There Are Great And Mighty Things Happening in South Africa!

In 2004, my prayer was Psalm 90:17 "And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it."

Recently, I read this verse in Isaiah 26: 12, "LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us." What can any of us do in respect to eternity, unless the LORD establishes it?

It was clear, during our first term here in South Africa, that the Lord was directing Brother Kuzel's steps, and that of our family. The Lord was working in and through our family to establish the work He had for us within a completely different country and culture.

Metropolitan College: Upon our recent return to South Africa, Brother Kuzel began to search out the same young men that he had met during our first term, one of which was Clive, who was still living in the small town of White River, but was going to a different private college (i.e. a boarding school for grades 1-12). The LORD opened the door for what has transpired over the last six weeks in this particular place, much of which has been written in recent prayer letters. Being here on the front lines, we are sensing the urgency to get the gospel to these young people who are so hungry for the truth! Since we live in the Southern Hemisphere, the summer holidays are approaching, which means it is the end of the school year. Many of these young people are graduating and will not be coming back.

The Village of Dwaleni: Many of you "met" Augustine, the Pastor "in training" of the church in the village of Dwaleni, when he was introduced on the DVD presentation of the work here. (He is also pictured on the back of our prayer card.) For the last six weeks, we have been going to church services in Dwaleni, before we drive to Nelspruit for the services there. It is a blessing to see the number of children and adults that fill the building every week. I had the privilege to meet with a dozen of the ladies a few weeks ago, at their request.  

I believe each of you would have been overwhelmed at the response that these ladies showed over learning the truths of the Scriptures. It will be a great honor to share with these ladies twice a month from the Word of God.

The Village of Mganduzweni: It is sad to say that many of the young men that were meeting for Bible studies in this village have lost interest in hearing the Bible, but God's word says, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" Isaiah 55:11. However, there is one young man, Muzi, in whose heart the Word of God has been working, and he is seeking to learn more. Senzo, a young man from the village of Cho-Cho-Cho, near Mganduzweni, invited Brother Kuzel to meet at his house on Saturday mornings. Senzo's brother, Bongani, upon hearing the gospel, received the word with much gladness and was saved this past Saturday!

Proverbs 20:11, "Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right." Children are a blessing and Alayna is no exception. Countless opportunities arise for us to share the Lord's truths because of our daughter Alayna. One recent morning, Brother Kuzel spoke at the assembly of Metropolitan College on the importance of even a child gaining wisdom from the Bible, as well as resting our faith exclusively upon the Word of God. As an example, he had Alayna quote several Bible verses. They were all surprised that a young child, almost five years old, could quote that many scriptures. In South Africa, there is no traditional home life. They expect nothing from their children. It is not unusual to see children walking the streets alone with no parent or guardian in sight. Alayna would definitely seem unusual in this culture.

House Hunting/People: Since arriving back in South Africa at the end of August, we have been living at a guest lodge, located 10 miles outside of White River. (White River is 15 miles north of Nelspruit). It was OUR plan to have us settled in our own house by now, BUT God had other plans! To be honest, ladies, this situation was a bit unsettling at first, since this keeper at home wanted to be just that! We've been homeless since December of last year, but as we looked at houses and spent time with various rental property agents, we could see-- over time, that God has had a greater purpose. There are two agents, in particular, who have asked many questions about the Bible. We have also had many opportunities to share our testimonies with the guest lodge owners, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, and even with their other guests.

God has shown us many great and mighty things in our walk with Him, and we look forward to seeing MORE great and mighty things, which we know not of, as we pray and seek to do His will. Jeremiah 33:3

Thank you for praying for us and standing with us in this labor for the Lord, to the peoples of South Africa.