Dear family and friends,
It is with much gratitude that we write to you. Our hearts are full of joy, thanksgiving and praise to the Lord who continues to lavish his grace upon us.
Family
Ephesians 1:5, “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purposes of his will.”
As we reflect on the joy of having our latest addition to the family through adoption, what a sudden and dramatic change for us all. One day he had no parents, no brothers or sisters, no clear future, and no ability to change any of it of his own accord. Then, one momentous event changed everything.
That is the incredible reality of adoption, which Paul captures in Ephesians 1:5. It is completely beyond understanding that God would take us—wretched, rebellious, orphaned sinners, who were without family or future—and adopt us as his very own sons and daughters. What an incredible gift to become part of God’s family—a family that we will enjoy for eternity; a family that has the most wise, most powerful, and most wonderful Father that has ever existed.
In one momentous event, God took us out of our sorry, forsaken, destitute state and brought us home forever! And this was not an impulsive, spur-of-the-moment decision. It was not even because God looked at us and saw how “cute” we were. This was something God planned to do before he even created the world (Ephesians 1:4).
As we ponder upon this grace in Christ, we have been convicted of our sin—that we have been living independently of our heavenly Father, failing to commune with him in prayer (or praying only when prayer is the last thing we could do after failing to do things on our own), failing to enjoy him, failing to learn about his character in the Scriptures and to draw on the mercies he puts at our disposal—a challenge for our family is, why on earth should we be living as if we were still orphans? And why should the Lord be merciful to us as seek him?
Ministry
Ministry at Moletsane continues, by God’s grace.
School Outreach
After much prayer, the merciful and gracious Lord has opened a door of ministry in one of the high schools in Soweto. We have been allowed to preach to about 1,200 students once a week. Glory be to our God.
Bible Study at Our Home
“But … I have a tiny, messy house, too many noisy children, very little free time, and on a typical African missionary budget!”
These are a reality of our family, but we decided not to let them become excuses for being hospitable. As a result, we also host a Bible study on Thursday evenings. It has been a blessing to hear testimonies of grace from this tiny space. People really remember and treasure our conversation, study, and fellowship long after the mix-and-matched coffee mugs are forgotten.
Visit to Capitol Hill Baptist Church
In May, I had a sponsorship for a privilege to attend intensive and weekender at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. It was an awesome time of training, learning, observing, challenging, and encouraging.
I could highlight many wonderful things that I’ll treasure for many years to come. These include a biblical and deeper understanding of church membership; a biblical philosophy of eldership and how to conduct an effective elders’ meetings; and the commitment needed in planning our corporate worship service. I’ve been challenged to think biblically about these things and have started implementing them.
Visit to Highland Park Church
During the month of June, my wife and I were blessed to have been sponsored to attend a wedding of a friend in Columbus, Nebraska.
The wedding was so wonderful. Keanon and Ruth’s love story and union was just a clear picture of Christ and his church, a most incredible story of grace, love and mercy. It was a privileged to witness that. I was offered an opportunity to preach during the church’s worship service and my wife was one of the bridesmaids. It was such a great time of reconnecting with a few members and their pastor just a year after they visited our church and assisted in running a holiday Bible club here in Soweto.
Prayer
- Pray for our elders—Nkuli, Khabane, and Sammy—for wisdom, gentleness and understanding in day-to-day dealings of the church.
- Pray for our evangelism—that we will be faithful in reaching out to our community with the gospel of Christ. Praise God for the opportunity we have to preach weekly at a school nearby.
- Pray for provision—that the Lord will continue to graciously provide for our needs and that we will be generous and wise stewards of all that he has entrusted to us.
Once-Off Practical Need
Pray with us—and consider partnering with us—about an issue with our municipal account. We have been querying an amount of R130,000 that is owed by us. During the few years when there were no people fellowshipping here, the property was used for child-care business and the “free” rates were then changed from a public benefitting organisation to a business entity (profit-making organisation). Nobody bothered to pay and we, the new members, inherited the property with its bill. We have been paying about R1,000 per month but it’s just a drop in the ocean.
Please consider assisting us financially towards settling our account. We have submitted a request with all the supporting documentations to have the property be re-registered as an non-profit organisation. This is by no way affecting our worship service, but should the government cut off our water services, it will affect us.
Our Church Banking Details
Moletsane Baptist Church
First National Bank
Account No.: 6266 8410 154
Branch Name: Maponya Mall
Branch Code: 250-655
Swift code: FIRNZAJJXXX