Quite a thought….. Repent from repenting of your sin…. Now that is a challenging point to get across. Even more so when you are ministering in your second language, which is translated to Portuguese, which in turn is translated to Makua. But Jesus never said that spreading the good news (His Gospel) would be easy. He did however say,’ And lo, I am with you always, even unto the ends of the earth.’ And God is faithful…. No if’s, no but’s. Faithful. (read full stop 🙂 )
When God is at work, all you have to do is sit back and enjoy. God is in control and even when it seems as if He is not, remember, He has made a public spectacle of principalities and powers.
So here is the scorecard for the week:
Plus minus 1200km travelled;
19 hours 15 minutes travel time of which 13 hours 45 minutes was for 563km (eisshh, mission is tough….);
About 10kg of rice consumed…. 🙂 ;
2 new ‘fellowships’ visited;
2 days building on the foundation that is Jesus Christ;
30 people willingly bowing their knee, and choosing the Lord Jesus as the only way to the Father;
Enough said.
As for me, ‘I will bless the Lord all the time, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall boast in Him alone.’
Please remember our brothers and sisters in Mozambique in your prayers, and do not forget the mighty man of valour, which is Elias. He especially needs your prayers as he is still in extreme discomfort and pain from his back.
This year 2018 was blessed year when God spiritual brought us to deep understand in His Will through His Son Jesus Christ. John 6:39,40.
We believe that when Jesus spoke in his word Mathew 7:21 – 28 that “The Will of his Father” requires us to be hearing and do Jesus sayings, because Jesus is the only one and author of our faith.
Since we have applied Christ Jesus’ principles in His Word as the Head of the Body (Church), we have seen believers coming as true members of His Body added with such spiritual understand.
Our prayers is to reach more and more understanding in three major groups of people, that the revelation of God’s word come to full in hearts of; youth, women and men in our fellowships here in Mozambique.
This year 2018, we just planned in our prayers that the only way how to reach groups of these people was to bring true teaching of God’s word in some events as Youth camp, women meeting and Bible study, where God’s word will be exposed as our spiritual life and food. And by doing that God was so gracious to us in Mozambique to see many times in such events, people to rejoice in God’s Word even giving their life to Christ Jesus. In two first events, youth camp and women meeting, we were amazed, how great was God using young men and women sharing from heart with confidence that Jesus is the source of God’s word in our daily life.
Youth Camp at Nhamu Fellowship in Gorongoza
Women’s Meeting Chimoio
Bible Study at Biarro 5 Fellowship
Our recently bible study at Bairro 5 fellowship, God through His Word challenged us that “if we are in Christ Jesus, and Christ in us” we have received a gift by grace and each member is called to exercise God’s gift for Christ’s glory in His Body. Ephesus 4:7-12.
Praise God for such teaching from God’s word which came to fulfill in our hearts the joy that we are stewards of God’s mystery. We are praying for God to reach us in full understand and to be the doers of God’s living Word which is Jesus Christ.
Building Project at Bairro 5
Please, please, pray for us for our building construction at Bairro 5, as we ask the Lord to provide us with funds to finish it by next year June 2019. By God’s grace is in our hearts that building is going to be training place and accommodation will be needed in yard also for the brethren who will come to be taught during one week. God bless you
‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the POWER of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: it is written, the just shall live by Faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness because that which may be known of God is manifest in them: for God hath shewed it unto them for the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His ETERNAL POWER and Godhead; so that they are without excuse’
The creation declares the Living God:-
Throughout this beautiful country Namibia, one witnesses what a creative and mighty God we serve. From nothing – God created the universe – through His spoken Word. From the dust of the earth – God formed the first man – Adam. From heaven – God sent His son Jesus Christ (the Word) to the world to save mankind
Our first visit to Namibia was 18 Months ago when Mark Van Heusden, Rupert and myself went on a 5 day holiday. In Swakopmund we enjoyed a lunch with Pieter and Olga. Olga fellowshipped in Montague Gardens, Cape Town and later married Pieter who is from Namibia. They expressed their desire to receive the Word, if possible, on an ongoing basis. A door was opened.
Two months later Rupert and Francois flew to Namibia. Pieter and Olga were instruments in the Lord’s hands to gather people together. Every 6 – 8 weeks 2 brethren would fly to Namibia to share the Word of God. The group grew but sadly many left due to doctrinal beliefs, especially on the doctrine of baptisms.
