It is with great pleasure, that we report to you our combined results for the month that
passed. One of our greatest
victories is that we, through
our joint efforts, were able to provide a safe
place for Essie, a single mother who is
due to give birth to her third child in mid-December! It has been a burden on our hearts
for months, and although we were looking for a decent place to rent or a small yard,
a place to put up a structure for her, it has only now materialized, and fortunately so before the birth of the
child.
Before
we continue, want to give very special and heartfelt thanks to each of you, who
responded in some way to this specific need, and have helped to create such a
great victory! May you all be mightily blessed, and likewise comforted in time
of need.
Essie:
Following are a few pictures showing what was
accomplished:
From: trying to gather materials, to getting a prefab
house.
To putting in a cement floor, inner walls and ceiling,
painting, etc.
To furnishing the house, hanging curtains, and so on. We
were told that Essie’s two boys were literally “jumping for joy”, when they saw
their new bunk bed. To them they are now living in great luxury compared to
what they have been used to. There is also a new light and sparkle in Essie’s
eyes! When she first saw the house, beds and all, all she could say was,
“Beautiful”!!! We, without all of you, would have never been able to make this
big difference in someone’s life! May you all be blessed and for the great joy
you have helped bring to Essie and her children!
Mila’
Angels:
We are happy to say that Lion’s Club, GB, since we first
introduced them to Mila, have/are continuing to assist her in a tremendous way.
Below is a photo of the new front fence that they put up. Not only has it been
one of Mila’s dreams for years, but it also provides invaluable protection for
the children, as shoot-outs happen in the village from time to time, even during
the day time! The next project under consideration is to build on an additional
classroom for the grade R 
We want to THANK
and highlight our wonderful Gracelife
Family, who this year took upon themselves the full responsibility of
ensuring, that we have 1000 party packs for the Christmas celebrations for the
children in the 6 ECD (Early Childhood Development) centers and 3 kitchens that
we presently assist. This far more than half of the party packs are ready and
have been delivered to the various places, ready for that special day of
celebration to arrive. We look forward to sharing more pictures of this next
time!
Santa
Shoebox Project:
Other
Projects:
‘Filea’s se Huis’ Kitchen for children, got new fencing
for the front and the back yard!
When receiving the beds for Essie, we also got an extra new
mattress, which we were very happy to be able to bring to Joanna, an elderly
lady in her 70ties, who still volunteers at the main soup kitchen, but lives
under very poor conditions with her daughter, who is a single mother of 4.
And a BIG THANK YOU to the Sugar Crystal Company for the numerous
sugar crystal sticks. But who can wait for Christmas, and especially when there
is more than enough?….Haha!
Teaching and preaching:
Our Bible students, who have just about completed their
first basic course, have started joining us, when we go to church. They gladly
crowd in the back of our bakkie, but our prayers and hearts’ desire is, that
the Lord will supply a minivan, so we can bring along all that would like to
come, in a more comfortable way. The first is a picture of Rita,
teaching the Word in the soup kitchen, with the pastor translating.
Suplies:
Living in the Balance of
Grace and Faith
By Andrew Wommack!
Part 14
NOT A COMPARISON
Many people have misunderstood what
Jesus was communicating in Luke 11. After teaching on what's commonly called
"The Lord's Prayer," He told a parable, saying: Which of you shall
have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend
me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have
nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me
not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise
and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he
is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many
as he needeth. Luke 11:58 This parable is often taught as saying that God is
like this friend. When you come asking for what you need, He may respond with
the equivalent of, "I'm in bed. My children are in bed. I'm already
asleep. Don't bother Me!" So you just have to keep petitioning, badgering,
and staying after Him. You have to give God no rest and make Him get up and
give you what you want just to get rid of you. That's not what this passage of
scripture is teaching. This parable is a contrast, not a comparison. I've used
contrasts before many times. I remember one fellow I was ministering to who had
just recently received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He was bedridden with a
life-threatening illness and didn't know for sure that God wanted to heal him.
After sharing God's Word with him for quite a while, he still wasn't persuaded.
Struggling to convince this man of the truth, I glanced over at his wife
kneeling down right beside the bed and asked, "Do you think that your wife
would want you to suffer through all of this pain you're going through, and
then die?"
FRIEND?
