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.    

Feb 2023 - Timmy's Story

To start off the new year, I wanted to share with you Tuelo ‘Timmy’ Motloba’s testimony. Timmy was part of Acts 29 last year and has been active in our Bible study and home church. He has a gentle heart and a love for those around him. Timmy is one of those people knows everyone and whom everyone knows! If you need to find out who to speak to about something on campus, just ask Timmy. He will have a contact for you. Here are his words: 

Growing up my home was filled with so much freedom and I realized this when I became of an age when I could take independent decisions. It is this freedom that led my mother to elope [and run away] with my younger brother who was 2 years old in 2007. Because my grandmother practiced ancestral worship, she was confident in this to find her daughter. We consulted traditional spiritualists all over our province but to no positive response. In 2015, when my aunt told our household of the many wonders that take place at a church she recently found, we were so excited that we could finally find answers to the questions dearest in our hearts. We visited severally and this was when we learnt of this God who goes out to find the lost sheep.

The church was filled with so much miracles that we knew ours would soon follow. What was interesting is that in these night vigils or ‘fire Fridays’, as the prophet would call them, we walked about a kilometre overall in the dark, in our notorious town, to and fro the church without harm. Moreover, we hitchhiked back safely to our village as taxis had ran out by midnight when we returned back home. The prophet would tell us that this God who performs these miracles in church also protected each person in their comings and goings. We testified to this with our own experience. In some of their teachings, the church assumed everyone had a firm foundation of scripture. Because of this, I ventured off to find a bible-based church. 

From this time, I fell in love with Nigerian films that portrayed God’s faithfulness and love to rescue those who suffer. I developed believe in Jesus Christ through these fictional films that He will come through for our family situation. One film stood out where the main character who was orphaned went to work at a royal palace, where it was later revealed that she was the heiress to the king. This story related to how Jesus Christ came down from heaven to earth to experience the ordeals that His creations go through – first hand as it is written in the book of John in the Bible. These films also revealed to me that God gave His son to die for our own wrongs. Many of the characters were convicted to make a turnaround back to God’s ways. 

So was I also convicted to believe that the God who protected my household through the lonely nights walking back from church also suffered and paid fully for my wrongs. So I repeated after one character who repented in one film. He said “Lord Jesus, I come humbly before you in my shame and disgrace, with the weariness of this world’s burdens. I offload them before you to cleanse and make me anew. Wash me with your blood so that I may share in your righteousness. I now confess that you are my Lord and Saviour. Guide me to follow you alone. Amen.”

After this I began to make sense of all the favour that has followed my family. I now see everything that happens as part of God’s will which works out to good. I led my grandmother to believe and trust in Jesus too as we wait for the plan of God to work out in our lives. The void left by these lost ones in our family has been filled by a great helper who is faithful always unlike man. Jesus Christ has found us as His lost sheep. We now see Him as the friend who sticks closer than a brother and now share this freedom to appreciate Jesus’ presence in our house. I am now (2022) in training to equip me with His truth and ways through Bible study and to go out and make Jesus known to others out there.

Dec 2022 - Bobotie Recipe

 Merry Christmas!

What are your plans for the Christmas season?  My cookie baking is well underway and I keep praying for rainy days when it is cool enough to do more baking.  It is so hard to choose which kinds to bake each year!  One new recipe on my list to try is Melomakarona.  It is a Greek honey cookie that I first had at a small shop in Johannesburg.  Hopefully, I can make it as nicely as they did.  Chocolate covered is the best!

When I’m home in the US, my family often tries something fun for our Christmas Eve meal.  Shortly before I moved to South Africa, I made a South African dish called bobotie (pronounced bo-BO-tee) for our Christmas Eve dinner and it was amazing!  I now make it here for all my visitors.  If you feel adventurous and would like to try it for your Christmas Eve dinner (or any other time :), I’ll share the recipe.  It is like a really flavorful meatloaf.  There are lots of ingredients, and some seem really strange together, but the flavor is totally worth the work.  If you are missing a seasoning or two, don’t let that put you off.

