To our surprise 12 people turned up for the meeting on a Friday night and it was now my turn to preach. I felt weak, unprepared and without inspiration to see people reborn after a troublesome week.

Great was our surprize when after preaching the Gospel to them 11 of the 12 people that attended responded with a YES to receive Jesus.

It was touching to watch their faces radiate the love of Jesus and one person said it was the first time in his life he has ever heard the story of the Bible. It reminded me again of what Paul said, “I boast in my weakness. When I am weak I am strong because of Jesus Christ that lives in me.”

New church group started; 

Dawid with the leader of the group who is also the manager at the factory.

Parr’s Halt is an historical settlement which doubles as a Christian based centre and game farm owned by Kobus and Ulinda Smit. The settlement is walking distance to the Limpopo river and 3 kilometers from the Stockpoort borderpost. The nearest village is Makwate.

Our challenges were communication, electricity and transport. Our vehicle is not suited for dirt roads and on some occasions we walked up to 14 kilometers to go to places where we needed to be. Fortunately we love walking!

Cousens Len and Marina Vermeulen owns the local General Store at the town of Machaneng. They organised a group of people behind the store to whom we ministered. Again it was a mixed age group and Dawid perfected a song and dance that he created. The children and adults squeeled with delight as they sang and danced and eagerly listened to the stories we dramatised.

Salvations followed and we prayed for many people.

Bhuntle our interpretor is a young women with great faith and enthusiasm. She  took us visiting several houses in the town where people needed healing and deliverance.

For example there was a  lady who had terrible pains due to cancer and after deliverance and prayer the pain disappeared. She was jubilant. There was another lady who struggled to walk and move her arms and during our conversation it became apparent that she had undergone severe emotional trauma.  We focused on her emotional healing and physical healing followed.

This time off turned out to be wonderful time recharging our batteries on many levels.

I went out of my way every day to cook delicious healthy food for Dawid to get his immune system strong AND to digest strong healthy spiritual food.

As the days went on it became increasingly clear that we should stay and complete what we came to do in Malawi.

The book of Bill Johnson; “Strengthen yourself in the Lord “ was of particular use to us and is recommended to anyone who walks a serious walk with the Lord.

I was pretty dubious when we were invited up a mountain and thought; “How on earth am I going to get up that mountain on foot and stay there for a whole day from sunrise to sunset!”

We were pleasantly surprised as the day swept by without food and usual comforts.

But, getting up that mountain was another story.

Someone was supposed to guide us up the mountain, but misunderstanding caused us to set out the morning by ourselves. The air was fresh and cool and the kasawa fields through which we meandered looked peaceful. We couldn’t help but remind ourselves how privileged we were to serve Jesus Christ in this special nation.

We spotted a friend in the distance and called him to ask the best way up the mountain. He proceeded not only to show us, but walk with us. Nearing the edge of the mountain we felt we could not expect him to walk us all the way up as he was working in his kasawa field. We thanked him, said good-bye and proceeded walking on our own towards the direction that he pointed.

That was when the proverbial paw paw  hit the fan. There was no specific path that we could follow and we had to do some serious bundu bashing. We were now on a course straight up the hillside over rocks, boulders and dense bushes and trees.

Dawid and I were soon on all fours, me with Bible in one hand scrambling desperately to get some traction up the mountain. The scenery over the lake was magnificent except I saw it most of the time upside down. My face was close to the ground as I was trying to hang onto grass or anything I could find to prevent me from slipping backwards.

At one stage we thought we had reached the pinnacle, only to be disappointed. A whole new mountain side was emerging ahead us with dense bush all the way up to the top. “This is it,” I thought, “We love adventure and we are getting the whole nine yards of it today!”

I couldn’t help but shout hallelujah when we finally saw Pastor Shemstone and a few other friendly, but very concerned faces peering down at us when we reached the top.

TEACHING

The people were hungry for the Word and it was my turn first to teach.

When we were at the Revival Alliance conference in Pasadena in 2016 Heidie Baker said that the beautitudes is the recipe for revival. That stuck with me and I have since learned that hunger and desperation is a gift and certainly an ingredient for revival.

