A HEART FOR INDIA…
Our time of ministry in India has now come to an end, and all of us have received a heart of compassion for India. In spite of the terrible heat, we have only very fond memories of our time working at the Emmanuel Orphanage. Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined the blessing that waited for us in India! We came to give and to bless… And instead, we were RECIEVED SO MUCH and WERE BLESSED BEYOND UNDERSTANDING!!!
Before we arrived at the orphanage, the children had been fasting for days and weeks. Firstly, because the president of the orphanage was in jail for persecution, and also because there simply was NO food to eat. Their president in the meentime has been released from prison and we were privileged to learn many things from this SURRENDERED child of God. It is very possible that him and many of the orphans might one day die a martyr’s death, but they all truly believe that for them “living is Christ, and dying is gain!”
The children have prayer meetings every morning at six o’ clock.
While we are dragging ourselves out of bed, they enthusiastically worship Jesus with singing and prayer. The children lead the worship and bring the messages out of the Scriptures. Four- and five-year olds
pray earnestly and with boldness! We have never seen anything like this before! We were both blessed and challenged by their commitment and love for Jesus! They meet like this three times a day, in the morning at 6, afther lunch in the afternoon, and once more before supper.
We could teach these children NOTHING. They have more spiritual richness than we will probably ever have. All we could do was LOVE them, play with them and care for them. We also made it our goal to give most of the orphanage a few fresh coats of paint before we left. The children were SO excited about this, and before long they were working side-by-side with us to make their home more clean and attractive. It was a humbling and inspiring experience to witness their enthusiasm and excitement in the extreme Indian heat!
We were privileged to join them one day for a meal at Pizza
Hut in town. It was the first time in three years that they had the chance to leave the orphanage for a few hours and experience the “outside world”. It was amazing to see how they appreciated little things that we have come to take for granted. Once again, VERY HUMBLING…
One day, a storm broke out and the rain came pouring down, bringing some relief to the extreme heat we had become (almost!) used to. Just before it started raining, one of the children shouted, “It’s going to rain, we’re going to PLAY!!!” The moment the rain started
falling, all of the children ran outside and were DRENCHED – playing and running about without caring about getting wet or dirty. Of course, many World Racers could not resist the temptation and joined in the fun!… And great fun it was!!!
Our race… Well, we had a big deal of “bad luck”. Our Taxi driver did not know a WORD of English and he had NEVER before been to the Taj Mahaal. It was a crazy day! We had two flat tyres along the way and lost almost an hour’s time this way!
We blessed a barefooted mother with a brand new pair of shoes. We drove around in “Tuc-Tuc’s” for two hours looking for a snake charmer… once again a crazy, very Indian experience. Eventually we ended up
WAY behind all the other teams, but finished well. Once again, many thanks to Francois and Sanru for helping us out! Also a GREAT THANK YOU to Brijmahan, our friend from the orphanage who helped translate between us and our taxi driver! He was a GREAT help and we would probably still be driving around in sircles if it was not for this young man of God!
Saying goodbye to our new friends was the hardest thing we have ever had to do on the World Race. It just didn’t feel right! We all have seen a bit of God’s heart for India through them!!!
Many thanks also to our supporters who blessed the children financially – they will eat well for the next few months because of your open hearts!
On our way to Europe we had a stop-over in Dubai. Here Jacques seemed to be struggling with a stomach bug and him and Lana had to stay behind so that the airport doctor could keep him for observation. He had to get a “drip” for rehidration, and was soon up and running again! We all had a good laugh when the Airport Medics arrived shortly after we let “information” know that one of our team members were not
feeling well. They brought him a wheel chair and he got VIP treatment the rest of the day. He was the also only one of us who had a bed to sleep in (the rest of us slept on the airport floor!). We are thankful to the Lord that he is doing GREAT now and that there was FREE medical treatment availible when we needed it so badly. Thankyou for all your prayers – God came through for us once again. Thankyou also to Emirates Airlines – they come highly recommended and and were EXTREMELY helpful when we were in need.
We are now on our way to London from Cairo, Egypt. We plan to stay with friends form the South African
Church in London (SA Gemeente, Londen), and do promotion- and setup work for next year’s Global Challenge. We will also be joining home cell churches during the week, sharing our testimonies and enjoying fellowship with other believers. Estee from the yellow team will be joining us during this time, and we look forward to spending time with fellow South African Christians and taking time to rest and prepare for the rest of the year.
We know that many of you have been wondering what has happened to Anita. After a long time of prayer and seeking the Lord’s will, she will soon be leaving back to South Africa to help with the Beat The Drum Project with Dr. Bruce Wilkinson. She will also be working on the website for next year’s Global Challenge. We are sorry to loose her as a team member and pray God’s richest blessings over her for whatever the He has called her to do.
Please keep us in your prayers! God has been only faithful and we love Him more and more each day!
Baie liefde vir almal in SA! Julle is elke dag in ons harte en gedagtes! Hou die blink kant bo!
Stefan, Jacques and Lana
