Monday, March 4, 2024

March - Big Days Ahead

It’s time for the big residency reveal!  Notification will be sent on March 2, so by the time you read this letter I may have already heard.  Keep an eye on my Facebook page for the latest news – www.facebook.com/GoSpeakLiveBoldly.  I will be sure to post as soon as I find out the results of the Match and learn if I have been placed in a dermatology residency.  The locations I have applied for include PA, TX, CA, and WA. 

The other big day coming up is March 21 when my cats and I will depart South Africa and start the long trip back to the US.  After a few days to catch my breath and a week at the Christian Veterinary Mission headquarters for debrief, I will start doing relief veterinary work in my home area.  Thankfully, the Lord has already provided quite a few relief shifts so my schedule is filling up. I’m a bit nervous about practicing in the US again as there have been quite a few new medications and changes in the field while I’ve been away.  I would appreciate your prayers about fitting back into the role of general practice in the US.

In May, I will be speaking about university ministry at the CVM Short Course.  This conference is focused on “learning and fellowship for those exploring cross cultural veterinary missions.” So, if you have any interest in serving with CVM, either long-term or short-term, please come join us!  It would be great to see you!

Although the future is taking up a lot of my focus, let me take a minute to look to the past and say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has supported me financially over the past nine years!  Thank you so much!  I couldn’t have done it without you!  As my role with CVM transitions to that of an Associate and I start working again in the US, I will no longer need to receive the monthly support.  However, my account with CVM will remain active to help fund future involvement such as speaking at conferences and possible short-term mission trips. 

Thank you for walking with me down this long road in Mafikeng.  It has been a pleasure to share it with you.

Valentine's Day photo of the ladies from the Animal Health Department


Thursday, February 15, 2024

Jan - Getting Ready to Leave

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a joyous Christmas season with family and friends.  As usual, I spent my Christmas with two friends who run a local animal rescue.  We enjoyed a Christmas lunch together along with too many cookies and mince pies.  Even after 8 years though, I’ve never really gotten used to having a hot, summer Christmas.

After the nice break of the holiday season, the next three months will likely be busy as I decide what I will ship back to the US and what I will sell or give away here.  Thankfully, finding good homes for my plants won’t be difficult.  I’ve already had several people asking about them. 

Arrangements are also set for my cats who will be flying back to the US with me in late March.  I’m a bit worried about them having two long-haul flights.  Especially for Laddie, my sensitive, nervous ginger tabby.  Please pray that their flights are smooth and they travel well.

My own long-term plans will remain unsettled until March 4th, which is when I find out if I have been accepted into a residency and if so, which one.  Please pray that the Lord will orchestrate everything according to His will and that I will be sensitive to His leading.  Either way, I will be returning to Washington for at least a few months.  Hopefully I will be able to see many of you then. 

As I prepare to leave Mafikeng, there are many things lying heavy on my heart and I ask you to join me in praying for:

  • The new lecturer taking over the companion animal module that I have been teaching the past 4 years
  • Someone to step up to continue providing mentorship to the new graduate veterinarians working in the clinic
  • Someone to be called to come through CVM to replace me
  • The student house church – it is still unclear if it will continue next year

Saturday, December 9, 2023

December - Heading Home

Merry Christmas!  This year has gone by so quickly, I can hardly believe it is finished.  It brought many surprises and unexpected twists and turns, but the Lord has been faithful to keep me strong to finish well.  It was especially important to me to finish well this year since it is my final year in South Africa.  As many of you already know, I will be moving back to the United States in March at the end of my third term with CVM.

My time in South Africa has been an incredible adventure and I have loved almost every minute of it (not so much the student protests and snakes in my house!).  The students I have worked with and the friends I have made have helped me to grow and thrive and I will miss them greatly when I leave. 

My plans for after my return are still rather fluid, but I will keep you updated over the next few months.  I am applying for a veterinary dermatology residency and would appreciate your prayers through that process.  There are many decisions to make and interviews to sort out and I am praying that the Lord will lead in this since I must do it all from here in South Africa and cannot visit any of the locations.

On a different note, the Acts 29 outreach in Lesotho in October went very well.  We took 13 students from NWU to Lesotho to work at Beautiful Gate orphanage and to do some training with a local church.  It was new challenge for me as I had to plan and cook the meals for everyone, but a former Acts 29 member, NWU graduate, and good friend, Motlatsing, came along to help and was a great blessing. 

The students spent time helping with the children in the orphanage, giving them attention, and allowing the house mothers to get some much needed rest.  They were also put to work giving each of the houses a good spring cleaning and returned for dinner each evening thoroughly exhausted.

Acts 20 Lesotho Outreach Team dressed traditionally in Basotho blankets and hats

Let me leave you, as I did last year, with an amazing South African recipe that you might want to try on Christmas Eve.  This mouthwatering bredie (dry stew) is packed with flavor and comes from the cookbook “Cape, Curry, and Koesisters” by Faima Sydow and her sister Gadija Sydow Noordien.  I’ve made this recipe several times for guests and it is always a hit!