The scenery from the top of Sani mountain was breathtaking and for a whole day we had an almost 360 degree view of the lake and the land.

In the afternoon it was Dawid’s turn to teach. Everyone huddled together under the shade of a huge overhanging rock to listen to him. I could picture Jesus doing the same thing 2000 years ago. Everyone was captivated by Dawid’s humble but powerful style of teaching and wisdom. He explained that the power everyone is seeking is on the inside not the outside. This was a huge shift in thinking for many people.

INTERCESSION

Time for serious intercession for revival came and it was a beautiful sight to see bodies everywhere strewn along the rocks in a praying position. People bent down in humble aduration and faith as they perceived that the miracle power of Almighty God can change the spiritual landscape of Sani and bring down heaven to earth for the people.

DECREES

The afternoon concluded with Dawid’s teaching on the power of the tongue and the power of decrees and declarations …

“ JOB 22:28 …decide and make a decree and the light of Gods favor will shine upon your ways..”

This was an eye opener to many and everyone passionately participated in making decrees with a powerful stance on top of Sani mountain overlooking the land of Malawi .

RETURNING HOME

The sun was setting and this time we made our descent with Pastor Brave Chimbudzie. He led us down a gentle slope and a longwinding path through agricultural land and villages to where we stayed.

What an awesome day it was participating in the shaking of the the heavenly atmosphere with hungry hearts and saturated with desperate prayers.

May your Kingdom come Lord,
may YOUR WILL be done
in Sani as it is in heaven
Matthew 6:10

Pastor Shemstone emphasised. “Never before has it happened that various pastors came together from different denominations to support a pastor’s first effort to hold a crusade in his village. If this unity amongst the body of Christ continues Sani will never be the same again!

This was all a result of the Leadership Conference we held and the stirring that took place there.

BELOW ARE THE PASTORS FROM DIFFERENT CHURCHES THAT JOINED THIS DAY TO SUPPORT PASTOR BRAVE CHIMBUDZIE

There were 5 sessions with 5 preachers preaching.

Dawid and I preached the morning and afternoon on the Saturday.

Healing’s were reported with jubilance.

Salvations: Between me and Dawid about 20 people said salvation prayers in this village.

There was a young muslim man who came to us a day after the crusade who got saved and he received the baptism of water and fire. For fear of the reaction in his community he asked us not to disclose his name yet.

Please pray for him. We could see a hungry heart and the destiny of God unfolding in his life.

Water Baptisms: People saved were shortly after baptised in the lake by Dawid and Pastor Brave.

About 20 people were baptised that day.

Children were called together,blessed and prayed for.

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THE PASTOR BEHIND THE CRUSADE

Pastor Brave was previously muslim and converted to christianity at a crusade. It was the fitting thing to encourage him to hold a crusade in the village where he was the chief and which is predominately muslim.

Pastor Brave and his wife called Mercy are fearless, bold and passionate about Jesus and they left a lasting impression on us how they love one another, their children and community.

ASSISTANCE to the crusade.

We had brought  a good quality megaphone that Pastor Brave used to advertise the crusade and below Dawid is showing him how to use it.

We bought food for the people who attended and rented a sound system for the crusade. Brave and his team prepared the food and erected a temporary straw canopy for the preachers to sit under.

Thank you for everyone who makes financial contributions for this cause.

Miracle weather; The turnabout of the weather was indeed a miracle.

For a whole month the wind was howling non-stop during a cold front and we wondered  – can this crusade be a success with weather like this?

Urgent prayer requests were sent out to prayer partners in SA for the weather to turn around.

The morning we woke up to attend the crusade we experienced a great calm over the lake and beyond for the first time in almost a month. Our heart’s rejoiced.

The 2 days of the crusade proceeded splendidly and not once did I feel wind or cold. In fact – the weather was perfect all the time, until the crusade was over.

THANK YOU to our faithful prayer partners!

You are awesome and earthshaking.

