{"id":24056,"date":"2026-10-19T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cgk.nl\/?p=24056"},"modified":"2026-10-19T10:45:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T08:45:51","slug":"rene-and-lydia-van-den-berg-are-back-in-the-netherlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cgk.nl\/en\/zending\/rene-en-lydia-van-den-berg-terug-in-nederland\/","title":{"rendered":"Ren\u00e9 and Lydia van den Berg are back in the Netherlands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year marked the 40th anniversary of mdw members Ren\u00e9 and Lydia van den Berg leaving the Netherlands. In places including Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, they have been involved in Bible translation work in various ways. After all these years, the time was right to return to the Netherlands. Ren\u00e9 and Lydia have been living in The Hague since mid-September. \u201cAll glory to God!\u201d, they write, looking back on their life abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

41 years of dedication<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

41 years ago, the couple were sent out by CGK Leiden to work for SIL International on behalf of Wycliffe Bible Translators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first few years, Ren\u00e9 and Lydia lived in Indonesia, then spent several years in England and Northern Australia. They stayed longest in Papua New Guinea: they lived there from late 2003 onwards, having been sent there by the Nebo Church in The Hague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The couple contributed to Bible translations, such as the New Testament in a regional language in Indonesia. They also took on all manner of tasks necessary for producing a good translation. For example, they helped to analyse and describe several languages, taught trainee Bible translators, and encouraged speakers of various minority languages to learn to read passages from Scripture translated into their own languages with ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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