Bobotie

• 1 kg (2.2 pounds) minced lamb or beef
• 30ml (2 tablespoons) olive oil
• 2  onions, chopped
• 2 ml (1/2 teaspoon) crushed garlic
• 15 ml (1 tablespoon) curry powder
• 5 ml (1 teaspoon) ground turmeric
• 5ml (1 teaspoon) ground coriander
• 2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
• 2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) ground cumin
• 2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) ground nutmeg
• 1.25 ml (1/4 teaspoon) ground ginger
• 2 slices of bread, crumbled
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk
• zest and juice of 1/2 small lemon
• 1 egg
• 5 ml (1 teaspoon) salt, milled black pepper
• 100 g (3 ounces) dried apricots, chopped
• 1 Granny Smith apple peeled, cored and     chopped
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) sultanas (golden raisins – use regular raisons if needed)
• 50 g (1 1/2 ounces) slivered almonds
• 6  bay leaves (or lemon leaves)
• TOPPING
• 250 ml (1 cup) milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 ml (1/2 teaspoon) salt

Preheat the oven to 325F.  Grease a large casserole dish with butter or non-stick spray.

Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the onions and garlic until translucent.  Add the spices (curry though ginger) and cook briefly until fragrant.  Remove from the heat.

Place the meat in a large bowl and add the cooked onions and garlic.  Mix together the bread crumbs and next 8 ingredients (though the almonds) and then add to the meat mixture.   Mix well by hand and tip into the casserole dish.  Press down gently and smooth the top.  Bury the bay leaves into the mixture at regular intervals.  Cover with foil and back for 75 minutes. 

Increase the oven temperature to 400F.

Mix the topping ingredients together.  Remove the dish from the oven and pour the topping over the meat mixture.  Back uncovered for 15 minutes until lightly browned.

(Adapted from Rainbow Cuisine by Lannice Snyman)

This recipe is usually served with rice (yellow rice is best) and, if you can find it, a dollop of fruit chutney adds the perfect vinegar kick. The recipe makes a good 8 servings so it’s great for a group or to have plenty of leftovers. 

Let me know if you try it!  It is still my favorite South African recipe and deserves to have a place in everyone’s recipe collection.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Nov 2022 - Acts 29 Outreach

We painted the town red! Well, perhaps not quite :)  Our Acts 29 outreach for 2022 was last month in the city of Durban on the east coast of South Africa.  Durban has a fairly tropical climate and we had moderate temperatures with very high humidity for our stay.  The Airbnb we rented for the team was on the ocean cliffs and we had a spectacular view watching humpback whales and dolphins from the deck.  Since many of the students had never seen the ocean before, they were all screaming when we arrived!

We partnered with a local church, Glenwood Community Church, in ministry activities throughout the week.  They were an amazing host and great friendships were developed since some of their members joined us in our outreach activities.

The team with Glenwood Community Church members

After an 11-hour drive from Mafikeng on Saturday, Oct 8th, the church hosted us for a quick meet and greet on Saturday night and then turned over their Sunday worship service to our team.  I was blessed to play the guitar for the worship and 4 of our students led the singing.  Timothy, a theology student at NWU, then gave the sermon on having “Beautiful Feet”.

Leading worship

During the week we spent time at a local university, Durban University of Technology, witnessing to their students, taught workshops at the church on sharing the gospel and developing a personal testimony, helped serve at a sidewalk soup kitchen and shared the gospel/prayed with those coming for a meal, and went on outreaches with Durban Inner City Mission.

The sidewalk soup kitchen

Durban Inner City Mission is a ministry started by several local Baptist churches to serve those living in the city center as well as the sailors in the harbour.  Part of their ministry is through a free Christian newspaper called the Challenge. We were able to help deliver these newspapers to inner city apartment complexes and shops in one area and also used them to spark conversations with people at a local park.  Since most apartment complexes are not accessible for security reasons, the newspaper provides a way to reach those living there.

Sharing the gospel at City Hall

Also, every Thursday evening, they send teams out to do street ministry and visit homeless shelters in the city.  Our group joined with their regulars to visit the South Beach area to visit/pray with those living on the street there, help with a regular Bible study for the homeless in a park in North Beach, and visit with people at The Nest homeless shelter.   It was an eye-opening experience for many of our students.

