Category: Testimony

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Lisa’s birth story

As I’m pondering how to write this story, the words in my head struggled to take shape. How can I put to words this experience? To give God all the glory without it turning into a book. In order to tell the testimony of birthing Lisa, I have to start at the beginning.

It began more than two years ago when God started talking to me about having another baby. He also gave me a vision of a child. I seriously doubted my capacity for five, at times I even convinced myself that I’m not hearing correctly. Then the dreams started of me being in labour and delivering my own baby. We joked that, should I fall pregnant on the road, it’s going to have to be an unassisted caravan delivery. I prayed that if a fifth child is what God has in store for us, to please prepare Tian’s heart as well, but God knows my husband’s heart better than I do. 

The vision of the child I had – God reminded me of this photo of my mother and then confirmed it through this prophetic painting given to me on Lisa’s baby blessing by Yolandi.

We found out we’re expecting in Hazyview and from get go I was in warfare. Holy spirit led me into serious prayer walks and there He stilled my heart with scripture: Exodus 14:14. The battle was His to fight, I could just rest in Him. Later it was confirmed through a friend. We did feel led to not share the news, mostly because of the warfare, but also because the world does not take kindly to big families and to avoid the conversation of not taking the medical route. It took time to strengthen our hearts for the journey ahead. It did come with a lot of persecution and fighting off fear that people spoke over us. For some background: in medical terms I’m considered high risk – I had two previous caesarian sections, I’m advanced maternal age and a grand multipara (five or more pregnancies). 

Despite the medical facts, we knew that God prompted us to do this in faith without medical assistance. In some circles this is called a free birth. The law has also recently been changed that no midwife is allowed to assist a mom with a previous caesarian section outside of a hospital setup.

During my pregnancy, I read this in a devotion that strengthened my heart: Everything that God tells us to do is for our benefit. This statement is a truth that we need to settle in our hearts and our minds. Everything that He tells us to do leads to victory if we stick with it. The testing of our faith, and allowing patience to work in our life, have their benefits. God is trying to help us grow! He wants us to be perfect and complete, lacking nothing! – And with this, I would also like to add that sharing my testimony is not to say this is how everyone should do it. My heart is to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ, that anything is possible with God and asking yourself: What is God prompting you to do in faith??

When we were in Kosi Bay I started bleeding. It was hard for me to take authority, but I prayed, surrendered and chose to put my trust in God. Tian felt not to go for a sonar and to trust God, but I felt I needed the reassurance. I layed it to rest for a while and first prayed about it. While we stayed with the Fouries, we covered the baby and pregnancy in prayer with the Mele family which really uplifted my spirit.

Now, I wish I could tell you once you choose God’s path that it is smooth sailing from there, but it is often quite the opposite. The enemy came at me hard. I would suspect that majority of women feel this way during pregnancy. It is a vulnerable time for any woman. 

Encouragement with scripture I put on the bathroom wall as part of warfare!

Only six weeks after the bleeding, I finally felt peace to go for a sonar and found out we’re expecting a little girl. Everything was perfect, with no indication where the bleeding came from . I was told to book with a gynae as soon as possible because of my age. I just calmly responded that I won’t receive any death spoken over me and my baby. 

God provided a home for us and I was led to prepare the property spiritually for the birth with spirit led prayers over a period of time.

The closer we came to the date of birth, the more anxious I became and doubt flooded me with thoughts like: “Will I really be able to do this?”

I was tempted to think it would be easier to opt out and have a caesarian section, but I knew it wasn’t an option. 

My body started to prepare for delivery and I had prodomal labour almost every day from 36 weeks. It was mentally and physically exhausting. During this time, God worked in me and dealt with a lot of fear and control. Complete surrender is what God desires. 

My dear friend Yolandi came and prayed over my growing tummy and anointed my scar – it was such a precious moment and we could feel the chains of fear fall off. The day before I went in labour, God revealed more anxieties in me and Tatiana and I could pray over it, bind it and the final release come.

I felt some contractions at the dinner table, but kept quiet to wait it out. Past eight that evening my eldest daughter, Nanke and I went for a stroll, I thought: “This might be it tonight!” We were swinging peacefully together when I said: “You’ll probably have a sister tonight.”

At ten I was hopping on the birth ball through contractions and by ten thirty Tian had a warm bath ready for me. My waters broke eleven thirty. I got out of the bath to try positions to help head decend and by now the pain was unbearable. A few contractions later, l got back into the bath, sitting up so that gravity can do the work and groaning through the pain.