HEAVENLY ENCOUNTERS

A few days after the crusade Pastor Brave brought two women from his village who were at the crusade and who were desperate for a special touch of God. What followed in the natural may not have looked like anything, but those of us who were present in the room could feel the atmophere invaded with the sweet and awesome Presence of God.

One of the women had a vision. She said; “Jesus came to sit in front of me and asked, “What do I want? Her reply; “More of you Lord.”

Subsequently she spoke in tongues for the first time.

When we go back to Malawi it will be excting to find out what had happened to these precious women and what spiritual progress they are making.

PASTOR MANDLA: 

We believe it was as much a walk of faith for him to arrive in Malawi as it was for us.

Mandla is the epitome of a true African leader that one would like to see in positions of great influence across the continent.

“Well done Pastor Mandla for your contribution, we appreciate you! You were very well received in Malawi and everyone can’t wait for your return.”

Pastor Mandla expressed his desire to be part of the Love on Fire team and we are so honored and super blessed when he said that.

DETAILS: The conference lasted 4 days and between 70-80 people attended everyday from many different denominations.

The atmosphere at the Leadership Conference was electric as  70-80 leaders from the area came together from all different denominations.

It was an unprecedented occurrence for different church groups  in the area to come together according to Pastor Shemstone.

Pastor Shemstone was the convener and translator of the conference and he did a splendid job!

Without Pastor Shemstone this conference would not have been possible. He managed to have successfully brought together pastors, priests, village chiefs and representative leaders from various churches.  Even a school principle came hungry for the presence of God and revival. It was evident that everyone longs to see God’s power and love transforming their communities.

LUNCH 

The Malawians love to eat goat meat with nsima, (ground kasawa roots) and relish and they were treated everyday to such a lunch. Everyone had the opportunity to mingle and refresh themselves.

SPIRITUAL PROGRESS: A spirit of unity was ignited between churches.

The manifested presence of God was tangible.

Restoration and a lot of joy was evident in people. Some of the the more touching moments we did not film because it would have been intrusive and distracting, but sometimes we ourselves were so overwhelmed by the Spirit that the last thing we thought of was a camera!

The man below was restored to inner healing through forgiveness. He came back to testify about his new found freedom and happiness. Pastor’s Shemstone’s sense of humour to pick him up – this frail elderly gentleman and then kissed him was very endearing. It had every one laughing and you could feel such a heavy sweet sense of love pervading the room.

Many people experienced forgiveness, healing, deliverance, deep repentance, fire baptisms, powerful teaching and preaching and people received their calling from God. Several testimonies were given of people dreaming in the night that henceforth they will be preaching to people.

The progressive enthusiasm of people attending were clearly evident the last day as they already started singing before we arrived — never seen before. Usually we arrive at church first and then have to wait for people to arrive.

TOPICS COVERED: 1. Foundations of true Kingdom leadership. (Mandla )

1. The power of true Kingdom leadership. ( Mandla )

2. A new way to lead. Part 1 ( Mandla )

3. A new way to lead. Part 2 ( Mandla )

4. Sacrifice.( Mandla )

5. Inheritance. ( Mandla )

6. Importance of unity amongst Church leaders. ( Hermien )

7. Identity of a true leader and revival. ( Dawid )

FOLLOW UP: We look forward to the outflow and continued impact of this event. Dawid and Pastor Shemstone initiated the ongoing meeting of a group called REVIVAL PARTNERS representing different churches that would continue pressing in for revival. We plan to come back next year to Malawi to continue building on the progress that was made this year.

Half way through the course series Dawid fell ill and we had to suspend the training. Due to time constraints in Malawi we were not able to complete the series.

We ourselves have learned so much from the course and saw the impact on the attendees that we are keen to present it again where needed in African nations.

We arrived in Malawi early May to build on the foundation we laid last year.

Since we attended the Azusa Now Gathering in Los Angeles in 2016 it had become clear to us that we were ignited in Los Angeles to spread revival up Africa and beyond. It is with this dream burning in our hearts that we strive to help build the Kingdom of God in Malawi.

