When God moves hearts

I want to try and give you an overview of the past few months since our travel started. God has been working in and through us for the past six months. I sincerely hope that you are seeking, growing, and trusting God to work in and through you also.

Starting our journey during school holidays brought some undesired financial implications, which I tried to avoid, but Tian was pressing. In his defense, he waited two years already. First, we planned to go to the Western Cape, but the doors closed last minute, leaving us nowhere to go. Then, two days before departure, Tian had a dream about a road and had a supernatural knowing where to go, after which Jesus would take the wheel. So off we went with no idea what to expect.

The first stop was Badplaas. We never really camped before, so this was just a pit stop to figure things out. Planning and budgeting for peak seasons became a requirement. Secondly: While washing cloth nappies by hand, the need for a washing machine became obviously apparent. We had our first divine encounter (as Tian mentioned in an earlier post). When brethren in Christ meet up, I can best explain it like edifying and imparting in each other by leaving your colour handprint on each other. In the end, we will all have speckles of rainbow colours in our spirit.

Traveling with kids is challenging. Traveling with your home is slow, and uphills are a matter of prayer, God pushing us up. In faith, we left Badplaas, letting Holy Spirit lead us. I made the kids part of trusting God, to know that we’ve arrived at our destination. Nanke gave the colour purple and Ruhan the number 3. At 3 o’clock, we arrived in Hazyview, our stand showered with purple leaves. It was beautiful how God showed Himself faithful by sending people. God taught us the importance of building relationships and also to keep on loving onto those who reject the Gospel.

At ATKV Eiland we met up with my parents. The kids were thrilled. Even in that, God had a plan. I had extra time at hand to write, read and spend time with God. Looking back, it was storing up for the dry season to come. God taught me more about spiritual warfare and the discernment of spirits. He was busy aligning Tian and I, so that we would function better as a team.

Then we had a quick touch base in Joburg. We stayed in our caravan on friends’ property. It was a humbling experience in the sense that: At times, we will need to depend on others to aid us, similar to the mutual giving and receiving of disciples in the book of Acts. While the President closed the borders of Gauteng, we had to leave for Springbok to meet up with other missionaries. It was a dilemma that we prayed into, and God opened the way.

I was really anxious to go to Springbok because of a dream God had given me to prepare. The battle was tough and came in ways and shapes I never expected. We were tested, tried, bent, and purified in many areas, but one particular focus was endurance. In short – the circumstances will not change, but our attitude must burst with peace and joy in it! Yes, God does the work, but it requires a step of boldness every time. We felt so blessed having been invited for supper by Hardus, Cornelia, and their family. Sitting next to the fireplace was a very welcome change of scenery from camping in the winter elements.

In Lambert’s Bay, we mainly focused our efforts on spiritual warfare. Connecting a local house church, it quickly started feeling like home. Some local street kids frequently visited us, creeping into our hearts almost instantaneously. For a while, we felt like we had six children. Growing closer revealed the heartbreaking circumstances in which these children grew up. Something we’ve heard of but never experienced firsthand. The enemy retaliated, catching us off-guard, coming after our family’s health, knocking me down for three weeks. Tian, fortunately, recovered in three days but barely managed to keep the household afloat, taking care of kids and feeding everyone while still working. The enemy preyed on my biggest fear: “I cannot afford to get sick with four kids!” Knock after knock until we came to the end of ourselves, but God carried us through. Leaving was sad. Unsure if we completed our work there, we felt burdened to leave our new “family” behind. Thank you so much, Bertina and Francois, for having us at fellowship, allowing us to share our hearts with you guys at Mad Hatter’s coffee shop. Wiets and Ina for serving by helping with shopping and lunches. Graeme for assisting with meds and monitoring vitals. And everyone else that touched our hearts deeply.

Following the Holy Spirit with no idea where we were heading had such an incredible impact on us that we wanted to experience it again so badly that Tian lost sight of God’s guidance for a while. One cannot force God’s hand. We left and ended up traveling for almost 10 hours because we could not find accommodation anywhere. Everything was full. Friends of ours who live about an hour’s drive away were so kind to accommodate us last minute.

From there, we stayed at Ou Skip for a week to recoup and get our bearings straight hearing from God.

Langebaan it was. God really dealt with us about rest. God wrestled with us about our character and attitudes during this rest time. I was so blessed by these words: “I’ve learned to sleep in the storm!” We’ve decided to make some changes in our lifestyle, wanting to be better stewards of what God entrusted to us. On the homeschooling front, we finally managed to get a better routine that works around the babies. God humbled me here too, and I had to lay down the perfectionistic me and lower my expectations. Ministering looked different here. We got involved in packing and handing out food parcels for the elderly. In the quiet, God is touching hearts. I enjoy how God ordains our spot and neighbors every time, neighbors in the true sense thereof, caring and looking out for each other. I had an emotional patch where I just missed home and family. Working through my emotions, I had to mourn home and the comforts thereof. Still, I would not rewind anything or change where we are. The world is hungry for Jesus, and they don’t even know it. My world has become bigger than just me, family, and friends. The commission to Gospel might be a lonely road, but nothing can compare to it!