AN UNEXPECTED NEW HOME
From expecting a room,
to arrive at a furnished apartment was ...
like a positive punch in my gut!
On arrival, my friend handed me keys and said: "Welcome home" I of course burst into tears at the sheer generosity of allowing me to stay in the apartment next to the house. Not only did God call me back to South Africa in this season for a very specific assignment, but He provided me an incredible peace-filled place to pray and work from, and to have future meetings - and all close to the airport. (grateful point seeing that I will fly quite soon again)
This morning I just shut the door, and prayed with zero disturbance and thought: God you are seriously thoughtful. You provided something that is of super high value to me - a place to pray and work from without interruption, and space to think with birds in the background and a 'landlord' that is one of my closest friends.
The 120 kg miracle!
Not many people that I personally know fly between Chiang Mai & Cape Town but it seemed that everytime I finished packing a suitcase, someone was there with "extra luggage space" to fly it back for me! Two were "strangers" (Friends of friends).
I had 4 x over 20kg bags or suitcases with all my photos, books and more waiting for me in 4 different places in SA. During the Masters Intensive last week, I managed to "merge them all" into this truck that met me in Cape Town near the docks.
THANK YOU BEN HAUL & Adrie!!! I could not believe that there was even a truck just for me!
The best of all - the suitcase I thought I would not unpack for years, was the 1st I opened! It was a special moment indeed. All my big, heavy blocked photos - a 23 kg expanded suitcase brought by one of the 'strangers' that helped me.
Pictures
Penny flew with me to bring even more luggage including my bicycle and tennis rackets! I moved everything I had except my dogs, my bed and desktop!
The little girl
What a unique trip from Kenya to Cape Town with a little girl who would not leave me. She even had my Afrikaans name Anna-Lise. That is super rare. I showed her “I am stuck” (buckled in) but then she would unbuckle me with a huge smile and take my finger and walk me around the isle!
Bye Penny
Finally, on Friday, I had to take Penny to the airport. We had three days to pray and say goodbye while unpacking all my stuff. Penny has been my house / ministry buddy for 12 years and will leave Thailand herself later this year. She has been an incredible Grace Ticket in this season. I think, my highlight working with Penny is the various Church Planting Films we made in many Unreached Nations... It is actually one of the highlights in my life.
Stilbaai & Masters Intensive
Penny and I had the opportunity to visit my family in Stilbaai for two days. After the funeral, Inge & Alexander moved back to Stilbaai, and last month my brother FC, Corine & Janco moved back to Stilbaai. It is nice to have my family all in "one spot" for a visit.
I felt God ask me to stay in Kempton Park in this season. It has been 23 years to the month since I left KP and much changed in this place.
Picture
It has been so good to stay with my old buddies Gerhand, Melanie and the 3 amazing children. These kids wake up and sing worship songs for breakfast! I just love them. It was also good to get to know some students a bit better this time round.
Now the time has come, not only to finish Module 5 and 6 in May well, but to focus on the Capstone, a project to help facilitate discipleship and spiritual growth.
Please pray for me in this season as I am about to embark on this new project. You will hear much about this in a few weeks from now and I HOPE that many will participate in what is about to unfold !
The objective is not the degree.
The goal is to create new resources and to help facilitate discipleship to those God lead me to. I am quite glad it is for South Africans this time round !
Thanks for your prayers, your sponsorship and involvement.
This is the amazing family that adopted Daisy.
A few verses came to my mind under these circumstances, and just in general when I think of my sponsors
Prov 19:17
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward them for what they have done.
Heb 13:16
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Matt 25:44
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’