It is a new year and with it there are new waves of opportunities crashing on the shore. It is easy to look back at the past two years and be consumed by the negativity that the world has brought to the forefront. However, this is not what God has called us into.

“Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy – dwell on these things.” (Phil 4:8, CSB)

For 2022 I invite you to set some time apart and commit your ways this year to the Lord. Ask Him what His desires are for you for this year. Instead of trying to sell your will to Him, wholeheartedly seek His will in everything you pursue this year. This might mean addressing some bad habits or spending less time with those that negatively impact your character. Alternatively, this might mean answering the call into new ventures and new relationships even if it makes you anxious.

EXCELLENT! Chase the thrill of the adventure God has laid before you instead of the unfulfilling adventures the world calls you to.

“For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jr 29:11, CSB)

If you want this to be an amazing year, then you will have to lay down the desires of the flesh and pick up your cross. This means worry about things outside of your control, binge drinking (yes college kids that includes your drinking games), unhealthy relationships, chasing parties, chasing the thrills of this world, your pride, your selfishness, your doubts, your unbelief, your insecurities, your hurt and whatever else is holding you back in life. You cannot accept life to the full if you are still a slave to those things that lead you into a life of selfishness, pridefulness and self-destruction.

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt 16:24-26, NKJV)

The take-aways for this session are:
• Focus on that which is good and lovely. It will take time but allow the Holy Spirit to renew your    mind.
• Spend some time with God to hear what His plans are for you and your family for this year.
• Chase God’s adventure not the worlds distorted version of adventure.
• The plans for a future and hope have already been paved in front of you.
• What do you need to lay down this year in order to walk in step with Christ?
• Two resources I would recommend to further delve into this topic is firstly the message series   Better Decision, Fewer Regrets presented by Andy Stanley, secondly for the men I would           recommend the book Wild At Heart by John Eldredge.

If you want to engage a bit more with the Waypoint family join us for our weekly podcast, Waypoint Connect where we talk to people about real-life stories through the lens of faith. You can catch us live Thursdays on Facebook or go listen to previous episodes on the Waypoint app or Waypoint Youtube channel.

These days, one often hears and sometimes on a daily basis, that we are living in the “last days” before our Lord Jesus comes back. I believe that God is building His kingdom out of all the nations across the world. This includes you and me. Remember we are the salt and the light of the world.

With that in mind, I have not seen “believers” so confused as they seem right now. It seems as if they are doing their own “thing” and doing what they think is right. At a first glance, it comes across as being holy and righteous. Paul talks about the “last days” in detail referring to what will happen to the “church”. He makes the point that people being misled will be a given, it will happen. Even believers will be misled. What often amazes me is that if you talk to believers about this in terms of what the Word of God says about the topic, they defend their view brutally and they will tell you that you need to change your views or your interpretation of the topic.

God is not a man and does not think like man.

The concept that our heavenly Father is the Potter and we are the clay in itself should explain to any Jesus follower that He alone is a holy God. Can the clay explain or ask the Potter what shape, size or colour he wants to be?

After all has been said and done, it’s all about the Lord Jesus Christ in us and His grace.
Being involved with missions for some years I have come to the understanding that it’s not actually about our calling, but it’s all about God’s heart for the “lost” and his children. This concept of understanding God’s heart should be the motivation of our passion, the origin of what we do.

Some years ago, I woke up one Sunday morning, and I heard the Lord tell me to attend a service at a specific congregation. My first reaction was, ‘Please Lord no’; as I know the congregation well and I do not agree with certain principles that they believe. I was convicted again to go and I went. To my surprise, arriving at the church, I was greeted by a pastor I know well and he told me he is leading the service that morning. This man loves the Lord Jesus and he has an amazing love and deep insight for the Word of God. I walked in, found a seat and waited with anticipation to hear what the pastor was going to preach about as he is a gifted preacher.

Scripture was read and he started to preach about God’s heart for the “lost” and the fact that God is actually intimately involved and seriously concerned about the “lost”. It’s about people that will go to hell and that salvation is through our Lord Jesus Christ that died on the cross for our sins. To my right, against the wall, was a massive global map. In the beginning of his sermon I somehow started to get emotional every time I looked to my right and looked at the massive global map.

As the pastor got more serious about God’s heart for the “lost”; the more I was getting emotional. Actual tears were running down my face every time I looked at the global map. I told myself; ‘Stop this Dango’, but I could not. Later I tried to hide my tears due to the fact that I felt so vulnerable and in a sense, very silly. At one point I felt a pain on my own heart and I started to realise that the Lord is speaking to me personally. To hear the pastor’s sermon about God’s heart for the “lost” and to experience it inside myself simultaneously was one of those defining moments in my christian life. I actually started to examine my own heart, asking myself what was my motivation to “go” where the Lord Jesus leads me?

It’s actually a very hard thing to tell a person that he/she is destined to go to hell if they do not have salvation through the Lord Jesus. I came to the understanding that saying that to a person is actually judging a person if you do not have the heart of God for the “lost” in your own heart. I truly believe that our heavenly Father loves the “lost” and the “saved” with all of his heart.
The funny part of this story is that the teacher of my sister’s son, that knows me as well, was also in the service that morning. He asked my nephew that Monday at school as to why Dango was crying in the service on Sunday morning? My reply, out of my own vulnerability was: ‘He does not know what he was talking about.’

Rom 11 verse 25 - "I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of gentiles has come in."

If we say we are in the “last” days, then time is limited for the gentiles as Scripture confirms that there is an actual number. As my one Jewish friend in Israel, who loves Jesus, will often say, ‘if the number is up then the number is up for the gentiles’.

Do you cry for the “lost”?

Shalom and Grace

Dango

I have been in Persia many times and every time I go, I meet people and make new friends. Persion culture is very deeply rooted within social structures. Islam have however “disrupted” their pure Persian culture in many ways and today one can understand why the youth are so “confused” and very desperate for new beginnings or a “free” life. Many years ago I came to the understanding that a person’s calling is not about the actual calling itself but is all about people that are created in the image of God and every person have the potential to have a “new life” in Jesus Christ the Lord.

I, myself, have made many mistakes with regards to their culture and social structures, especially in the beginning. Trust and honour means everything to them. In this Shofar I will be talking about a remarkable lady in a family that I know very well. Even today we are still good friends despite everything that we went through in the past. I will simply call her Anna.

Many moons ago, a friend of mine thought it would be a good idea to introduce me to a family that lives in the South. Anna was the youngest of three daughters and was the only one not married even though she had many proposals. She refused to get married in the “traditional way” or marry a man of the Islam faith. Arrangements were made to visit the family after I had completed what I came to do in Persia. Meeting the family in their house was an honour and I stayed for five days.

Anna and I became very good friends and her parents were very good to me. Her father (he passed away five years ago) was a very kind man and we played back-gammon a lot. Anna is an intellectual person, very beautiful, full of energy, well qualified in her profession and she is a really a fun person to be with. One amazing characteristic of Anna is that, she really loves to laugh and when she laughs, she does it with abundance.

One day while we were driving in town I asked Anna how she met Jesus Christ? She stopped the car in a very isolated place and told me her beautiful story. This is the abridged version.
One night she had a dream. A man dressed in white, was walking along the road, with many people following Him. He stopped, turned around and told Anna to follow Him. She was standing separately from the people that walked past her and she followed Him.

Then she had a second dream one night. The Lord Jesus came to her and He had communion (bread and wine). It was only the two of them. She told her eldest sister about the dreams and her oldest sister started to evangelise her. I have met the older sister a couple of times in the capital city and I tell you, this women is truly an amazing person.

One year later, Anna come to my country with her father’s consent. The first thing she asked me when we collected her at the airport was if I could arrange for her to be baptised in a church. You see, their government punishes the person that baptises believers and not the person being baptised. This is done to drive fear into the believer’s hearts. I asked the Lord if it was ok to have Anna baptised? To my surprise, He even told me in which church she should be baptised.

I am not a member of that specific church and personally have not been in it for years. To make a long story short, Anna was baptised during the worship part of the service, unannounced, in front of the whole congregation and for obvious reasons, her name and country of birth was not mentioned. I remember, standing in the service, with tears running down my face during her baptism and when I looked around I saw plenty of people in the congregation with tears.

Back with her parents in her country, Anna phoned me one night. She told me that following Jesus was too difficult in their country and she made a decision to stop reading “the book”. This was very difficult and sad to hear.

The next morning very early, I received a phone call from Anna again. She told me that everything was fine again. I asked her what happened, what had caused this change in her?  She told me that she woke up during the night and that she saw a man standing next to her bed. He stroked her hair until she fell asleep again. The next morning early she asked her dad if it was him but he did not know what she was talking about.

At one point in our friendship her father asked me if I was prepared to marry his daughter. I could not and had to be honest with him and I told him for some reason unexplained, I did not fall in love with Anna. It was a very difficult time for Anna, the family and obviously for me. The mother asked me to stay away from them which was a very hard request but I had to honour her request.

