I have to say --- the idea to start a social profit themepark in Uganda has not left my thinking for more than 12 hours at a time. I know i've not written too much about it - partly because I am slowing down on web-time/partly because I've been moving houses. But trust me - we are moving forward. It's amazing too see the reactions. but it can't just stay with reactions. It is time to get things rolling further.
So I decided a while back to sign-up for a coaching program of COS, a organisations financed partly by the dutch goverment to help people set-up projects in Int. development. Pretty cool that our goverment makes money availible for this! Not only do they coach, they also grant money (about 300,000 euro every month) to projects done by INDIVIDUALS, regular folks like us.
Anyway - the training was in a beautiful location with lots of food (they were not trying to 'sober' our thinking about development work). The idea is that they get a group of (in our case) about 16 people together, and coach them in their ideas of project-based working.
I knew that our project is different... very different... most people (as was evident in this group) want to help build a school, a clinic of some sort, an orphage... but a themepark... Not too many...
Huub Severiens, the instructor of this weekend suggested me the second day: Ferdi - I think your project is actualy more of a Buisness - why don't you try to get investers to look into it, and set it up as a buisness...
That's great - because i've had that thought several times already. He gave me some good tips. One of those I am working on today: The dutch goverment appartmently give back-ups to investments to 'buisness in development work'. Interesting...
So where does this leave me... With new energy to get this project into reality. One day indeed, maybe all the way in 2012, we will host the president of Uganda at the official opening of the first 'social profit themepark of Uganda': Tjeko.
Stay tuned.
GOT EGGS!!! :-)
After alot of running we need a winner...
well it was a tight... both winning teams are enjoying their ice-cream
jumping uncle Ferdi
Then we did a One Day training in Germany by Timon's church and Ferdi got also to preach there. In the mean time we got the key of our own apartment located in Gouda "Koningin Willeminaweg" right behind, we have the biggest kids park in town.... the humor of God!!! Then we got to share with the youth group from Ferdi's home church, move back to Ferdi's dad house the time to fix our apartment and then we went for ten days in France. I whish I could tell you we got to rest and enjoy the French food but the truth is that our time in France was quite intense... We took the time to share what God has put in our heart concerning TJEKO PARK with the missionary comity of Clamart church and then with the main church... It was a blessing to see their response and support towards this new project. We were really grateful to see how they were encouraging us and believing in us. 
While Maëlle got to spend a lot of time with her French cousins and grand-mother, Ferdi and I went to give a 
and got to see some of our old interns (Thibeault and Rachel). 
The weekend was really full but we had such a good time there. We got to empower with practical tools every single teacher who came and put a lesson for their up coming children service on Sunday. It was indeed a lot of work but to be honest it was so much more rewarding to see men and women of God better equipped to face the battle over the souls of our young people. People came to us the entire time thanking us for the training. A lady even took the time to write us a "Thank you" letter...
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