When I was growing up, Dire Straits was a
band…not a life condition known to me. My father went to great lengths to
provide for our every need and we never knew what it meant to need anything…we
always had enough and then some. According to the Scriptures, if our earthly
fathers know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more will our
heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him! He knows our needs even
before we ask…
We just received our monthly expense report
from SAMS. Our total income for the month of January was $3,252.95…not even
enough to cover our base monthly salary. SAMS has worked out that we need
$3,802.58 as salaries for both of us, plus $568.50 for Health Insurance,
$342.23 and $171.12 for our respective pensions, plus $145.45 for payroll taxes
monthly. Our Missionary support balance has also dropped rather dramatically to
$14,166.50. SAMS has a policy that when this amount drops to a certain level,
the missionaries are recalled.
I think you will agree with us that we have
far too much invested in our work with SAMS to be recalled at this point. We
have given up so much to do the work of the Kingdom in this part of our Lord’s
vineyard. It would be such a tragedy for us and for the Church were we to leave
the field because we don’t have adequate funding.
Our grandson, Everett will be baptized
Easter Sunday in North Carolina, so we would like to spend our first few days in
the US with our children, but we will be available for speaking engagements directly
after Easter. We leave to return to Africa on May 2. If you would like us to
speak at your church or any other gathering, please let us know so that we can
work out a schedule. Try to give us more than one date in April if possible.
We leave for Polokwane tomorrow morning
early where we will be training about 40 clergy in how to make disciples. From
there we go to Johannesburg where we will be training those who have already
done the first module of, what we call, our LEAD Program. This second module
covers 6 basic characteristics of a disciple-maker: dependence on the power of
the Holy Spirit, prayer, obedience to God at all costs, Word centred, always
seeking to exalt the Father, and being relational in all aspects of ministry.
Please keep us in your prayers…we need new
supporters, so please spread the word about this ministry…we need more prayer
as we lead the church in southern Africa through the very gates of hell to
plunder the kingdom of the evil one. He has enslaved too many for too long and
it is time for the Church to take up the spiritual challenge and to reclaim
stolen territory! We know the evil one will seek to put a stop to this
ministry. We have already seen so much fruit! Apparently, so has he.
So pray with us. Help us. Without your
partnership, we cannot do the work of the ministry.
In His grip
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