More Women's Retreat Pictures

More Women's Retreat

They treated us to some wonderful singing!

I love Ivy! She has grown so much in the last year and is a lot of fun to be with.

LBC Women's Retreat

We had our LBC Women's Retreat this last weekend. It was a wonderful time away though I missed my husband terribly. (Its just not as fun to go away anymore.)

The women really enjoyed true fellowship and really encouraged each other. We had great teaching on the book of Phillipians from Megan Wooley and enjoyed a time of sharing and application in small groups after several of the talks.

The women love to spend time together and are true biblical friends!!!

One of the most encouraging things for me of the weekend was coming up to the porch during free time and finding Dinah and Johannah doing their Sunday School homework. These women love the Lord and are soooo teachable! Dinah says one thing she is most thankful for is her English classes because now she can read the Scriptures for herself.

Personal Update

We continue to love married life! Many of you know that it has been a tough couple of months for us physically and we continue to covet your prayers. We have experienced two miscarriages in the last 6 months which has been a difficult trial to walk through. We have been sustained in the midst of this trial and continue to trust God’s perfect plan for our lives. Additionally, Sybrand has had nasal surgery and experienced some complications from the surgery that seem to now be sorted out. As a result of some of the testing they did, they discovered he has an immune deficiency which they are in the process of trying to discern the best way to treat. The result of this is that he gets sick easily. Please pray that they would be able to decide on a course of treatment that would be effective and helpful in building up his immune system.

In the midst of all of this, we found out that his mother’s cancer had progressed and she is in the process of receiving intensive chemotherapy. She is a believer and has been a wonderful testimony of trusting the Lord in the midst of this trial.

Needless to say, this has left us a little tired and worn out. Please pray that God would continue to refresh us and revive and that we would walk by faith and not by sight.

We are thankful that after two years of waiting my application for permanent residency was approved! It means that I can now apply for a South African ID number which is similar to having a Social Security number in the states. It is such an answer to prayer.

Tyndale Christian School

Over the last few months God has been expanding our ministry at Tyndale Christian School which was originally started by members of our church and meets on our church property (although it is not our church’s school). We were approached several months ago and asked to consider becoming part of the school board and helping to give direction to the school.

The school is struggling right now. It originally was spiritually strong and founded with a commitment to sound biblical theology. Over the years as the original founding members of the school have left, the school has lost its theological grounding and has begun to struggle. On the board there has been a spilt between the charismatics and those that are more reformed in their theology which has led to division. Shortly before we joined the board, the majority of the board members who were causing the division stepped down and now the school is in the process of rebuilding.

It has been exciting for us to become more involved. We are both committed to Christian Education and the importance of it. Additionally, the school is about 80% black and has many children coming to school from the townships. We would love to be a part of the school becoming more effective in its ministry to these children who so desperately need a solid biblical and academic foundation in life. My previous experience in the township has shown me how vital this is if we are going to reach our townships for Christ.

Let me introduce you to one of the students who is a picture of the kind of child we are trying to help. Pictured at the top is Sihle M. who has attended the school since the 1^st grade. He is currently the Head Boy at the school. His mother died shortly after he was born and he has been raised by his aunt. He comes to the school from one of the local townships. His family is involved in a church where Christianity and ancestral worship are mixed. He knows that is wrong and can share why it is. Please pray that he will be strong in the midst of this. Next year he will be going to one of the local high schools which has an excellent academic reputation. In addition to receiving a solid academic foundation at Tyndale, he has also been given a solid biblical foundation and has been equipped to share Christ with others in the township as well as for future ministry.

Additionally Sybrand has had a wonderful opportunity to work with the teachers. He is presenting the Changing Hearts, Changing Lives material to them on a weekly basis. Our prayer is that this will help the teachers not just minister to the children on an academic level but to be able to help them shepherd the children’s hearts and impact them spiritually. Many teachers have commented on what a help these times have been to them on both a personal and a professional level

Update Continued

I am continuing to enjoy leading our women’s Bible Study. We are currently studying working through the book, ‘Reaching the Ear of God’. Last week we spoke on how God has met our needs so abundantly. As they responded to that, they began to speak of the many in our church who are struggling. We have many women in our church who are supporting whole families on about $400 a month. One woman shared with me recently her concerns over her family in Zimbabwe who are starving because of lack of food. In response, they began to develop a plan of how they could better minister to them in practical ways. It is so encouraging to see them begin to take action to reach out and tangibly minister mercy to the poor within our own congregation.