I clearly heard Holy Spirit say: “Get out of bath now.”

I got a huge surge of contraction and melted into Tian and Nanke’s arms while bearing down. Lisa just gently slided into Tian’s hands, whilst the song “Praise” by Megan Tibbits was playing. Lisa was born 11 February at 00h57, weighing a whooping 3,7kg.

It was a sacred moment, where God showed up tangible. Thank you Abba for doing the impossible on a next level! 

I also invite you to read Ellie’s birth story here: https://elmidb.wixsite.com/cosmosinthewind/post/how-elllie-s-light-came-about

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Fruit of “our?” labour.

One challenging thing Jesus revealed to me before embarking on this journey is that we need to be content, labouring for Him our whole lives without seeing any fruit. That is speaking of the harvest coming in and not the fruit of the spirit. Some of His disciples may spend their entire life sowing seeds and others watering, just for some evangelist to come in and take all the credit. If this seems discouraging, we need to realign our focus since we should find joy in Jesus and not in our works, which are filthy rags to the Father. Besides, God’s goodness draws a man to repentance, not the fiery teaching of an evangelist or the clever words of a pastor. So, who can take credit for any fruit? I’m not saying we shouldn’t rejoice with Jesus when someone comes to repentance. In the parable of the prodigal son, we see the father invite all his friends and family to celebrate the return of his son. But, we need to have joy in Jesus, regardless of the fruit.

We have certainly been on both sides of this scale, where we’ve laboured for months without seeing any fruit, and yes, we do feel discouraged and sometimes even feel like giving up. But then we feast our eyes on Jesus, dust ourselves off, and we press on with renewed hope and joy. And by the grace of God, we get to a place like West Bank, East London, where we are privileged to reap with Pastor Danny, who has been man alone sowing and watering in Lighthouse ministries for the last 2 years.

On 10 December 2022, we arrived in West Bank with the Cronje family and set up camp. Each of us: Henri, Yolandi, Bradly, Elmi and I shared our testimony in church the next day. By the evening, three families already wanted to be baptized. The next day after explaining the Gospel, true repentance and the cost of discipleship, two of the three families were born again in the baptism of water and the Holy Spirit. The following week Tjaart, Charlene, Stephan, Rolene and Marc arrived and shared their testimonies in church, after which the father of the other family where baptized, and another family followed a week later.

Ever since, we’ve been discipling them, and it’s with great excitement that we watch as the Holy Spirit works in their lives, convicting them of sin, challenging them to the great commission and giving them baldness to stand firm among their families and friends.

My conclusion, then, is that if God’s goodness draws a man to repentance, God’s grace allows us to see fruit. For we are merely His humble servants, we have only done our duty.

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Bradley’s answer to the call

If someone had asked me five years ago where I would be today, my answer would have never pointed in the direction of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. However, I was celebrating my birthday in March at a Kickstart event (organised by believers whom I had often joined on Thursday evenings for fellowship) to become active members of preaching the gospel.
Fast forward to the 4th of June, everything changed from going to a day job to working for the Kingdom of God full time. Just as the disciples dropped their nets after deciding to join Christ in becoming fishers of men, Jesus also called me to do likewise by stepping up and actively following Him.

How it all happened
Arriving home from the Kickstart, I received the unpleasant news that I was no longer allowed to live there. Management had evicted me for attending the Kickstart seminar.

Monday after I got evicted, Tian called me to ask if I could meet him and Elmi. He then asked me if I could join him and his family on a journey to become fishers of men. In the first instance, the offer humbled me, and I felt it was the right thing to do. So Tian suggested that we pray for God to reveal the way forward. I had already made up my mind, but the events that followed showed me that the Lord has a way of sending messages to his children that only they can understand.
I had a dream later that night, and in this dream, I was at a caravan park. At the caravan park, I found myself accompanied by a man called Jean Pierre who had nominated me as best man at his wedding last year. In that same dream, I decided to ask him why God was not allowing me to go with Tian on this journey. To my surprise, he just stood in silence without a word. After leaving the scene, approaching the end of my dream Tian and Elmi appeared, and Elmi was in the middle of showing me a verse in the Bible she was reading when suddenly I woke up. At that point, my conclusion was to wait until I received confirmation, and I was at peace with whatever the outcome.
Later the next day, I talked to Tian about the dream. Tian said the last thing Elmi read was Hebrews 12, verses 1 to 3. I mentioned that it was not yet time to go and that I should wait, at least for now. About two weeks passed, and while I was reading through my WhatsApp messages on my phone (a habit I usually did after work), I read through the last article on this blog. After going through the article, it made sense to me that even in silence, God speaks. All the events around me were asking me to go, from the books I read to the movie (Mountain top) I watched and now this article. It was there at that moment that I heard His voice calling out.
My purpose is to be on the mission field fighting for the Kingdom of God, yet here I was fighting to build another man’s kingdom. It was time I took up my cross and followed Jesus. So, I decided to call Tian and tell him that I was coming with him and his family. He gladly accepted, and then our preparations began.
After reading Radical by David Platt, which Tian was listening to in his car one day, I got the conviction that God called me a long time ago to be a fisher of men. For the more significant part of my life, up to that point, I was trapped in a comfort zone. All the signs were so clear, yet my mind still stood in doubt. I thank God I took up that call because the word states that a man without faith will find it difficult to please God.