But it wasn’t all work and no play.  We managed to visit the botanical garden and spend a few hours at the beach.  For most of the students this was their first time at a beach and swimming in the ocean.  Due to strong currents, sewage contamination, rocks, there are only a select areas where swimming is allowed.  They place two flags about 100 yards apart and you can only go into the water between the flags.  Most people don’t really swim, they just stand in the water and enjoy the waves. 

Part of the team enjoying the Indian Ocean - Merlicia, Kamo, Frank, Timothy, Wes, Beth, and Thandi

The sea also has a role in many non-biblical religious ceremonies and people were coming to the beach to “wash” in the sea for cleansing and protection.  They also take the sea water home with them to add to bath water, since they believe it is of benefit spiritually.  The traditional healers  (sangomas/witch doctors) also have many ceremonies at the ocean and we saw them several times. It aways grieves my heart to see people caught up in such bondage.

Our long drive back to Mafikeng the following Friday was filled with many sleeping students sprawled over the car seats and even a bit of snoring. 

It was such a blessing to see the Acts 29 students so eager to share the gospel in many different situations even when it was far out of their comfort zone.  Please pray that the experiences they had in Durban will continue to touch their heart and the hearts of those we met there.  

Sept 2022 - STM

The past few months have been a whirlwind of activity with an American veterinary student coming for 3 weeks, end of term exams, a 10-day holiday in the Eastern Cape province, and a short-term mission team.  Sheesh, I feel exhausted just writing about it!

The holiday (vacation) with my friend was wonderful, but we kept quite busy, driving over 1500 miles.  We spent several days in the central desert area of South Africa called the Karoo, and I had a chance to try astrophotography (star photography) since there is no light pollution.  The night sky there is amazing and the Milky Way is stunning in its brightness and detail.  

An old abandoned shop in Putfontein

A working windmill (windpump) near Hanover

The main reason for the trip came at the end, when I spent 4 days horseback riding along the eastern coast.  It is a stunning, almost tropical, area with white sand beaches, dense forests, and quaint towns.  Viewing it from horseback has to be the perfect option.  My horse, Tenna-sea, was very reliable and quiet, but loved to gallop on the beaches. I also brought home way too many giant seashells.

Just a week after I returned to Mafikeng, my short-term team from Christian Veterinary Mission arrived.  The trip had been postponed since 2021 due to covid restrictions, so everyone was excited to finally touch down in South Africa.  Unfortunately, two of the four team members had last minute family emergencies and were unable to come.  The two who did come were both veterinary technicians and spent most days in the clinic with me and the students. 

Thomas, Makayla, and me - Short-Term Mission Team 2022

In addition to spending time building relationships with the students, the team held an evening review session for the final-year students, helped with a rabies vaccine clinic (100 dogs and 2 cats vaccinated) in the local village of Lokaleng, and participated in an Acts 29 movie outreach.  They were both able to share their testimony during the movie outreach and the students were quite moved.  It really meant so much to the students (both in the clinic an in Acts 29) that people would come all the way from America just to spend time with them.

The Acts 29 team and STM team

The second rotation group and STM team

On a sad note, shortly after dropping the team off at the airport, I received word that one of our past Acts 29 members, Thato, had died.  He and his wife, Thandeka, had both been involved in our ministry on campus while they were students.  They were married a year ago, shortly after graduating from North-West University.  Thato’s death was sudden and unexpected and Thandeka has been left bewildered and grieving.  Please keep her and both families in your prayers.  Please pray especially that God will be glorified in this tragedy. 

My ministry partners, the Gestrings, with Thato and Thandeka at their wedding 

Jul 2022 - Evelyn's Story

 In our Acts 29 witnessing group, we have been working with the students on developing a personal testimony.  It is one of my favourite activities because we get to hear everyone’s story and how God has impacted their life.  Over the next few months, I will be sharing three of those stories with you.

