Boxes, Past Promptings... and Another Journey into Africa

Boxes

          Well, the last few weeks have been home to much activity here at Livingstone House. I’ve been continuing to help in stores: looking through, sorting out, and distributing boxes of various types of literature donated from the States. Then just this week, a shipment of 40 tons came in. What bountiful supplies God distribute for His work! Once the literature comes in, anyone can come by to take as much as they would like/are able to take. There have been an increasing number of people stopping by to take material, and it seems to have picked up a decent rate of distribution. There are also some people who have taken a few tons of literature to then distribute in another area. Please pray that the material will make its way into the right hands as there are so very many in need of education, growth, and a deeper hunger for Christ. Is it not for a lack of knowledge that people perish? May God use the literature in a great way that will create a hunger inside the lost, challenge those who are found, and spur each one on to pursuing a more vibrant life in answer to Salvation's call.

To Jerusalem first...

          God has provided several opportunities in which to minister to those right around where I'm located. Just over a week ago, as I was going for a walk, a lady coming up the side street I was crossing was carrying several large bags. She said she could in fact use some help and we began walking toward where the taxis stopped. This provided about 1 km's walking time to talk. She had actually come from the high school my dad attended and was one of the cooks there! So right off the bat we had a common ground. It didn't take too long before the conversation turned to an eternal value. Grace said that she wasn't a Christian, but wanted to become one. She mentioned that she wanted all the blessings that some with a life in Christ, that she was going through a really hard time right now. Wanting to make sure that she hadn't the wrong idea of what a life resting on Christ looked like, we began to discuss the nature of hardships and the call Christ gave to take up our crosses. It grew to such a fruitful conversation! And as far as I could tell from merely that walk, she did have a genuine desire to follow Christ, even through His assurances of suffering. What a wonderful thing! I hope, Lord-willing, to see Grace again (as she travels that route daily) and talk more about the Lord. Please pray that either I will have the chance to have more conversations with her, or if it was God's will for me to only be a seed that she will come in contact with someone else who can help grow her in the Lord.

...then Judea...

          On the weekends, I often commute back with my uncle (who works very close to Livingstone House) and cousin (who's school is on the same block as LH) to Somerset West (about an hour's drive from Capetown), where much of my family are. This last weekend, I went for a run Saturday night and came across a man sitting on a short post in a park. His name being Joshua was a great segue into the Bible, and we had quite a lengthy conversation going from this topic to that. However one thing which he brought up several times was the power of a name, firmly standing by the fact that if you have a Bible name, you are greatly blessed by God and are definitely one of His called children (...but only the good Bible names as I found out when asking him about Cain, Delilah, and others). Conversely he was very hesitant to accept that someone without a Bible name could be a son of God. Many times I tried to steer rather toward the Gospel, but, he didn't seem to want to follow that train of thought in an actual discussion; however he told me at one point to keep talking because he liked what I was saying, so perhaps God was indeed working in him. But please pray that the words he heard were of God and not from my flesh, that God would stir in him a hunger for something more than content with the emptiness of death he now holds inside.

...Samaria...

          From March 30 until April 5, Frontline is holding a Biblical Worldview Summit (like the first week of my training back in June) in Vereeniging, so I'll get to help with that. Our aim with this course is to reach those further north in South Africa who aren't able to make it down for the courses usually held in the Cape. We would appreciate your prayers for this as it draws near.
          You can also read more details about about the week here.

...and to the ends of the earth!

          Preceding the BWS, a small team of us will be heading up into Africa for another mission! The focus: Discipleship. we will be holding several seminars, working through two of Frontline's books on discipleship: Practical Discipleship and the Discipleship Training Manual. Our goal is to give a clear understanding of salvation and repentance in addition to discussing topics such as "I am not ashamed of the Gospel," suffering, revival, the beatitudes, wisdom vs. folly, and others. Please keep us in your prayers as we leave very soon for that. Pray for a hunger for revival and readiness to stand up against the darts of the prince of this world. pray that to those we minister, the light of Christ will spread.

Past Promptings

          It was four years ago, that Dad, John and I had the privilege of visiting a mission by the name of Kwasizabantu. The supernatural wonders that I saw there were amoung my most prominent earlier memories of seeing first-hand the power of God. After hearing a vibrant sermon by Erlo Stegen, we were shown around the grounds, extensively informed of some of the ministry that bloomed throughout the mission--a ministry based on the foundational recognition and repentance of one's sins, and acceptance of the Lordship of Christ; which then led to phenomenal healing both spiritually and physically!
          After that visit, I had recorded in my journal that I felt God calling me back to that place. I didn't write too much about it, because at the time, I hadn't seen how that would actually come together. I didn't know why God had placed it on my heart or even when and for how long I should return. Little did I know that God had in His plan, not only for me to go back and visit, but to share testimonies with the people there! Following this upcoming mission into Africa, and just before the BWS, the team will be doing exactly that. What's more, He's placed it on my birthday! God has such a sense of humour; what an amazing gift!!!

A Message of Thanks

I write this post to specifically thank those of you who have given so much towards my year here in Africa and pray it will provide encouragement to you of the might of our Saviour. How blessed it is to be a part of an eternal family, united together through the bonds of One whom no power could dare overthrow! As I continue in the work the Lord has prepared for me here, I am continuously and increasingly thankful for how He has provided for my needs through your support.

