May 2024
Adam, age 16, has had so many ups and downs over the last year. Every Friday we meet for a one-on-one Bible study. He also attends our weekly teen boys Bible study, weekly Youth Night and church every Sunday. Many of you have bathed him in prayer during his time of confusion and doubt. About 3 months ago we began to see a softening in his spirit, and he started to read the Bible on his own. About 2 months ago his father, Craig, came to Christ at church. I urged him to discuss his decision with his son. The next day I received the best text I have gotten in South Africa: Adam had put his faith in Christ as Lord! I met with him again as we discussed his new faith in Christ. He was so excited and felt relief and peace as Christ came in! The following week was Easter Sunday and our normally scheduled communion. Adam was so excited to be part of this practice and to remember Christ for his first time as a believer. Ever since that day people in the church have been commenting how different this young man is. I too am shocked at the night and day change!
Craig, Adam’s father, is a hairdresser. He started attending our church about 3 years ago. He was in and out of foster homes much of his childhood. God allowed him to be placed with a loving man that cared for him until he was an adult. He married Angela in 2006 and Adam was born in 2007. Craig loves to talk which is an asset in his field. It also helps us to get to know him. He and Angela have struggled the past few years trying to raise a very angry, rebellious son. They relied on worldly practices and advice that did not help. Craig really loves his son and noticed the amount of time that God allowed us to invest in his son. This softened his heart to hearing the Word of God and putting his faith in Christ.
Angela carries deep wounds from the loss of her father. She does have times when she reads the Word and has been faithful to church for 18 months but struggles to put her faith solely on Christ. We regularly pray that she will see that Christ has already paid her sin debt.
Amid all the craziness of ministry we often deal with other hurdles like water and electrical outages, sometimes for a week or longer. This month is our presidential election, and the politics are already having a major impact on the water, electrical and garbage collection services. Garbage began to fill the city and fields as the garbage collection workers went on strike. Water was diverted away from our area to areas that support the party in power. Electrical workers stopped maintaining and repairing the frequent outages. People in our area began talking of holding their own “events”. This gave John and I the opportunity to take fifty 5-liter water bottles to impacted areas (our neighborhood). It was heartbreaking to see families with babies and elderly shut-ins desperate for drinking water. No other church, organization, political party, or any other organization was trying to help, this allowed us to shine the love of Christ in a way that people did not expect. They kept asking how much we were charging, and many were surprised when we said nothing.
Prayer Requests:
- Wisdom and discernment in ministry.
- Spiritual growth for us and those to which we are ministering.
- Finding a new house to rent (they are selling ours)
- Cost for vehicle repairs.
Praises
- Craig and Adam’s salvation
- Steady spiritual growth with counselees.
- Many opportunities to share God’s Word.
- Unity with our ministry partners.