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. 

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 16^th!

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.     

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