If you have never landed on this page before, you must wonder what the background wallpaper is all about “Pray for Hannelie”. The Groenewalds are an amazing family. They gave up their lives here in South Africa to go and serve the people of Afghanistan. They spent many years there, their lives underscored by their relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It is that testimony that led to the tragic deaths of three of the Groenewald family. It happened on Saturday 29th November 2014. This is what I wrote a few days after the attack on their home in Kabul:
It is hard to conceive the pain and devastation that Hannelie Groenewald feels following the brutal slaying of her husband Werner and their two children Jean-Pierre or JP (17) and Rode (15). When the children were about 5 and 3, they moved to Afghanistan; they must have been as settled as they could be. Hannelie, a doctor, working to help the sick in Afghanistan, while Werner worked for a non profit organisation helping with educational resources. They drove around without accompanying protection. It’s said Werner and JP enjoyed cycling through the hills above Kabul. From JP’s Facebook page, it appears he was crazy about flying.
Strong Christians, deeply rooted in the Word of God, the family were trusting in the Lord with all their heart and leaning not on their own understanding. In all their ways, they were acknowledging Him, knowing He would make their paths straight. God took them to Afghanistan. He knew what they would do there. He knew how long they would be there. He also knew that on Saturday afternoon at around 4pm, while Hannelie was at work, the compound in which they lived, would be stormed by a band of Taliban militants. After gunning down the building director, a three hour battled ensued, with gunfire and grenades. Werner, JP and Rode all died in the attack. Their home was razed and their pets killed. Brutal slaying, witnessed by God. He saw the events. He allowed it. There are always going to be questions to be asked in eternity. “Why?” is one of them. We won’t know the answer this side of eternity.
The Taliban say they attacked this compound because of ‘secret missionaries’ living there. While the Groenewald family were not working in Afghanistan as missionaries, they followed Christ. The Bible says, in Revelation 6:9
“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. ”
A special place for those who die because of their faith in Christ. We don’t know when these things will come to pass, but we do know that we don’t live in an earthly bubble that has no connection with the spiritual world. Nothing happens without God’s permission, His presence and His purpose.
Today, my plea to you is to pray. I made this blog’s wall paper “Pray for Hannelie” as a reminder for me to pray. I also put Hannelie’s name on my fridge and when I see it, I pray for her. God is sovereign. While in our eyes and minds, she has lost ‘everything’, she still has her salvation and she has the glorious hope of seeing her loved ones again. She has knowledge that it is not all about now – that this life is just a dot on the billion mile road of eternity. Those are gifts that cannot be taken away. But her earthly road to recovery will be long. Pray for her. Pray too for the rest of their family. God never wastes pain. He will heal Hannelie and use her for His glory. Please like the Pray For Hannelie Facebook Page so that you too can be reminded to pray.
God is not mocked.
Proverbs 28:17 “A man tormented by the guilt of murder will be a fugitive till death.”
God bless you today. Keep trusting Jesus. He is the only Way.
Other posts about the Groenewalds:
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