Albertus (Benjamin) & Talina (Talien)

Travel information

We are currently

Description

We are a Christian Dutch family with eight family members: Benjamin, Talien, Noah, Joël, Julian, Anna-Lynn, Levi and Féline. Our oldest (Noah) is 17 and our youngest (Féline) is 5 years old.

After a lot of busy years in the Netherlands we decided earlier this year to explore the possibility of traveling abroad for some time. Noah has just finished high school and it won’t be long before he will spread his wings and fly out. So, we figured that this was about the last chance we had to go on a journey together. We thought it would be a great opportunity to show our kids more of the world, meet other Christians, to see that God’s kingdom extends around the globe. So, we started praying for guidance, talked to many people, and started with looking for opportunities. It soon became clear to us that New Zealand would be the focal point of our journey, and God opened (and closed) several doors. We plan to be away from home about nine months and arrived in New Zealand on the 23rd of August. So far it has been wonderful being here!

The first three weeks we are staying in a house in Hamilton. After that we plan to go to the Coromandel peninsula for about a month, after which we plan to stay for another month in a house a few hours north of Auckland. We would like to spend the summer exploring the South Island with tents, moving from one campsite to another. We heard about Workaway and figured that it could be a really nice way to meet kiwi’s in their home habitat 😊.

We are probably not the typical Workaway people in the sense that we have a large family. Also, we need several hours a day for homeschooling our children. But since we brought tents with us, we don’t necessarily need a place to sleep in a house. And we would buy our own groceries, can do our own cooking etc. Being able to use a shower would be nice though 😊 When it comes to helping, we are open to anything. We have a fairly large house in The Netherlands that we try to maintain ourselves, a big garden that includes a small vegetable garden. We are active people, family oriented, and we don’t mind putting in some hard work, and like helping other people.

Talien is a homemaker and Benjamin works for our family-owned road repair company in the Netherlands. Thanks to a great team that is taking care of the business we were able to go on this journey with our kids. We are active members of a Reformed Church in Bennekom (a village in the middle of the Netherlands) and have been (amongst others) involved in youth work in our church.

Interests

Languages spoken

English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent

Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

We're interested in:  

Life at a Farmstay

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Some knowledge of:  

Charity Work

Gardening

DIY and building projects

Animal Care

Babysitting and creative play

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Able to teach about:  

Helping around the house

General Maintenance

Helping with Computers/ Internet

More details about your skills

Benjamin has a bachelor degree in Computer Science and a masters degree in Management. Talien has a degree in Social Work. We are used to doing practical work in and around our home in The Netherlands. A few years ago, we completely remodeled our home and garden, and did a lot of work ourselves

Age

44 & 45

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies

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  Special dietary requirements