Putting it all into action
So after travelling to Bela Bela for a two-week stay, I realised my place was in the Kingdom of God all along. Leaving a comfort zone into the unknown was challenging, yet I felt the joy of working for my Creator. I am content with what the Lord has given me. I appreciated the way Rudi and Riesie opened their home for us. For me, that was a turning point because it was an act of obedience. I have managed to preach the gospel to several people in Bela Bela, and I thank God for planting seeds in the hearts of those who heard the good news.
At the time of writing this article, we have relocated to Hazyview. The atmosphere here is a breath of fresh air, and I believe the Holy Spirit will guide us in the direction we must go. I hope that those who have the opportunity to read this article will be encouraged by my testimony so far. The harvest is plenty, yet few of us are willing to labour in the field. So I encourage readers to be obedient to God’s word.
May the peace of the Lord be with you.

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We have a Youtube Channel

On the 27th of April, we celebrated our one year anniversary since we left to go and share the Gospel of Jesus with the world, and while we were in Joburg for a visit, some friends persuaded us to make a video of our journey. Although the video already says a lot, I’d like to add that we’ve had some good times and some bad times, but in the end, it was an incredible journey with Jesus, and what a blessing to do it as a family.

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Update 13 May 2022

Welcome to the Cronje Family

It is with great joy that I announce that the Cronje family is joining our blog. Since we wrote about them last year, they’ve moved into a caravan and taken the Gospel all over South Africa with some incredible results, seeing people set free from sin, baptised and filled with the holy spirit.
Henri is quite active on Youtube, so we hope to share some of his videos with you, and Yolandi has already posted her first story here. Ideally, we’d like to give you more frequent updates.

Follow me

Jesus has been challenging me for quite a while now to (as He did) call someone to follow me, and I’ve been slowly chewing on this idea. Not knowing what it would practically look like and somewhat concerned about the implications of it, I’ve been putting it off until recently, when a friend was evicted from his home for attending the Kickstart Seminar, we hosted. I had to struggle through it with Elmi as we thought of all the potential complications involved, but God showed us a beautiful picture one night in fellowship, shifting our focus from the negative, confirming that we must invite Bradley to come with us. Not knowing how we’d do it financially, we obeyed Jesus in faith and asked Bradley to follow us. The very next day, I got an email from work informing me that an annual review revealed that my salary was less than the current market rate, and I’d been given an increase, enough to pay for the extra accommodation. Needless to say, I’m blown away at God’s greatness.

Not sure if this was all a test we had to go through, but we were slightly sad and confused when Bradley turned down the invite or at least said that God said not yet. But we’re patiently waiting and hope to see Bradley on the road with us soon.

New Minibus

Elmi briefly mentioned that Roelof and Ronel blessed us with a new Kombi in our last post, but I’d like to elaborate as I feel it is an amazing testimony.


We’ve been struggling along with the old bus since the day we left home. In fact, on the day we left, the old bus didn’t have enough power to tow the massive caravan out the driveway without some help from my neighbour’s bakkie. As a result, we’ve often driven up an average hill in second or third gear at a snail’s pace purely because it wouldn’t go any faster. Once or twice we had to go up a steep hill in first gear or even ask for a hand from someone with a bakkie to get to the top. That being said, when we visited Roelof and Ronel in June 2021, they felt they had to give us their bus, but they were not quite ready. But God had a plan. In November, Roelof phoned and said they really wanted to help us with their bus, and we’d just have to settle his finance. A week later, our bus was having trouble, and it wouldn’t start unless we manually pressurised the fuel line. The first time this happened, Elmi immediately started praying, and minutes later, she received an email informing her that she’d receive some money, enough to settle Roelof’s bus and fix ours. We patiently missioned on with the manual fuel pump, excited to come and collect our new bus, but while we were on the road, we persisted with the task at hand. We first had to visit another four places before returning home. In January, we started praying about who to give our old bus to and felt that the Cronje family needed a more potent car to tow their caravan with, and it’s a perfect fit since their caravan is a lot lighter. Finally, in March, we made our way back to Joburg. After Tjaart helped us up the Outeniqua pass with his bus, the Vivaro defied the laws of physics and hurled this enormous caravan the last 1000km to retire from our service with dignity. We took it in for repairs giving it some much-needed TLC, replacing the clutch, some injectors and some other minor bits and pieces before handing it over to the Cronje family, finally collecting our new VW Kombi from Roelof and Ronel.

