Brothers on Mission

There is nothing sweeter than the fellowship of brothers walking with our Lord Jesus Christ in His harvest field. During the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 in South Africa, four brothers from two continents prayerfully backed by their brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world proclaimed the Law and the Gospel of Grace to the hoards of local and visiting soccer fans.

The Word was proclaimed and preached to a dying, dark world. The Light entered into a spiritually dead and hungering vineyard, and we believe and trust in the Name of Jesus that God’s Word went forth and accomplished what He had sent it to fulfill His purposes.

From the time I fetched Bill Adams and Thomas Nunes from Oliver Tambo International Airport there was a togetherness that was evident. We would all be learning as we got to know one another better and also glean from each other what God had already prepared us to learn. My lesson to be learned up front would be patience. To drive and negotiate the Johannesburg traffic with the additional complications of roads being closed around the stadia we would visit and the “endless” roadworks was a definite test. The first trial was when I picked up our brethren and upon trying to negotiate the roadworks at the airport to get to the currency exchanger we were “swung” out onto the highway leading away from the airport. Patience and a few kilometres of the “scenic route” and we were back on track… mmm … patience.

Let us also not forget our most wonderful hosts who truly have servant hearts for our Lord Jesus, in the families of Michael, Natalie and their two young sons Caleb and Calvin and Grenville, Ruth (Michael’s sister) and their two young sons Joel and Nathan. Their hospitality to us leaves me – and I am sure the brothers, too – speechless, but rejoicing in Jesus. It was truly how the body of Christ should function. The fellowship, prayer and morning devotions were sweet to the soul. Michael Rogers heads up Living Waters Africa, so most mornings we would stock up with Gospel tracts in his study from where he runs the ministry. He was also kind and gave us many discounts and we also thank Grenville and Ruth for purchasing us some tracts, too. We love you all.

Bill and Thomas are true Ambassadors of Christ who are truly on fire for the preaching of God’s Word and engaging in conversation, with the lost and also amongst ourselves. What I was challenged by most of all with Bill is his many, many questions. Here is a man with a servant heart and a probing mind that had me tested to the limits. He is a brother that wants to learn as much as he can from his brothers and sisters around him, and I really enjoyed his probes. It had me examining myself and searching for the correct answers. In our Q & A sessions he also ministered into my life. Thank you brother and I look forward to labouring with you for our Lord Jesus.

Thomas, my room-brother, is a gentle and prayerful soul. He is a brother that has a heart for the lost who not only went the extra mile with his time spent with the lost souls, but made the added effort of taking down many, many, many names that would later find their way into his prayer journal. This brother is a kind man whose love flows towards mankind and children. I saw this trait in Bill, too, the way they spoke to the young sons of our hosts. For Thomas, being an ex-Zimbabwean, he found himself witnessing to many Zim-refugees at the plaza in downtown Johannesburg. I believe this was an appointed time by God for Thomas to be used of the Lord to minister into their broken, poor, sinful lives and those who were encouraged as Christians, too.

Later in the week our brother from Badplaas – Willem Pretorius arrived and joined up with us. Here is a brother who we are sure God challenged and brought him to a place where he exceeded unchartered territory. Here is a young man who has a passion to learn and please God and who broke the sound barrier by reading Scripture and preaching the Law and the Gospel of Grace for the very first time in a public forum. An Ambassador of Christ who stepped out of his comfort zone – and who nearly did not join up with us – and allowed the strength of Christ to overcome his challenges. Thank you Willem for your obedience in joining us in our Lord’s harvest field.

What was also a precious few days was that Thomas travelled from the USA and he got to see his brother Dilip (Botswana) and his dad Mr Nunes (Zimbabwe) who travelled to Johannesburg to visit. A reunion after five years. A wonderful work of God’s Hand bringing family together.

All Glory to God for the time we spent lifting up the precious Name of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. As you can see from the posts hereunder from the FIFA Confederations Cup there are many witnessing stories that have been related to and there will be more to follow.

Under the Photos tab above there is a link to our photo gallery that reflects all the photos from our time on mission. We hope to have a video that captures the full extent of the mission up here in the near future.