Sometime later Anna contacted me again and asked for forgiveness for what had happened. She also requested that we pray for her to find a husband. One year later Anna got married to a “good” Persian man and they are very happily married. We still communicate and the family, including the mother, always asks me to come and visit. For obvious reasons and out of respect for Anna’s husband I never visited them again except for Anna’s oldest sister that lives in the capital city.

Whenever I think of Anna and her family I ponder on our heavenly Father’s amazing faithfulness, grace and love towards them.

Romans 8: 38 – 39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I have told Anna so many times that she needs to understand that God really loves her and she always objected to this.

Most believers I have met, have an understanding of the Scripture that I have quoted, but most do not live their lives as if these verses are absolutely true and real. They are desperately seeking experiences, they want “physical” proof or want to have events to feel His love before they believe it.

Our faith is not based on feelings. We are created by God; for God.

Shalom and Grace

Dango

Are you all in? This is a hard question to ask ourselves when it comes to our relationship with God. However, it is a question that we all need to seriously meditate on. We live in a world that promotes self-sufficiency and mistrust. We believe that we need to be independent at all costs and that we know best. We tell ourselves that if you want something done you need to do it yourself. Unfortunately, this bleeds into our relationship with Christ.

Many of us are only willing to chase the goals that we set for ourselves because it is within our comfort zone. We feel that we have some sort of control over the outcomes and the only person we have to trust in is ourselves. The question is what do you do with the dream that God has for your life? Do you pursue it with your entire spirit, soul and body or do you flee from it because you trust more in your own power than God’s power? God is calling us to step out of the boat and into our purpose which is not defined by what we do but by WHO WE ARE!

“So because you are lukewarm (spiritually useless), and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth [rejecting you with disgust]” (Rev 3:16, AMP)
.
We need to take this seriously as we cannot plan to walk into our purpose someday when the planets are perfectly aligned, we have the perfect job, the perfect house and the perfect relationship. We are called to lay down our own selfish desires and step into purpose today for we have no guarantee of tomorrow.

As Christ tells us in Matthew 12:30:
“He who is not with Me [once and for all on My side] is against Me; and he who does not [unequivocally] gather with me scatters”.

So…are you all in?

The take-aways for this session are:
• Ask yourself are you truly all in?
• If you are all in what about those around, you? Are your friends and family all in or will they be left behind?
• Are you following God’s plan for your life or are you trying to be the master of your own life?
• Do you trust Him with every part of your life?
• Your purpose is who you are in Christ not in what you do or what you own.
• A resource I would recommend to delve deeper into the topic is the series called The Games of Life. You can access the series on the Waypoint App under the group content section.

If you want to engage a bit more with the Waypoint family join us for our weekly podcast, Waypoint Connect where we talk to people about real-life stories through the lens of faith. You can catch us live Thursdays on Facebook or go listen to previous episodes on the Waypoint app or Waypoint Youtube channel.

It is a Sunday night in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

Sunday nights are normally a lazy affair in the van Zyl household. It's normally only when the Carte Blanche jingle echoes through the house when butterflies in the tummies make you aware that the weekend reached its conclusion.

This Sunday night is different. The Holy Spirit led us to attend a workshop at Waypoint. The Workshop was led by Helmer Jensen. The workshop stretched over a few Sundays. How to disciple was the just of the topic that was covered.

Helmer and his family are thousands of kilometres away from Missouri where they once called home.

He woke up one morning having a stable job in a town in America. His family, including teenage daughters, were settled. His life was pretty much organized. He received a prompting from God. He was called to do missionary work in Sub-Saharan Africa for a 4-year term, seizing ministry opportunities, faithfully serving the Lord by equipping people to become Harvesters for Christ.
His story resonated with me. Imagine if you get that call to leave what you are busy with, to Harvest people for Jesus. 12 Disciples did. Helmer and his family did.

It is now Monday morning. I just dropped off the girls at school and I changed the music selection from some or other artist that had writer's block and could only come up with a one-line lyric song - to my music selection. Oceans is calming my soul before this hectic week kicks off.

"You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand"

These words calmed me down in January 2016 when I swam the 1.9 km in the ocean swim leg of the Half IronMan. Now it takes my mind back to last night and Helmer's testimony.

"And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now
So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
Oh, Jesus, you're my God!"

I knew what the words of this song meant when I heard it for the first time… and it made me shudder. Will I ever have enough faith if the "Spirit lead(s) me where my trust is without borders
………..Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander"? Helmer and his family were ready.

Months passed by and this debate still raged on in my head. I lie at God's feet and spend intimate moments with him. Sometimes I debated with Him. He showed me that He will lead me deeper into the water. He chose me to Stand Tall. He told me I will resign from my work and leave the Country. He has a mission for my family and me.

'But God! I earn a good salary as a Senior State Advocate in the civil service! I have 18 years to retirement! I will get a nice packet and play Golf every day, whilst waving to my wife, Hazel (eight years younger than me) when she drives off to spend a day at her practice.

Hazel is a Registered Counsellor who specialises in Trauma Counselling. The kids are in their teens and settled at Collegiate. They made friends for life.

The sums just do not add up God! We have so much to lose.

Hazel and I were active leaders at Waypoint. We served everywhere and eventually were led to lead Transit for probably about three or four years. We saw one or two generations pass through our leadership. We lived every moment with those kids. Their hardship or happiness was felt deep in our hearts. We lived their trials and tribulations. We equally celebrated their triumphs.

Hazel and I maintain that it was not a situation of us teaching the kids about something, the Spirit led us to teach them. It was a case of the Spirit teaching both the kids and us the ways of our Father.

Most of these kids were so Spiritually mature that God spoke through them and manifested many things in our lives.

One particular series stood out for me whilst I was wrestling with God as I earlier described. It had to do with the fact that our journey from point A to B is mapped out. If you live in the Spirit, you will reach your point B in no time. If you live in the flesh, your contour will look like when I play Golf – not straight but zig-zag. The moral is: we will reach point B, but will reach it quicker if we are obedient to His will and not ours.

The message from my Saviour was loud and clear, but I tried to raise good counterarguments.

Then, like a bolt out of the blue, our long-time neighbours, Francois and Annerie (or as I call them Buurman and Buurvrou) one night announce that they are in the process of immigrating to New Zealand. We were astounded. "Why?" was the only question I could think of. "God showed us that we need to go there" I was dumbstruck. I felt guilty.

TO BE CONTINUED

I have always believed, I still do, that the Word of God, the Bible; should be central in a Jesus follower’s life.  I am not talking about having a bible or several bibles but to make it part of your life.  We should study the Word of God and read it constantly.  We always say that the Will of our heavenly Father for our life is in the Word.  You see, another way of making the statement relevant is, if you do not know the Word of our Father well then how sure are you that you are operating and living your life in the Will of our Father?

Recently I gave the latest Farsi translation Bible (Old and New Testament) to a lady in Persia.  I still vividly remember the expression on her face and the way she reacted when she realised what I have handed to her in her house.  I cannot express “that twenty seconds” in words.  She took the “book”, placed it on her heart and started to walk around in her small sitting room with tears running down her face.  She was in a completed state of “thankfulness and gracefulness” towards the Lord Jesus without saying a word.  It was one of those moments that seems like an eternity, but it was only twenty seconds.

One of my “biggest” mistakes I made smuggling books to the underground church was not giving a “book” to someone even though I had one on my backpack.  At one point I had to confess my disobedience and repent to the Lord Jesus.

Many moons ago I arrived in my beloved country safely with “books”.  Arriving in the capital city, I received a phone call from one of my friends that worked for the government.  She was not a Jesus follower, but we were good friends.  She told me that a colleague of her have questions about my faith and asked if I would be willing to meet him.  I felt a bit uncomfortable as I still had to deliver the books, I had with me in the South.  You see one must be very careful not to give a “book” to the wrong person as it is illegal.  Naturally I said ’no’ and left the capital city with the “books”.  Returning to the capital city after two weeks my one friend asked me for a “book” that is in his native language.  At that point of time, I had none and regretfully told him so.  After a couple of days, I was convicted to phone my friend and informed her that we can meet with her colleague if she was willing to be the translator.

I took the bus to meet in a pre-arranged park in the city close to their office and I arrive about one hour too early.  I had time to kill and started to walk around in a very up-market shopping centre opposite the park.  I saw a small bookshop that was selling Islam literature and naturally also Korans.  I was amazed at the different types of Korans.  Some of them were beautifully decorated and very expensive.  At one point I was at the opposite side of the assistant in the shop which was next to the entrance of the shop.  I was looking at a beautiful Koran and looked up to find that I was locking eyes with the lady sitting at the register.  Understand one thing, a big no-no is to look Persian ladies in the eyes as it is culturally not frowned upon and for other obviously reasons.  For some reason unknown I knew she was “different”, and I started to walk towards her.  I greeted her in the customary formal way in her language.

