Time in the Tents

We survived! Our five weeks in the tents was completed on July 4th, and we are happy to report that the Bachman Family is back in their English home.

The experience we had was amazing. Waking each morning to the sun peering in our tent and the fresh cool air of the countryside was really a pleasure. Our Father gave us just the right amount of rainy, stormy nights, sunny days, windy afternoons and everything in between.

Some nights we were so hot we had to shed all blankets, and other nights we couldn’t find enough clothes and blankets to put on. Our little girl was so adaptable, she slept in a snowsuit, or just regular pajamas, with several blankets, hot water bottles, or without.


Jadynn was great! She loved being outside and her mommy loved dressing her for the (occasional) warm weather with sun hats and dresses. During the five weeks, she learned to crawl and is now scooting around the dorm at a quick pace and is starting to get into everything.


Home Sweet Home. We grew very fond of our tent as it became a home to our family. It was just the right size, and we enjoyed making it cozy for ourselves and our visitors. The colorful panels are windscreens to protect those sitting outside from the high winds that sometimes sweep through this area. Our comfy lawn chairs were where we sat, mostly in the evenings, and reflected on the days events and enjoyed a coffee or tea while baby was asleep.


The kitchen and dining room was the hub of our daily activities, like preparing meals, feeding baby, and meeting with friends. During the day we had our language sessions here a few mornings a week. Our Dutch language helper and our teammates met here, drank coffee, had cookies, and of course spent hours listening, recording and mimicking in Dutch. Learning about language and culture is not just work, it is relationship building too, we became good friends and had a lot of fun together, while also accomplishing a great deal in the language. We cheered for one another as we progressed in the language, and really rejoiced when the sounds we produced sounded like real Dutch!


The whole family in our tent. Our loving Father was so good to us and showed us His help in many situations. We sometimes find it hard to believe that He has given us one another. Also, that He gave us such a precious life to look after. We do not feel qualified for such a task as raising a family, let alone living in a foreign country. We do know, that He is able and if we are willing, then we can do great things.


Our bedroom. The place we really looked forward to seeing at the end of the day. The work was hard not only mentally but also physically, with gathering water each day, doing laundry, washing dishes, emptying our toilets and cleaning them. Each day we got a good night’s sleep because the demands of this lifestyle require much more effort than we were used to in our modern convenient lives.


Jadynn loved to crawl on our bed. She used our soft duvet to strengthen her developing leg muscles and this allowed for softer falls too!


Baby Jadynn had her very own nursery in our tent. Mom and Dad decided early on that our precious girl should have her own space so that we could all sleep well. Maybe you recognize the rocking chair that Robynn painted and covered in pink when she was expecting! Jadynn did not miss a beat and fell right into her normal routine even in the tent. There were a few nights she woke up, but only because she was cold. After a snuggle and a hot water bottle in her bed she was back to sleeping through the night.


Jonathan was required to put in at least 8 hours of language and culture study each day. This is where he spent most of his time during the day. It was only a few meters from our tent, so Mom and Jadynn could visit and see how he was getting on. Here in the main marquis students were allowed to use electricity only for the use of computers with language learning software. This place was very quiet as each one concentrated on the drills and intricacies of the language that they had been assigned to learn. Among the languages that we were learning were: Dutch, German, Russian, French, and Estonian.

One of the weekends while we were in the tents there was a large conference. Jonathan was given special permission to come out of the tents for the weekend and lead music. In the picture above he is singing a song he wrote during a trip in Russia accompanied by Robynn.


Several of our British friends from our local community came to see us. Pictured above are Paul and Caroline (holding Jadynn), and Simon and Janet with little Judith. These were just a few of our dear friends that took the time on a visitor’s weekend to come and encourage us. We had been looking forward to seeing them, as it had been several weeks since we had been together. Thank you so much for your visits, Eastgate family!


Of course it wasn’t all hard work! We did enjoy quite a few nights around a warm fire cooking, roasting marshmallows, eating, playing volleyball, and getting to know one another even better in this intimate and close-knit community.


The Dutch language group. As a thank you to our language helpers Reinout and Arenda, we invited them over for a barbeque. We were planning on not working on language during this time of relaxation, but we couldn’t help ourselves. Our desire to learn and be understood kept us constantly talking in Dutch and asking for corrections as we advanced and began to see results from our hard work.


The clay oven. We were not the best at using it, but we did give it a try. To start up the fire, prepare the food and cook it correctly took several hours. One night we thought it would be nice to make a simple meal, baked potatoes with beans. Much later Jonathan handed me my plate and said, “ Hope you really like them, they took me 4 hours to make, can you believe it?” Needles to say, they were really good!


