Serving all God’s people, all around the world

Marlies Hartkamp came to faith in Jesus as a child and, like many, was challenged to own her faith for herself at university, in her home country of the Netherlands.

During her time at university, she remembers reading a biography about a Christian woman who went to work overseas and being very challenged by that book. “I began to pray, ‘Lord, where do you want to use me? If it’s overseas, I’m willing to go’,” she recalls.

Following university, where she majored in special education, Marlies’ first job was for an organisation providing residential care for people with disabilities. But the thought of working overseas remained with her, and when her boss came to her with a proposition, she had to think hard about it.

Marlies reflects, “My boss wanted me to specialise in a certain field of disability, whether it was diagnostic work or working with people with autism, so I asked for time to think about that. And in the back of my mind was, ‘If I sense that the Lord wants me to go overseas, this is the time.’ And so I started praying. Then within three weeks I knew the time had come. So I said to my boss, ‘I’m not going to specialise. I’m going to leave!’

“I needed to answer the question ‘Where is my place in God’s story and what is he doing in the world?’ And that question especially gets very clear at crossroads in your life.”

Marlies moved to Asia, where she began to work with children with disabilities and others at risk. She worked alongside local Christians, striving together to, in her words, “bring hope and bring light in a hurting world.”

Throughout that time, Marlies was involved in a number of projects and programs, including inclusive preschool education, foster care homes and programs, and parent support organisations – all with the goal of bringing dignity to children with disabilities.

For 20 years, Marlies worked in Asia. During that time, she met and married her husband, an Australian, and they started their family.

Looking back, Marlies believes her passion for working with people with disabilities stemmed firstly from the fact that she herself had been very sick as a baby, and there had been a strong possibility she would grow up with severe disabilities. “When I was 12 or 13,” she says, “I watched a documentary about children with disabilities who needed full-time care. It hit me at that point that I could have been one of them.”

God placed deep compassion in Marlies’ heart for children with disabilities and their families, further encouraged by the modelling of her parents who showed their family what it looked like to respect and include others, no matter their abilities or backgrounds.

As Marlies worked in Asia, she regularly thought about how her faith and work intersected. Eventually, she began studying again and came across the area of disability theology.

“I always wanted to know, what does the Bible actually say on the topic of disability? And how do experiences of disability speak into how we see and read the Bible?” she says.

Marlies enrolled to undertake a PhD in this area, through a seminary in Asia.

In her doctoral studies, Marlies is looking closely at the intersection between how the Church views and addresses disability and how the world does this. She is also interested in how, as Christians from a Western country like Australia, we can learn from how other countries work with people with disabilities.

She is asking important questions. Marlies shares, “We have such an amazing message as Christians – a hope and life-giving message – but what do we do with this practically? In the end, does it make a difference for God’s Kingdom?

“In some Asian countries, we see churches meeting the needs of people with disabilities. In Australia,
the government or other services often meet such needs. So what is the role of the Church here? Also, in Western culture, we can be private and reserved. Do we welcome other people into our lives? Are we truly hospitable?”

Marlies is convinced that, “we have to learn to translate between contexts so we can learn from other cultures and churches. In Asian cultures, people with disabilities tend to face many challenges. So, in some way, it’s clearer to see what the role of the Church can be. How can we translate that into the Australian context?

How do we bring hope in our communities and context? There is still so much to learn. How can we live out the gospel in a more genuine way? Drawing on my cross- cultural experience and theological reflection, I hope to be a unique and clear voice in that discussion.”

In early 2020, Marlies and her husband decided to move permanently to Australia, his home country. After settling in Sydney, and throughout the early months of the COVID pandemic, Marlies worked on her PhD and wondered what God would have her do next.

That’s when she discovered that a friend was undertaking an ADM Fellowship. Marlies was instantly intrigued. She found information on ADM Fellowships online, printed out the page and stuck it on her bookshelf to think and pray about.

In mid-2021, she applied for a 2022 ADM Fellowship to write several journal and magazine articles drawing on her research. She also wanted to develop a resource for Christian organisations to encourage the active engagement of people with disabilities in ministry.

After several rounds of applications and interviews, Marlies remembers her surprise at receiving a call from ADM confirming she was being awarded a Fellowship. “I said, 'Are you sure?’ I was very nervous!”

But Marlies set aside her nerves to make the most of the opportunity, and she has been delighted with the opportunities the Fellowship has provided to her so far.

She has written for The Gospel Coalition Australia and Jericho Road (so far). She’s been able to meet with mentors to help her think through her project and grapple with the idea of vocation. She particularly appreciated the opportunity to participate in a workshop on ‘voice’, as she considers how she can find and use her unique voice in the disability theology space. She’s had the opportunity, with the credibility she says she has been afforded by the Fellowship, to connect more widely with people working in her field and related fields. She has also been able to contribute to the Mary Andrews College subject ‘Disability and God’s People’, sharing some of her experience and research with the class. And there are still months to go of her Fellowship!

As Marlies finishes her Fellowship and her PhD, she’s not quite sure what is next – perhaps academia or theological education. But she is extremely grateful for her Fellowship, and all that it has provided to her in this stage of her work. “I’m just really thankful that the Lord has opened this door for me,” she says. “It’s inspiring to work alongside other women who love the Lord and are passionate about making a difference for his Kingdom.”