Tomato Bredie (serves 6)

¼ cup oil

2 onions, finely chopped

½ green pepper, finely chopped

3 cinnamon sticks

3 whole allspice (pimento)

2 chillies, finely chopped (I leave these out since I’m a wuss with chillies)

3 cloves garlic, finely grated

2.5 pounds of lamb, mutton or beef, cubed

2 tsp salt

1 ½ tsp ground pepper

6-8 oz tomato paste

2 Tbs sugar

7 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 Tbs butter

  • Heat the oil in a large pot on medium heat and then add the onions through garlic and fry until the onions are golden brown.  Add the meat and braise for 3 minutes.
  • Add the salt and pepper and braise another 5 minutes. Add 1 cup water and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Repeat this process by adding 1 cup of water whenever it starts to dry out and continue to cook until the meat is tender (depending on the cut of meat you use, this could take 1-2 hours).
  •  Add the tomato paste and sugar and cook for 2 minutes.
  •  Add the potatoes and another 1 cup water and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft.  Add salt to taste and stir in the butter.
  • Serve with rice or bread.

If you give this recipe a try, please let me know!  I’d love to hear how it turned out!

Wishing you all the best during this holiday season!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sunday, November 5, 2023

October - Visitors

Five trips to Johannesburg and back with three sets of visitors!  The last 2 months have been very busy, but it has been wonderful getting to meet so many lovely people and show them around Mafikeng and North-West University.

My first visitor was a veterinarian with Christian Veterinary Mission who came down to visit a ministry in Eswatini (previously Swaziland) where she is thinking about serving.  She flew in a few days early to visit me in Mafikeng and then I was able to travel to Eswatini with her for a couple of days before my yearly CVM short-term team arrived. Eswatini is a small circular country that is more rural and impoverished country than South Africa.  It sits on the east side of South Africa and also borders Mozambique.  It is quite mountainous and beautiful.

On my way back from Swaziland, I picked up the CVM short-term team at the airport and we all drove the 4.5 hours back to Mafikeng.  This year there were two vets and a vet tech on the team and they were a great blessing to the Acts 29 students and the students on rotation in the clinic.  We also enjoyed two days on safari seeing lions, elephants, cheetah, giraffe, zebra, and lots of antelope.

For the Animal Health students, we held a review night with pizza and also a suturing practical, but our second review night was sadly cancelled by student protests shutting down the campus. 

In addition to participating in the Bible studies, witnessing on campus, and the Acts 29 weekly training, they were able to bless the Acts 29 students with an American style BBQ. 

In early September I had another vet and her non-vet friend come to stay with me for 2 weeks to participate in the ministry and clinic teaching.  The first South African Springboks match in the Rugby World Cup occurred during their visit so we had a pizza night for the Acts 29 students and enjoyed the game together.  Go Springboks!

When you receive this letter, I will be in Lesotho on an outreach at the Beautiful Gate orphanage with 13 of the Acts 29 students.  Please pray for our time here as we interact with the children of all age groups.  Pray that the Acts 29 students will be filled with joy as they serve, that they will be stretched in their faith, and that they will bond even more deeply as friends and as a team.  Please also pray for safety as we travel the 8 hours to Lesotho and back and for smooth border crossings. 

Later this month, the 2nd university term finishes and exam start.  Please pray for my Animal Health students as they take my written exam on the 30th and the practical exam on the 31st.  Thankfully, a lecturer has been hired to take over the theory and admin portions of the companion animal final-year modules so my load should start to lighten this month as she takes over lecturing and marking and doing all the admin work.   I’m looking forward to having a bit more time to catch up on my gardening!

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Aug 2023 - Merlicia's Story

This month, I would like to share with you Merlicia’s story.  Merlicia joined our Bible study and home church last year and then, after accepting Christ, she joined the Acts 29 witnessing team.  It has been a joy to disciple her and see her grow in the knowledge of and love for God.

“My name is Merlicia, I’m from Limpopo [the northernmost province in South Africa].  I am doing my second year in BSC in computer science and mathematics.


“Being born in a broken family that is not in Christ with a lot of fights and hatred for one another, I grew up lacking love and facing discrimination in my family and at school because of my dark skin.

“I had no peace because of the pain. I struggled a lot with accepting how I look and where I belong.  At home, we believed in the Ancestors.  I engaged in these activities as part of the family.

“In 2022, when I came to university, I participated in netball.  I was playing for the residence I stayed in.  One day, in March, at the netball courts after playing, I saw a group of students holding hands in a circle praying and playing gospel music.  I knew I wanted to join them.  I stared at them to the point where my sports officer took me over to them and I joined hands with them.  I felt welcomed.  One of the students later introduced me to a house church and Bible study [part of our Acts 29 ministries].  I started going there mainly on Wednesday nights.  In June a lady from the Bible study [Beth Gestring] paid me a visit in my room where she shared the word of God with me.  She then asked if I wanted to receive Christ.  I knew I wanted to and I wasted no time.  She helped me receive Christ by praying to admit that I am a sinner, that I believe God died for those sins, and to confess Jesus as my Lord and savior.

