Persoonlike Getuienis

Dear All,

SAWADIKA!!!! (HALLO)

I hope you are all well...
Thank you for all your support in finances and in prayer...we are back....I attached some feedback for you to
read in your own time that the girls & I will treasure in our hearts..... Moments that changed our lives forever! There are so many testimonies that we can share about our time spent on the island working with the "Hope of Kho Phangan church" but I would like to just share one that really touched me... it is sometimes funny how the smallest thing is turned into the biggest testimony only because of obedience.....

The second week of the outreach things was really difficult and nothing that we scheduled for the Tuesday worked out..so we ended up going to visit an old lady's restaurant....we just wanted to say "HI" but before we knew (and according to custom) we were sat down got water and menu's.....being polite we ordered some spring rolls to share seeing that our intention was just to make this a quick visit..while waiting for our spring rolls we tried our best to keep the conversation going in our "nit noi" (little) Thai and the ladies little English. Spring rolls came and went and as we got up to pay and leave the lady looked amazed...."No you sit ....I make sweet thing for you"......now this was it for me in the afternoon heat of Thailand....but we sat....whilst waiting for the "sweet" (pudding) to come...and like only bored young people can we started talking about morning prayer and how hard it is to get up a 5:00am in the morning with no coffee...and before long we started practising the song we learnt in Thai at morning prayer......"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases" The lady that was busy doing her own thing ...turned around and looked at us ....amazed.. She immediately started sharing about her life and soon she started crying....She poured her heart out and it was the start of a beautiful friendship between the missionaries (Cobus & Derdrei) and the lady. It was a lot of Thai so I could not really follow the conversation but I know that the Spirit touched her....this to me is just one of the examples of how being available and just making God part of your everyday life - even to a conversation in a restaurant could change lives forever....no glitter ...no glomour JUST GOD!!!!!

I would like to thank you for all your support during this time. Thank you for every sms and prayer...

Regards
Ilze

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end

They are new every morning
New every morning.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O Lord.
Great is Thy faithfulness.

Nolu…

While in Thailand I learnt a lot. I guess that one of the things that I’m really going to remember is that God’s time is not like ours. The way God did things that I thought was impossible ant the time He did it in….His timing was just perfect.. It made me think a lot. I know that God taught me a lot during my time in Thailand. He also helped me when I had to come in contact with the idols (Buddha). I had a holy anger inside of me when I saw one of the statues or a house of offering…I wanted to plunder the statues and the houses myself but I know that God will in His time, bring them down. So one thing that I have learned is that God is always in time…..never late….

Ilze …

During my time in Thailand, many things stirred in my heart…but the one event that changed me – or should I rather say challenge me not to remain the same, happened one evening at Hope of Kho Panghan Church. I was playing with a little boy who is being raised in Buddhism. We were standing in front of a poster illustrating the “narrow” and the “wide” way…I was making small talk..teaching him about the everyday things you find, like a house, car and a taxi..and then his little finger went out and he pointed at the crucifixion…at the cross in the middle…looking at me and telling me “Pra Jesu” (This means Jesus in Thai). I was blown over..Once again God revealed His power through a little child. This boy came to church with his dad once or twice (His dad is still deciding if he wants to be a follower of Christ)..but the Lord touched this little boy.. somewhere he must have heard something about grace…or maybe somewhere someone touched him in a way that he knew he is loved…..I do not know..but what I do know is “What a mighty God we serve, a Father Who is gracious, compassionate, rich in love and abounding in mercy…..”

Hannah …..

During my time in Thailand God showed and taught me many new things. Like how powerful He is, how His timing is not always our timing, and that sometimes He will work in little ways to do big miracles. Good friendships where formed with the Thai Christians that we met and worked with. There faithfulness and devotion to God was amazing in a land where 95% of the people are Buddhist, including most of their family and friends. Because of this I realized what a need there is in this world for missionaries and how privileged we are to live in freedom in Western countries surrounded by churches and Christian fellowship. Thank you again to everyone who made this outreach possible by your support and prayers!

Thuli …..

Thank you so much for your support that has enabled me to go to Thailand. Thank you for allowing God to use you to bless me! Thailand was great, more because of the power of God that we got to experience. I learnt a great deal and realized again that I am nothing, outside Christ and that in Him alone there’s victory. It also saddens my heart to see how the people there are so into Buddha! Truly we need to carry each other in prayer, but we also got to enjoy a time of fellowship with the Christians we met on the island, for me it was very humbling experience and also making me appreciate again what I have. None of this would have been possible without help and obedience. My prayer is that u to will be blessed.

Susan….

It is truly difficult to choose a single memorable event, simply because the re were so many… We spent three weeks on the island. A lot of this time was spent at the church. They organized a farewell party for us one evening before we left the island. After some prayer we as a group decided that we want to wash their feet, to bless the Thai Christians and to thank them. In the Thai culture western people are socially higher than what they are, so for us to wash their feet was something really special. This was a humbling experience for both parties and God touched many hearts that evening. I learnt again that it is better to give than to receive and also some valuable lessons in serving and loving like Christ did…..