Nicole van den Engel — Garden

Favorite Verse

Zephaniah 3:17 — "The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Director / Hope Alive Clinic

Nicole van den Engel

Philippines

Calling & Mission

To abide with Jesus, and share His hope by following His example to heal the sick and share His Good News.

Years Serving

Philippines

Greater Manila

Family

I have been married to Anthony since 2009, and by God's grace we have grown closer and stronger in marriage as we navigate the ups and downs of life together. We came as family to the Philippines from New Zealand in 2019, with our biological children Zoe (2014) and Ezra (2015), who were 3 and 5 at the time. Zaiden joined our family in 2023 at 6 years old, and brings much life and energy into the family mix.

Adoption

Anthony and Nicole are passionate about sharing the beauty and challenges of adoption. Adopted kids are not 'lucky' to be adopted, they come with deep hurts and pains of all that 'should have' been, but wasn't. Yet adoption mimics the heart of God, as He adopts us into His own family, despite our deepest flaws and brokenness. If you'd like to learn move about adoption in the Philippines, or to have a friend to journey with in your adoption path, please don't be scared to reach out.

My Journey to Hope Alive

Anthony was approved as a missionary (volunteer) teacher at Faith Academy in 2019, and our family moved over in July. As a Registered Nurse, I always knew I would get involved in community mission work, and had already made a connection to Hope Alive Clinic as my sister came on a short term mission trip to KIDS International Ministries a few months prior. This in itself was obviously God ordained, as neither of us sisters had shared with each other our plans to go to Manila, and we were shocked to discover that KIDS and Faith Academy were very close together within such a large city!

Within two weeks of arriving, I visited Hope Alive to drop off some donations, with 2 year old Ezra in tow. I began volunteering 2 mornings a week, and enjoyed every minute. I learnt how to perform ultrasounds, and began to provide structured devotional messages and educational topics for the mothers each morning. I was also able to provide wound care and palliative care to a dying women nearby (pictured above), which has forever been a tender moment of my journey with Hope Alive.

When COVID hit and lockdowns began, the sole midwife, Rona, and I were the only ones left at Clinic to provide care. While Anthony watched the children at home and taught from home, I increased my hours to 4 days a week and supported Rona at Hope Alive. See Hope Alive's stories for more on that challenging time through one of the world's most intense lockdowns!

In 2021 I officially took on leadership of Hope Alive, having spent two years learning the culture and processes already in place. I love my front row seat to seeing all that God is doing in and through Hope Alive, and I have been absolutely amazed at how He is carrying this ministry forward!

My Background in Healthcare

My nursing journey in New Zealand and Australia was within the community health context. I started in the Aged Care sector in 2011, in residential and hospital level care. From there I went into District Nursing, which is visiting people in their homes for care such as wound care, palliative care, diabetes management, PICC lines, Nephrostomies, and more. What I loved about this was getting to see how people were really doing within their home environment, and building relationship with people as we often were able to visit the same ones regularly. I took a break from nursing when my biological children were born, and then re-turned with a focus on wound care in the community, before heading to the Philippines.

Much of my Maternal Health knowledge has come from my own child-birthing experience, which was not straightforward, and from all I've learnt at Hope Alive. It's been a wonderful learning journey, and I am deeply privileged to be part of an incredible team!

My Current Role

As the Executive Director for Hope Alive Healthcare Association Inc., my role has changed significantly. I have a wonderful team who are a blessing to work with, and I am often reminded of God's provision as He continues to bring us mission-hearted staff and missionaries.

My role now is mostly admin and general oversight. Making sure our policies and procedures are effective and warranted, fundraising and events, management of current and future needs, staff management and recruitment, marketing and communications, and generally making sure all the 'pieces' of the organization are moving along. With our goal to expand the Clinic into a Hospital, there is a lot of behind the scenes work that needs to be done! By God's grace, and in His timing, we continue to trust Him to provide.

Not what I expected missionary life to include!

I also really enjoy drama and music, and something very unexpected is that God has been able to use these passions in a way which builds up ministry awareness and points people to Jesus - and to have a good laugh! Check out our team performance here.