My name is Antje Dircksen, I am 20 years old and, by God’s grace, have been able to play my part in the work here in Bolivia since July 2019.
Thank God I was able to grow up in a Christian missionary family, so that mission work has always been a part of my life. I came to faith at the age of twelve at home with my mum and have been able to walk with God every day ever since. Like everyone else, I have my ups and downs, but I can always be mindful of God’s loving and sovereign guidance.
I came to Bolivia solely through God’s guidance, as I had actually had other plans. It had been clear to me for a long time that I wanted to spend a year abroad after my A-levels, although the question of where I would go remained unclear until June 2019.
Originally, I wanted to go to a children’s home in Thailand to help out there; but God arranged things so that the organisation I intended to go with was no longer able to obtain one-year visas, so I had to look for something new. Through my dad, I then came across the AGUM overseas mission programme relatively quickly. After a conversation with the mission director in charge, it very quickly became clear to my family and me that God was calling me to the new congregation ‘Sommerfeld’, in the old colony of ‘Sommerfeld’ in Bolivia. After much prayer and some preparation, I finally ended up here.
My main role in the new ‘Sommerfeld’ congregation is at the local school, where I’m able to teach four classes – that’s 18 pupils. I also get to help out with the children’s hour, where I lead a session on a particular topic about once a month. Apart from that, I sing in the church choir and lead a small home group with a few teenage girls and younger girls from the local area.
I am grateful to God for the experiences and lessons I have already been able to share with Him during my short time here, and I look forward to the time that is yet to come. It is truly worthwhile to devote a whole year of one’s life entirely to God’s service, without also going to school or working on the side, for God blesses us.
I know, O Lord, that man’s way is not in his own power; that when a man walks, he cannot direct his own steps.
Jeremiah 10:23
