Hope For The Island

Category: Van Family

  • The Van Ryckeghem Family Update

    From Elaine Van Ryckeghem

    So many of you faithfully prayed, called, donated funds and encouraged us as a family and ministry during this time. Thank you!!
    On Sunday our church family anointed and prayed over Brian & I on behalf of Derek, Jenn, Makana & Brison. If we looked at the circumstances as is human to do, it can be very discouraging. Against the backdrop of the finished work of Jesus Christ, we have strength to face what comes at us.
    We believe that before the enemy could finish his plan prayer warriors were in action.
    From Jenn:
    Our family is so blessed to have had such great love and prayer support from you. God has shown Himself faithful through these trying times!
    I have internalized my stress over the last month. The torrential rains of monsoon season are generally hard on me emotionally, but the devastation from recent storms took it to another level for me.
    After years of hard work at the Hope for the Island farm, we were finally making some great progress only to be set back. Seeing the destruction and effect on our farmers, as well as the local rice farmers, really affected me.
    I knew I was stressed and not in a good place mentally, but I was unaware that it was affecting my health. Daily frustrations with no electricity and the resulting lack of communication, limited food, non-stop rain and wind, plus all the destruction piled up on me.
    Homeschooling my kids through this roller coaster time brought my emotional state even further down. Keeping up with projects and research have been challenging with constant Internet interruptions. I developed a pattern of negative thinking that I could not snap out of. I felt I was letting my kids down. Close friends were praying for me, but for the most part I struggled on my own.
    The following devotion couldn’t have been timelier.
    “Satan really takes advantage of homeschoolers. When you jump into something different, such as teaching your own children, you become susceptible to his attacks of doubt and fear. Unsure of your abilities, you second-guess your decisions and desperately look for affirmation and direction. Added to those doubts are questioning remarks and comments from those who don’t homeschool, and soon you begin to think, “I could really mess up my children’s lives if I do this wrong!” The multiple battlefronts of spiritual, emotional, and physical attacks call for reinforcement from the Lord. Only His divine strength, wisdom, and power can counteract.” (more…)

  • We Are Alive and Well

    From Elaine

    We are so grateful for your phone calls and emails. As parents we felt helpless as we watched the “worst storm of the year” unfold. Other storms had bypassed Hope for the Island, but this would be different. Less than 24 hours before the typhoon hit Derek was still trying to decide if he should evacuate or ride out the storm. We prayed for wisdom for our son.

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  • Our Return Home

    Our journey back to our home and ministry has not gone as planned. We arrived in Manila for what was to be a short stop over on our way to Siargao Island. We were met with heavy monsoon rains that hit Manila. The rain and wind did not let up and soon Manila was flooded. We are thankful we made it to our hotel before the flood waters rose.

    Jenn and I remembered that many years before when we were newlyweds and had no children, we were also stranded in similar conditions. We had to wade through chest high disease filled waters to find safe ground and a route to transportation. We were fortunate to make it out safely, while many died from being sucked down open sewers.

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  • Trip Update

    Our 5 months of travel within North America and living out of suitcases is coming to an end.  It has been an action packed trip filled with many emotions and experiences, all of which we thank God for.  Each step was met with God’s direction and provision.  As the days windup here, our family has been highly anticipating seeing our staff and getting back to life and ministry on Siargao Island. We did our final presentation of the trip recently in Langley, BC and we will fly home to the Philippines on August 16.

    First things first … A BIG thank you to all of you who made our North American trip possible and fruitful.  We appreciate everyone who hosted us and generously supported the need for rebuilding a new mission house.  Our goal was $55,000 USD and God faithfully provided!!  Any excess funds that may come in will go towards building a storm bunker.  We don’t want to be vulnerable in the face of another super typhoon.  The plan is for demolition of the old mission house and new construction to start in the late fall.   Upon arriving home, we will be busy catching up, hosting new interns and mission teams, as well as training six new junior staff from within the surrounding community.

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  • Hawaii Update

    Every time we step out of the Philippines, we face that season with the same heart as we do in ministry.  That is, trusting God and living each day by faith!  At every turn we are faced with a situation to rejoice and enjoy blessing through His goodness, or press on in trial all the while knowing God is there to sustain and grow us.   We are thankful for the challenges we face that stretch us and turn our eyes to Christ.  Our kids are also learning this.

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