Saying Goodbye

One of the difficult things about missionary life is the goodbyes!  God calls people for specific tasks or times.  We work together, pray together, laugh together, and sometimes cry together.  But seasons change, God's plans are fulfilled, and goodbyes must be said.

Jeremy, Delani, and Jameson Howard

Tonight our dear friends Jeremy and Delani Howard will board an airplane in Capetown that will eventually take them back to America.  We will miss them so much!!  I had the special privilege to spend an extra couple days with them last week driving them and some of their belongings to Capetown where Delani's mother lives.  The long drive gave us time to talk and (hopefully) bring some emotional closure to the very special relationship we have shared.

We had a heavy load.  Some things will be shipped to America,
others are to be stored at Delani's mother's house.

With our roots in the arid West of the U.S., Jeremy and I especially enjoyed the mountains and scenery of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.  Here are a few pictures from along the way.

There is a cross on the top of this mountain.  It was planted
there many years ago by the military using a helicopter.
(You can't see it in this picture.  It is quite small.)

Towns are few and far between along the route we took.
A week or so before we traveled, there had been a lot of rain.
The landscape was unusually green and flowers were blooming.

Some places this purple flower grew so thick it seemed a whole
mountainside was purplish-gray.

One of the larger towns we passed through was Graaff Reinet.
Andrew Murray grew up in this lovely Cape Dutch house in that
town.  He was a godly man who wrote many books on prayer and
led a great revival in South Africa in the 1860s.

The Dutch Reformed Church in Graaff Reinet

Even though the land is dry, there are scattered farms along the road.

The main "crop" is sheep and goats.

Some farmers have also been quite successful raising ostrich.

We saw quite a bit of wildlife as we drove.  Springbok, eland,
steinbok, another kind of antelope, and some large tortoises. 

The sunset over False Bay was beautiful and the pizza was some of
the best I've eaten.  Thanks Tannie Melinda!

Dear Jeremy, Delani, and Jameson, we'll miss you!  Travel safe, and may the Lord bless you as you start a new chapter of life in the USA.  Hurry back!  Never forget that your real home is in Africa! :-)

Outreach at Ha Ntsabane

A few years ago Miss Thato's life was dramatically transformed by the Gospel.  When Jesus came into her heart, her despair was changed to hope, and hatred was replaced by love for other lost people.  Since her conversion she has been begging Pastor Kali to come to her home village of Ha Ntsabane and preach the Gospel to her family and neighbors.  We had no idea, but she was also saving money to pay for the expenses of a weekend evangelistic campaign.

Miss Thato (right) with Rev. and Mrs. Kali Nthabi

Last weekend Thato's deep desire to see her family come to know Jesus came true.  With the money she had saved and a little assistance from Hope International Missions, we pitched a tent in her village and preached the Gospel.  Many people came forward to pray when we invited them to surrender their lives to the Lord, and we also had opportunity to pray with a number of people who were suffering from demonic oppression and other problems.  As you look at the pictures, please pray for the dear people of this village some of whom heard the Gospel for the first time.

Miss Thato's home where we pitched the tent

The services were well-attended.  Rev. Tsikane Pheko (far right)
was the special speaker Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

The money Miss Thato saved was enough that everyone
who attended the services could have a nutritious meal after
the services.   Here are some of the older ladies of the village
helping with food preparation.

Pastor Mahlomola preached Saturday morning.

"We are building up the temple!" The children
enjoyed the services that Miss Mastefen held for them.

I made a special friend!

Thato's grandfather and mother were overjoyed by the
change they have seen in her life.  

Please pray for the people of Ha Ntsabane!

The village of Ha Ntsabane is between Teyateyaneng and Mapoteng.  It is not yet recognized on Google Maps, but if you click on this link you can see where I have added it.  If you zoom out a little or move the map around, you will see that there are many villages within walking distance.