She replied back with a formal greeting and then I asked her very softly in her language: “M’am, do you perhaps have one Bible for me to buy?”  She gave me a very pleasant smile and walked to the cupboard where the biggest and most expensive Korans were.  She reached with her arm behind these huge Korans and took out a Farsi Bible.  I was in a state of amusement and disbelief.  I smiled at her and asked again very softly: “M’am, do you perhaps have two bibles for me?”  Without saying a word, she walked to a different cupboard and again reached behind the Korans and took another one out.  I was so grateful, I had two “books”.  One to give to my friend that asked me a couple of days before and one to give to the person I was going to meet within the next half hour.  I paid for the two books and met my friend with her colleague who was a very pleasant man.  We sat down and had a very long discussion about my faith as he had many questions and was very interested in the Gospel.

We said our goodbyes and I was about to give him a “book”, but for some reason I did not as we were in the public.  Later, I told my friend about this, and she then asked if she could have the “book” for herself?  I obliged her.

2 Timothy 3 verse 16 to 17: All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
 
Studying the written WORD of the Father and making it part of you daily routine will change the way you think and do “things” in life.  It will change your heart, shape your character, and give you Godly peace as you start moving your life to the centre of the Will of your heavenly Father for your life.

Sometimes it is difficult for me to understand that “believers” hear voices, prophesy, and use single line scriptures out of context to “guide” fellow believers or “try to duplicate” what is already written in the WORD of God.

I do believe that one of our Heavenly Fathers greatest desires is to guide and speak to his children through His written WORD.

Shalom and Grace
Dango

Have you ever been hurt by somebody in the church? How about friends or family? If you’re a human reading this (which I most certainly hope you are) your answer to these questions is probably “yes”.

The reason why this happens is pretty simple, it’s because Satan wants you to walk around with hurt in your heart. After-all, it is often those that we love the most that end up hurting us the most. Satan knows that using those that we love against us is the best way of injuring us. Division is Satan’s greatest tool because it breaks down community, corrodes trust, hardens our heart and ultimately leads to isolation.

We often suffer as a result of the actions of others because of their free will. In that moment that they hurt you they chose to walk in the flesh. Sometimes intentionally and at other times simply out of ignorance. However, we cannot afford to place our hurt and anger on that individual as they are not yet fully shaped into the image of Christ. Other people are not our enemy; Satan and the dark forces of the present age are our true enemy. Also, you need to remember the fact that you have hurt many people in your own life, at times without even knowing it.
As Jesus put it, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7, NKJV).

Now some might rationalise that the best way to go about handling the situation is to pray that God will change that individual’s behaviour. At first this might seem good in our own eyes; however, upon meditation one can discover that there is a massive issue with this. You are essentially praying that God alters that person’s free will so that it fits with what seems good in your own eyes. This is an issue because free will and love go hand-in-hand. If you remove or alter the one you also ravage the other one.

I recently learned this explanation of what sin actually is from one of the founders of The Bible Project, Dr. Tim Mackie. Sin is essentially God allowing the full effects of our own mistakes (that we willingly made) play out. If we work according to that explanation of sin then as long as we have free will there will be sin, and as long as there is sin, people will continue to hurt each other. Nevertheless, if God removes our free will, He then also removes love.

The take-aways for this session are:
• Satan will use those we love against us because he knows it hurts so much.
• Do not become hateful towards others because you have also hurt others through your own actions. People are not your enemy, Satan is.
• Free will and love cannot be separated from each other.
• Show grace and mercy to others when they hurt you just as God showed mercy to you and provided you with grace.

There are two wonderful resources I recommend to further delve into the topic. The first being the YouVersion Bible plan called True North: Going Through Hell for Heaven. The second being the book Wanneer seerkry en God se koningkryk ontmoet by Riekert Botha & Albert Theron.

Further Scripture readings I would recommend are 1 Peter 5:10 AMP, 2 Peter 3:9 MSG and Galatians 5:13 AMP

If you want to engage a bit more with the Waypoint family join us for our weekly podcast, Waypoint Connect where we talk to people about real-life stories through the lens of faith. You can catch us live Thursdays on Facebook or go listen to previous episodes on the Waypoint app or Waypoint Youtube channel.

Sometimes in one’s life one get so used to doing the “right thing”. Especially if you believe that you have been called for that one “thing”. Routine can be good or bad depending how it affects one’s heart. Like the old saying that says: ‘A person gets so busy with the “things” of the Lord and not the Lord of the “things”’.

A couple of years ago, I went to Persia and in the last week of the trip I was getting the feeling that the Lord was telling me that next year I will not be coming back to Persia. This in itself was very confusing and very sad for me. You see, going to Persia every year with confirmation from the Lord was part of my life and routine. The next year I did not go, I but was called to do other mission tasks. The year after that I was surprised that the Lord called me back to Persia to take “books” to the underground church.

Firstly, I was a bit confused and I asked the Lord why this year and not the previous year. I spent some time in prayer and was taken to a passage in the Old Testament where Moses was called to go up the mountain the second time after Israel made the golden calve during the time that Moses spent with God. The first thing the Lord showed me was that it was Him that made it possible to smuggle books to the underground church and not me. You see my heart was not right, I had to repent of my self-righteous unclean heart.

After repenting, I started putting the schedule in place for the proposed trip. It was arranged that I would pick up the books in a country close to Persia. Flights and logistics were pre-arranged to drop the books off at a specific place, date and time. This was all arranged by my brother Ali in the country close to Persia.

A few weeks later, I was informed via someone else, that knew Ali and myself, that the arranged trip was cancelled. I was also informed that I would have to stay away and under no circumstances should I contact Ali. Apparently, Ali was informed via a phone call by the security people of his native country that they knew what he was doing, where he stayed and that something could happened to him and the people around him. All I knew, was that I had to make a decision and I was still convinced that the pre-arranged trip must go ahead. The first thing that was in my heart was that faith is based on trusting the Lord even when things looks impossible. The logical and safe decision would have been to cancel the trip and to go later or the next year. You see ‘unbelief’ is one aspect of our Christian walk with Jesus that is actually defined as sin.

Yes, it was a difficult time and I went back to the Old Testament and started to spend more time with “Moses” again. One aspect that really resonated with me was the character of Moses. God calls Moses, ‘His friend’ and defined his character as the most humble (meek) person that lives. The second aspect that struck me was that Moses asked God to show him His GLORY. We are used to asking the Lord to ‘go with us’ but we never ask the Lord to ‘show us His glory’.

Prayerfully, lying flat on the ground with my face down, I asked the Lord that He must show me His glory relevant to the pre-arranged trip. I prepared myself for the arranged trip as if everything was going ahead as planned and I left my homeland not knowing what was lying ahead of me.

I will never forget Ali’s question as we met at the hotel. Before we greeted each other the traditional Persian way (kissing each other three times on the check) he asked me, with a very serious and concerned face: “Dango, we still going ahead as planned?”. With a silent and very grateful heart I just replied; “Bale, off course.” (Bale – an informal way to say “yes” in Farsi).

I left for Persia with a lot of books. Going through customs and security was as if nobody cared that I was there. I literally walked straight though security with nobody looking at me or asking me anything. This was the first time this happened to me going through security. Walking out of the airport I remember my prayer: “Lord, please show me your glory in Persia”.

Romans 16: 25 – 27 Now to Him who is able to establish and strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now has been disclosed and through the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all the nations, according to the commandment of the eternal God, leading them to obedience to the faith, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forevermore! Amen.

I came to the understanding that our heavenly Father have this deep desire in Him to show His GLORY through us and that the name of JESUS CHRIST alone will be glorified. I also come to the understanding that the Lord is always working at our character and shaping us if we allow Him to.

Keep in mind that our hearts reflect our behaviour and attitude towards life itself. It’s all about the heart and not what we say or do.

Shalom and Grace
Dango

It was a Friday night after a braai at my friend Dave’s house. I was busy driving home in the dark, as load-shedding was still going on. I finally arrived home and noticed how beautiful the stars were amidst the power-outage in the city.

It was for this very reason that I decided to slowdown for about 25 minutes and just admire the wonders of God’s creation. As I was looking out at the stars, I noticed one specific star on the horizon. It looked as though there were no other stars close to this one. Almost as if this star was looking over all the other stars. It was also clear that this star was the one that burned the brightest of them all.

Suddenly my eyes were opened, and I could see that this star resembled the path of leadership.
People often only see the glorious parts of being a leader, but what very few people realise is that leadership is a lonely and hard path to travel. As my mentor, Tiaan Spies, told me when he started training me as a leader:

“Leadership is a lonely path to walk and as your leadership capacity grows so too does the sense of loneliness. As a leader people will often only come to you when they need help. There are very few that actually come to you and help you from a place of selflessness.”

Here is the harsh reality of leadership, especially Godly leadership. You are going to feel alone often or even majority of the time. People will use you, betray you, judge you and even hate you. However, just like that star, God has set you apart that you might guard all the other stars. If you press into God, then He will make you shine brighter than all the other stars as an extension of His light to His people.

As Christ said in John 16:33:
“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]”.