We’re so blessed. Not only did the new Kombi tow better. It’s even overtaking people while towing uphill.

Thanks, Roelof and Ronel, for your obedience. We pray that God will bless you a hundredfold in return.

Tracts

We’ve had a chance to sit down and put together some flyers to hand out. We don’t always have time to get the complete Gospel to someone on the road. So rather than leaving it there, we’re now handing out a flyer explaining the Gospel whenever we’re not in a place to take a person through it.

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House of Prayer

I have so much to say; I hope I find the words to get it all out on paper. My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the King; my tongue is the pen of a skilful writer.
Psalms 45:1 NIV

The kids and I like to explore coffee shops in every town we visit. Recently I came across a jewel, a coffee shop where I felt God closer than I’ve ever had in any church. It made me think. We are all called by God not only to be light-bearers but to be workers for His Kingdom where He plants us. I felt recharged, refuelled and filled with possibilities. What if we could bring Jesus not only to people but into a place, like a stamp, especially where hardened hearts need grace.

My heart has been to leave a physical footprint to honour God for a while. A place of rest for weary pilgrims. When we arrived in Swellendam, it went quiet, but the spiritual world was in an uproar like I’d never experienced before. God spoke to me clearly and assigned me to revamp an old shed into a prayer room. Desolation is exchanged for hope! To redeem the ground for God, a physical manifestation for spiritual transformation! My heart was pounding in my chest as I prayed on my way to ask permission. God gave favour. Tian could not phantom why I wanted to take on such an endeavour, but I knew what God said! I saw the vision of the finished shed. So I started counting the cost and doing research.

I laughed a little to myself. When we were in Lambert’s Bay, ex-missionaries we met told us about their work as missionaries. Uncle Wiets told us he had to build with little building knowledge, but God equipped him after seeking His guidance in prayer. I thought to myself: “Oh God, please don’t call us to build!” God humbled me. If God chooses to use us any way He pleases, who am I to stand in His way! Now I was in over my head because I am not paint-fit, nor do I have the know-how.

The very first challenge was gnats infestation! Nasty little buggers those are! I could identify with the Egyptians during the plague a little; this plague was minor in comparison, of course. God led me to pray over the building and command the gnats to go for three consecutive days. Then I fumed the stubborn ones, which angered them. It was a running game, trying to keep my mouth shut as not to swallow any. Then, this scripture came to mind: He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”
Exodus 15:26 NIV

Then came the cleaning out and preparation by the washing of the walls. The shed was baptised! We tackled the outside – scraping the old paint off the walls. Challenge two: There was water damage. Scraping was not a pleasant task, and the kids gave up very quickly. God spoke to me about enduring hardships. What kept me going was that Jesus did not do His ministry half-hearted. No place for lukewarm; it’s all in! That night my body ached, and my hands were raw and cramping. We took a break and rested while researching damp proofing.

God also spoke to me about keeping our campsite and surrounding neat and tidy. He has called us to be an example and stewards of His creation. The campgrounds are in pretty much the same condition as the shed. I swept the road in front of our caravan as a prophetic act (more than once). Like I was sweeping into existing the things as if they are, although not yet seen. It was rewarding to see fruits when finally the workers came to cut the grass, and in town, a cleaner was sweeping the roads of rocks.

Finally, we started painting the undercoat. Great muscle power was required to spread the paint and get into uneven surfaces. Up and down the ladder, I was crouching to get to every angle while clutching to that roller handle, cramping, aching, exhaustion. Challenge three: It seemed like we might be short of paint! There is work to be done. God asks us to labour for His Kingdom in obedience, no matter how it looks like to us in our small capacity to grasp His masterpiece. I honestly had to keep my attitude in check. Negativity wanting to creep in. I wanted to give up; why am I doing this again? One morning, clocking in for painting, I found someone had a good time drinking and smoking in the shed. God reprimanded my thinking. “Do you think you are better? Did I not come for the ungodly and unsaved? What is it to you how I use this shed to reach people, focus on the work I gave you!”

