The most common question I am asked these days is, “How is the preparation going for your move to South Africa in January?” The answer for me is “slowly”. I want to have plans in place months ahead but Rose is a little more laidback when it comes to the finer details of life. The balance I believe is found in God’s Word in Proverbs 16 verse 9 where it says: “We make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” Planning is essential but the outcome is in God’s hands. To date most of our planning has been in connection with checking out air fares, finding out information about the assignment, determining what we need for set-up in South Africa and finding the right renters for our home. We have been very encouraged as we see God providing and some have expressed an interest in becoming prayer and financial partners with us. Rose has been able to get some much needed dental work done. I have bought a lap-top computer in advance to give me time to configure it, load on the needed programmes and iron out the bugs before we leave. Thank you Lord and thank you friends for sharing so generously with us .Our move to South Africa is our 33rd major move as a married couple, so once again we are into the mode of thinning out our possessions. It is always amazing to us how much we accumulate. We came back to Canada in 1989 from the Philippines, via England with our entire worldly possessions in eight suitcases. Now we will be leaving to go to South Africa and there is a huge residue of katundu (Bemba word for stuff) to take care of, which includes a home, two cars and a house full of belongings. God has been so gracious in giving Rose wonderful friends who have offered to help her in practical ways like Zita, who loves to sort and organize and on a regular basis she has helped Rose go through her things. Then there is Yvonne who has helped Rose sort through her clothes and do minor alterations on the spot. There have been so many people who have encouraged us in our lives and we thank each one of you who have had a part in this.
So what do the next six months hold for us? Well, one of the important things that needs to happen soon is that we get good renters for our home while we are away. There are a number of one time costs that need to be taken care of like flights, a car in South Africa and travel into Mozambique soon after we arrive in South Africa. We need to do a lot of thinning out of our possessions and find suitable storage for the things we cannot leave in our home while it is being rented. During the next few months we are hoping to do some traveling to other parts of Ontario and the USA to speak in churches and at home meetings about what God has been doing in our lives and about our assignment to Africa. As you pray for us, these are a few of the items we would like you to pray for:
1. For our son John & Danielle our new daughter-in-law who were married on July 15th.
2. Our children and our grandchildren.
3. Wisdom as we make decisions about our possessions.
4. For continuing opportunities to bless the people God brings into our lives.
5. For greater financial support over the next few months.
For more information about Wycliffe Canada click on this link here
posted by Tid-Bits from the Tibbits @ 10:14 AM
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