The take-aways for this session are:
• The brightest star often walks the loneliest road
• Watch over and guard those that God has placed under your leadership
• Your tribulations in life will increase as your capacity as a Godly leader multiplies
• Keep seeking Christ more and more
• You are an extension of His light and will not be overcome by your tribulations

If you want to engage a bit more with the Waypoint family join us for our weekly podcast, Waypoint Connect where we talk to people about real-life stories through the lens of faith. You can catch us live Thursdays on Facebook or go listen to previous episodes on the Waypoint app or Waypoint Youtube channel.

The things of this world will never satisfy you. They will only leave you unimpressed and depressed. You will only ever find true satisfaction through the Father, Son and Spirit.

Marriage, work, money, status, cars, your dream physique none of these will fulfil you. You can only be complete through the undeserved grace and mercy of God. In this way, through means of full surrender and setting aside your own pride, God will do even greater things through you than He did with Christ. All this because you have access to the Spirit of God now and forever.

Even greater things than Christ? That is a very bold statement; however, you don’t have to take my word for it, here is what Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father” (Jn 14:12, CSB).

You already knew the things of this world never satisfy before you read this article though, didn’t you? What is the solution then; what can satisfy your thirst?

Drink from the living water!

As Christ said, He is the bread of life and those who come to Him will never hunger or thirst again (Jn 6:35).

We can take comfort in the fact that God has always been the true source of life and will continue to be so for all eternity. The authors of the Old Testament also knew this fact. One of my favourite examples can be found in the book of Isaiah.

“And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your soul in scorched and dry places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail” (Is 58:11, AMP).

So, the take-aways are:
• Nothing in this world will ever satisfy you
• You will only ever be truly satisfied through the Father, Christ, and the Spirit
• Lay down your pride and fully surrender to God’s will
• You will be able to do even greater things than Christ

If you want to engage a bit more with the Waypoint family join us for our weekly podcast, Waypoint Connect where we talk to people about real-life stories through the lens of faith. You can catch us live Thursdays on Facebook or go listen to previous episodes on the Waypoint app or Waypoint Youtube channel.

In the beginning of 2020, I was glued to the TV watching the events unfold in the Middle East.  I have been to this specific Persian country a couple of times and the people of this country hold a special place in my heart.  It was not easy for me to watch these events as I knew without a doubt, that the people that will eventually suffer the most, will be the believers in the underground church.

Most people I know do not have a good understanding of Islam and some will even admit that they have a fear of Muslims.  The Word of God specifically states that the gospel must be preached to all nations which in essence refer to everyone across the globe.  The Word of God does not say that the GOOD NEWS must go to all different religions like Islam, Hindi of any other religion.  I do believe that people are born in the image of God and we all have a God given ability or “mechanism” in us to believe.  Even if someone does not believe in any god or do not follow any religion, they still “believe”.  They just believe in nothing.

In Shia Islam, believers believe in the twelve imams and to date eleven were appointed and died.  The twelfth imam must still be appointed and is called by the word Mahdi.  In Persia one of the most famous or “sacred” sites is the shrine of one of the imams which is in Mashhad.

Many years back I went to Persia and it was pre-arranged for me to visit a friend in the East.  We bought bus tickets to leave from the capital and I knew it would be more or less a twelve hour bus trip.  Early the next morning, after six hours of travelling, I was “kicked” off the bus and told that we have arrived at our destination.  To make a long story short, I was in a town in the West and the names of the two towns only differ with one letter.  Needless to say I boarded the next bus in the opposite direction.  I arrived thirty two hours later in the correct town in the East and we had a wonderful two days together.  The plan was to take a taxi from where we were to Mashhad and then fly back to the capital city.  The day before we left I told my friend (I was strongly convicted to do this) that he must take me to the shrine of imam Reza in Mashhad.  His response was;  “Dango you are crazy to do this.”  After I applied the “taarof” tradition (a tradition of asking and being turned down three times) he enquired from the taxi driver if he would take us to the shrine the next day to which he agreed.

Traffic was absolutely horrific when we arrived in the city.  The taxi driver told my friend that we would not have time to visit the shrine and to make it on time for our scheduled flight.  I jumped out of the taxi and started running down the four lane road towards the shrine.  My friend joined me as we went through security and we started to search for the shrine.  I noticed as we walked through several “halls” that at each hall entrance there was security standing elevated to enable them to see above the people moving slowly toward the shrine.  Understand that millions of Muslims visit the shrine to “revive their beliefs” in Islam at the shrine.

At one point we could see the shrine from a distance and my friend pleaded at me that we should go back.  My response was, we have to touch the shrine, to which he replied:  “Dango, you are crazy.”  As we walked through the entrance of the shrine area I could feel and hear that a person was gripping my right arm above my hand and they did not let me go.  My friend was making “strange noises” next to me and as I turned to my right side, I realised that the security person that was elevated at the entrance was holding me with an iron grip looking straight into my eyes.  I still remember this vividly as he was very friendly and had very kind eyes which were very strange as most people generally look depressed.

He asked me in very good English from where I came from and I replied in Farsi that I was from South Africa.  He asked me again, the second time, where I was from and by then I knew that he had “caught me out”.  I replied back to him in English.  By now the “strange noises” that my friend was making grew louder as I realised he was very scared.  The security guard, still gripping my arm, asked me if he could ask me a favour and I said yes.

He asked the following:  “Please go back to your people and tell them to pray for the Muslims of the world.”

I was shocked at hearing this and I assumed, due to the expression on my face, he asked me a further two times and then he let me go.  My friend and I were “pushed” towards to actual shrine.  The shrine is a dome shaped building, it resembles a cage.  It is made out of pure gold.

We started to run back and as we came out of the shrine complex, we only had to wait twenty-three seconds for our taxi to arrive, to be dropped off at the airport in time for our flight.

1 Corinthians 12: 26: " And if one member suffers, all the parts share the suffering;  if one member is honored, all rejoice with it."

The body of our Lord Jesus Christ is global and all the hearts of His followers are filled with the same Holy Spirit.

Shalom and Grace
Dango

It was a Monday night at Waypoint and me and Janelle arrived early for the Young Adult’s Life Group (or Community group as the newer members might call it). Seeing as we were there before anybody else, we decided to play a bit of pool.

We were nearing the end of our first game and Janelle was leading far. The victory was literally in arms reach of her and I hadn’t even gotten one ball in at this point. However, the game wasn’t over yet!

I made an impossible comeback and eventually won the game with a trick shot that was far beyond my own capability. So, the question is then how on earth did I win? I’ll tell you the same as I told Janelle, “Life is spiritual”. I jested with her by telling her that I commanded a few angels to turn the match in my favour and prayed out loud (under my mask) that I would make the impossible shot that got the eight-ball in.  

At that point we laughed…well I did, Janelle was irritated with me because she lost. Even thought at that time I made it sound like a joke, I was actually being dead serious. As I made that prayer, I knew I was going to win, because I know the power our words hold.
 You see God gave us an amazing power to speak life into the world when He rained the Holy Spirit down on us. We often underestimate the power of our words and prayers. We think it doesn’t really matter what we say, it’s just words right?

WRONG!

Remember God spoke the world into creation as, “God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light” (Genesis 1:3, AMP). The Spirit of God lives within us and as such He has bestowed upon us the great gift of speaking life or destruction into the world.

Still not convinced that words spoken aloud hold power? Well, remember what scripture tells us about Jesus, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1, NKJV). Christ is the Word. That is why He made it so that your words matter, so choose wisely.

So, the take-aways from this story is:

• Your words matter
• Pray without doubt
• Everything in life is spiritual (even something as small as a pool game with a friend)
• God loves stacking the odds against himself so that when His blessings occur in the most seemingly impossible of situations, it is undeniable to others that He is the King
• Trust in the Lord no matter how dire the situation might seem, for His blessings are far greater than your current struggles

If you want to engage a bit more with the Waypoint family join us for our weekly podcast, Waypoint Connect where we talk to people about real life stories through the lens of faith. You can catch us live Thursdays on Facebook or go listen to previous episodes on the Waypoint app or Waypoint Youtube channel.

I believe that as believers we all have pivotal points in our lives.  They can either be very personal or general experiences.  These experiences affect our hearts and minds to the extent that we make changes in our lives.  They can often lead to a deeper understanding of certain aspects of our lives.

Personally I have experienced three major pivotal points while in the country I was called to serve in, in the Middle East.  The moment I am talking about in this Shofar really spoke directly to my heart and changed the way I was thinking about my calling.  It challenged me to the point that I had to re-think why I am doing what I am doing.  I do not think that I have ever been so acutely aware of how exposed I was in front of the Lord Jesus as at that moment.
 
You see sometimes we do “things” or are called; and we do not have a full understanding of what we are actually doing or why we are actually doing it.  It could be that our hearts are not in the “right” place; our motives might not be as pure as we think them to be.  It might be that we, to a certain extent, operate in the flesh when we do “things” that we are called to do.  Meaning that we don’t tap into what God can do but only rely on what we can see and know.