The remaining people continued to gather together and on Sundays they enjoy the opportunity to join the Durbanville Fellowship from Cape Town via ‘click meetings’
This year a wonderful opportunity opened for Rupert and I to go to Namibia for a month to gather together with the believers. Our desire too was to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We rejoiced that when we crossed the border into Namibia it was raining. Rain in the desert is scare with an annual rainfall of 80mm. The country has been in a drought for the last 5 years causing the farmers much distress. From time to time, throughout our one month mission trip, rain fell. This was a great blessing to witness rain in the desert. The Augrabies waterfall, which flows from the Orange River, was gushing with water. A Namibian told us that the cascading of this waterfall is not often seen.
In Swakopmund we settled into our little self-catering place that was to be called home for 17 nights.
Eagerly we joined with the little fellowship. Each time we gathered together around God’s word we witnessed the growth in their love for the Lord and His Word. The evidence too was that we came together many more times than was previously arranged.
A believer asked us to visit a lady who had given her life to Christ but had been struggling spiritually for years. On meeting with her we were aware that she was spiritually confused and had no direction. We shared with her the need for a foundation in her life (1st Principles of the doctrine of Christ – Hebrews 6 vs 1 – 3). The Lord would build upon this solid foundation. She wrote many notes and was so grateful for the Word of Truth. When we arrived at the next meeting we were delighted to see this lady and her husband. They were both rejoicing and together had started studying the First Principles notes which we had given her. John 8 vs 32/36 – ‘When you know the truth, the truth will make you free.’
Another wonderful door the Lord opened was at a horse stable, just outside Swakopmund. Olga arranged with the owner Kathrin for the Gospel to be preached to all her staff. Three mornings a week we would gather together to share with Kathrin and these precious folk. They were hungry for the truth and listened attentively to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One man said ‘but this is a western belief’. We explained that there is only one saviour, Jesus Christ whom the Living God sent for the whole world. A Christian friend of Kathrin joined us on one of the mornings. She was so delighted and having made notes said “I am going to share this at the prison”.
Jerry, a lovely man who is the manager of an upmarket art/curio shop who we had met 18 months ago was eager to hear about the God of the Bible. Twice Jerry came to our little home. Once for breakfast and again for supper. His wife opposed the spiritual input into Jerry’s life as it would interfere with their beliefs. He always yearned to know the truth about God and knew this opportunity was an answer to the searching of his heart. As yet he has not made a commitment to Christ as he is ‘counting the cost’.
Rupert and I traveled many miles. We rejoiced and were thankful that the Lord had been with us and had kept His hand upon us in every way.
When Rupert asked me to join the trip to Malawi it was a total bombshell to me as we were busy with homeowners affairs on the estate and had just set the date for our estate AGM and so I called our chair lady who changed the date and insisted I must go as Gods work comes first . Please pray for Debbie as she is on treatment for cancer and the prognosis is bad and she is unsaved.
The day we left I was stressing with unresolved problems and that night the Lord gave me total peace about it and we were able to concentrate on the trip and the ministry of the word and even on the one day I was ill was still able to minister the love of the Lord Jesus to the folk .
When you share the word of the Lord Jesus you always receive more than you give and we were blessed meeting the folk and hearing the singing and seeing the love of the Lord Jesus shining through them .When we arrived back at our base and compared what each team had shared that day the theme was the same and the Holy Spirit was moving and we were powerfully aware of it .
The Lord kept his hand on us on the long and dangerous roads and brought us home safely .
Please continue to pray for the folk in Mozambique and Malawi and especially Brother Elias with his painful back as we have promised to do and who received us joyfully and fed us bountifully with lots of good food [mostly mealie pap]
The border crossings were easy and at the one in Beit bridge we were taken to the front of the queue and were soon on the road again and we thank the Lord for his hand on us through the whole trip
Greetings in the name of our precious Lord Jesus from Caril de Beer from Southfield fellowship in Cape Town.
We had the most special and life building trip this April to Central Africa. ALL the brothers have been truly inspired and encouraged by what we had encountered along the there and back home.
The team consisted of Rupert Freese, Bruce Munro, Roland Holst, David Cunningham, Elias and myself.
We left On the 4th of April and returned back home on the 19th of April.
With drought stricken Cape Town behind us and slowly fading away in our rear view mirrors, we edged forward towards Central Africa km by km.