Of course, as the only American couple in the tents, we had to make our own cultural contribution. We couldn’t find anything more typical than pizza and Coca-Cola. So every Wednesday night we had this meal with our neighbors and perfected the art of pizza making.


All in all, it was a unique experience that we’ll never forget. We were encouraged by so many who thought of us, visited us, and wrote us letters. Hearing from our friends and family only made us more excited to return stateside and to see everybody again. We will graduate from the Cross-Cultural Communications Course here on July 24 and will be returning to the US shortly afterward in August. We look forward to spending time with each of you and sharing what He has done. Jadynn is eager to see you, too!

Here comes the SUN!

As Jadynn basks in the sun, we too feel that the warmth and good weather has been a gift from our Father.  The next few months of our time here in England are going to be incredibly busy, but we are confident that we will finish the race, in our studies and as we prepare for the next part of our journey. We trust that He knows where we should be, and we are excited to share that news with you very soon.

Our recent visitors from home, Great Grandma and Auntie:


Our latest classes have been focused on Culture and Language study, and we are gaining loads of experience. Our final project will begin at the end of May as we move out to the "tents" and live simply for 5 weeks. We are only allowed what food we bring in and can keep- there is no refrigeration.  Jonathan and others will be learning how to build toilets, showers, and other necessities.  The planning process is one that will take several weeks.  Once we get there we must be sure that we have everything we need, enough diapers for Jadynn, food for the three of us, candles, matches, clothes, sheets, pots, pans, and if we forget anything we only get one chance to go back and get it!  

The whole experience is one that we have been looking forward to all year.  Though it sounds pretty tough, we are so excited to begin.  While we are there we will spend 8 hours a day (for Jonathan) and 4 hours a day (for Robynn) learning language and using the tools we have been taught over the past year.  We recently found out that we will be learning the Dutch language (spoken in Holland).  

Jadynn wants to learn how to read so she can learn Dutch, too!



However, we are not going to be taught in a class with books or other language tools. Instead, we will live with, work and get to know our language helpers who are from Holland and learn their language by using the voice recorders and listening as we build relationships with them.  It just happens to be that our language helpers are also our fellow students and some of our best friends, so we are really happy to learn a little of their language since they are always speaking English to communicate with us.

A recent presentation on Asia with our Dutch friends:



We will not able to communicate with the outside world while we are living in our new environment, so we will have to give you an update when we return.  The day we move back to the campus is July 4!  Couldn't be more perfect- Independence Day!  Will you keep us in your thoughts before the Father, and remember us as you switch on electricity and turn on running water?

All our love,

Jonathan, Robynn and Jadynn

Snowy Spring

Our time in England is quickly passing by, and as we welcome one more Spring here we were surprised to find on Easter morning a blanket of thick snow covering everything! Some of our dear friends from the community invited us to the country to stay for the weekend, and we gladly accepted. We spent our time in an idyllic country home with a special Easter morning all to ourselves, since we were snowed in.

Horses in a nearby field:



The country lane:



Daddy and daughter, do they look warm enough?


Since January we have enjoyed two more terms at our training and learning about the practical aspects of life in another country are proving to be so valuable. Our latest classes include; Grammar, Literacy, Phonemics, Home Assignment, Translation, and other additional workshops on Teamwork Skills, and Home School Techniques and curriculum. With these and many other classes in the mornings, we have a short lunch break and then its back to work for the afternoon.

Jonathan has found himself enjoying his outdoor practical work. As an artist he rarely has time to enjoy the outside since most of his work involves sitting behind a computer. Recently he has been working on the demolition crew of the campus. He is helping his international teammates destroy an old Officer's Mess. He loves his job and comes home three afternoons a week covered in dust and boasting of the latest things that he has crushed with a huge mallet or dug up with a jack hammer.



Robynn as been spending the afternoons helping Jadynn develop a naptime schedule so she can be more productive. When Jadynn is sleeping, she is able to take optional classes on subjects like homeschooling. Former teachers and mothers who have years of experience are teaching these courses to help new moms plan ahead for when they may find themselves in an environment without any formal education system. Mom has a big job, she takes care of the home, is on the team with her husband, and can be the primary educational provider for her family. In addition to this she is learning to cook basic meals with everyday ingredients (i.e. cooking from scratch). Who knew that you could make brownies and cakes without a box?



In our local community we continue to look for ways to serve and use our gifts. Jonathan is helping again in the morning children's classes and Robynn is finding that Jadynn is a great way to meet other moms and make friends. The friends we have made here have been such a joy to us and we are overwhelmed with their generosity. They have made our training ground a home for us, and we are very conscious of our numbered days with them. We are making the most of every opportunity to visit or have them over for a spot of tea!