It was in the beginning years of smuggling bibles into the Middle East.  We were in the South of a specific country and met with local believers.  They requested “books” as their need were desperate.  The next year we went to the same country.  Arrangements were made for someone to collect books in the capital city of that country.  The plan was to collect the books then travel to the South and drop the books off in the city in the South.  For some unknown reason, the pre-arranged plan never worked out and we were stuck in the capital city without any books to take to the South.  Frustrated and confused, I could not imagine the believers’ disappointment if we arrived in the South without any books.

I told my friend that I know a believer in the capital city and that I will go and ask him for books.  I left alone in a taxi on my way in search of my brother.  After about four hours I was in his house.  Our hearts were filled with joy as I was re-united with my brother Mohammad.  He offered me the customary tea and then a huge lunch followed.  We really had a good time together as we exchanged stories.  Keep in mind that Mohammed and I are very close.  We share a special bond.  A bond that brothers would share.  I was there with him when he committed his life to Jesus two years before.

After lunch we had tea again and after our short midday rest, Mohammed asked me why I came to visit him.  I told him my predicament and that I didn’t have any books to take to the South and asked whether or not he was able to assist.  I knew I was breaking my own protocol of not involving local believers when moving or smuggling books.  Mohammed disappeared into his room and came out with a bag of books.  My heart leapt with joy and I was very grateful.  Mohammed handed me the bag, but as I took it from him he did not release the bag.  A bit confused, with the bag of books hanging between us, I looked at him in silence and he looked straight into my eyes for a couple of seconds with his beautiful dark loving eyes.  A very serious expression etched in his face.  When he spoke I knew I had to listen.
He said: “Dango, we as believers are prepared to lose our lives for these books, are you prepared to lose your life for these books if you are caught?”  To be honest, I was a bit paralyzed - contemplating his question.  All I said was:  “Yes.”  Not fully understanding what he just told me.  Not releasing the bag of books, he continued and his next words impacted me even more.
He said:  “Dango, if you do get caught with these books, promise me that you will admit to being guilty and then ask the authorities to hang you immediately without any trail.”  Apparently there is a law that if you admit to guilt without any trail, they must hang you immediately.  I was in complete shock by now.  I looked at him with the facial expression that screamed:  “WHY WOULD I DO THAT?”  Very calmly he explains that the authorities would torture me.  They would ensure that I was in constant unbelievable excruciating pain in order to get any information out of me.  I promised him and left his house with the bag of books.  A couple of days later we successfully made to the city in the South with the bag of books, where we distributed them.

John 21: 15 – 17: Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me.
This pivotal moment truly challenged with the question of:  “How much I truly do love Jesus?” The Father loved me so much that He gave His Son.  The Son loved me so much that He was willing to suffer unbearably and give His life.  I came to the understanding that it can only be born out of what He did for me on the cross personally and the Father’s love for me personally by sacrificing HIS SON JESUS for me.

You see that if we base our love for the Lord Jesus Christ on our abilities, “things” we do, or our own feelings; we will at some point fail Him when “things” get difficult.  At the end of the day it’s all about our hearts.

Shalom and Grace
Dango

Not long ago the Lord ask me to go the Israel.  The message was: “Go and preach the Gospel in the synagogues of Jerusalem”.  Preparing to go was not an easy task at all. Firstly, I have never done this before and secondly I have been going to a specific country in the Middle East for a number of years.  By now I have become familiar with the local language and culture of that country.  I could not understand why on earth the Lord would ask me to go to another country.
 
Looking back, I do understand why that was important.  As one of my friends said at that time, you have to learn again to be fully dependent on the Lord Jesus with missions.  Since it is familiar, it is easy go and you lean more on your own understanding and your own capabilities.  Personally I do believe that the Lord work with us in seasons.

Please understand that to go to Israel for missions was not just for my sake.  We are talking about Israel and God’s chosen people, the Jews, or Hebrews as some people would say.  First of all, I have to confess that my understanding and knowledge of Hebrew people, as we read about them in the Bible, was very limited before I went.  As far back as I could remember I have always had a huge interest and a fascination for the Jews, Israel and for obviously reasons Jerusalem.  I have noticed over the years that if you ask Christians which country they would love to visit, most of them would say - Israel.

Looking back and contemplating what I experienced in Israel I have one sentence:  The Lord was faithful in all aspects of the trip.  It can only be God that could have put everything in place.  I had to be trained to evangelise Jews;  set up a schedule for specific synagogues in Jerusalem;  arrange accommodation and make traveling arrangements.  Everything worked out smoothly.  In this Shofar, I will talk specifically about one event of the trip which I still ponder on many times as I am still “struggling” to get to a full understanding of it.
 
One major challenge for me was which synagogues I had to visit in Jerusalem.  I told the Lord I will visit seven in Jerusalem and that the “Wailing Wall” would be the last visit.  At one point I went to Goole Earth, zoomed into Jerusalem and typed: “synagogues of Jerusalem”.  Only six came up on my PC screen.  I quickly wrote them down with the relevant addresses and emailed it to my prayer co-ordinator.  I phoned her and asked how she was doing.  Without any prompting from me she mentioned that the Lord was talking to her in her “quiet time” that specific morning about seven un-leavened loaves of bread.  In my heart I thanked the Lord for His faithfulness and told her with a very grateful heart about the seven synagogues I have to visit that is in her inbox.

On the seventh day I woke up in the Old City in Jerusalem and prepared myself to go to the Walling Wall.  I arrived with my kippah and Bible, walked straight to the left of the Walling Wall to enter the area which extended underground.  I got myself a rocking prayer chair and placed myself in the furthest point into the area.  I noticed that the Jews in this area were exceptionally serious and were busy with prayer rituals looking and standing, facing the “Wall”.
 
I started to read the scriptures and started with prayer.  After about 30 minutes I realised that I was extremely exhausted mentally.  It was as if someone had sucked the life out of me.  I could not understand what happened and I actually left my rocking chair and walked out.  Going back to my place, the same thing happened.  It was as if I was walking against a mental and spiritual wall;  knocking my head over and over against it.  I asked the Lord what was busy happening?  I felt the Lord leading me to the section in scripture where Jesus was talking to the Samaritan women at the water well come up, John 4: 1- 42.

Sitting in my rocking chair several thoughts went through my head.  The Walling Wall is the closest physical structure the Jews have to the second temple.  Bearing in mind that millions of Christians all over the world also go to the Walling Wall to pray.  Most of them put their prayers or “wishes” on a small scroll of paper and push it in between the bricks of the Walling Wall.  The wall is a symbol for the Jews and the Christians.  I realised sitting in my rocking chair that I was praying against one of the biggest strongholds that exist in the world today for a lot of Jews and Christians.

John 4: 23 But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit (from the heart, the inner self) and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshippers.

Our faith has to be deep-rooted in the risen Lord Jesus Christ alone.  We cannot add “anything” or a “ritual” to the crucified Christ and believe that our prayers will have more power.  The crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ alone is ENOUGH and through His Spirit and the Truth we will be set free.

As believers we must “learn” day-by-day to live through His Holy Spirit and believe that the Lord Jesus Christ in us is the same Jesus that was crucified and He was risen by the same Holy Spirit that lives in us.

Shalom and Grace
Dango

In the first article I mentioned the Bakhtiari tribe. There are many Bakhtiari people that still live according to their traditional way in the South-West of Iran. Bakhtiari nomads migrate twice a year with their herds to find pasture for their herds. During Spring they migrate to the mountains and stay in their Summer quarters. In Autumn they migrate to valleys and the plains and they stay in their Winter quarters. The livestock that the Bakhtiari mainly raise are sheep, some goats, horses, and cattle. Temporary dwellings for the Bakhtiari include rectangular tents, brush or wood shelters and caves when migrating into the mountains. These types of dwellings are used when moving their herds around. Recently, some Bakhtiari have urbanized and began to settle in large villages and even in cities.
I stayed and lived in a cave high up into the mountains with two Bakhtiari families for six days. At night, the families with their sheep, shared one cave for “protection and comfort”. Their sheep mean everything to the Bakhtiari people as it’s the only source of income for them. As part of understanding how important their sheep are to them they have a very deep sense of compassion for them. They know that their ability to survive depends on their sheep. They protect their sheep with everything they have. For them it is not just a flock of sheep. They are able to recognise and identify every individual sheep.
Every morning the two families will wake up and start to prepare for the day’s only task, leading their flock of sheep out to graze on the mountain. Each family is responsible for their own flock. The shepherd of each family will start to sing a song and his song is unique. Remarkably the sheep in the cave will start to split into two separate flocks as the sheep recognize their shepherd’s voice and start to follow their own shepherd as they depart in opposite directions each morning. Keep in mind that the two shepherds do not look back to see which sheep followed them. Seeing and experiencing this the first morning struck deep into my heart. It was a normal day’s routine every morning for them. I was like a young boy the next morning as I woke up. I placed myself above the cave to experience this phenomenon for myself. I had to make sure that what I saw was actually true. That the “one flock” of sheep, became two as they followed their own shepherds. I marveled at this the second morning as the same routine was playing out in front of my eyes. I experienced a deep sense of wonder for the WORD of God as what I was experiencing created a deeper understanding of it.
The way the Bakhtiari cared for and loved the lambs also struck deep into my heart. It was as if they were taking care of their own children. The shepherds will return late in the afternoons with their flocks and then examine each lamb (the lambs stay behind in the cave during the day) with loving hands to make sure they are still in good health. Obviously talking to the lamb as they “inspected” each one. Then they will carry the lamb and walk straight to the mother and place it under the ewe to drink. It was clear that there is an intimate trust relationship between the shepherd, the lamb and the ewe. It was as if it was preordained to be like this.
It was not an easy six days with the Bakhtiari families from a physical and survival point of view. To be honest, it was challenging due to the cold, sleeping on rock and the fact that we could not communicate at all. During this time I did realise that I will have to learn to speak Persian if the Lord Jesus was going to send me back to this country.
But looking back and remembering those six days, I always experience a very deep sense of grace and the fact they I had the honour to stay with them. The Bakhtiari men and women are “hard people” and they grow up and live in very difficult and challenging conditions. For them it’s normal and they have the ability to survive and to be content with very little possessions. Their sheep means everything to them. The one shepherd and I was actually hugging each other and with tears said our good-byes as we departed from each other on top of the mountain.
John 14:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
The above verse is defining a relationship that is based on trust and facts and not pre-set conditions or demands. The primary basis of this relationship is hundred percent based on the Shepherd’s voice. We can only hear after someone has spoken. It always stuck me that the verse ends with the fact that the Shepherd knows without a doubt that His sheep will follow Him.