During the 3 months we were in Malawi we stayed at Fish Eagle Bay Lodge on Lake Malawi thanks to the generosity of the owner of the lodge. It afforded us a wonderful opportunity to do mission outreaches in the surrounding villages. 

From day one we had met with various people including village chiefs and pastors to continue building strong relationships in the Sani area.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT – A PRIORITY

Our primary goal for this month was to organise the upcoming Leadership Conference scheduled for early June.

We also started a once a week Leadership training series that would run for 10 sessions at the Lodge based on a book by John Maxwell.  

Village chiefs, the Lodge Managers and Pastors attended.

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Various planning meetings were held with key Pastors we worked with to cast vision how to build Gods Kingdom in the Sani area.

CHALLENGES we face;

Malaria: For anyone wanting to visit this area FEEL FREE to do so. It is well worth the visit!

There are preventative tablets available but it is pricey for us who come to stay for as long as 3 months at a time.

Last year Dawid and I both contracted malaria.

Finances: To spread the gospel finances are needed.

One item we urgently need is the Jesus movie in the Chechewa language and the specialised equipment required to show it in remote villages. The package comes from the USA and is specificaly designed for missions. It costs approximately R16,000. We also need finances for Bibles, evangelistic crusades, conferences and travelling.

Islam: The area we do mission work in was the original starting place of Islam in Malawi and has thus become a Muslim stronghold. Approximately every 7 kilometers there is a mosque which former President Gaddafi of Libya built to spread Islam in the region, not only here but throughout the rest of Malawi. Fortunately the people in the Sani catchment area are very peaceful. They are responsive to the Gospel and the message of love. Lives are changed and transformed.

“ANDY’S” STORY

Last year on the day we left for South Africa he told us that next time we come  he will convert from Islam to the Christian faith. We  laughed when I warned him with a smile; “Andy I will not forget this.”

On arrival this year I was quick to remind him; – “Andy we are back and haven’t forgotten what you said last year.”

During our first few days back at the lodge Andy witnessed someone being healed who we prayed for and we believed this made an impact on him.

Dawid and I needed spiritual breakthrough on a certain issue and we called Andy to bring his drum to play for us. This day there were no guests at the lodge and we broke out in wild spontaneous  praise, worship, dance and  spiritual warfare in the summer hut of the lodge. We also interceded for the upcoming Leadership Conference and for the Kingdom of Heaven to be established in Malawi and specifically in the Sani area.  

This went on for approximately an hour and when we became quiet towards the end. When the drumming ceased I saw Andy worshipping with  eyes closed and hands lifted up towards heaven. The presence of God was tangible. We gently asked him; “Are you ready to be saved, baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit right now?” Andy’s answer, “YES!” Glory to God. Following his salvation prayer we took Andy down to the lake for Dawid to baptise him in water and thereafter in the Holy Spirit. It was glorious to be part of this event in Andy’s life. His name is now written in the book of LIFE and he is assured of God’s mercy and grace on earth and eternal salvation.  Andy has a big family and takes care of his wife, 7 children, mother and sister who stay with him. He wants his whole family to receive Jesus. If you feel stirred in your heart PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS FAMILY.

We spent a morning with the children and most importantly ministered extensively to the staff. Women got saved and healed. They were very thankful and invited us back to minister to them and anyone who suffered HIV/AIDS when we come back to Ladybrand.

We will on our next visit see how we can assist the staff of the Hospice with the difficult task they face. It is the day of miracles so nothing will give us greater joy to see God’s love and power demonstrated when people are healed from this dreadful disease. We believe in Miracles!

Bill Johnson is possibly the most significant revival leader and reformer in the world today. His church practises sustained authentic revival where the love and supernatural power of God is demonstrated in a consistent way. For this church miracles has become the norm.

They are from the well known Bethel church in Redding California USA.

We started the year with a 1 month spiritual retreat in Redelingshuys situated along the West Coast of SA.

A big thank you to Jane Louw and her guesthouse The Sandveld Dorpshuys in Redelingshuys who made this possible for us to spend such considerable time in a wonderful environment in the SECRET PLACE with Jesus. http://www.sandvelddorpshuys.co.za