He answered, "Oh, no. My wife
loves me too much. If there was anything she could do to heal me, she'd do
it." "You've probably had arguments and fights with your wife at
different times." "Yeah, but there's nothing I've done that would
ever cause her to want me to go through this suffering and pain, and just
die." Then I said, "And you think your wife—an imperfect human
being—loves you more than Almighty God!" That stopped his argument dead in
its tracks. God is love. 1 John 4:8 God—who is perfect—loves you infinitely
more than any imperfect physical person does. That's the point Jesus was trying
to get across. He asked, "How many of you have a friend...?" He
wasn't talking about just an acquaintance—somebody you know—but rather someone
you would call a friend. If you had a need at midnight and you called a friend
on the phone, saying, "My car broke down. Could you help me?" do you
have a friend who would say, "I'm in bed. My kids are in bed. Who cares
about you? Call somebody else!" Someone like that isn't a friend.
THE OPPOSITE
Jesus was saying, "Do you know anyone,
whom you consider a friend, who would treat you that rudely? Of course not! No
friend would treat you that way. Then how do you expect God to be like that?
Why do you think that you just have to badger Him?" This true teaching of this
passage is actually opposite of the way it's traditionally been interpreted.
This passage is saying that if you expect that much mercy and kindness from a
physical human being, then how much more should you expect God to answer your
prayer without having to badger Him? It's making a contrast, and the context
proves it. Jesus continued: I say unto you, Ask, and it shall he given you;
seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall he opened unto you. For every one
that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it
shall he opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will
he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a
serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? Luke 11:9-13 In
context, do you see what Jesus is trying to do? He asked the people, "How
many of you would treat your children so badly that if they asked for a piece
of bread you would give them a stone? If they asked for an egg, you'd give them
a scorpion? How many of you would treat your children that way?"
Hopefully, nobody! If you would treat your children this way, there are
agencies here in America that will prosecute you. It's wrong to treat kids that
way. Well then, if we who are corrupted, sinful, who do things for our own
pleasure and self-benefit are better than this, how could we ever think that Almighty
God is less compassionate than we are, that we, His children, would have to
badger Him? We think that God won't respond to one person who asks for the
power of God to be manifest, that we have to get a hundred million people
together to manipulate, badger, and force Him into sending revival. There are
some seriously wrong attitudes in the body of Christ today. We need to
understand the balance of grace and faith.
CONFIDENT AND
CONSISTENT
God, by grace, has anticipated the needs of
the entire human race as well as every one of us individually. He's met every
need that you will ever have. Before you ever had the problem, God had already
created the answer. He made the supply before you ever had the need. God has
already provided everything. There's nothing that will ever come into your life
that will catch God by surprise. You don't have to go to Him, begging for help
and saying, "Oh God, I don't know if You can pull this off." The Lord
has already dealt with everything. Everything is already provided, but that
doesn't mean you'll experience that provision unless you have an appropriate
response of faith. Instead of panicking and becoming fearful, you must learn to
trust in what He's done, resting and saying, "Father, I don't care what
the doctor says. I know what You've said, and I trust You. I believe that
You've already provided everything I need." Once you get this attitude and
start living it, it creates in you such a sense of peace. You know that nothing
will ever happen to you that God hadn't already anticipated. The supply was
there before the need is. You will have such confidence that you don't have to
be afraid of what the devil throws at you. It doesn't matter because God has
already provided. That's faith. Faith gives you consistency. Are you an up and
down kind of Christian? Are you up as long as everything is wonderful and then
when tragedy hits, you go into the valley? While in the valley, do you get
desperate and start seeking God, begging and pleading until He comes through
and you're back up again? If that's you, you're a very carnal person. You
aren't resting in God. You are just living according to what you observe in the
physical, natural realm. You don't understand that God, by grace, has already
provided everything. Understanding this truth gives you consistency. It allows
you to be the same at all times because God is the same at all times. Even
though my finances, health, joy, and other circumstances may fluctuate, God's
supply is the same. I'm able to just be consistent. I'm not afraid of any bad
news because I know that God has already met the needs. I don't have to do
something to force God to respond. That's good news!
Rita Olsen, NedBank, Branch Code: 11414500 Account no.: 1043639810 (South Africa)
Danske Bank,
Account no.: 3442652759, Branch:
3230, SWIFT: DABADKKK