Shalom and Grace
Dango

In my life, being involved in missions for 25 years, I have met a lot of people from different backgrounds and cultures.  I truly believe that our heavenly Father loves different cultures with amazing different colours and languages.  No culture is better than the other as we are all born in the image of God.  Culture becomes a problem when it influences the true gospel (the GOOD NEWS) by adding or taking something from it.  The gospel on its own is “strong” enough to stand by itself.  I truly believe after many years and many mistakes that I have made, that there is nothing unseen or seen;  stronger than the true gospel as it changes people from being dead to new life in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In my early years being involved in missions I was called to go to Kenya for one year.  I submitted my unpaid leave form to my manager which he remarkably approved.  I went through a process of acceptance and was approved by Africa Inland Missions (AIM) as a short term missionary.  I did a week’s language classes in Nairobi and was sent to live with a Maasai family in the south of Kenya to adapt to the culture.
Three weeks later I was sent to a place called Laisamis, which was located in a semi desert area.  The short term co-ordinator Tim, from AIM, decided in his wisdom to make me the temporary pastor of the local church.  The Samburu and Randili tribes lived in that area of Kenya and they were at that stage recognised as some of the most tribal cultures in Africa due to the remoteness of the area.  Understand that at that stage of my life the only activity I did in the church was being a Sunday school teacher.  Being alone in the desert and in a situation which was not easy at all, I started to call out to my Lord Jesus in my total state of desperation.  It was the first time in my life that the Lord started to speak to me out of His Word.  I asked the Lord, “What am I doing and what should I be doing in Laisamis?”  His reply was Acts 17, verse 26.
So that is what I started to do and I walked for days and many miles spreading the GOOD NEWS.  Come Sundays, I had to preach and handle the service.  At one stage, a missionary organisation called Daguna came to the area.  They have a strategy to go to remote areas in Kenya with a customised Bedford truck from which they lived and worked.  Every person on the truck was an evangelist and they teamed up with the local church and evangelised 24/7.  For obvious reasons I worked with them in the area for a month.  I became very good friends with one of the members and the two of us teamed up as we left in the mornings on foot to spread the gospel.
The two of us walked very far one specific day and ended up in a very remote area with a Samburu hut which looked deserted from a distance.  We realised very quickly that a family stayed there.  We were greeted by an old Samburu women sitting at the entrance of her hut.  We did the customary “thing”, drink hot sweet tea with camel milk.  My friend spoke the local language and he started to talk to the old women about the gospel.  It was a very long discussion and the old Samburu women accepted Jesus as her Lord and Saviour.  Keeping in mind that this specific old woman was dressed as a true Samburu woman.  In her culture this meant that she was circumcised as a young girl before she got married.  Furthermore, her only “task in life” was to have babies, cook for her husband and look after her children.  I was a bit confused to be brutally honest at what happened in front of my eyes.  We started to walk back after we said our good-byes to the smiling old Samburu women.
Still pondering on the event I asked my friend if I could ask him a personal question while walking back.  He stopped walking with an acknowledgement.  My question was: “Do you truly believe that the old Samburu women will be in heaven one day?”  For as long as I live, I will never forget his reply and it is engraved in my mind and heart.
He looked me straight in the eyes and with an openness and sincere concern replied:  “Dango, we will be very surprised to see who is in heaven one day but we will be more surprised by who is not in heaven.”
Matthew 7, verse 21: Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven.
The verses that follow continue to speak of people that prophesy, drive out demons and do miracles in His name, but were denied by the Lord Jesus himself to enter heaven.  We truly live in strange and confusing times with “voices all over the church” from all sides.
Truly seek the Lord Jesus with all of your heart and do the will of your Father in heaven.  After all, our heavenly Father looks at the heart of “man” and not at what we do or say.
Shalom and Grace
Dango

I believe that Jesus calls all His followers to participate in the establishment of His Kingdom.  I also believe that the deeds of one are not more significant than the others.  As we read in the Bible:  “Our best efforts are like filthy rags in front of the Lord.  We do it not out of our own flesh but out of His love for us and what He called us to do.”
At one stage of my life the Lord called me to start smuggling Bibles to the underground church in the Middle East.  The first time I went was with a group and we left 10 days after 9/11.  Everybody in the congregation, except my pastor tried to convince me not to go as it does not make sense due to the security alert in the whole of the Middle East.  America was attacking the Taliban in Afghanistan and the tension in the Middle East was horrific.  It was my first time doing this “kind of work” and looking back now, the Lord was preparing me for future plans.  I have learned so much on that specific trip as the leader of the group “pushed” me hard to “walk in front” and to do the “most dangerous” tasks.  At that stage I could not understood it, as I was the only man in the group that haven’t smuggled Bibles before.
Years later, I started to do this alone over several years and basically worked with a 3-point plan.  I would go to certain towns in the country and place the “books” in several different places in a specific town where I was led to.  Over the years I made friends and became part of families and I will make sure that they have “books” even if they do not believe in Jesus.  Then finally I would take the “books” and deliver it to a certain person that knew my “code name” at a pre-arranged place, date and time;  knowing that these “books” will go to the underground church.
The reason for this Shofar is to make you understand that I am a “human being and that I have my own issues” and if it was down to me I would not able to do what He called me to do at all.
This was still early days and I remember sitting on the airplane on my way to the Middle East.  Fear started to grip my heart.  The fear was growing exponentially as we were getting closer and closer to our destination.  I knew the “books” were in my suitcase.  First I had to go through passport control, then collect my suitcase and then go through security with the suitcase.  Disembarking from the plane, as I was walking towards the passport control area.  I started to make plans to get rid of the “books” before I had to go through security.  A fear that I could not describe, was eating into my heart and flesh.  At one stage my body started to tremble slightly as we moved slowly forward in the line that was controlled by the security people inside the airport.  The only thought in my mind was;  “Today I will be caught and I will be hanged without any hesitation.”  I basically had two options available.  Do not collect the suitcase with the “books” and walk out of the airport.  My second option was to collect the suitcase, look for a WC (toilet), lock myself in a cubical and start tearing up the “books” till all was gone and then go through security.
I collected the suitcase and at that exact point I said:  “Lord Jesus I give up.”  I walked toward the security scanners and for some strange reason my heart just became very “still”.  A man was standing at the scanner unit and he was bending forward to pick up my suitcase.  As he gripped my suitcase, he looked me straight in the eyes and said “you can go no need to scan this suitcase”.  I walked out of the airport very dazed and trying to comprehend what just happened.
Hebrew 10: 38 - “But My righteous one shall live by faith and if he draws back, My soul has no delight in him.”
The writer of Hebrews, in the Bible, teaches us that the opposite of ‘FAITH’ is ‘fear’.  I have learned a hard lesson that day and since that trip I prepare myself before I go as if I am not coming back alive.  This prepared the way to be fearless and walk only in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through Him alone all “things” are possible.
Fear is born out of our flesh.  Satan, is doing a tremendous job by creating fear.  Even the slightest bit of fear, in the hearts of believers can lead to them not doing what they are supposed to do or called to do in the Father’s Kingdom.
Shalom and Grace
Dango  