Evelyn is a quiet, unassuming young lady who wasn’t at all sure she wanted to join Acts 29.  Acting on a God-given impulse, she committed to the program early this year and has grown in leaps and bounds since then.  Her growth this year includes being baptised and sharing her testimony with other students during our Easter movie outreach.  She even guest led our student Bible study this week!  I’ll let her tell her own story…

“My parents are Christians, we went to church almost every Sunday. I was not much of a believer because I did not know about Jesus, my church never talked about him, but only God. At the age of 16 I started experiencing severe chest pains, abnormal heartbeat and heart rate. Also swollen legs and constant tiredness. I did not know what was the cause of all this and neither did my mother. She tried getting me different medication, taking me to hospitals and traditional doctors to find out the cause and get me healed but they all did not work out for me or make anything better. I had anger issues and was always feeling pity for myself. It frustrated me because these symptoms have been occurring for more than 5 years but I don't know the cause. I thought perhaps it's better I just live with this and accept it even thou my mother did not want to.

“I was on a gap year when I met this Christian lady. She started by encouraging me about my gap year and I feel like God pushed me to her. I started going to her house, the first time she preached the gospel in the Bible I was astonished by how she knew different verses and scriptures. I didn't know that people can actually do that so I fell in love with it and wanted to know about God and Jesus too. I asked her one time how she understands and memorize verses, she just told me that you ask God for understanding and indulge in the word meditate on it. I went to her church during the weeks and I learnt so much from it that I had no knowledge of.

“My body had a breakdown because of my illness and I had to be admitted to the hospital. I had a low blood count so I had blood transfusion. The doctor suspected that there is something wrong with my heart and she recommended me a heart specialist. The specialist performed tests on me and he told me that my heart does not pump enough blood because of a valve that needs to be removed and replaced by a heart operation. He gave me medication to take in the meantime and come back after a few months. I was relieved to find my answer and few days later I did not feel those pains anymore, the chest pains where no longer that intense.

“I accepted Jesus at church because I understand his death and him as a whole. That was the best decision I've made. I am happy and at piece today. God gave a spiritual heart that can never be broken by anything. Even though I still have to do the operation, I am still and I know that God has already approved it successful so I don't worry about it. I enjoy getting to know him and following him where he leads me.”

May 2022 - Acts 29 is back!

 The Acts 29 team is back in action this year!  South Africa is resting at a level 1 Covid status and that means that most events and activities can begin again.  The university has also eased many of their restrictions and that has allowed us to start holding activities on campus.  Although there is still a lot of paperwork involved and signatures needed for approval!

For Easter, the Acts 29 team hosted two viewings of The Passion of the Christ movie in campus residences, and we had a great turnout.   For the second showing, we hit the allowed covid capacity with 60 people and had to turn some away.

The Acts 29 team for 2022 -  Timmy, Kamo, Wes, Mary, Evelyn, Given, Timothy
Me, Beth, Reneilwe, and Ompile

Five Acts 29 students had an opportunity to step out in faith during the movies by acting as MC for the event, sharing their testimony, and sharing the gospel after the movie.  We also had comment cards for those watching the movie to fill out that will provide opportunities for the team to visit later and share the gospel one-on-one.  You can see photos of both outreaches on my Facebook page – www.facebook.com/gospeakliveboldly

Over the next few weeks, please pray for our Acts 29 team as they use the comment cards to visit students in the residences and share the Gospel.  Pray for the students to share the gospel clearly and completely.  Please pray as well that the hearts of those they visit will be prepared to hear God’s word. 

For Easter morning, we had a great student church meeting at the Gestring’s house.  It was a special occasion as we baptized two of the Acts 29 team members and two Bible study attendees!   Afterwards we all shared an Easter lunch of chicken stew with rice, curried carrot salad, and chocolate cupcakes for dessert.

Evelyn newly baptized!

The Wednesday night Bible study has also continued with around 15-17 students attending regularly.  We are studying the book of James this term and the practical topics are really hitting home with everyone, including myself!  His section of the importance of the integration of faith AND actions is one of my favorite. 

Please keep our student home church and Bible study in your prayers.  Pray that the Lord gives them eyes to see and ears to hear what He has for each of them in His word. Pray also that they will be doers of the word and not just hearers; putting into action what they have learned and heading the promptings of the Holy Spirit in this regard.