People with influence

I sat in the church last night and remembered a dear memory. He left me with a smile on my face! It was the day the HeartCore team and I had to testify in a church in Richards Bay. The well trained group nearly fell down the steps as they tried to get Otto in his wheelchair on stage. At first Otto had shaky hands to introduce himself. It was after the first laugh from his audience that he nearly kept them busy for the full 10 minutes of the service we had. It is unbelievable how God can choose a group of people to bring Him the chosen honour.

Our second journey started on the 16th of August 2009. A new group of people met each other in a overloaded kombi on its way to East London.

We were four ladies and two guys with our own disabilities but yet so perfect in Him.

The time in Coffee Bay was a highlight. Each had to struggle to face the rest of the journey open-mindedly. The community there was exposed to disability for the first time. They treated it as a school project and used our actual disability as well as pretended disability to move us around Coffee Bay. In spending time with the children we learned from their sincerity, gratefulness and how they lived to the fullest with what they had and who they were. It was a pool from which we naturally drank from.

We were equipped and ready for the rest of the journey. It was an interesting package and for some more of a comfort than for others. Still we trusted God's route and surly He made it fun! We had a laugh when a dolphin splashed Tertius at uShaka in Durban. Otto also entertained us when his eagerness to quickly bake his bread over the fire backfired and took him longer to actually eat it. Adri is now ready for anything after making lunch for her team on the back seat while on South African roads. Zylna is now equipped as being co-driver for anyone who drives through a game farm and Lerato's singing and dancing on Tina Turner is still clear in my mind.

As a group we grew in ourselves and we were able to experience how God wanted to use us as a family in other lives. God blessed us by using an imperfect body as a role model. The water we drunk from in the Transkei was part of the character of God which was visible to one of the church members in Richards Bay.

I can see and understand it now. There is a different type of lifestyle, friendship and love for God which in fact draws me closer in doing what I do. When a memory stands out, it is mostly because of the people in that memory who had an impact on your life. This family with sincere love and friendship had an impact on more than just mine. These true friends are people of influence!

The Route which started 12 August to 26 August 2009:

East London (Visiting Koos and his homegroup) – Transkei, Coffee Bay (Visiting Judith, Dolf and the Christian school) – Durban (Visiting Jana, Tina and her family) – Richards Bay (Cobus and Fransie, Soup Kitchen and NG Church) – St Lucia (Visiting Joe, Hluhluwe game farm and camping) – Greytown (Visiting Ampi at Shalom) – Drakensberg (Visiting Rentia and her family) – Bloemfontein (Dropping off Lerato and visiting PJ's family)


Thank you to:

Thank you to all of the above people who took us in and made us family. Thank you to the sponsors who helped make this possible. MXP for the kombi. Our Father God who initiated and lead the second HeartCore journey.