Church Visit

Derek and I are sharing about faith and action this morning at NG Protea Park. What a great opportunity to encourage the body of Christ to action! We are almost giddy with the knowledge God is using us to plant seeds into the work He is doing. This is such a great church with so much to offer our community. 

Malachi hard at work

Christian Valley is back in Rustenburg this week. They've worked hard serving at Agnes's House the last few days. Tonight we sat around a campfire hearing the hi's and low's from the week and knowing how this service experience has touched the hearts of these young people is the perfect end to a great week! Thank you Matthew Meng for bringing the crew over! Thank you Valley Christian for your service. Thank you Lord for endless opportunities to love! Malachi helped move more stones than he ever imagined to create a better surface area for Agnes's House. This rock will cut down on all the dust that takes over when you have 100 kids running in the sand everyday. 

Kenya is calling, or maybe just my heart for Julie!

While filing bank statements, I found some pictures in the wrong folder that brought such joy to my heart.  Julie Inman Ayala, I'm ready to head back to Kenya whenever you are!!

Expecting great things!

I struggled to fall asleep last night after the awesome night at VPC. I dearly love these women and am so excited about the season of study we have entered! Expecting great things!!!. 

My friend Jaqi

Several weeks ago I had the honor of assisting in planning the celebration of life ceremony for one of the ladies in my Bible study. Her death came as a complete shock. She loved coming to Bible study and attended every ladies event we had a church. She loved people and laughter and all things that bring life. For several years she weekly shared her prayer requests and they were much like everyone else’s in the room…healing for a sick friend, prayers for a job, a car, wisdom and strength for decisions needing to be made, and that she would have the right words when the time came to share the gospel with people she loved. Her deepest desires were to see her loved ones joined with Christ. 

Her family had beautiful ideas for the service. It was lovely in every way it could be. And I was able to do something I never imagined getting to do. I stood up in front of that room of grieving loved ones and broken family and was able to share the gospel in the clearest way I knew how. I get to speak from the pulpit quite a bit with various women’s events and from time to time on Sunday mornings for our church family, but this was the first time in many years that I saw my hand shaking as I reached to turn a page in my Bible. I felt an incredible weight upon me to bring this important message clearly and with the grace that only Christ has. The ladies in our Bible study were there and they too had been praying for this moment. We share a deep hope that the Holy Spirit brought revelation to hearts that morning and the seeds were planted, watered and harvested. 

When the service was over and we gathered together in the fellowship hall, various members of the family thanked me for my words, another woman asked for a copy of my notes.  Another co-laborer on the mission field told me I explained the gospel from the aspect of freedom in Christ beautifully. My favourite comment was from an older woman in our church who often asks me to slow down when speaking. She said there was a specific gentleness in my voice as though water was slowly trickling over rocks in a stream. In my mind, it is Christ alone who brings that kind of gentleness. My thoughts frequently drift to the family members and friends we hosted in our church that day. I pray they come to know Jesus personally and that their lives are changed by His comfort, love, and sacrifice.

Raised to Walk in the Newness of Life

I remember the day that Malachi (our eldest) was born and I got to hold him in my arms for the first time. The moment was so magnificent and overwhelming that for several days I felt like I hovered above the ground as I went from place to place.  Surely no moment in the future would ever come close to what I felt right then. I was wrong. I experienced this same emotion when Matthew was born two years later, and again three years after that when my baby girl came into the world. I was sure those moments were so remarkable that nothing would ever compare to them again.

So far 2017 has been a great year at the Bible College, and we have seen God do some amazing things in the lives of these students. Many of the first-year students have never experienced water baptism. As strange as this may sound, this is not uncommon, as many Africans’ have an immense fear of water (when it comes to baths, pools, dams, lakes, etc.). This fear of water is partly because the majority of black southern Africans do not know how to swim and partly because of cultural beliefs about water spirits and other dark spiritual powers believed to be present in larger bodies of water. Our three children joined the chapel service a couple of weeks back in which we discussed the subject of water baptism, and to our delight, they too made the decision to be baptized. Yay God!

Remember that feeling that I thought I would never experience again; I was wrong. Having the privilege to baptize my three children may be the greatest moment of my life. Malachi, Matthew, and Kyla each decided this was the time and place to make this public declaration. Kyla had a tough time the night before the baptisms. She’s not overly fond of being in front of people or being the center of a lot of attention, so this was a big deal for her. We placed no pressure on her whatsoever, and we were so proud to see her make a decision to obey Christ because we knew how difficult this was for her in front of all the people. She was standing up for Jesus even when it was tough to do… it was so great to see.

As Rebecca stood on the pool’s edge with my family present and Face-timing the event with her mom in U.S., the feeling overwhelmed her at how ‘right’ the moment felt. Watching me baptize our kids in our swimming pool where we have baptized countless people over the years, and surrounded by these wonderful young African men and women we have the privilege to know and love, could not have made for a more perfect day.

Derek

Freedom in Christ

Thinking of many amazing moments with God and these ladies. One of these precious women is in the arms of Jesus tonight. The sight of 'her spot' in my lounge has caused me to burst into tears more than one time today. But still, we rejoice! Thank you Lord for your unrelenting love and receiving our sweet friend Jaqi home!