Greetings in Christ Jesus,
Be assured of our continued prayer for you and we encourage you to continue to press on, and all the more as the Day draws nearer.
Our Church
I wish to thank you all for your prayer with regard to the flock being able to meet corporately. After a battery of meetings, we have finally been given permission to resume with our services at the school. They will commence from 10 October 2021. Please continue to pray that this transition back into the “new normal” will be the tried and tested “old normal”!
After exploring the possibility of finding a suitable facility that would accommodate the church more permanently, we found that hiring a facility was unsuccessful, as there just are none suitable or available at this time. The city, for example, does have space, but the protocol does not lend itself to us gathering there permanently (i.e. the city cannot rent the same venue two weeks running because it must give others a chance). Hiring a suitable house is over R20,000 per month. The Lord has, however, given us a window to strategise toward other options, in that we are back at the school for now. Please continue to pray that we will find a permanent facility that will accommodate the church and our plans for community based ministry.
Our pod system is running well, and I have started extending these Bible studies by supplying material on these studies for family devotion. Please pray that this will be fruitful.
I continue to saturate Muizenberg, Capricorn Streets and the beachfront with my presence and have taken to sitting on the wall that separates the road from the beachfront. The local folk that I have interacted with through the gospel message often stop by for a chat about the Lord and two have started coming to Bible study. More often than not they bring a friend to sit on the wall to ask many questions. The wonderful thing is that this is just talk—talk about Jesus, talk about the word—not handouts, not promises of anything but Jesus! Please pray that the Lord will use these situations to ultimately draw lost folk to himself.
I also have been taking someone with on these walkabouts to encourage members to evangelise personally. I want them to see their pastor in the streets. I want to them break down barriers and develop a confidence to speak with the lost world about the gospel. Please pray that the brethren will become even more bold in their pursuit of the lost.
Our dear brother Tich experienced an horrendous fire at 10:30 PM last week, in which eighty shacks in his community were lost. He lost everything, even his identity documents! The church has rallied and assisted him in rebuilding and providing him with supplies, but the experience will take a while to recover from. The city and other relief organisations equipped to assist the community were fantastic in providing material for reconstruction and the community was literally rebuilt in three days! Please pray for this community of Overcome Heights. Pray that they have their material and psychological needs met, but most importantly pray that they know Christ.
We used National Women’s Day, a public holiday here in South Africa, to go each lady in the church to encourage, pray, and present each one with a posy of flowers. We then knocked on doors around the church sharing, praying, and encouraging those that we met with the gospel. Please pray that our conversations will take root.
The online system continues to run well, and we will continue with these broadcasts after we resume our physical services. Please pray for kingdom fruit.
Please continue to pray for our folk that are unemployed.
Ministry Opportunities and Involvement
The term at the Bible Institute has started and I have resumed teaching after my recovery from eye surgery. All the classes that I am teaching will be online. I will teach Old Testament Pentateuch to my students. Please pray for the students to finish the year well and that they will present themselves with honour at graduation at the end of the year.
Our classes at the Drakenstein Prison have not resumed, as the prison has not yet been reopened to us. There have been a number of positive cases among the inmates. Please pray for the health and safety of the brothers.
The Cramer Family
Please continue to pray for Michelle and the group of believers in their work environment, as they face a continued pressure on their faith and are constantly discouraged from meeting during their lunch hour.
Please continue to pray for our children, Sven, Angelique, Tristan and Shelby.
We have received wonderful news on three fronts this month: Shelby is with child, and we are so excited to receive this wonderful gift. Please pray that she experience a wonderful, safe pregnancy both for her and baby. Tristan is getting married to Natalia in the US. Please pray that they will keep the Lord as their focus. Angelique is getting married in January 2022 to Freddie. There has needed to be much restoration in her life. I praise the Lord that I am seeing his hand at work and I pray that this will continue. Please pray with me.
I had eye surgery on both my eyes last month. This surgery was imperative, as my eyes were deteriorating with such a rapid rate that it seems that I would lose my sight within a year or two. The success was nothing short of a miracle, for which I am grateful to God. The recovery process was tedious to say the least, but I have recovered well. Thank you all for your prayers in this regard.
Thank you for taking time to read my report and for praying for us.
Yours in Christ,
Des Cramer, pastor
Coastal Bible Church
Muizenberg, South Africa