Family News
Marda and I also recently enjoyed our 22nd wedding anniversary. This was a special one! Her ring was taken from her a number of years ago now, and I have been wanting to get her a new one for so long. It just seemed like the perfect time after what she went through this year, and so I got on my knee, gave her a new ring, and told her how grateful I was to God for her.
A Big Step...
It feels like this picture was taken just yesterday. But it’s been eighteen years now.
And it’s time to send McKenna off to university. It wasn’t easy!
We were hoping Marda would be able to make the trip with her. But unfortunately she wasn’t able to because of her cancer treatments. So, McKenna got second best! Still, I tried to make the trip as special as possible. We flew into Seattle, spent a couple days there, and then traveled by train to California.
We are so happy McKenna has the opportunity to go to The Master’s University where she can be discipled, mentored and trained for a lifetime in ministry. It’s difficult to be away from family, but McKenna is convinced wisdom is worth it. And, so are we!
Church Life
As you can see in these pictures, God’s brought a very diverse group of people together at Living Hope, and we are working together at truly caring for one another like family.
TRAINING
I recently talked with one of the pastors who has brought many people to the class. He was so grateful for the way God is using our time together to create a passion for the Scriptures in their lives.
One of our goals at ABTC is to identify young men who should go for further training. Mustapha is a great example. He was part of ABTC while we were developing the curriculum and demonstrated an intense desire to know God’s Word even better. We are so happy he is now attending Christ Seminary and training, Lord willing, to be a pastor.
Sending
A dear family from our church have long had a burden for Zimbabwe. Nickson and Esther Pasipanodya are both from villages in Mashonaland East province (surrounding Harare), and both lived in that part of Zimbabwe their whole life prior to coming to South Africa in their early–mid 20s. They are fluent in Shona and English (the languages most widely spoken in the region), and have family and friends in Harare and the surrounding area. Nickson graduated from Christ Seminary with a Bachelor’s in Theology in 2015, has received his Honours in Theology from North West University and is working on a MA in Biblical Counselling through Strengthening Ministries Training Institute. His desire is to church plant in Harare itself, and to be very intentional about providing encouragement and training opportunities for pastors in the city and the surrounding rural areas. The Living Hope elders share this vision. It is our joy to serve as the Pasipanodya’s sending church.
In August, one of our elders, Donovan Drew, was able to visit Zimbabwe with Nickson this past month to investigate future possibilities. We are so thankful for Donovan’s passion for church planting throughout Africa. As you can see, it was a great trip!
CAN YOU HELP?
If you would like to give Nickson and his family a one-time gift or even commit to ongoing monthly support, please be in contact with me as there are a couple of different easy ways to make donations.
We are so encouraged by what God is doing throughout Africa. He is raising up godly men who have committed their lives to training up and equipping men to be faithful shepherds of His flock.
Also, Marda was able to attend and teach at a baby shower for one of the ladies in our church. She was so happy, as this was the first time she was able to minister at a formal event this year.
THE BABY HOME
For Prayer
Marda has 3 weeks left of radiation.
I have lots of ministry travel coming up. I’ll be speaking in Albania at the end of September, and then preparing to teach a week long course on marriage counseling in the Philippines in the beginning of the new year. We are thankful the Albania trip is covered, but if anyone wants to help us with travel costs to the Philippines, we would be so grateful.
Please pray for each of our children. We have one living on another continent now, and we miss her! Also Muzi is severely special needs, and we need God’s help to know how to best care for him. It’s been difficult to find a school that will actually benefit our Zanele who has learning disabilities. Marda is exploring a home school curriculum that would suit her. We would love for you to pray with us that God would save the four ‘littles’ and give thanks for our teen girls who are such an encouragement to us.
We are so grateful for the way many of you have supported our family financially and in prayer over the years. We see the sacrifices you have made for us and we give praise to God for you!