The month of August has stood out from the start of the year!!
Most of the other ministry points or countries were pre-fixed but we as a team had received no clear answers or guidance concerning the month of August. We loosely referred to it as our “open month” and luckily there was still time...
God kept confirming that we should trust Him for step-by-step guidance...
In John 16:16 Jesus clearly states that we did not choose Him, but that He chose us and appointed us to go and bear fruit- fruit that will last. He then ends with a promise that the Father will give us whatever we ask in His name. So after approaching Him with confidence concerning this month we were confident and at peace with going to Portugal. The “why”, “where” and “how” can only now be added.
We had the privilege to spend 2 weeks with an amazing Swiss missionary family who has received vision similar to global challenge for the youth of Portugal. area of trust was our finance because our initial thought at the start of the year was to head towards South-America, thus allocating a budget of 3 euro/p/d towards this stretch of the journey. This budget did not however seem at all logic for Europe. We were completely open with our hosts from the start and knew it would require sacrifice and wisdom in all areas. I can once again testify that if God guides He also provides.
Week one was spent at a pilgrims-house in the mountains while sharing with and encouraging our new Portuguese friends. Our accommodation was payed with doing daily maintenance work around the Nature reserve.
During our second week we slept at an Evangelical church in Mem Martins and were involved with local community projects that included “park kids ministry”, “meals-on-wheels” projects and painting an apartment for Social Services who subsidise medical treatments for North Africans in Portugal.
Continual blessings of extra food from social services meant that we could easily cover all expenses including additional unexpected visa travel costs. God is omni-present! He is in control. How easily we still doubt in this.
I recently read a piece about Yahweh Shalom... God that is my Peace. What does Paul mean when he speaks about “a peace of God that surpasses all understanding that will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” when we tell all our make our request known to
Him without being anxious about it... (Phil4:7). Can this peace be symbolized by a baby sleeping or a peaceful country scene? Well, I believe it is something more. I believe it is something like the peace that the small bird, snuggled safely in its nest under the cliff, experience when the furious storm still rages against the rugged cliff. It is this peace that sustains His children. Unexplainable and contagious at the same time. During our last days in Portugal Frikkie had the opportunity to share at and encourage an Evangelical church whom we were staying with. Our time in Portugal will always be remembered as a time of refreshment but also a time when our ability to trust God
in ALL and with ALL, was tested beyond what we had expected. Looking back... this time of uncertainty proved to have been a time when we all had grown into a new realization of what it means to walk in faith. Thank you Father.