We have been so thankful for your support during our training and look forward to the time when we can see you all again, hearing from you is a great joy to us. You are continually in our loving thoughts and we ask Him to give you strength, wisdom and encouragement as we serve together both here and in your own communities.

Welcome to our World, Jadynn

I'm sure all of you were wondering what happened to our blog since we haven't updated it in a while; we've got a good excuse...we've become parents.

On December 14, 2007 Jadynn Clarice Bachman was born at 10:57am at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in the U.K.

Here's a picture of our new family at the hospital:



I'm sure all of you were also wondering if Robynn ever finished the rocking chair from our last blog entry. Well, the day she put on the finishing touches, she went into labor, so it was His perfect timing :)

Here's the finished product with Jadynn and mum enjoying their time together:



Adjusting to being parents and students at the same time has brought its challenges, but we've been able to get through it so far with the Father's help. Classes are going great as we're continuing to learn the practical skills we might need for living overseas, such as Linguistics (for language learning), husband/wife and parent/child relationships, and Technology Tips, which is "do-it-yourself" construction and electricity for building a house.

Here's Jonathan creating light with a few tools, some wires, and a battery:



Jadynn attends classes with us, but she usually just sleeps through the lectures:



With the added responsibilities of parenthood, Robynn has learned to multi-task as never before (here, she's doing laundry):



We're looking forward to our future work and where we might serve:



Please continue to keep us in your thoughts.

Mum-to-be (among other things)

Robynn wearing a shirt given by her sister-in-law, which reads "Coming This Winter..." This winter has been a time of preparation for the arrival of our little baby girl as we've been getting ready for parenthood--we've taken the classes, read the books, and stocked up on diapers (which are called "nappies" here in England). Robynn has been setting up the nursery and has even started a few projects, including repainting and reupholstering an old rocking chair.



The chair has an interesting history having travelled around the world. Here's Robynn at work painting:


Here's the "before" picture, and we'll post the "after" picture when it is finished.


We continue to enjoy the friendships we've made at our church here, and one couple invited us to visit with them and their family in a beautiful part of England called the Yorkshire Dales. We had a great time of fellowship and were so thankful for their generosity and hospitality. Our friends have a baby boy and you can tell he had a great time by the look on his face. Ha!


The beautiful countryside in the Dales:


We even rode a steam engine train through the hills:


We're learning a lot from our new classes which include: Medical Practice, Culture and Language Acquisition, Linguistics, Cultural Anthropology. We are also meeting regularly with our professors now to talk about how we are doing in classes, how we are growing, how we are serving, and even how our marriage is going. These are all issues that are discussed in deciding about the future of our work and serving in another country. Here's a group of us with our professors and their family--the other students are from all over the world.


Soon we will be experiencing the biggest change of our lives...and our biggest happiness, too! We are looking forward to introducing you to our daughter in our next web update! The due date is December 10, but only the Father knows when she will come. Please keep us in your prayers.


All our love,
Jonathan and Robynn (& Baby)

We Survived!

Imagine living in the wilderness with no electricity, no running water, and no tent for 4 days! How would you survive? We went with our class on a survival course to see if we had what it takes to do just that. Not that we plan to live in those conditions in the future, but it's always good to know necessary survival skills just in case they might be needed. We learned how to start a fire without matches, build rope out of plants, find food in nature, as well as basic orienteering using a compass and the sun and stars. We also learned how to build our own shelter and I've provided step-by-step instructions so you can learn how do it yourself!

Find two large forked branches or trees and one long one to use as a pole and set up as shown. (It helps to have a cute wife help you, too)


Next line some smaller sticks along the middle pole and weave twigs through them so that you can add foliage for protection from the elements.


Finally, weave foliage into the twigs and make sure the leaves are pointing down to carry the water away from the shelter in case it rains. We used local ferns called bracken to cover our shelter, and amazingly, it kept us completely dry when it rained one of the nights. It was time-consuming to build the shelter, but it was so much fun and next time we go camping, we want to build another one!


Robynn and baby were well taken care of with great food over the fire (we hiked in with some food supplies), plenty of drinking water (provided), and a team to serve them and make sure they were okay.


Here's our team in front of some more shelters we made (Robynn carved the flowers out of wood).


We had a great time and we wish we could do it again. He has provided everything we need in His creation, and we experienced a simpler, more thoughtful way of life far from distractions and (in)conveniences. Robynn was sad to leave the first home her husband had made for her!

We're back in normal classes again and really enjoying them as we continue to learn about His work in the world. Thank you for thinking of us!

All our love,
Jonathan & Robynn (and Baby) only 8 weeks to go!