To Prayer Supporters:

To those of you who have committed yourselves to prayer, may the assurance of God’s active work here in Africa be an encouragement in your prayer life and a strengthening in your faith. Regretfully, much of the year has passed me by without a proper appreciation or even knowledge of the enormous impact of the power of prayer. “Of course someone going on a mission trip, doing the Lord’s work, following His guidance, needs the prayer of fellow believers,” I often thought, yet so little had I known of the weight of that very thought. Having grown up in a Christian home, with prayer an assumed part in my life, It has been much more of a practice than a reality, the reality of coming before the throne of God Almighty: omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent! to whom even the seraphim round His throne can only say Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts! How true it is that “fools rush in where angels dare to tread.” And I  have so often been one of those very fools, “just shooting up a quick prayer” here and there, or praying something from which even the next day I have ceased to look for how it was answered. But biggest of all has been my vagueness in prayer, where out of a laziness in seeking Him, I pray only in generalities. Yet even in through this, how incredibly humbling it is has been to think that there are brothers and sisters praying specifically for me in my spiritual walk, for the work the Lord has for me here, and regarding various concerns throughout this year!  I’m filled with such a tremendous joy to think that this year advances with His children on their knees before Him as He advances His kingdom here on earth. And what a blessing to have the very same Father, who hears our earnest prayers—Our…Holy…Father! Thank you so very much for your prayers regarding this year. God has indeed been at work throughout this continent, He is indeed at work in my own life. And His Name will continue to be praised as a result of His work!

To Financial Supporters:

For those of you who have sacrificed financially to support my year here, my gratitude goes deeply to you also! From covering the expenses of the missions I’ve been able to partake in so far, to things as simple as food, transport, etc., it’s is such a blessing to have the financial support to do so. As I think of the sacrifice this is for many, I am again very humbled at the thought, and through your support, God has provided me with all my needs so far. Thank you so much for all your generosity! And may God greatly bless you.

Thanks be to God

It is really quite hard to express my deep gratitude for all the support you guys have given me, but I thank first and foremost our Father in heaven, who has seen all and paved the way long before we travel it. Praise Him for His eternal work! Praise Him that He not only shows us the path He has laid out for us, but has already provided for us what He has seen we need. What a truly amazing God we serve!

Mission Orientation Weekend Report

A Few Talks and a Campfire

The Mission Orientation Weekend went very well, with 24 participants joining us on a vast, remote farm (about a 2 hrs drive north of Capetown). Starting Friday afternoon, we discussed cults and sects as well as secular humanism. Questions were many, and I was encouraged especially by the eagerness of those taking notes and asking. That evening, we had a time of singing, sharing missions stories, and worship in front of a fire. It was such an awesome time of hearing how God had worked in the lives of several others there, and ways He had used them and changed them in the process. To the others, I pray it continued in motivating and deepening their desire for missions.

Saturday’s Events

First time I've fired a revolver

            We started the next day with a 5:00 PT, running up one of the hills near the camp—an exercise which oddly few seemed too keen on. But the reward was great when the rising sunlight splashed over the clouded horizon. The day was filled with lectures on faith, evangelism, Islam, self-defense, Creation/Evolution, and a couple films. The one described Islam very thoroughly, while the other, Ee-Tauw, was the story of a mission couple’s tribal ministry in Papua New Guinea (well worth seeing!). For the Creation/Evolution talk, we had the privilege of hearing from Mark Labrum, in association with ‘Answers in Genesis.’ In addition to the lectures, we did an outreach for a few hours to a nearby town and in the afternoon were able to use the farm’s shooting range

Arab Threat!

            Throughout the weekend, there was a continually developing story we became a part of. We had gone into an Islam territory to bring in the Gospel. However the border was heavily guarded by Arab militia, obstructing us from crossing back over the border. Come Saturday night, we were waiting for a break in the guard, an opportunity to cross back into safety. And after a few hours’ sleep, the very opportunity had come! We woke the participants up at 2:00 for a river border crossing simulation, and amoung 3 teams, saw who could do it the most inconspicuously. We used the nearby pond as a river substitute while one of the leaders shone a spotlight from the top of his bakkie when he heard anything.

Sunday

            After completing the exercise, we all got a little more rest before church the next morning. Michael (who was on my previous Frontline missions) came in on the Sunday morning to give the sermon. He gave a very good message on faith. After talking with several of the people who had come and spending some time in prayer, we headed back home.

           

Praise in Answered Prayers

            Throughout the week, we saw a few people who were showed much eagerness in the lectures, who were keen to participate in the exercises, and who showed a genuine interest to carry on with missions. There were also many whom the camp didn’t seem very motivated at all, who didn’t show much of an interest at all to participate in and learn from the course. And yet the most encouraging thing through the entirety of the course was going into it knowing that God had already answered prayer; that He was convicting people of their sins, revealing Himself to those there so they might know Him more fully, and giving them a strong desire to become the fishers of men God has called them to be. I am eager to see how God has and will work in the lives of those who were there, and am so incredibly grateful that God has given us the gift and power of prayer at all. Praise His Name!