I will never forget Loren Cunningham's radical statement many years ago, because it impacted my heart deeply. He said that South Africa would one day become one of the 5 biggest SENDING nations in the world. A seed was planted in my heart. How could I be part of this? ...
More about this later...
This weekend we had our very first "Afrikaans Speaking - Thai Missionary Get Together" and it was decided that this was the first of many to come .
We had a wonderful connection happen... A strategic one too.
The story goes back a few years ago when my cousin, a friend, Penny & I sat in our living room here in Thailand, praying: "Lord, we want to see more missionaries in South Africa trained and released to go to the nations. Did Loren not say we will be one of the big 5 sending nations. What is needed for this fire to start... and Lord... we want to be part of it!"
While the 4 of us prayed, I saw a huge brigde between SA and Thailand (10-40 window) but not many were walking on this bridge. Penny saw a stone over a gap and we prayed that day, for the "removal of the capstone" so that many young people would be sent out. A few months after that, crazy, unexpected and unplanned connections with people in influential places in SA, slowly started to happen. When Penny and I visited home in April 2014, we had 3 unique unplanned meetings with 3 very influential people in regards to missions and the church in SA. We could not help but wonder about the fact that God was showing us that He heard our prayer. We kept this close to heart and shared with only a very few close and trusted friends.
Forward this to the unexpected connection this weekend where our invited guest from SA, and one of the most influential church leaders in regards to missions today in South Africa, was
Richard Ver*eynne and his wife. Richard is on the leadership team of WENSA.
"World Evangelism Network South Africa"
I will share a bit more of this in a news letter a few months from now... because the ball is rolling... but lets just say this: If God was baking a cake... the mix is done and the cake is about to go into the oven. What a joy it was to catch up with this man.
I could not fall asleep after that meeting yesterday. I mean, I was dead tired after these last 3 days... (I also ended my antibiotics and was tired on a few levels) but my spirit was so excited that I just sat on my bed... staring into the darkness, digesting the conversations... thinking that what I have carried in my heart for so long is somehow unfolding in this amazing manner... I feel like bursting!
One thing is certain: God is up to someting. We exchanged names of people who could play key roles in this, and some of these names are the people that Penny and I "randomly met" in SA last year... also those we had involvement with and got to know through Call2All. Yesterday, at the end of our meeting, we had a prayer time. I just felt that we had to check in with the Lord, before we all depart, to see if Holy Spirit had something to say. And He did speak! And He did confirm that what we had on our hearts was of Him.
It is also quite amazing to see, now that I am older, that the organisations my Mom & Dad use to sponsor monthly when I was a growing up, "Japan Missions" "Operation Mobilisation" "Open Doors"...that I am now meeting some of these leaders that my Father use to support in their early days... Richard, and one of the other older missionaries that came this weekend also, both knew my dad and uncle. One of them said: "I remember seeing you as a little girl" He also knew my father's uncles. Small world!!
Richard will also be training people this week in C* in 3 different cities and we could "resource him" from Indigitube.tv with Create International's C* films for unreached people groups.
It is sad to think that many in the church in SA think missions is not needed... and they just stare into the need of SA. It is not about the fact that there is not a need in SA. Need is everywhere. Even Jesus said that we would always have the poor with us. It is about the fact that the Gospel is not available in many of the nations where we need to send missionaries.
ON A MORE PERSONAL NOTE
I feel like the amount of work that I need to get done in the next few months is like a mountain! Yet I love it. I feel privilege to do what I do. Grateful.
I am also mid-way through completing a week teaching I need to give in Feb in Russia, where I was invited again by the same leaders who's outreach team I helped debrief in Hua-Hin this year. There was amazing fruit from that week and I just get such a buzz out of fruit that remains. I did (quite unexpectedly) a theophostic session on nearly all of the students on the last day while we were doing "stepping over the line" It was snot and tears, repentance and forgiveness, and the change of countenances on that beach that day.... unforgettable. Not just the students but all the staff too! I cannot wait to see them all again. This brings me to...
The Financial Miracle that happened during this week...
I had to pay my Russia ticket this week in order to get a good price. The next picture is a graph of how the Rand (my main monthly sponsorship currency) has been dropping very steadily. This October I am in Thailand 5 years. This graph is the last 5 years. In essence, I lost 50% of my support and I only had 1 new supporter this last 5 years. This is the miracle. I have had so many once off gifts from friends and strangers and very old acquaintances, that I am spending double my income (on ministry), without going into debt - I mean - air-tickets are expensive! The only thing God keeps saying in regards to this is: "You will fly much more this year" If you look at my income per month, and what I have to pay - IT MAKES NO SENSE. GO FIGURE and realise with me how God is doing miracle after miracle with me. People randomly give at the right time! My statements basically stays at the same amount all the time while I keep flying and obeying.
It is actually quite impossible to do what I do with what I get... and with the falling Rand - totally impossible!!
I am in so much awe.
In the last 12 months, I would have gone to 5 continents... debt free... on my little (but faithful) support. I was also able to bless others. I cannot tell you how amazed I am. God is really looking after me!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
to all and every one of you, that listened to the Holy Spirit telling you to give. I hope to see many of you in person in SA next year. Some of you who gave the once off gifts are not in SA but know that I wish I could personally say thanks. I feel like I am constantly walking on water but I know I have so many friends who pray for me. I am so blessed by this.
Daisy Doggy... You know I love my doggies. I came back from Australia, and the next morning when I woke up, she looked like this: her eye totally swollen. Out of the blue! In the end it was not her eye... and she is getting better. Her hair is falling out in this area and the South Africans were calling her Frankenstein... poor Daisy Doggy.