James Dekker

I've been a Christian Reformed pastor since 1977, raised in Chicago. In 1978 I first dragged my wife Rose and two children to Costa Rica for language training for work in Latin America. It didn't take too long for Rose to very seriously hear her own call. I thank God for that and for her daily. After serving for ten years as Refugee Coordinator for the CRC in Canada, working for World Renew in the Burlington, Ontario office. She is also a trained spiritual director.

We have three grown daughters, scattered from Ottawa, Ontario to Grand Rapids, now one in Columbia, Missiouri.

Erika is a pastor/chaplain/mother. Her husband Tim Postuma works with CRCNA Communications and once in a while still helps run this Network; he used to like the free labour he got out of his father-in-law; we'll see if that "like" resumes as the f-i-l starts blogging again for The Network after not doing so for a year. Erika  and Tim have  twins, Lucas and Ella, plus Caleb JAMES!

Middle daughter Anna lives in Ottawa, now, She is lawyer working for the Department of Justice after delivering Adele during law school at the University of Western Ontario in December 2007. In September, 2011 she took maternity leave--a year in kindly socialist Canada--after giving birth to Japheth Adrian. Husband Jason Grootenboer teaches part-time at Redeemer Christian High School in Ottawa to take care of the children while Anna turned to full-time work early in 2013.

Youngest Jessica is a splendid knitter, ex-barista, English major (Calvin College, 2005) and dog lover. Her partner Liz Lucas  took a Master's degree in journalism from Missouri State University and now heads the department in computer-based research in journalism (or something like that) in Columbia, Missouri, where she interned while a student Back in Columbia, Jessica still works on-line for Looped Yarnworks, a knitting and yarn shop she managed while in Washington, D.C. as well as for her cousins mini-fabric pattern empire called Fabrics by Rae. Jessica still exports samples of warm goodies to family and friends regularly. Their adopted dogs Darby and June are almost as lovable as was my my German Short-Haired Pointer Dakota, but half the size, though Dakota shrunk some over her last three years because of diabetes AND a hyper-active thyroid. (We've put more $$$$ into that dog than into most cars I've driven.) Dakota now rests until Resurrection Day bundled in her pillow under an apple tree in our backyard, as a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary (wearing a colourful rosary) hold a permanent vigil.

I retired at the end of June, 2013 as pastor of Covenant CRC in St. Catharines, Ontario. So now, I ride my bike around the Niagara Peninsula more often than before, long to cross-country ski, which happens only rarely here. Canoeing happens regularly with hand-made double-bladed paddles, sometimes in wood-canvas canoes I've restored but haven't sold yet. My daughters are getting restored canoes when I get around to them. In March 2014 I became part-time Pastor to Missionaries (a.k.a. "Member Care Coordinator") for CR World Missions, meaning I write to and Skype with missionaries all over the world and occasionally lead on-field spiritual retreats.