My latest letter about South Africa to my email list. Dear friends and family, and family and friends: Once again, we have had a very busy week. We had an International Ministers Fellowship - South Africa chapter conference here in Pretoria North. Africa Missions was largely involved, which meant that Judy and I were greatly involved. There was housing to take care of, a venue for the meetings to be acquired, transportation to and from airports and bus terminals, personal needs of attendees throughout the week, last minute decisions to make, housekeeping announcements to make, and sundry other things to accomplish. Of course, I was made Conference Director, and later inducted into the chapter as the Secretary-General of the South Africa IMF. I got about 4 hours of sleep each night (Nov 20-22) because I was up late taking people to their sleeping destinations - if they werent staying at the conference guesthouse meeting place. Then I needed to pick people up from our Bible School (about a 40-minute round-trip) for the conference. I was very, very exhausted. (See picture of the big group of officers of the South African chapter below. Also, the fun picture of Judy and me under the reindeer at the airport, and me holding a sign standing with drivers of some company bringing in business people, have no idea who they were.) I missed Sunday church because of transporting people to the airport - multiple trips. We had 23 delegates from Zimbabwe, 2 from Zambia and a lesser number from Nigeria. You can only get so many in a car at a time. So you do the math. On Monday, we served breakfast at the offices of Africa Missions for the International President (from London) and the SADC President. I made much of the breakfast. We sat on the patio and had a wonderful time. Then Ron & Rina were off to take Intl Pres George to the airport - about 1.5 hours each way. Not far on their journey, one of the members discovered they had left their purse. It was not possible to turn around, so Ron called me and asked me to bring it to the airport. Judy and I jumped in the Land Rover and headed for the airport. I was able to get back to Pretoria in time for my next appointment of the day! Whew!. (See breakfast picture below.) All in all, the conference was great. One of the best I have ever attended, and certainly an uplifting experience. The presence of the Spirit of God was almost tangible - even I noticed with all of my busyness. This week we played catch up, and on Thursday Judy and I (mostly Judy) bought and prepared an authentic Thanksgiving Day dinner for Ron & Rina and our dear, dear friends Jan (pronounced yawn) and Kay du Plessis. (Kay had so much to be thankful for, just having recovered from brain surgery - a great success.) (See 5 of the 6 diners below, I was taking the picture.) Judy made the pumpkin pie from scratch (no such thing as canned pumpkin in SA), and I made my famous southern dressing. The meal was a rave, everyone was so happy to have their very first Thanksgiving Day meal in South Africa. It was a great way to end off a very busy season. December should be way less hectic. It seems all of South Africa shuts down for the month. In all of our business and tiredness, Judy and I never fail to pray for our family and friends daily. We hold our family (immediate and extended) before the Lord daily, praying for their needs (as we know them) and believing God for blessings. Then we lift up our friends and supporters and prayer partners by name before the Lord. We are so very thankful for each of you who pray for us, love us and support us. Our needs continue to grow as we settle in here, but God is always faithful to supply in miraculous ways through added supporters and other means. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers and love and support. And thank you for hearing and obeying God. Judy and I are rich in so many ways: getting to serve out our heart in the country we love so much, having a great family behind us, and having our friends surrounding us. Every day is a miracle, and we could not possibly be more blessed or happier than we are now. We love you all so much, Gary and Judy
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 19:05:39 +0000
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