My name is Antony Hakvoort. My wife Gerdien and I are missionary evangelists sent by a Dutch Reformed Church. Since 2017 we have lived in Guinea (West Africa) with our four daughters, Evelyn, Aliëtte, Joēlle and Matthea. By his grace God has enabled us to develop a good relationship with Guineans, and we much appreciate their sense of hospitality, their kindness and humor.
Deciding to go to Guinea was the result of a long process. It began when God transformed the mind and heart of the religious person I once was and made me a true disciple of Jesus Christ. I had become very preoccupied with the spiritual needs of the world, so when our church appealed for people willing to work as evangelists in Guinea, God disposed our hearts to take up this challenge. We applied to the mission board, entrusting ourselves to his guidance, and I quit my job as a software developer.
My mission is now to bring the good news of the gospel to people who still don’t know the name of Jesus. I work with a team of Guinean Christians, nearly all of them former Muslims, guiding, encouraging, and teaching people who attend Sunday services. Meanwhile I have also been learning a lot, so I felt I the need to do further studies in
I began looking for a distance-learning program in the Netherlands, but found nothing that suited my needs. I came across the distance program of the Faculté Jean Calvin and have been enrolled since 2020. I’m grateful to the Lord for what I’ve learned from this program. Knowing the Scriptures more deeply has meant that Christ’s work has become all the more precious. The teaching is directly useful to me in me ministry. The professors always consider the fact that they are dealing with distance students, and I appreciate this. The new e-learning platform introduced last year has proved a success up to now in that it allows for closer communication between professors and distance students. I really appreciate the weekly teaching sessions for Biblical languages. This is really stimulating though I admit it can be a real challenge to fit them into my schedule. Missionary life can be full of unforeseen circumstances.
Since we’ve been in Guinea, we have seen people converted and find salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. May that be an encouragement for us all! May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ equip us for every good work to do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, to whom be glory for ever and ever!
Anthony HAKVOORT