Our God is Moving!

Johann and Louise: Training Disciples to Make Disciples in Southern Africa Ah, where to begin? So much has happened since you last heard from us! The Lord is on the move and we are thrilled to be witnesses of His glory! Prior to leaving for Ethiopia, we hosted the priest of St Matthew’s Addis Ababa together with his family from the US and Australia. We love Roger and Lynn to bits and have always enjoyed their company and appreciated their maturity in Jesus. As Roger was in South Africa, it was our privilege to preside over the baptism of the granddaughter of other dear friends in Addis…what a joyous occasion, but little did we know that this was a small preview of what would happen in Gambela! There’s something special about returning to ones previous home, isn’t there? Every time we walk into our old house in Gambela, we feel we have never left. What a joy it was to be with our adoptive families – the Anuak, the Nuer, the Po, the Mabaan, and now the Jum-Jum, and Dinka too. Our Anuak and Nuer brethren have acquired keyboards and speakers…I suppose this was inevitable. Interestingly enough, these electrical devises come with only two volume settings: loudest and distorted. The first Sunday we had our ears blown out as we were sitting in the front row! We didn’t make that mistake again! Ethiopian Christmas was celebrated on January 7 and I had the distinct pleasure of not only preaching at this daylong event, but also baptising 51 people – from babes in arms to the elderly. We only made it to lunchtime and then retreated into our home and sat under the fans…yes, I know…chicken! Louise and I taught the third of the four disciple making modules, Vision, to a number of clergy and lay leaders who had already completed Strategy and Foundations. We had planned to train them in Multiplication as well, but the acting Dean of the College asked if I would teach an intensive on discipleship to the students instead. Would I ever! This was a practical project for the students. I provided Scripture passages and teaching on the Gospel, the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Disciplines, and Missions/Evangelism and they had to take the information and write their own disciple making tool in their small groups. This was the first time we had used the LEAD material at a seminary level – and it works well! May the Lord open more doors for us to teach leaders before they enter a ministry! Louise spent most of her time in her beloved library. She unpacked every book, cleaned them and reshelved them, and catalogued and shelved about 500 more. We also played grandparents to the five missionary kids on the compound. Praise God for Chris and Suzy, Abigail, Matthew, and Micah and Josh and Jenny, Fletcher and Theo…what amazing families! We also got to visit with our dear brother, Jeremiah and our brethren at St Luke’s as well as a few fellow missionaries and friends both in Gambela and in Addis. One of our challenges was to prepare the Bishop’s house for our new Archdeacon, Rajan Jacob, originally from Tamil Nadu, but most recently from Libya. The house was infested with bats and rats and the ceilings were disintegrating because of their bodily discharges. I’m trying to say that nicely. So we had Dereje, our trusty building contractor, to help take down all the old ceiling boards, get rid of the bats, seal all entry points, and replace the pressboard with gypsum. Unfortunately, we left before we could see the end result. We returned home earlier as we received news that the Queen was not doing well. Please keep Louise’s mum in your prayers as they battle to stabilise her mood. She is no longer in the Nursing Home and Louise has her hands full caring for her as much as she is able. Annie really needs 24-hour care. Our discipline group is already in full swing and I will be presiding and preaching at the Eucharist this Sunday. Some of our plans hang in the balance, as Louise has to be here for her mum. Please pray with us for a solution to this conundrum. Our youngest son and his family are in the process of moving to Sweden…we haven’t seen our children and grandchildren for quite a long time now and hope to be able to swing by Sweden on our way to a possible ministry opportunity in Northern Africa. Wish we could make a big loop and include Birmingham, AL as well! IF YOU HAVEN”T ALREADY DONE SO, PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE IN OUR SAMS-USA GIVING LINK! https://give.sams-usa.org/missionary/johann-and-louise-vanderbijl/ Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel! We hope to see y’all when we are in the US in October and November! We would love to share about the Lord’s work in Africa…we can no longer just say Southern Africa, can we? If you would like us to come to your church, small group, prayer group, whatever, please let us know as soon as possible as time get gobbled up quickly. What a joy to be so popular, huh? J We love you and pray for you often… Blessings Johann and Louise Support Us Johann and Louise spent two years helping to develop the St. Frumentius Seminary in Gambella, Ethiopia. At present, they are mostly working in Southern Africa where they are serving in seven southern African countries, although they continue to work with the Diocese of Egypt, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa as well as other southern and northern African countries, through engaging in a disciple making movement in order to grow the body of Christ. They are partnering with J-Life and other like-minded ministries. This ministry is massive and has the ability to reach thousands. We are sent  through the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, a missionary sending community, engaging in building relationships with the worldwide church to experience the broken restored, the wounded healed, the hungry fed, and the lost found through the love and power of Jesus Christ.  Support SAMS Copyright © 2016 Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, All rights reserved. www.sams-usa.org      Our mailing address is: PO Box 399 Ambridge PA 15003 Attention to: Johann and Louise van der Bijl Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

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