Around the World with the Woltjers

What have we been up to?

General Overview

Since our return from Papua New Guinea in 2018, we have been living in Zeeland, Michigan. During the last two years we have been prayerfully seeking discernment for what is next for our family. We have used this time to reconnect with friends and family in the area, actively seek  personal growth and development with the help of a life coach, and invested in our little family unit. We are so thankful for the time we have had in the United States, and are also excited about moving back to Papua New Guinea for the foreseeable future.

Individual Activities

Lukas has been working at his old position as a mechanical engineer for K-Line Industries, which is a company that creates and manufactures specialty tools. He has continued with his hobby of woodworking and has loved creating some beautiful items for our house with one of his best friends. He has loved being able to reconnect with friends, which usually includes lots of food, games, and laughter. He has also enjoyed being able to do yard work again, and is routinely found outside mowing the grass or making a bonfire.

Daniella has been a stay-at-home mom, focusing on the family. She has invested time and love into her friendships, and is thankful that she has been able to deepen the relationships she had before moving to PNG. Currently, she is homeschooling Benjamin and finding joy in teaching him subjects she loves: History, Science and Mathematics (which are his favorites as well :)). 

Benjamin is currently in Kindergarten. He loves school, and is always sad when we take a break for the weekends. His love for learning is infectious, and he says he is “ecstatic” every day because he gets to do school. We are constantly amazed at how much he is learning. Benjamin is also enjoying playdates with friends, learning to play chess and the recorder, and creating masterpieces with legos. He is an amazing big brother, and loves to boss Josiah around.

Josiah is a constant bundle of energy. The amount of laughter and movement that comes from his body is exhilarating and exhausting. He is learning right alongside Benjamin, and blows us away with what he can do. He is constantly climbing and fearless. Along with his body, his mouth is always moving. 🙂 We love watching the joy he brings others with his words and his antics. 

What’s next?

After two years of God telling us to “wait”, He has opened the door for us to return to Papua New Guinea (PNG). Back in January, Lukas was talking with some of the missionaries over in PNG, and heard how much work there still needs to be done. He asked if they had a position for him to fill. They said “yes!!!” and we started the process of returning. 

Currently we are participating in a LAUNCH course for the Church of the Nazarene. This multi-month course is equipping us to minister and spread the Gospel to those we form relationships with, as well as providing us other resources to prepare us for deployment. We are also working on paperwork – which with COVID is quite the interesting process. 🙂 We are currently waiting for our work permit applications to be approved, and then we need to apply for our entry permits. Lastly we are starting to raise funds to support us during our time of serving at Kudjip.

Time-line

This is a tricky question. We will be heading back to PNG when God opens the doors with the paperwork, finances, and travel plans. However, we are hoping to be able to go around March of 2021.

Thanks for reading this post! We look forward to this journey and are excited you will be joining us! If you have any questions or would like to be on our newsletter mailing list please write us at familiawoltjer@gmail.com.