Information is available to us 24/7 these days. You can google anything, anytime. You can find handy YouTube videos about how to fix a flat tire, how to budget, or even how to make 2min noodles. And while that knowledge is beneficial, it can be easy to consume too much information in isolation—which isn’t what we were designed for.
God created us to live in community. That’s a word we use in church a lot that basically means we need good friends. Why? Because consuming information in isolation rarely leads to transformation. We need wisdom, and wisdom grows best in community.
Let’s take it back to the beginning. The first thing God said was “not good” was for man to be alone. We were created to need people. Jesus modelled this for us in His life and ministry on earth.
Jesus chose 12 imperfect people to live life with. They ate together, prayed together, and served together. Why did He do this? Jesus didn’t need people. He’s, well, Jesus. Maybe it was to show us how to love imperfect people for His perfect purpose.
Jesus showed us what it looked like to have great friends. And He knew it would cost Him. He knew Judas would betray Him. And honestly, Peter was a little extra sometimes. He knew Peter would deny Him and reject Him, but Jesus loved them all anyway.
There’s a lesson we can learn from that kind of love. We can often get so caught up in having the perfect friend that we miss out on the potential ones in front of us. When we find our people, we’ve got to love them—flaws and all—the same way Jesus loves us.
The other important benefit of community is that Jesus not only modelled it for us but also promised to be in the middle of it. Jesus said that where two or more people gather in His name, He’s with us. That’s a pretty compelling reason to spend time with other people.
So if you’re trying to figure out your life plan without people around you, it’s probably not going to pan out the way you expect. We need people to live out our purpose. We need people to discover who we are. We need people to encourage us, strengthen us, pray with us, challenge us, and help us up when we fall and fail.
It will get messy. And it won’t always make sense. But when you choose to be like Jesus and love like Jesus—you’ll realise you’re heading in a better direction like we talked about in day one.
Consider: What potential friends are you missing out on because you want the perfect ones?
Pray: Jesus, thank You for showing us what it looks like to have community and for promising to be with us when we gather together. Help me rely more on You and on the others You’ve put in my life. Help me to love like You. In Your name. Amen.

If you are alone and feel that you don’t have anyone to talk to, use the link below to get connected to a group. We currently run online groups, and will meet face-to-face when it is safe to do so within the regulations. So you can get connected straight away or at least submit your details to start with a group that can meet face-to-face.

Write something for the blog…..something to do with your experiences at Transit…..but remember there are children reading this blog too…..  That was three months ago.
I only write if what I write is coming directly from the heart.  You see I am an atmosphere shifter.  That is my God given gift.  I cannot shift atmospheres if it doesn’t come from my heart.  “Why is that”, you might ask?  Well to break it down simply for you:  I believe God lives in my heart.  Well at least His Spirit does.  So, if I don’t live from my heart I don’t live according to His will.  It is like those “should I do it or should I not do it” moments.  We all come across those moments in our lives.  My non-believer friends will at this stage, jump at the opportunity and exclaim:  “You mean your instinct!?”  Yip my instinct.  But how many times have you not said you wish your instinct was as good as mine - I will counter argue.
Yip, I am pretty much ready to write this piece because it’s coming from my heart.  Transit;  Grade 6 to well whoever wants to come actually (but don’t tell the leadership because it is supposed to be until Grade 9, but who am I to turn a teenager away who feels the need to listen to me talking from my heart?)
I have seen one and a half generations go through Transit the last few years.  I follow all of them.  Even kids who don’t come to our church anymore.  Facebook and Instagram are great surveillance tools.  No, I don’t look at what gets posted there because that can be misleading.  I look at kid’s eyes.  Eyes say a lot.  Eyes are windows to anyone’s soul.  Try it next time.  When you see sadness don’t wonder about it, enquire.  At least we don’t have to cover our eyes up.  So many people complain about not being able to see smiles these days anymore.  I still see a lot.
Here I am getting sidetracked by my ADD, you know that stuff that Ritalin was made for.  Back to the topic.  Transit – “Why?” you might ask.  Why not something else.  Well – for starters I listened to my heart and my Sunday School teacher sucked!  So I guess I wanted to show kids the real meaning of God’s love. The ‘genuineness’ (is that even a word) of God’s love.  Kids are smart.  If you are fake, they will suss you out in 5 minutes.  If they can’t trust you …well then you become irrelevant really.  And if you don’t think that they are relevant ….well they quickly suss that out too.
It’s the toughest job on the volunteer staff you know, working with teenagers.  That’s what somebody told me at first when I asked someone to alternate with me to give me an opportunity to attend the adult environment.  “Sorry what do you mean it’s the toughest job?”  My 26 years of experience of being a litigator overwhelmed me at that moment.  You mean being yourself and making a kid feel relevant is hard?  I guess my bedside manners can be bit direct at times.
How do you keep the kids interested so that they want to come back to Transit?  This was a wide eyed question I once got whilst fellowshipping over the best coffee in PE one Sunday morning.  I relate my own testimonies of what happened to me in life to convey from my heart what God wants to tell them on a given Sunday.  “So where you went wrong and they must not follow suite?  Is that what you mean?” came the follow-up question.  I bit my tongue.  I mean;  is this question for real? “ No ma’am.  I tell them I understand that they are teenagers and that one day they will be young adults and they will probably screw up once or twice but that is okay, because they aren’t programmed machines.  They are flesh and blood!  I tell them that; “If anything else, they must be wise and have an intimate relationship with God. That Jesus did not pick perfect people to be his disciples.  That when they do stuff it must be done from their heart.  And if you tell them about a parable from the Bible;  mix it up a little.  Make the story real.  Like the lost son that went to Joburg and partied his inheritance away?”  At least I got an;  “Oh.”
Transit: the place where I try and lead our kids to have a living and real relationship with God;  from their hearts - that is.

I have been in “missions” since 1994 and I have been traveling to a fair amount of countries, tribes and remote areas.  I have seen a lot and I have experienced quite a bit in my simple life.  But never have I had a moment like the following.  It lasted only 5 seconds but it left a profound imprint on my heart and mind.  It is with trepidation that I put a trembling hand to paper.
If I close my eyes I can still see it and the surrounding area crystal clear with the emotion that accompanied it.  It might be a “simple” moment for most but for me it struck right to the center of my heart and core of my life of who and what I am.  To be honest, the actual moment of 5 seconds actually defines everyone who declares and believes that Jesus Christ is the crucified Lord and that He rose from the dead.  For some reason I could never get rid nor forget the 5 second moment as I ponder over it for the last 25 years. To this day it still guides me as the Lord reminds me time and time again of the 5 second moment.  This is my first humble attempt to put “something of my life” on paper. I asked the Lord what I should write about, not surprisingly, the reply was “the 5 second moment”.
Many moons ago, I lived for 6 days in a cave in the South-West of Iran with two Bakhtiari families.  This tribe is a very ancient Persian tribe and they live with their sheep in caves as they are a nomadic people.  Coming down the massive mountain range after 6 days, a driver and myself left the area in a small vehicle.  As we approached the nearest small town, we slowly came around a corner that was bending to the left.  On my right by the side of the gravel road, I saw a Bakhtiari shepherd with a sheep behind him walking towards the town.  The only attachment between the shepherd’s hand and the sheep was a very thin rope around the sheep’s neck.  Two elements of the moment struck me. The first was that the rope was hanging loose and was swinging from left to right.  The second was that the sheep was only looking at the shepherd and following him with an eagerness and willingness not looking left or right.  I knew that the shepherd was going to sell the sheep in the town.  He would then be able to buy his family’s monthly supplies before returning up the mountain to tend the rest of his flock.
What struck me was the fact that the sheep trusted the shepherd completely and all it’s focus was on the man in front of him and to follow him relentlessly.  Obviously it knew the shepherd and it knew that wherever it was being lead to;  it would follow and that’s all that mattered.  Understand that this sheep did not have the benefit of feeling safe as it was alone as no other sheep was with it.  What was also profoundly significant was the fact that the shepherd knew this specific sheep.  He knew this sheep as he would know one of his children (I will talk about this in a later Shofar edition) and he knew that the sheep will follow him obediently.  The only physical connection between the sheep and the shepherd was the thin piece of rope that was hanging loose between the two of them.  It was as if the shepherd and his sheep were walking in complete confidence and unity as if they were meant to be in perfect harmony.
Take note the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep is not based on the fact that the sheep is clever or smart.  It’s purely based on the fact that each one of them understood their place or their role.  Also because the sheep knew his shepherd and fully trusts him in all situations and conditions.  The shepherd is the one that knows what’s best for the sheep, the sheep was not leading the shepherd.
John 10: 14   "I am the Good Shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me."
The quoted Scripture was playing out in front of my very eyes in that significant 5 second moment of my life.  Understand that if Jesus say “I know my own”, He is talking to those that belong to Him.  When Jesus is saying “My own know Me”, He is referring to those that have a deep personal relationship with Him.
I am of the opinion that in this day and age, it is not an easy thing to say or do to know someone and to have complete trust in a person.
If we truly know and come to the understand who the Lord Jesus Christ is, and above all, who He wants to be for each one of us;  we will truly follow Him blindly.  We will not look left or right in all situations and irrespective of what He calls us to do.  The relevant verse does not refer to a relationship that can be measured on a scale of 0 to 100.  Jesus is making a very profound statement and He is saying that when I have a relationship with you it is always 100% from my side.
In the end, it is not about the sheep, but it’s all about the GOOD SHEPHERD the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Shalom and Grace
Dango

We often hear people say “we have to become a part of what God is busy with, not the other way around”.  But what does this mean and how can we know what God is busy with?

