Dear Praying Friends,

We wish you a blessed 2023, filled with God’s grace, peace, and love. It is so easy to become anxious in the ever changing and unpredictable times we live in, however we must never forget that God is in complete control. He can never be taken by surprise; He is omniscient and all-powerful and full of tender mercy. This very same God requires this of us; Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

“And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel ……And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him…… ” Judges 3:9,10

God is preparing the heroes of His choice. In the moment needed, they will be able to step into the place He ordained for them, to accomplish His purposes and to astonish the world!

Let the Holy Spirit prepare you for the disciplines of life, so that God can put the finishing touches to the marble to put it onto the stand in the appointed corner. Are we willing for the trials that form part of the moulding process to accomplish the seemingly small victories of which we will never guess the heavenly worth? God prepared Othniel not only for the immediate task but for his heavenly destiny. So too with each one of us, God can prepare Othniel’s to fulfil His purposes for the times we live in as well as eternity! AB Simpson

New Appointments

Congratulations to the following workers appointed to new positions with effect from 1st January 2023. We truly believe God initiated every decision for this present time. Please uphold them in prayer as they take up these positions of responsibility.

Glenvar – Mr and Mrs Joggie and Alta Swanepoel (Principal)

Glenvar Bible College will temporarily move to Potchefstroom for 2023.

The Pilgrim Magazine – Mr and Mrs Taylor and Annalize Ridgard.

Bible Correspondence Courses – Mr and Mrs Jan-Harm and Sunè Labuscagne.

Rozelle Bruce – secretary for Glenvar as well as the Pilgrim Magazine.

Mr and Mrs Heinrich and Anel van der Berg – House father and mother at Glenvar

Prayer Requests

January

23-27 Jan – Bothaville Outreach

27-29 Jan – Belfast Youth Evening

27Jan – 4th Feb – Uniondale Services

30th Jan – Judah Auto – Pretoria

February

30th Jan – 10th Feb – Bothaville farms outreach and children’s work (in conjunction with Dorothea mission)

1st and 8th Feb – Pretoria East Old Age Home

1-10th Feb – Kimberley Visitation

6th Feb – Home Educator’s Academy, Pretoria

11-19th Feb – Piet Retief Youth Week

12th Feb – Kimberley Meeting

13-17th Feb – Glenvar Week of Prayer

5-12th Feb – Mosselbay

17th Feb – Soutpan Rehabilitation Service

17-18th Feb – Bothaville Convention – Speaker: Ian Waterson

20-24 Feb – Wesselsbron Highschool Youth Week

26-28th Feb – Wesselsbron Farms Outreach Services

27th Feb – MVA Bricks Service – Pretoria

24th Feb- Home Educator’s Academy Pretoria

25th Feb – 4th March – Burgersdorp

March

1st – Pretoria East RetirmentHome

1-4th March – Hopetown and Men’s Breakfast

5-8th March – Aliwal North

1-10th March – Wesselsbron (in conjunction with Dorothea Mission)

9-19th March- Hartbeespoort Outreach

11th March – Men’s Breakfast Winburg

13-20th March – Prince Albert

20-30th March – Winburg Visitation

24-26th March – Women’s Convention Middleburg

27-30th March – Youth Camp Middleburg

Easter Conventions 6-9th April

Samekoms, Middleburg

Mispa, Free state

Hebron, Port Elizabeth

Amana, Onrus

Emmanuel, Namibia

News from the Field

SOUTHERN GAUTENG

The CD recordings for the centenary celebration of the AEB is in full progress and we look forward to further work on it.

NAMIBIA

We have been deeply encouraged with the opportunities given to do follow-up work from Windhoek right up to northern Namibia experiencing the faithfulness of God as we visited home after home. We had a blessed church camp on the weekend of the 7th of October for the Tsumeb NG Church with took place on a farm just outside of the town. Young people met with the Lord and responded to the challenge of standing firm and remaining faithful to God in our present day. We then worked in Tsumeb and Grootfontein which included a camp with the AXIS home educator’s community at Rock Lodge.

FREE STATE

Personal testimonies of those who found Christ:

  • In 2022, the AEB began an outreach at the only school in our town. They worked among the children and eventually reached out to my wife. They also asked me if I was saved. I answered that I was not ready to be saved at this stage! Later in the year my marriage became very vulnerable and in desperation I phoned the AEB workers begging them to visit and help me. They explained the way of salvation to me and I immediately sought God to save me in the lounge of our home. God forgave me and my life was totally transformed!
  • In 2021, I became severely ill with Covid. I begged God to spare my life promising to serve Him if I should survive. Later in the year, I attended a Youth Camp of the AEB, and it was only there that I truly came to salvation. It was there too that I felt the call to serve the Lord in full-time capacity. My heart longs to share with others what He has done for me. John 3:16 “…. he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

EASTERN CAPE

This evening, God worked in a wonderful way in the Rehabilitation Centre. A friend of mine shared and four men responded for salvation. He prayed with three and I prayed with the fourth. I do believe he truly met with the Lord. His name is Ryan. One of the three prayed with also truly met with God. This past week we had open air services in central Port Elizabeth almost every day.

We handed out tracts and received this WhatsApp message today

“A wonderfully blessed mrng Pastor …. I picked up a flyer in town (Port Elizabeth) I was so blessed with the message I read about forgiveness……I truly struggle with forgiveness in fact I may forgive but I don’t forget.” Is it not wonderful that God can use a tract picked up from the ground?

NORTHERN CAPE

Orania Outreach: Monday night a girl responded to the message. She had allowed sin in her life of which she was very ashamed and remorseful. She was afraid that God had given her over to her sinful desires. I was able to explain to her that her very concern and grief over her sin was a sign that God had not given her over but was reaching out to her. She met with the Lord that night. Praise His Name!

Tuesday, I had an appointment with a young man. He had been through great trauma and came from tragic circumstances. He wanted to find God but did not know how to. I was able explain the way of salvation. May God be glorified for all He has done in lives.

CONVENTION SPEAKER

January had been filled with visiting friends with the bonus of seeing family in different places. Time and again I have become aware that God orchestrated things and Divine appointments emerged out of ordinary situations. A visit from a broken-hearted mother who had lost her 14-year-old son days ago, among others. I believe when we get to Heaven, we will be amazed to realize how God engineered things. I have been blessed to see the changes that have come into lives. Among many reports back, it has been wonderful to hear of reconciliation between a mother and her son, marriages etc

I was so blessed recently when a young lady contacted me from Texas, saying she had been burdened for me in the middle of the night and called out to God to bless and protect. She then said that her church had an audio of Keith’s message “Satan hates a whisperer’ which had been a challenge and blessing to all. God’s work is not bound by geographical limitations or time. “He being dead yet speaketh” and “God’s Word will not return unto Him void”.

Frans & Erica Gericke