Little Update…
It is hard to believe we have been in South Africa nearly two months already. We want to give thanks with all of our hearts to God for His faithfulness to our family in this time of transition. We are excited to be here, trying as hard as we can to serve God, and looking forward to what He is going to do in the future.
Marda has been doing a fantastic job of getting our family settled into our home, (WHAT A WOMAN!) the girls have been enjoying making new friends and learning more about South Africa, and I have been busy in a variety of different ways.
I am doing alot of teaching and preaching. I preach every Sunday, lead a men’s small group during the week, teach a young adult’s Bible study, and have had the opportunity to preach at a family camp and at Honeyridge Baptist in Johannesburg. I am also beginning to work on the orphanage. It looks like it is going to take us up to two years to get through the government bureaucracy in terms of the land and zoning and all that. That doesn’t mean however, that things are just on hold. We are going up to Christ’s Seminary to interview a couple to be houseparents and potential church-planters. We are looking to begin in a flat nearby with four to eight orphans. That is just a start, but it is a start. I am also trying to develop contacts and relationships in the local township. We would like to see a church begin in the years to come along with the orphanage and this seems to be a way forward! Also Marda and I are about to begin working on becoming permanent residents so that we can house babies with AIDS in our home. I am also going to begin visiting at a local orphanage called The Purple House with the hope of starting at least a monthly children’s church service there – if not more often. They have about one hundred children there in one smallish by American standards home. Needless to say the children need some serious discipleship. I am also working on finishing up my doctoral work. I have the main writing part done, now for the practical stuff. I am going to teach a seminary class on preaching with native African pastors and interact with a several veteran pastors and missionaries in order to better understand how to preach expository messages in a Traditional African Culture.
We want you to know that we are so grateful for your help and support. I recently heard that someone was praying on a regular basis for us and it filled my heart with such great joy because we desperately need it.