With the Lord’s praises in our voices and thanks giving in our hearts the Holy Spirit filled our sails and it was full steam ahead as we joyfully proceeded forward entering into the Lord’s fields . We were reminded of the verse John 4:35 and that the fields have been prepared and that they are white and ready unto harvest and that now was the time for us to enter in and to do his work.
Armed with verses, parables and inspiration we entered into the fields, ready to till where the soil needed tilling, pruning where dead branches needed to be removed to give opportunity for new growth, watering where the true living water was needed to sooth the quench and where fertiliser was needed to enrich the soil it was done to the Glory of our Father in Heaven.
As the Word was shared amongst the various fellowships in Mozambique and Malawi, it was made evident to us that God’s hand has been and still is at work here amongst the folk. God’s Word was soaked up in the various meetings just like a sponge that draws water into itself. Prayers were prayed, testimonies were given and questions were asked and answered bringing to light that these folk are truly growing and coming to maturity in the Lord. God is at work here. The Truth is being established and men and woman are being drawn to Christ.
The brothers preached their hearts out and when the time came for us to get together and give report back of what was being shared in the fields at our various outreaches it was made so evident that God was steering the ship here. He was navigating and giving direction through the Holy Spirit. Whether we were in Mozambique or Malawi, whether we were split up in different directions or if we were in fellowship together the messages was clear and direct and each message dovetailed perfectly into the next, giving us a perfect picture of God at work.
As we approached home again with Table Mountain on the horizon and the Lord’s fields getting smaller and smaller in our rear view mirrors, we were confident and reassured that it was the Lord’s work that was done over the last couple of weeks and not man’s.
We ourselves had received revelation upon revelation and blessing upon blessing had been poured out and Truths had been engraved upon our hearts.
We serve a REAL and LIVING God. His son’s name is Jesus. We are loved and adored and so dearly wanted. This is all beyond our understanding, but we are reassured that he is a good and faithful older brother who brings us to all Truths and understanding.I have come back home with a fresh understanding of Jesus Christ and what he has done for me and what he means to me.
This has been a life changing event in my walk with Jesus.
I give him all the Praise and all the Glory forever and ever. Amen.
I’m grateful to the Lord that I was given another opportunity to accompany the brothers to Mozambique and Malawi in April. Every time I come back with something beautiful that the Lord has established in my heart.
Ephesians 2:1 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins”. I ministered this principle at Kulanga Fellowship in Malawi under a tree, that we were all dead because of our wickedness, evilness and selfishness, saying to them that we were all dead and that “Dead is dead!!!”. God made me aware that I too was spiritually dead as a result of my trespasses and sins. Meaning I was lifeless towards God, but now I have been brought to life through Jesus Christ my Saviour. Being brought to life is not just something that I’m told to believe, but a life changing experience that causes me never to be the same again.
After asking the brothers at the Kulanga Fellowship to read their own verse that they think can be used to preach Jesus, Brother Benson stood up with a beautiful smile and read 2 Cor 2v 15 & 16. “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life”. He said that when we are spiritually alive we give off the sweet fragrance of Jesus Christ, but we stink when we are spiritually dead. It was clear that Brother Benson was himself alive, we could smell the fragrance of Jesus Christ through him. I pray the Lord may keep our Brother Benson and all the other folks that we ministered to, may they continue to seek after the Lord.
A devoted young man named Nelito came to know the Lord in 2009 at the Bairro 5 fellowship when he was only about 14 years old. From 2011 Nelito, together with other young men, were involved in preaching together with brother Geraldo to get a new fellowship started at Pina. From 2014 he was actively sharing in the open ministry at breaking of bread. He is a very dynamic young man encouraging other believers to participate in sharing God’s Word without fear. From 2015 he was given opportunity – along with others – to go around teaching the First Principles of the doctrine of Christ to young people among our fellowships. He gladly participated with the understanding that “freely he received in Bairro 5 fellowship each Sunday service and now he was able to also freely give” as the opportunity was presented to him.
In 2016 he went to a teacher training college where he qualified as a school teacher and was then sent to a school in Molumbo last year. We communicated with brother Topolo there to “receive him as your brother in Christ” and he participated in God’s Work together with brother Topolo. They live 40 km apart so it was not easy to connect but Nelito, as a new brother in the area, was presented to the other brothers there. He started preaching Jesus to unsaved people in the community where he is teaching and good results are starting to come through as people have fellowship and hear the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. Please pray for Nelito that God will help him to learn the Chewa language and give him wisdom as he shares the Word and reaches unsaved people in his community. He is facing a lot of opposition from other denominations in the community who are saying that he belongs to a “Satanic church”. There are many drunkards and unholy people in the “so called churches”!
