“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, …” Thus the opening line of Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities. Given the fact that the tale is set in one of the bloodiest revolutions ever known to humanity, appropriately named the reign of terror, one is hard pressed to find any reason to call it “the best of times”. The abject poverty of the people and the opulent wealth and decadence of the aristocracy led to a clash that resulted in the gruesome death of many. But as the story unfolds, one sees the best emerging from a depressed and cynical drunkard by the name of Sydney Carson who gives his life in the place of his rival in love, Charles Darnay. He also comforts a seamstress condemned to be guillotined with him. As such, the best emerges from the worst.
Now, you may ask why I have chosen to start our newsletter with this brief and incomplete synopsis of a classic tale. It is because we, like so many others, are trying to make sense of the times we are living in right now. The whole world seems to have shut down because of the “reign” of a virus. But like in Dickens’ novel, a global thread is coming to light that shows the best emerging from the worst. People are turning to the Lord in their hundreds realizing that their ‘gods’ are insufficient in the face of this onslaught. Medical personnel are sacrificing their lives for the sake of the sick and dying. Farmers are donating their crops to the poor who are not able to hoard food. Families are finding each other and spending time with each other. Ministers and missionaries are discovering new ways of communicating with their flock and for reaching out to the world. People sing from their balconies, others applaud essential workers. Many are weighing themselves in the balance and finding their lives wanting…
In South Africa, the number of confirmed cases increased dramatically in just a few days from 61 cases to nearly 1500. Five people have died. The medical experts speculate that this is just the tip of the iceberg. We are in total lockdown and no one is allowed to leave their homes except for food, medical care, or other necessary supplies. The South African National Defense Force has been deployed to assist the police in implementing these strict measures.
All this came on the heels of a very blessed and successful ministry outreach attempt. Our dear friends James and Julie Conlon came to teach, train, and pray for the folks we work with. Their ministry provided comfort and hope to many especially in the informal settlement where people live from hand to mouth. Then we heard that all visas had been revoked and they had to leave on the first available flight out of South Africa. It all happened so fast that we did not really have time to process it all. We dropped them off at the airport and began to make arrangements for the 21-day long lockdown.
Just as the lockdown was about to shut us in, Louise received news that she needed an immediate lumpectomy and lymph node removal. But the best came out of the worst once again as all hospitals were in “war mode” as the doctor put it…only emergency mammograms and biopsies and surgeries were being done. What might have taken weeks was all done in the space of a few days…and, as this was detected early and dealt with immediately, the prognosis is very good. All cancer cells were removed as well as the effected lymph nodes and there is no sign of any spread at all. It remains for the oncologist to decide further therapy, but we rejoice in the fact that even in this tragic situation, God brought about the best for us once again.
We have been trying all sort of new methods for ministry from home via social media. This is a new field for us and for many of those we work with. Very few have computers or even internet, but all have cell phones! So, WhatsApp has come in handy as we record messages, trainings, and sermons for folk to listen to in their own time. And they love it! Yeah God!
Our children and grandchildren are all well…we get to chat with them a little more than usual which is wonderful! The Queen has been in lockdown longer than we have, but we are thankful that she has friends in the Nursing Home that help with the sense of loneliness for her.
Johann has been working on his book about the development of Simon Peter as a disciple. So far so good! He is using the stories as training material as well. Louise is still in recovery mode trying to deal with the constant pain by keeping busy…knitting, reading, and studying for her “Explore” exam on salvation. She’s having a hard time staying out of the kitchen, but the new sergeant-major is unrelenting. Our ducks are keeping us entertained…it is like having a troupe of clowns in the yard!
We are grateful for all of our supporters…your messages of encouragement, your prayers, your notes, your financial gifts all mean so much to us. Thank you.
Please do pray for protection from home invasions which are becoming more frequent as many are not able to generate an income as long as the lockdown continues. A neighbour two streets up from us was recently stabbed to death when he went to investigate a break-in. All neighbourhood watch patrols have been stopped, but our duckies are excellent watchdogs though and we do have security and an alarm system.
Please do continue to pray for our monthly income through SAMS-USA. We are still not quite at the point where our income consistently exceeds our expenses. We really need to widen our support base and secure more regular monthly donations. There was an attempted hack on our medical insurance website, so they were down for most of our medical emergencies and surgeries etc. Please do pray that they will be able to expedite our claims so that we can pay off our credit card!
We are praying for you as we know you, like all of us, have to navigate your way through this new way of doing life! May our Lord keep us all safely tucked away in His arms until we see each other face to face again!
Love, hugs, and blessings.
Johann and Louise
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