Different year, different team, same God!

Super Rugby, World Cup Cricket, Super Rugby, World Cup Cricket?  In the midst of my excitement and inability to choose, it struck me that if we have arrived at this wonderful weekend, then training for GCEX 2011 is 5 weeks old which leaves us with only 2 more before we embark on another life changing journey.  It is then also time to give you my first update for this year.

The work Your way team are made up of a bunch of young men from all over South Africa this year.  Most have just finished school and I have the privilege of leading them into their first steps of adult life.  This is a huge honour for me and I am much looking forward to growing with them.

During the past 5 weeks, they have already grown so much and I am so proud of the way that they are seeking the Lord and the hunger that they have for more.  This is a true inspiration to me and pushes me to want more.

I started this year knowing that I can’t do this on my own and that the Lord would have to seriously step in otherwise the journey might just go south.  Luckily God called me to this job with Joshua 1:9 which says: “This is My command - be strong and courageous!  Do not be afraid or discouraged.  For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  I have had to read this so many times already, but He has helped me through all the tough spots thus far and I am sure He will do so again in the future.

Training has been tough for me.  Being a leader adds another dimension to the whole Christian walk which I am still adapting to.  Working on your relationship with God is one thing, having to help others with theirs is a whole different thing.  Maybe I am making this sound very grim.  This is not the case, I like what I am doing tremendously and am growing a lot through the extra responsibility.

Never more so than when we went to Coffee Bay in the old Transkei for about 10 days.  Our aim was a building project where we built a traditional Xhosa hut, a toilet, a vegetable tunnel and a stone house.  I was project leader along with Riaan and Elbe.  This was an exciting new challenge for us, one that tested us in many ways.  Patience, integrity, innovation and spiritual leadership were just a few.

Although we could unfortunately not finish all the projects, God still did more than expected.  We experienced serious spiritual attacks that ranged from physical sickness to some team members being confronted with visions at night.  Faith was also built up by reaching out to the community and seeing God do miracles.  The physical labour combined with eating local cuisine (pap, samp and more pap) and sleeping on a beesmis floor (a traditional floor made of cow poo spread over hard ground and left to dry) should also never be cast out as a learning opportunity.

The Lord has also came and worked with me personally and asked for a commitment.  This led to me committing to the Lord’s work on the missions field “until further notice.”  This doesn’t mean that I will do this forever, but until the Lord calls me to something different.  I needed to lay down my dreams and just follow Him.  “To live is Christ, to die is gain.”

Thank you for all the support and prayer, keep it up.  There is a long hard year ahead and we need all the help we can get.  Our team is also still in need of some much needed funds, so if you feel the Lord has put it on your heart to give, it would be much appreciated.  If you do not have anything to give now, but would like to make monthly contributions, that is even better.  Just make contact with me and I will give you the banking details.  Sowing into the Kingdom has never made anyone poor.

Our overseas journey starts on the 6th of March when we fly to Guatemala, so my next bit of news may be from Central America, keep your eyes peeled.

Much love and God bless
De Necker van Schalkwyk