Thanks be to God – Jesus came to set all the captives free.
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
November 2017
Rupert, Andre, Pieter (From Swakopmund) and Elias went to Mozambique for ministry work.
Some big trees around
The brethren has been sharing in Naygema. Translation has been from English to Portogese to Makuwa. The sessions are hard as it sometimes seems the brethren here are not seeing the light and a lot of disturbance as we are trying to preach the gospel. We are continually praying for God to work and pave the way for open eyes and open hearts
Church that the body of Christ Built themselves:
Andre states how the Lord has been moving in their midst. Previously the brothers were influenced by outsiders being promised with things/money but yet their faith stayed strong and they were encouraged by the brethren to keep the Doctrine of Christ and follow Christ as the head of the church.
Accommodation is not what one is used to. But these things are done for the Lord and where the Lord send you, you go.
It is hot but there is always time for coffee!
Church is not always in a buildings. Buildings are not the Church of God. The church of Jesus is the people, those who serve and worship Jesus. Wherever they are, the power and the glory of Jesus is:
As brothers in Christ we continually seek to grow in the Lord, in His wisdom and knowledge. We also seek to be baptized with His Spirit for as the word says in Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And so as we were praying, Pieter was baptized with the Holy Spirit! What an awesome priviledge to witness the power of the Holy Spirit at work! We thank God for what he is doing in Pieter life!
Travelling from Cape Town and ministering so much takes its toll on your physical body and a recharge is needed!
The session tonight was one of the best sessions we have had in Africa. Peoples hearts were open and the word that was placed on our hearts to preach was well spoken and people received this with open hands. We spoke about that Christ is the head of church. Each member has a work to do in this Body. No church is built through one person. This Body of Christ is built through Jesus Christ via each member doing what Jesus has placed in their hearts to do. Each member who has received Christ has also received the ministry of Christ. This has to be lived out through each one of us in this Body to edify and encourage.
The food has been interesting! Unsure what this is! But we appreciate everything that is placed in front of us.
Today session we ministered on breaking of bread:
Luke 22: 19 onwards: “And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
Afterwards Andre had the priviledge to baptize 3 people in water!
Col 2:12 “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.”
Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Luke 3: 21,22 “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
This is also a beautiful witness to what the Lord Jesus do not just to those who are ministered to but also those that minister:
Testimony
Pieter Loubser – Mozambique mission trip: 07 November 2017 till 14 November 2017
I accompanied Rupert, André and Elias on the mission trip to Mozambique. I have gained so much spiritually from this trip as it was my first experience to see how and what happens during such a trip. I saw how people can deviate from the true path when they are wrongfully influenced as was the case in Mossuril. They were effectively guided back to the truth through the correct teaching of Word of God in February this year. They decided to rather believe the truth and asked for guidance for going forward. Praise the Lord.
On Thursday the 9th of November 2017, I witnessed for the first time in my life a man giving his heart to Jesus Christ, this happened while we were at Nagema, a small village near Mossuril. What a Blessing!
There was also personal growth for me and I gained a lot of experience and a lot was revealed to me throughout the whole period. On Friday the 10th, I received the Holy Ghost while praying together with André, Elias and Rupert. It is my desire to continually grow in my relationship with Jesus Christ.
From Friday afternoon till Sunday afternoon, we spent time with the fellowship in Mossuril and guidance was given to the people who attended. I believe through the guidance by the Holy Ghost, a lot was revealed to the people as to where to seek for direction, namely from the Bible as the perfect instruction manual. Sunday I personally experienced the breaking of bread and received teaching in how and why it must be done. I can now also use this knowledge in our fellowship in Swakopmund.
Sunday afternoon we returned to Nampula. I really enjoyed the fellowship with Elias, Rupert and Andre until we returned to Johannesburg on Tuesday. I returned to Swakopmund on Wednesday.
Today IS special for us as women, to sit together and have a cup of tea ….. And of course all the yummy things we can enjoy.
But sometimes it is good just to sit all on our own somewhere, some place, with a cup of tea or coffee and think …. Think about the things of God.