“After receiving Christ, God filled me with love and I then learnt to love.  He delivered me from all the pain and in Him I found peace and acceptance.  Today, I love how I look because I know that I am wonderfully and fearfully made and everything that God created is beautiful.  Most importantly, I now believe in Christ and I have removed all the ropes [from the witch doctor/samgoma] of ancestor worship.  I believe in God for my protection. I am free.”

Please keep Merlicia and the other Acts 29 students in your prayer as we start the second term and once again share the gospel with students on campus. 

Saturday, June 3, 2023

June 2023 - Rest

 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

The past two months have been a strange mix of chaos and rest and of struggles and blessing.  It was a very busy finish to March: working with the Gestrings as they prepared to move back to the US, getting home church organized on campus with the students in charge, and taking charge of the Acts 29 witnessing group and the Bible study.    

Last time with the Gestrings

After those weeks of heavy stress, attending the CVM retreat in Kenya in early April was an oasis of calm for 5 days.  These retreats (every 3 years) are such a blessing! They provide time to rest, debrief, and enjoy time with the other CVM missionaries in Africa.  The hours spent around the dining tables chatting about everyone’s lives are my favorite times.  I also brought a guitar along and led worship in the morning sessions and in afternoon informal times of worship.

Baobab Resort on Diani Beach, Kenya

Just before I left for Kenya, I found out that the veterinarian who had accepted the university lecturer position to teach the companion animal module decided at the last minute not to come.
  That left me scrambling to write two exams and two tests in the few days between the CVM Africa retreat in Kenya and another trip scheduled to Turkey.  The home church also wanted to have a baptism service, so we pumped up a plastic pool and baptized 3 students at my home on April 16th!


By the time I left for Turkey, I was completely drained again.
  But what a blessing the Lord had planned for me there!  The purpose of the trip was to attend a MedRefresh retreat.  These retreats are offered by MedSend, a Christian non-profit that pays the student loan payments of medical professionals serving in ministry overseas.  They have supported me in this way for the entire 8 years I have been in South Africa.  Without their support, there is no way I would have been able to serve here.  As part of their ministry, they are focusing on how to improve longevity in medical missionaries in the field and one of the key aspects of that is rest. 

Rest is often a challenge for those of us serving internationally.  We tend feel guilty taking times of rest as if we are letting down all of our supporters back home.  And yet, life overseas in ministry is stressful!  That stress often accumulates over time leading to burnout and collapse if there aren’t good, and frequent, times of rest. 

MedSend really spoiled us during the week in Antalya, Turkey, looking after our spiritual, physical, and mental health.  They paid for a free-day activity (see photos on Facebook) as well as a Turkish bath experience at the hotel spa!   I had also scheduled a few days after the retreat in Cappadocia, Turkey, where I watched hundreds of hot air balloons flying, visited an underground city dating from the times of the Hittites (1200 BC) that burrows down 18 levels (290 feet deep), and took a 5-hour horseback ride through the most incredible landscape.

Pamukkale's white travertines

Anatolian lunch on a floating pontoon in the Ihlara Valley

Hot air balloons rising over Gerome - over 100 total

Riding though fairy chimneys in Love Valley

On my return to South Africa, I could feel the difference.  Even though my last few days in Turkey were busy, the break from my responsibilities in Mafikeng made a huge improvement in my stress level and I feel energized to push though to the end of the semester.

Please continue to pray for the house church and for those students who are taking on the leadership of the church.  It is going well, but this is going to become even more of a burden for them during the exam period this month.     

Sunday, April 2, 2023

April 2023 - Joy in Sorrow

 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:3-5 (NKJ)

Sometimes the Lord bring changes that we don’t understand, but we will always praise Him.  My heart is heavy because the Gestrings, my ministry partners at NWU, are going back to the US much sooner than planned.  They were planning to retire early next year, about the same time I would be returning to the US, but they have had to move up their plans and will have moved back to the US by the time you read this letter. 

Wes and Beth Gestring

This change has been very hard for our Bible study, house church, and Acts 29 students as they struggle to understand and say goodbye in a very short period.  Please keep the students in your prayers so that their strength and trust would be in the Lord and not in people here on Earth and also that the Lord would bring peace and joy to their hearts.

The unexpected change has also had significant impacts on our various student ministries, especially the house church, which met in the Gestring’s large house.  The Acts 29 students are keen to continue with the church and they will be taking on the leadership of the church so please pray for them to receive extra wisdom, strength, and time in their busy schedules so that it isn’t a burden, but rather a joy.  We will be moving the house church on campus to one of the lecture halls as long as the university gives approval, so please pray for favour with the administration. 

There is also now a much larger burden on my shoulders as I will have full responsibility for the Bible study and Acts 29 witnessing training.  Also, if we are able to go ahead with the planned Acts 29 week-long outreach in Lesotho in Oct it will all be my responsibility.  Please pray for strength, wisdom, and gifting from the Holy Spirit that I would lead and train the students well and that His will be done. 

As you can see, much prayer is needed for the students, myself, and the Gestrings through this change.  Thank you for supporting us in prayer over the next few months.