Sunday
Today was the day…
We had a very quiet morning at home. Mike rested a lot which was good. He has a busy week ahead. He also has been reading. We also Skyped with the family in Swellendam. Elsie’s face lights up when she sees us. I ate my breakfast with her watching and took her round the house showing her different things. So cute to watch her interest.
After lunch, we read for a while and then went and had a socially distanced visit with John and Avril. We had a meaningful afternoon with them. Our friendship goes back close to 30 years, although Mike knew John for much longer as he was at Bible Institute with him in about 1979.
We moved to the Fish Hoek area from Paarl in 1989 and started going to Tokai Community Church which was over the mountain. Then one Sunday, my minister from Harare and his wife were having their first service at the Plumstead CESA and I went through to welcome them. Frank Retief was also there and after the service I had a chat with him. He asked me where I went to church and I told him and said I lived in Sun Valley. He said he didn’t think people in the valley should have to leave the area to go to church and as there was no CESA church in the area at the time, he highly recommended Fish Hoek Baptist Church where John Thomas was the minister. I came home and told Mike and that was how we started going to Fish Hoek Baptist Church. It must have been around the second half of 1992.
The Lord used John in our lives from the get-go – particularly when it came to my Mom. My parents were divorced and my Mom had married a man who started getting abusive. Julian found out about it and organised for her to fly from Jo’burg to Cape Town to get away from him for a while. The trip was arranged very quickly and on about a Thursday we went to the airport to pick her up and she stayed with us. My Mom was not a Christian. She was 60 and I had been praying for her since I came to know the Lord in 1979. Sunday morning came and she agreed to go to church with us.
We were very keen for her to leave her husband, so you can imagine our dismay when the Pastor John stood up that day and preached on ‘God hates divorce!’ I just could not believe it! I truly felt it was the ‘wrong’ sermon for that moment in time. But God is BIGGER! After the service, my Mom sat very quietly for a few moments in the pew. Later she turned to me and asked, “Did he know I was coming?” “No!!” I said, desperate for her to know I hadn’t set this up. She went on to say that it felt as if she was the only person in the room – he was speaking directly to her and that the message was written just for her.
My Mom went back to Johannesburg and the rest of the family went to the airport to pick her up. On the way, they were taking friendly bets as to how long it would be before she went back to her husband. They all lost. She never did. She never went back to him, but she also never divorced him. She started attending church and she gave herself fully and completely over to the Lord Jesus Christ. That year my Mom was saved and her entire countenance changed. The catalyst was largely that Sunday in church – the message from Pastor John.
That was just at the very start. Then came Radio Fish Hoek and Living Hope. The impact that John and Avril have had in our lives as well as the community both of Fish Hoek and beyond is enormous. I really appreciate them and pray for them.
Afterwards, we went to Echo. David and a few of his friends were keen to see the house progress. Hope to take more photos tomorrow, but meantime, here’s the 2020 etched on the wall…
Covid numbers in the Western Cape – 123 new cases in the last 24 hours.
Covid 19 stats – South Africa – country-wide…
- Friday 24th July – 13944 new cases (maximum we had in a day)– 250 deaths (245 771 recoveries/169 882 active)
- Sun 6th Sept – 1633 new cases – 110 deaths (563891 recoveries/59737 active)
- Mon 7th Sept – 845 new cases – 115 deaths (566555 recoveries/57803 active)
- Tues 8th Sept – 1079 new cases – 82 deaths (567729 recoveries/ 57626 active)
- Wed 9th Sept – 1990 new cases – 82 deaths (569935 recoveries/57328 active)
- Thur 10 Sept – 2007 new cases – 97 deaths (573003 recoveries/ 56170 active)
- Frid 11 Sept – 1960 new cases – 113 deaths (574587 recoveries/56433 active)
- Sat 12 Sept – 1816 new cases – 49 deaths (576423 recoveries/56346 active)
Total cases: 648214 Total deaths: 15427
Romans 5:5
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
The best is yet to come.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂
Braces:
1 year and 305 days