Firstly, I have to think in a new way about what happens to me and those around me and how that is a part of the story of God.
We live in the information age.  Information literally is all around us; at our finger tips, on television, radio and social media, but most of it seems to be bad news, not very uplifting or God-honouring.  So the question is: where do we look for information of what God is busy with?  The answer is not what you might think and it is not necessarily in the Bible.

One of the best ways to learn more about what the Lord is busy with; is from ordinary everyday people who share their own experiences.  Sharing with others how God has impacted their lives.   Impacted the lives of their children, their friends or the lives of their families.  A big part of this is to listen to what people say God did for them, that they could not do for themselves.
If you consider that we were created to bring honour and glory to God, our Creator;  then everything we say and do should point to God and shift the focus to Him.  This is one of the very best ways how we become part of what God is busy with, to start telling God stories.


Then that we can take it even further by looking at what the most common stories are, that people in our area are telling about God?  If we can see what God is busy doing in different areas or communities in our city, and we start putting these stories together, we will start seeing a bigger picture of what God is busy doing.  Not only in cities, but in our nation.
So it all starts with the story I can tell of God working in my life.  If you don’t have a story to tell yet, then start by listening to stories people around you are sharing.  This way we learn to recognise the way in which God works and we will recognise God working in our own life.  By sharing your story - you are sharing God with other people.

The last few weeks I have felt so pressed.
My back had been against the wall in many moments.
There were emails, deadlines, tests, zoom meetings, house chores and a plethora of other to-dos.
I have felt at times like a piece of dough that someone was busy stretching and  s  t  r  e  t  c  h  i  n  g.
I have cried, because sometimes there was simply too much to do and time was not on my side.

But then, in the dark of night a still small voice whispers: “My grace is sufficient for you.”
I know these words, I have heard them many times before, in theory it is a beautiful verse.
The verse is 2 Corinthians 12:9:
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Here in my weakness and my mess that is called my life these are the words I hear.
“My grace is sufficient for you.”
Over
         And
                 Over
Again, that is what is whispered.

These are the type of words I cling to.
To hold on to my peace.
To hold on to my Comforter.
My Father knows how to encourage my weary soul.
He will never leave me nor forsake me.
Even when I have not been at my best, or my most upstanding self, He still comforts my weary soul.

While painting this morning, I was inspired to paint a picture of wine being poured into a wine glass.
In the process of painting I just started laughing with great joy bubbling over in my heart.
I searched for a verse relating to wine in the YouVersion Bible App and came across Psalm 4:6-8.
Many people say, “Who will show us better times?”
Let your face smile on us, Lord.
You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.
In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.

My Father keeps me safe.
Again, “My grace is sufficient for you.”
So, I will sing into the night of how God’s grace is sufficient for me.
I have joy.
I have peace.
I am going to be okay.

Friends, in closing I declare these lyrics of the Blessing that was recently sung by many worshippers in Port Elizabeth. I declare this over you and your family:
The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
The Lord turn His
Face toward you
And give you peace


I would like to give a special thanks to Simoné Roberts, from the Inside Out girls group, who recently shared her own testimony of "My grace is sufficient for you" and how God has helped her with her own difficulties. It has touched my heart deeply ❤️

My name is Zola Moses, and I bring you a story highlighting the challenges faced by black communities on the outskirts of Walmer township.
Large numbers of people are forced, because of social challenges, to live together in small spaces sharing almost everything including outside toilets that are still part of the bucket system. As a result, many people get sick because of the challenging and unsanitary living conditions. Infections are recorded on a daily basis. A lot of people suffer under the yoke of poverty. For some it so bad that they can’t even afford a meal for the day. Fortunate families, are the ones with males, who can afford to wake up early in the morning looking for casual jobs in the neighbouring suburb or bussinesses. Domestic life is unbearable and often leads violence in the home due to lifestyle pressure.
Most of the families are fatherless due to a number of contributing factors. Some families are headed up by children. This is often due to parents having to leave town and looking for work in other cities. Some parents have passed away because of illnesses. Some are headed up by grannies. In child- and granny-headed homes, life is even worse as children and grannies will be forced to live off old age or child support grants, which is not enough to take care of one family member for a month. But worse, is that some do not even receive grants in these families because they don't have identity documents to apply for it. In most of the child- or granny-headed homes, children are not even attending school because they assume responsibilities that adults would have taken care of. Food becomes a luxury they cannot afford. Only the marginally few can afford food.
But they survive because of the principle that teaches all our people to be your neighbours keeper. "Umntu ngumntu ngabantu" meaning "You are because we are". This teaches people that you cannot succeed on your own, but you need others in order to succeed in life. This might not be a reality in the suburbs but it is an integral part of the way of life for people in the poor areas. Below is a story of a young leader who has worked for years to ensure that the same ethics and principles are kept alive in their township.
My name is Nkosivumile Eric Ntukela. I live in Walmer township at AQ 31 Phelakhulu street. I live with my wife Nomthunzi Ntukela, and my three kids Khanya Booi, Ambesa Ntukela, Iyabona Ntukela and we are not working at the moment. As a community leader in my area something something stirs inside me when I look at my community and see people struggling. Some of them don’t have husbands and fathers in their homes. In other homes there are no parents to take care of the children and they don’t have an income. So I am trying to get some help for us in our area. Especially for those who are finding it very difficult specifically in this challenging time that we are facing now. Thank you and God bless.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope that this helps you to gain insight into what people in our city, in areas right next to us are facing. As followers of Christ, as children of God - we can’t help but have the same character that God has. As a result, because we share His heart for everyone, we can’t be ok with this; can we?

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
 
There are three kinds of sins. The first one is inherited sin. The Bible says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). The sin of Adam was passed to all men. Everyone that came from Adam became an heir of Adam’s transgression. How terrible! But that’s the reality.

The second one is “imputed sin.” Imputed sin is based on Law, and you may not be the guilty one. In Joshua 7, we read how the children of Israel paid dearly for the sin committed by just one man, Achan. Having recently conquered a greater nation, the children of Israel were preparing to go wipe out a smaller one. Before going to capture Jericho, God had instructed them, “When you get to that place, don’t keep anything that’s theirs; destroy everything” (Joshua 7:11).

But Achan took a coat and other items, and hid them for himself (Joshua 7:21). And the result? The whole country (Israel) lost the battle. The man’s sin was imputed to the whole country. Aside the inheritance, Adam’s transgression was also imputed to all men. You didn’t have to be guilty personally; it’s a class sin; everybody becomes part of it. It’s like when the President of your country signs a bad deal or initiates a bad policy; it affects the entire nation.

The third class of sin is “personal sin.” This is the one that you committed by yourself. Clearly, everyone born into this world has the sin-nature and requires salvation. If a man says he’s free from personal sin, how about inherited sin, and or imputed sin? But thanks be unto God!

Salvation—the deliverance of man from his fallen nature and the depravity of sin and its effects, and the recreation of his spirit and the restoration of fellowship with God, are possible and available through Jesus Christ! He is the only way out!
This is why we preach the Gospel; that all men may believe in Jesus Christ and receive remission of sins and the life and nature of God. Hallelujah!  
 
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for the privilege to receive the Gospel which is your power to save, heal and deliver. I pray for the unconverted in the world, that the scales would fall off their eyes to recognize their sins, and accept your provision for remission in Christ, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further Study:
Acts 13:38-39 ASV
Romans 10:9-10

I have been living in Uitenhage for the past 30 years.  I have always known that there are worlds within our world, but this Covid-19 virus has highlighted the disparities in our communities.

In Uitenhage, the community started a project in terms of which you were a yellow ribbon when shopping.  This would indicate that you were needy, and other shoppers could assist you financially with your purchases.  This initiative resulted in and grew to affixing a yellow ribbon, and if you did not have a yellow ribbon, a yellow plastic bag, to your home, gate or post-box, to indicate a need.
Upon receipt of our first consignment of meals from Human Hearts Foundation, my wife and I drove to Dr Braun, De Mist and Central in Uitenhage, no more than 5km from my world, and what an eye opener it was! When we saw the houses in the streets lined with yellow plastic bags, I was overcome with a sense of helplessness.  The need, the desperate need, was much closer and far greater that I could ever have imagined.
I felt too shy to stop at houses where the neighbours were out in the yards as I could not help all of them and I did not want to give to the one and not to the other.  You see, as your car slowly moves down the street the people in the yard instinctively move toward the fence or pavement in anticipation that this is, or could be, or would be, the help they have been hoping or praying for.  Sitting in the luxury of my car I was overwhelmed with emotions of sadness, anger, helplessness, gratitude, joy and there and then I made a commitment to let my Jesus light shine for these brothers and sisters of mine in need.
I decided to volunteer my time and resources to advance the course of the Humans Hearts Foundation.