Again, humbly I set myself on God’s course. To lift the spirit to joy, we started decorating. Oh, how great it felt to be doing something other than roller painting. Creativity flows from our brains through our hands. Nanke drew shapes while I painted them. Maybe Nanke enjoyed it a little too much, going big, to my frustration, because the babies were getting unmanageable. I just wanted to finish off for the day. Accidentally, without realising, we created a snake. We had to call Tian in to try and save it, but he said to make an opportunity out of our embarrassment. I prayed about it that night and woke early morning with: “Kill the snake with love!”

We took nature walks to clear our minds at the end of almost every long day. God often shows us His spiritual principles through the physical. Just as we exercise our physical muscles, we must exercise our spiritual muscles and vice versa. I can see how even God’s blessings rarely fall into anyone’s lap; it asks something of us, then God moves. Challenge four occurred when I fell during a walk and severely sprained my ankle. In nursing, they say to rest the foot, but I loudly, above the pain, heard God saying: “Get up! Walk it out!”

Slowly over the next few days, we painted the chalkboard paint, the waterproof paint, the roof and floor until finally finishing off with the white topcoat. At this point, I had it with painting; I had enough! Jusia got hold of a white paintbrush at this particular breaking point and passionately made white brush strokes on the black chalkboard wall. I will refrain from words right now, except I was very close to tears.

The final touch was God giving me the idea of doing the gospel on one wall. The end product delighted me, as I’m sure God smiled down on us. Our prayer is that everyone who comes into the shed will encounter God. Thank you, Abba, for pouring into my character during this project. Also, thank you to our patrons for making this project possible and helping to birth the shed.

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Our efforts vs God’s appointments.

For any of you not familiar with the board game Turkeys and Eagles, it is a game focused on revealing the lies the enemy has tried or sometimes even successfully convinced you of, replacing them with the truth. Based on a short story by Peter Lord, the Eagles represent your potential and the Turkeys the negative things you believe about yourself. I’ve witnessed God use this game to fix broken relationships, help people out of depression, and even rid people of demons (literally), haunting them for ages. God often speaks through the game encouraging, convicting, or sometimes chastising those who are listening. If you’re willing, The Holy Spirit reaches deep into your soul to uproot even the most significant issues you may have.

I’ve recently been through a bit of a rough patch, becoming very busy with all kinds of amusements. The enemy snuck up on me, trying to convince me that I was ineffective in God’s kingdom since I’d fallen for his distractions for some time. Guilt-driven, I tried to go out and evangelize, but all of my efforts fell flat. I felt like I was wasting our time, that the task was too great and we should just go home, but our God is so amazing.

An outreach we’ve been planning for some time with the beautiful people from House of Compassion had finally arrived, affording me many opportunities to share the Gospel, minister to the people, and pray for the sick. (Thank you, Tabitha and Pastor Bernard). I did not expect to be put in the spotlight, forcing me out of my comfort zone, but God gave me the courage and the boldness to say what I had to.

Upon our return home that day, our neighbors for the weekend (Sammy, Michelle, and their four kids) were busy worshipping. Being led by the Spirit, I invited them for a game of Turkeys and Eagles. Fellowship has become a rare commodity since we’re mostly away from fellow brethren. Getting acquainted quickly, Sammy briefly touched on one or two things he was dealing with at the moment. After explaining the game, we started playing, and immediately God began speaking to Sammy, addressing the exact points he mentioned before. It took me a while to join the game since you have to roll a six on the dice before starting, but wow, God is good.

He quickly got my attention using an exact phrase I was discussing with someone earlier that day. Then almost mockingly, God said to me: “Being a Christian is hard work. I don’t know if I can keep this up,” and “I don’t feel God’s presence,” precisely addressing my struggles. He also reprimanded me, saying that I was on thin ice watching Jordan Petersen’s videos and would get burnt if I didn’t stop. Sometimes something that sounds so close to the truth is the biggest deception. God then ended by saying that all the above held me captive, preventing me from working for His kingdom. In the end, I was so relieved that God knew what I was going through. God’s inconceivable goodness led me to repentance.

