As I hold my small little Michelle in the palm of my hands I find it difficult to comprehend that Jesus himself was once a small, vulnerable,  little baby… Amazing that He would choose to become one of us in order to redeem us… As we look forward to Christmas I know celebrating it with our baby will give us a whole new perspective and make the fact that Christ became man so much more real to us…

From the moment he held her it was obvious that she had stolen his heart and that there was a special bond between them… She is “daddy’s girl” and will be treasured as a gift from God as she is…

It is with GREAT joy that we announce the arrival of Michelle Alisa Esterhuizen born on Friday, 30 October at 20:50.

This photo was taken minutes after she was born and words cannot express the joy felt as we held her in our arms the first time…

Michelle is doing well and mom and dad are adjusting to the responsibilities of parenting and trying to cope with a lack of sleep…

We want to give God the PRAISE for this new life and we will really appreciate your prayers for us and our baby girl !

Michelle means: French- Gift from God/ Hebrew- Close to God.

Brian is currently reading a book by Joseph Stowell called: Why it’s hard to love Jesus. I am finding this to be a great and very challenging book especially considering the question of what is my motivation for wanting to know, love, follow Christ…? “Genuine love for Christ is always a response to His extreme grace extended to us.”

Why It’s Hard To Love Jesus takes a close look at the story in Luke 7 describing Simon the Pharisee and a sinful woman who anoints Jesus with expensive oil. When we’re confronted with the reality of Jesus, do we remain indifferent and religious like Simon the Pharisee or do we fall at His feet in adoring worship like the woman who had been forgiven much? Joseph Stowell challenges Christians to honestly probe the answer to this penetrating question.

I guess you will not be too surpized to know what Miriam is reading…

What to Expect when You’re Expecting is an excellent book and Brian especially is learning A LOT… It is becoming a regular routine now that Miriam will explain to Brian (usually at night just before we go to sleep) in detail how the baby is developing at every stage of the devlopment process. Brian is learning about strange concepts like: “Sympathy Symptoms” which he finds very strange and difficult to understand… Please pray for understanding from Brian and patience for Miriam…

Wow, what a wonderful and unique experience… Over the years serving with OM Ships we have heard many people who have visited the Faroe Islands before share about how special it was and now we finally got to experience it for ourselves… AND they were right !!!

We had an incredible time meeting many wonderful people, enjoying the breathtaking scenery and making friends. God has obviously blessed this small nation and is using it to be a blessing and a shining light to the world.

Edinburgh Castle and the park in the picture behind us was the venue for a live easter play that thousands of people attended. It was very touching to see so many people gripped by the live scenes that unfolded in front of their eyes… It was quiet emotional to witness especially the crucifixion and resurrection scenes.

We had a wonderful time in the Netherlands and even though these were our first “real” ministry ports we PRAISE GOD for the incredible opportunities we had to share God’s love and encourage local believers. Many lives were impacted and it again proved that God can use us even when we feel weak and inexperienced.

To see our news letter, click the mailbox above… and that’s it!

It was quiet an emotional experience for us when we set sail from Denmark – we have been waiting for almost 2 and a half years for this first voyage. We stand in awe when we think of all the prayers, work, effort, joys and struggles over many years of many thousands of people working together to make it possible…
GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL and we give Him all the glory !!!

 A few weeks ago we had our first snow of the Christmas season… Many of the crew went outside (even though dark & cold) and soon we had a big snowball fight… For many of the crew this was the 1st time in their lives they had ever seen snow…