Forty One Years—One Day at a Time

January 28, 2008 -- David and Janice Entingh Dykgraaf have just retired after more than 40 years with Christian Reformed World Missions in Nigeria.

But they don't plan to retire from mission work.

The Dykgraafs say they have already been picking up pamphlets and brochures for going to Asia or Nicaragua. The difference is that now they intend to go as volunteers.

“We plan on retirement being a lot like our work in Nigeria,” Jan said. “We’ll take God’s grace one day at a time.”

During their career, they served in different areas of Nigeria and performed a variety of ministry tasks. As they put it, each one was its own adventure.

"The first adventure was to immerse ourselves in a remote culture and language,” Dave said.

In February 2008, the couple was honored by Calvin College with a Distinguished Alumni Award. Both graduated from Calvin in 1966.

In a CRWM publication that came out in 2000, the missionary couple was described this way: “Dave and Jan Dykgraaf mingle with the people, join the rhythm of village life, pray daily with the handful of new believers there, and work with determination to see more A'vadi find the Way.”

The couple spent the first part of their ministry working among the Tiv tribe and trying to develop the growing church that previous missionaries had helped establish.

“It was like opening a brand new history book.” Dave said. “The discovery of the terrain, swimming in the river and enjoying our kids, moving into agriculture because of the community where we lived."

The Dykgraafs became a part of the community where they served, building barns together, clearing fields, climbing up mountains to get 30-foot teak poles to carry them back on their shoulders. That was the Tiv land.

When the Dykgraafs announced that they were relocating, the Tiv told them that they knew one day their bones would lay in their cemetery—an allusion to their expectation of a life-long relationship and their “unavoidable” return.

"When we’re done with our bones, you can have them,” Dave responded.

In their own words, the 20 years among the Tiv, were God’s training camp for the 21 years to follow. Their next adventure was a move to the Eastern Kambari Area, another remote location, where they worked among the A’vadi.

"That was the greatest adventure,” Jan said. “It was different because it was first trying to reach this unreached group; the projects were the people.”

As they describe it, God blessed the work of evangelizing the A’vadi and soon people started turning to Christ. When the evangelism efforts bore fruit, their emphasis changed to discipleship, and when disciples decided to organize, then it became a journey to help them to be the body of Christ—a church.

“The last five years, were all about training leadership and setting up Christian Schools, while Dave also did Word and life ministry through agriculture,” Jan said.

In the two score and one years of ministry, one of the few criticisms they received was a note from a North American partner who asked them why their prayer letters were always so positive.

“We told him that it was because so many positive things were happening,” Jan said. “Our attitude was to live a joy-filled, thank-filled life. We look for joy around us and for ways to thank God for it.”

—Mariano Avila, Christian Reformed World Missions

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