Motivated by God’s awe and wonder, we got together with the neighbors the following day and just worshiped God. And God started working again. In the last three weeks, we’ve had so many divine opportunities we’re blown away by God’s immense greatness. I’ve had a chance to witness in two churches, we’ve been street preaching, walking with the cross, handing out Bibles, booklets, and tracts. We had fellowship, witnessed a baptism, handed out food parcels, and preached the Gospel. We’ve prayed for the sick, encouraged, edified, prophesied, and given to the poor. All as God provided the opportunity.

Footnote: I’m not saying that Jordan Peterson is intentionally deceiving people, but he’s becoming a prominent figure in the media, and not unlike a lot of people; it seems like he’s still exploring the idea of Christianity, frequently asking the question: “What would my life look like if I truly believed?”

Find out more about the Turkeys & Eagles boardgame

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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!

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Peas in a pod

The first week after we left the property we no longer call our home, God showed me: Here in the open, you might feel vulnerable, but you are also more open to hearing the true condition of your surroundings, needs, and hurts.

As the 6 of us nestled into our caravan like peas in a pod covered by God. God showed me that our ministry is also like peas in a pod. In addition to the Gospel, to be God’s love to the world encompasses bringing healing, teaching, exhortation, service, and praises.

We left our first destination with no idea where to next. Tian said that Jesus will take the wheel. I just prayed. The kids were part of trusting God for our destination. Nanke gave a colour and Ruhan a number by which we will know that we are where God wants us. At precisely 3 pm, we arrived at our new ‘home’ showered with purple leaves. The number and colour the kids were given. Traveling with/for God is super exhilarating and frightening at the same time. God works in mysterious ways, and I stand in awe of His mighty work.

In obedience, we are tools in God’s hands, and we were extremely blessed during our stay @ Hotel Numbi. How lovely to have made some new acquaintances and friends. Our campsite was next to an airstrip. I tried daily to meet up with Wally and Daveen, running their own flying business (at the blessed age of 70+). The kids went flying as a reward for washing the dishes the whole month. I would really recommend anyone visiting the area to pay them a visit for a microlight flight over Hazyview.

To Goodman and Timothy. Continue the good work that God called you for and spreading the truth of Jesus Christ. The work that God has started in you He will finish. Amen (Philippians 1:6).

We are grateful for the fellowship with Mike and Pauline, sharing their wisdom with us about missions. We are looking forward to seeing you on the road shortly.

Oom Eugene and Tannie Engela, for your practical camping advice, late-night coffees, and investing time with Nanke and Ruhan.

During our stay, we were privileged to meet an Israeli tourist. We got the opportunity to share the Gospel with him, but he declined the new testament Bible Tian offered him though. Moshe, we pray that you have a divine encounter with Jesus.

So we are off to our next destination. You can read all about our new adventures in a few weeks…

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Here we go!

It is with mixed emotions that we announce that today we are hitting the road with Jesus. It’s with tears we say goodbye to friends and family, but with joy and great excitement that we look ahead to what God has planned for us.

We already stand in awe of everything He has done in the 2 months since we’ve sold our house. God has provided so many opportunities to share the Gospel of Jesus with so many people and He had so much grace on us allowing us to see the fruit of our labor. We’ve baptised many people and seen them filled with the Holy spirit and even saw some of them already bearing fruit sharing the Gospel and baptising other people. All we can do is worship God for how great He is.

Thank you Lord. You are our provider. You are the author and perfecter of our faith. You are the healer and the restorer. You have given us everything we need to live a godly life. You are the beginning and the end. You are Holy, Righteous and Just. It’s Your goodness that leads us to repentance. You are the sovereign God. Who knows your thoughts Lord? Your ways are perfect and Your will is good. We love you Lord and cannot wait to be with You for eternity, starting with this journey.

We would like to thank everyone for your prayers and support, everyone who bought some of our belongings, those who fed us in the midst of the chaos and everyone who lended a hand sorting and transporting things to their new owners. Thanks to everyone who in some way assisted us in preparation for this day. We pray that God will repay all you with grace, mercy and favor.

Please do not stop praying. We are Going to need it now more than ever. Pray first of all that we never loose sight of Jesus, the reason for our hope and also for this journey. Pray that God provides many opportunities to share the Gospel and that He soften the people’s hearts for the good news. Pray that we would find a routine with the children that allows us first of all to reach the people on our path and also to manage my work well (I’m still working a day job for those who did not know).

As Paul writes, we may not be with you in the flesh, but we’re with you in the Spirit. Longing to see all of you in the flesh. Come if at all possible and join us on this journey, even if only for a weekend.

Love all of you.

Till the next update.