I would like to share about what is written in Job
In Job 4 vs 17 &19 we read – “shall mortal man be more JUST than God? Shall a man be more PURE than his maker? Can God trust man who dwells in houses of clay, and whose foundation is in the dust” We stop and ponder – God made US of clay and a foundation which is IN the dust!! Dust and Clay!!!!
What if we as woman had been able to advise God in how to make us?? We would never have been happy to be made of clay. Clay can crack and break toooo easily. A foundation of the dust – definitely not. Dust can settle but if blown disperses all over the place. Everything speaks of feeling and being insecure – Especially for us as women.
Perhaps if we as women had any say with what God made us of – we would say to God ‘What about something beautiful? We will always take delight in looking into jewellery shop windows. What about making us with gold, silver or precious stones? Look at the flowers they are all different colours. Oh yes God, what about each one being made of our birth stone – Ruby, amethyst, topaz to name a few. And it being the month of September – well – that would mean some sitting here would be Sapphire.
BUT God chose without our help – to give us clay bodies. For a covering over our skeleton He chose different earthy colours. Brown, white, coloured. Not pink for girls and blue for boys!!! My grandchildren tell me that white children are called peach not white. I am learning!!!!
God from the beginning is interested in the heart. Even in Adam and Eve’s heart. He is interested in the heart of a woman – your heart and mine. He is interested in the inside. Our Spirit, our soul and our mind.
God works with us from within us.
GOD makes a person a new creation of anyone who wills to believe on His Son, Jesus Christ.
God tells us in His word that we ARE a new creation when we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour – the one who died for our sins on the cross of Calvary.
Our clay bodies become His temple where Jesus, The Living God dwells.
Our foundation within is a rock that cannot be moved or blown away. Christ is our new foundation. With His principles which is His doctrine.
He works with us from inside of us which then has an outworking in our daily lives. Now the Gold, silver and precious stones will begin to be built within our lives.
Even as a new creation we can battle with our soul which then affects our minds and our relationship with others and sometimes even with the Lord.
Perhaps today you are battling with a husband, a child, a parent or a friend. Go to the Lord and tell Him all about your difficulty and then ……. say thank you to the Lord – for your husband, your child, your parent or your friend.
God has reserved a place in your heart that no husband, no child, no parent, no friend, no earthly possession can fill. That place God has reserved for himself. Only Jesus can fill.
In closing – in Philippians 3: 20 & 21 our conversation is of heaven; we look to the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ Who shall change our VILE BODY, that is may be fashioned like unto His glorious body.
We as women can say Thank you Lord for YOUR very own perfect plan. We are the Bride of Christ. A new creation.
Bible School week is a much anticipated event with leading men from many regions in Malawi and Western Mozambique attending. It is a time to renew fellowship with believers we haven’t seen in over a year and to make the acquaintance of others who are new to Bible School. This year there were three significant additions to Bible School; Bros John and Lamech who have returned to Malawi, having been in fellowship with the believers in Benoni and Brother Hellings formerly with Operation Mobilisation.
The ministry focused on the need to go on to perfection. The encouragement coming from the account of Israel being led out of the slavery of Egypt into the wilderness with the purpose of entering into the promised Land. Many challenging principles were drawn from this account, including the case of the twelve spies who divided into two groups; two and ten. Joshua and Caleb being men who had another spirit and were ready to go on and possess the land. The ten, filled with fear and unbelief would not go up to possess the land. The Lord challenging us to examine ourselves to see if we are of the ten or of the two. With the conclusion of Bible School the team travelled north to meet believers that were part of the fellowships associated with Brother Hellings. We were pleased to be introduced to believers in a newly founded fellowship (1 ½ Months old) in the city of Mzuzu. The members of this fellowship were mostly young educated people who could speak English well. The members, men and women participated actively in the meeting and were a wonderful blessing to us.
It was our privilege to meet believers in Kasangu and Rumphi also in association with Brother Hellings before traveling to Karonga where we had an open air meeting under a tree with folk who had been led to the Lord by Bros Fredson and MacNell in January 2017. Our last stop was a town called Chatipa, on the border with Tanzania where the Lord was freely shared and received.
Having made such meaningful contacts with believers in the North, the need for Bible school in this region became evident. The Lord willing as He gives grace, the hope is to run two bible schools concurrently from next year. One held in Blantyre as usual and the other in Mzuzu.
Each mission trip has its own challenges and rewards, the Lord always accomplishing the work He has purposed to do. It is always a great privilege and blessing to be a small part of what Jesus is building and establishing even His Church.