God is Gracious

Thank you all for your prayers and support. We truly thank God for his mercy and grace towards us in our lives and ministries here in South Africa. The LORD has given great grace to experience more of his mercy and love and grace and for this we truly give thanks.  

Zambia Trip

The LORD opened the door (through my beloved brother Ray and Cornerstone Baptist Church and Old Time Baptist Church) to help send 2 brothers from Joburg (Schalk and Maans) up to Botswana for a week to help a fellow missionary we know and then drive to Livingstone, Zambia where I was able to fly in and meet them to spend a week there. Of all the places I have been in Africa, Livingstone, Zambia definitely had the best spirit. The people generally seemed friendly and kind but in sincerity (not with hidden motives of gain or manipulation). Overall there was decent law and order, which thus, led to a land that seemed quite peaceful and safe. (In South Africa everyone is locking everything constantly and looking over their shoulder… but in Zambia, evidently you can park your car with the windows down and doors unlocked and have no fear of robbery). We stayed with a native Zambian named Justine Samba who the LORD has called and raised up to minister to his own people, and specifically to work with the poor and needy (elderly, disabled, widows, orphans, and children). The LORD really met with us and worked wonderfully in our hearts and souls that week in Zambia. It was also a gift of God to be on the front lines, so to speak, in these African communities with the poor and afflicted to see their sufferings and needs and to be able to weep with them and speak the word of God to their hearts and to stand in the gap and cry out to the living God on their behalf. Truly one of the signs that the Messiah came was that the gospel was preached to the poor. But oh, what a wounded and afflicted people the African people are! We know no such thing of such levels of poverty and suffering. We ought to be utterly ashamed of all our physical complaints and whining. May God have mercy on us and shut our mouths to all such foolishness. Most of our ailments are due to our lack of temperance and the spirit of gluttony and over-indulgence that so pervade our defiled lands. The things we saw are better to not even speak of. As we walked amongst the people of these communities and sat in their homes and heard their stories and were able to cry out to God on their behalf, I truly felt like a lawyer/advocate of the poor. I thought, this is the work of a true advocate of the poor: to see their afflictions and sufferings and lay it to heart; and then to teach them the divine laws of the LORD so that they might not be on the wrong side of his law, but repent and follow after righteousness, and then to stand with them before the Judge and bring their suits to HIM in mercy and justice so that judgment might be brought to their situations and they might find peace, rest and holiness. Upon returning to my room where I stayed I found a business card that had the following printed on it “AMC Legal Practicioners - Commisioners and Advocates for Oaths.” AMC are my initials… perhaps the LORD is speaking. After a week in Zambia, Schalk, Maans, and I all asked each other, “And why do we live in South Africa?” None of us were sure…. The peace and grace of God that we experienced in Zambia seeking the LORD together and doing the work together was so wonderful. We were not excited to return to SA to say the least, but alas, everything on this earth is but for a season. One last thing, Zambia had been suffering severe drought. So much so that when we went to Livingstone Falls (one of the 7 natural wonders of the world), the entire Falls on the Zambian side were completely dried up except for 2 small remaining trickles! They claim that it hasn’t been that bad for years. We cried out to God day and night to send the rains (it was also 40 degrees Celsius); and on Wednesday evening, for the first time in over a year or so, a small 10-minute shower came! Evidently, the Sunday after we left they received a proper rainfall. And since then they have had some rains on and off. Please pray the LORD will continue to send the rains in Zambia (and Botswana). 

School

It was a blessing to finish out the school year well. Adelaide and Hudson both did a really good job by God’s grace. They both achieved Honour Roll and were awarded various things like Christian Character and I believe Adelaide had the highest GPA for the primary school. We were thankful to see them overcome their challenges throughout the year and finish well. 

Homeless Shelters

The LORD is really working in men and women’s hearts and lives in these shelters. While I cannot say they we are necessarily seeing clear good fruit yet from our labours, it seems that there are some genuine changes of heart and desires towards a life of godliness and holiness unto the LORD. Many people are hearing an undefiled gospel message for the first time in their lives and a call to a true life of holiness in Christ. Not to just speak about having faith (with no fruits or good works to show for it), but rather to have living faith which “worketh” by love. Many come to me with testimonies of the conviction of the Spirit in their hearts and finding a new life of genuine prayer and dependence upon God, and new desires to continue in the word of God with a falling away of other things that once held their hearts. For this we give thanks. We have seen many adversaries of the word that have caused quite strain on the spirit of the place in which we were ministering. But as we continue in prayer and fasting and faithfulness, it’s amazing how God seems to deal with those people and remove them out of the way for the word to continue to go forth. In many respects, I feel entirely unworthy to preach the word of God, but it seems that for now the LORD continues to send us and use us for his glory. As anyone who ministers knows, the amount we are ministered to by the LORD in the process is so much more than what we give.  

Family

Our family continues to struggle greatly in some of the most simple things. Hannah and I definitely need help from the LORD. We may need some practical help from the body of Christ, but we still await to see how the LORD shall answer these things. Thank you for all your prayers and support. May we truly come to know Jesus Christ and the Father and not just lightly speak of such holy things. May our garments be washed in the blood of the Lamb so that we might stand in HIM complete and worthy of partaking in everlasting glory with HIM. And may our Lord Jesus and our Father in heaven truly receive all the glory and honour and blessing and power for ever and ever.

Blessings and Love,

Adam