping people for South Africa. In this way, both of their gifts and talents can be a part of bringing God’s Word to the unreached.
These two options aren’t new. What is new, is that they realised they can do these things remotely, staying anchored in France while still serving abroad. And therefore, they can work for three countries at once. Another great benefit is that this also avoids all the difficulty of going to live in a different country while dealing with medical complications.
For Corinne, this would mean doing translation work for the West African division of the mission organisation. She is already a professional translator, and it is her dream to be involved in translation directly for the glory of God. She has already taken on small translation projects to get started and see what it is like. But there’s plenty of future work available.
For Daniél, this would mean being involved in the online training programme run by the mission. The leadership for this is in South Africa, but the students come from all over the African continent. They joined a Zoom session to understand more about it, and saw a real potential for joining in this work and how Daniél’s strength’s would fit in.
Both Senegal and South Africa do not require their full-time attention, meaning that they would stay active in supporting the local church in France a perfect mix of their desire to reach the unreached and to be actively involved in the local church.
Their pastor in France has recommended that Daniél join a Master of Theology (MTh) at the Irish Baptist College. It will fit right alongside the South Africa work. Pray that God will strengthen him for these studies. The MTh programme takes 10-15 hours per week and lasts three years. It is primarily done from a distance, with a total requirement of 18 days at the college near Belfast for lectures.
There are some necessary papers and formalities to settle so they will be in the Netherlands for a few months. The main thing is organising Daniél’s transfer of medical aid to France. They hope to return to France in January and settle there for good.
They have booked a flight to Dakar at the end of October and will stay there for ten days. The primary purpose is for Corinne to meet in person with the people with whom she will be doing translation work. But it is also for Daniél to experience the challenges and realities of travel in Senegal, as the work for Senegal might require them to travel there again.
Praise the Lord for:
• Giving them clarity regarding the way forward after so many months of consideration
• His help in every challenge
• His amazing love and patience towards the
Pray for:
• A greater love for the Lord and each other
• Their time in the Netherlands
• The Senegal journey
• Beginning the work