The Way
to the church

We were born in South Africa.  We both grew up in Christian homes. Jaun’s dad was a pastor and Celeste’s dad became a pastor after retirement. We came to love the Lord at very young ages and were saved young; Jaun at the age of 11 and Celeste at the age of 8, although it took many years to mature and understand what a Spirit-controlled life should look like.  

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We met at university and got married in 1983 in Pretoria. We both trained and worked as physicians in South Africa from 1983 to 1998. Our son, Tobias, was born in 1985 in South Africa.

The family emigrated to Canada in 1998. We worked in Canada as physicians for 24 years. It was always our joy and privilege to serve the Lord in whatever way we could.

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Throughout our lives we were exposed to a variety of denominations, mainly because we moved around depending on work and had to find Bible-based churches. What really stuck with us was the fact that the Bible is our only foundation for life and godliness. Studying and searching the Scriptures, while trusting God through understanding and obeying His Word is a life-long mission. 

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In 2022 we both felt it was time to retire from medicine and after much prayer we also decided to move to Panama. Tobias decided to move to Panama at the same time. Six months after our arrival in Panama the pastor of the church we had joined, asked Juan to take over the pastorate as volunteer, as the pastor needed to go back to the United States. 

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A few weeks before that request came from Pastor Stephen Wood, we had prayed and asked the Lord to give us work in His vineyard. The call was confirmed in various ways and by much prayer.

It is a honor and privilege to serve the Lord and His people in this manner. 

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We pray we are always worthy of the call we received.

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Our goal is to please God in every way.