We are also in the midst of planning for our Women’s Retreat. Sybrand and I identified several women who could potentially be trained to help in the leading of our Women’s Ministry and asked them to help me plan for the retreat. It was so encouraging yesterday to meet with them and hear their ideas for the retreat and how we can accomplish our goals. I am praying that this group will be the start of a Women’s Committee that can help disciple and minister to the women at our church.

A highlight for me has been the Sunday School class I have begun for the domestic workers who come to church. The sincere, simple faith of these women has been a real encouragement. They ask good questions every week are beginning to open up and share their own personal struggles. Several of these women have commented that they truly understand the gospel for the first time. They also have said that they are beginning to understand the Bible for the first time and have asked to learn how to study it for themselves. In response, we have begun a series with them on ‘How to Study the Bible’.

One of our prayers in starting this group was that we would begin to see the women more fully integrated into the life of the church. We are beginning to see God answer that prayer. Some of them have started coming to Sunday evening church and to the Wednesday prayer meeting which is very unique in a South African church setting. They also keep less to themselves. Please pray that this would continue.

As a side note, it has been so fun to get to know these women. The woman to my right in the picture name is Johanna. I was recently talking to her and found out that when she got married about 25 years ago, her husband had to pay 4 cows for her and what would have amounted to about $1200. Two of the cows were used to feed the guest at the wedding and the other two were used to help sustain the family. Johanna’s husband died after 12 years of marriage leaving her with three children to raise and care for. She shared with me that they are slow mentally and have been unable to find work even though they are looking for it. Yet in the midst of it, she expresses a deep love for and trust in the Lord.

Please don't die of shock....

I was on a friend's blog that lists when the last time a blog was updated and saw that it had been ten months since I had written on ours. So, for the one person who still checks it, I decided to update. Needless to say, life has been a little crazy since December! We continue to be thankful for the opportunity to minister at Lynnwood Baptist Church. We have really enjoyed opening our home to people in the church and getting to know them better.

Sybrand recently began preaching a series on 1Timothy on Sunday mornings. This has been a great opportunity to re-establish in people’s minds what God intends the church to look like. He also has been teaching an Adult Sunday School class based on material from CCEF called ‘Changing Hearts, Changing Lives’. The focus of this class has been to help people better understand how behavior reflects our heart and that it isn’t enough to merely change our external behavior without dealing with our hearts. Many have commented on how helpful this material has been in their personal walk with God and how they have been able to help others who are struggling. As with any teaching that confronts our hearts, there has been resistance to it. So often we are content with external behavioral change and knowing the right things and don’t want to confront the issues of our heart idolatry.

One woman we met with recently shared how she was so convicted that she stopped coming to church for awhile. We are thankful though that God has begun to till up the soil of her heart and she is starting to deal with some issues in her heart and seeking help and is back in church again.

We are grateful for the 5 new families God has brought to the church over the last few months. They have been a wonderful addition and have brought a breath of fresh air to the church. Sybrand has begun to meet with these men in a Discipleship Group. They have proven themselves to be faithful, teachable men. The hope is that as they are equipped they will go out and find men that they can each disciple and pour their lives into.



Sybrand's Small Group

Additionally, we have many Africans who wander into the church looking for help. Every Sunday it seems that’s someone will wander in off of the streets. I think in part it is because of Lynnwood’s long standing ministry to the poor in our area. Just the other day a man from Zimbabwe who is struggling with some issues in his life and wanting help, stopped by the church. Sybrand had a wonderful opportunity to share the gospel with him. We are praying that he will come to church and we will have continued to ministry to him.

A picture from church camp last April.