“And the Lord utters His voice before His army, for His host is very great, and [they are] strong and powerful who execute [God’s] Word. ” Joel 2:11
Another two months have passed! We trust that you have had a good time in the presence of the Lord, as we did!
Church Name Change
Damascus Ministries International has gone through a period of change. This ministry has now taken hands with One Life and will now be known as One Life Family Church. The head of this international ministry is Pastor Graeme Weber. Head office is situated in America and the office for South Africa is in Umhlanga Rocks. Dr. Kobus Allen and his family will be moving to Umhlanga Rocks at the end of the year, as he will now head up the School of World Missions in Kwazulu Natal. Pastor Kolie Bolleurs will now pastor our own congregation in Ladybrand. Nothing has really changed, except for the name and the successor to take over. Our Bible School will also resort under School of World Missions.
Healing Rooms
All is going well with the Healing Rooms. It has now officially been registered and operates under the name: One Life Healing Rooms. We are operating on a Monday night from 19:00 – 20:00 and on a Thursday morning from 09:00 – 10:00. These times are very special, it seems like the Lord is really taking us into deeper depths and higher hights with Him. We are receiving fresh revelation at every session! God is just so amazing and awesome!
Up to date we have had three very successful trainings and have seen +- 19 people through who are part of Healing Rooms International in Ladybrand, Lesotho and Theunissen. Which brings us to the next point, we will be going to Theunissen for another training there as the Pastoral couple has been for training in Ladybrand. They now need a training session at their church for the rest of the group who will be involved in Healing Rooms. We will be there on 18 and 19 June 2010 to do their training. Praise God!
Building
We had to stop with the building process. Finances have just not allowed us to continue. We have moved to town, as we just could not continue with the traveling every day. We are very involved at church and with training all over; we just could not pull all the financial stings together. God has opened a door for us in town, though we are renting now, we are blessed to be very close to church and town. It is a one-bedroom flat and it is really a blessing to be in a building with ceilings and sunshine coming in during the day!
Teamwork
Marina has officially finished her Doctorate Thesis and has sent it in for marking. The graduation dates have been posted as well and we will be in Cape Town on 8 November 2010 for the graduation ceremony. Thank you for all your prayers and support during this time. We appreciate you so much and pray that God may bless you richly for your loving kindness. Bertus will soon be continuing with his Master’s Degree. We trust that that would also be a very successful venture. God bless!
Church and Activities
Well, the Might Men Conference has come and gone! The group going from church went with excitement and came back with fire! They were very blessed and touched by God’s moving. Of course they did not go just to receive, some nights they have ministered to other men in camp who were really searching. God touched, healed and delivered!
Bertus and Marina have been to Kimberley with Dr. Kobus Allen and his family for an outreach there. Shekinah Praise and Worship Center is one of many churches that Dr. Allen started. They invited him to come and minister for the Mother’s Day service. Marina ministered in music, while Bertus was part of the prayer ministry. God really touched the people and it was a big privilege for us to be part of that outreach.
At present we are also involved in home cell leaders training and soon we will be starting new home cells. One of which will be a morning cell for women. There is a great need for the women in town to get spiritual food. Perhaps soon we will also start a morning Bible School session as well.
Just recently we also had our week of Pentecostal services. It was such an awesome experience. When God pitches, things move and change! He has once again touched us. He has lifted us up and encouraged us greatly to just continue. The work that we are busy with is not our work, it is His! He will equip and guide us through.
On the last Sunday of the Pentecostal services, we also had a graduation ceremony. Past. Kolie Bolleurs received his Diploma in Ministry. Soon – 11 July 2010 – we will have another graduation ceremony. More students will be receiving their Certificates. The Lord is really training and teaching the people – rightly so! Marina, head of the Bible School had the opportunity to address the congregation for 10 minutes and explain what studying is all about. The Word of God is very particular about this: “Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 and also: “There where is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish…” Proverbs 28:19. If the Word of God does not become redemptive revelation, we are not receiving anything! What have we then to offer a dying world? The only way this can happen is through the working of the Holy Spirit in us. Without knowledge, we would not be able to understand the working of the Holy Spirit either. The congregation was very encouraged and came to the realization again, that we cannot just go to church every Sunday and expect everything to be ‘hunky-dory.’
Here Dr. Kobus Allen, Prof. Jan van Jaarsveldt, and
Past. Marina van Niekerk is praying for Past. Kolie Bolleurs
Prayer Requests and Answered Prayer
Please pray with and for us and stand in agreement for the following:
- Reliable income of R5000-00 per month
- A Bakkie with canopy and tow bar – very urgent!
- Small projector
- Thank you so much for all the other finances that have been coming. We are so blessed. God has really been faithful, as He always has been.
- Bertus – we praise the Lord for a quick recovery of the ulcer on his foot. We will take off the last bandage on Tuesday and trust that the wound has healed completely. Thank you for your prayer and the support form our dear friends in Cape Town! You blessed us greatly!
- Marina celebrated her birthday on 25 April 2010. Thank you for all the telephone calls and wishes that came in. We are also very delighted that the Lord spared her another year and pray God’s richest blessings for the next year ahead. We trust that God will give her the desires of her heart.
We would like to ask for special prayer for Bertus’ mother. She is very ill at this time. She had a stroke a while ago and is very weak. Please pray with us, as the Lord presses it on your hearts. Thank you so much.
Dear friends and family, we are so thankful for all your support and all your diligent prayers. Without you, we cannot keep on our feet. It is your prayers that keep us going. In the times that we live in now, we only realize that without God and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we cannot continue. This is the prayer of our hearts for you as well, have a close relationship with your Maker. We serve a God of relationship, not of religion! He is only interested in our hearts - our purity of heart. Be blessed in this time, till we greet again in the next newsletter.
“For I am the Lord your God, Who stirs up the seas so that its waves roar and Who by rebuke restrains it – the Lord of hosts is His name.” Isaiah 51:15.
Greetings in His wonderful
