Chronicles from Africa
Robert & Esther Marsh – January 2011
South
Africa & Democratic Republic of Congo - Church planting
and
radio ministry & Bible School
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Greetings from South Africa,
We are so blessed to have a God that provides for us and protect us and walks alongside of us through the fiery trials. The past year we have seen the Lord undertake in so many situations in our family and ministry.
Our family
is doing well: Joshua is 15; Cherith is 12; Jordan is 11; Jeremy is 8; Chelsea & Chaylee are 5; Winnie is 23; and yes, time is going by very fast. We had a couple traumatic experiences. First, Chaylee fell off a picnic table and broke her arm… went through the whole ordeal wonderfully. Then not much later, Jeremy was knocked down by a car. Thankfully and miraculously no broken bones and only slight concussion. And right now, Jordan is (surprisingly) struggling with shingles. Do pray for healing. Again, it has caused us to dedicate our children to the Lord. They are just loaned to us, and it is our job to instill in them the fear of the Lord.It is has been two and a half years since the death of Mark Grings. This year, after much prayer and searching we placed Esther’s mother, Wyla, into a frail care home. Earlier in June of this year, we did take her home to the States to see her family. The trip was hard on her, and we are not sure how much it really “meant” to her, but we are thankful we did it. As the year went on, it was becoming harder for Esther to care for her medical needs and keep up with the family and ministry. After looking at many home options, we thank the Lord that we found a small and suitable frail-care home for her. It is about 45 min. away, which is a drive, but we are making the effort to visit her.
There are also those in our church who are making the effort to go and see her and take her out. She weeps upon our arrival, and it hard when we leave. Pray that this will get better as it is emotionally hard on Esther too.
Congo/Radio:
In February, I will be making a trip to Congo. I will be there for three weeks. I will also be taking pre-recorded messages that we have lined up for six months We will air these over a FM station in the province of Bandundu, which has the possibility of reaching over a hundred thousand people. This is the only FM station in the area. Pray that the messages will have an impact. I plan on visiting the new Bible Institute at Dibiya, and helping out where I can. Lord willing, I will also be teaching a block course on homiletics to the pastors.South Africa:
On a sad note, we had two young men that we knew pass away this year. We buried a young man, the son of one of our ladies in our church. He committed suicide. Ntumaleng as a child, was instrumental in leading many to the Lord, including his mother, but after high school got into the, wrong crowd and got into drugs. Also, a young man that helped me in our yard and that of the church’s, Ewat Ifundu, died of pneumonia four weeks ago. He was attending church on occasions, but remained unsaved to my knowledge.This has prompted his friend, Wiseman, to come to church. Do pray for him, we have talked at length about the way of salvation.
2011 is an exciting year
, as we will begin a training program for some of the men and women of our church. I’m excited to see what the Lord is going to do. Pray for Mike Neilson and I as we share in the teaching/training. Pray for Esther and the young people with her who are heading up the children’s’ weekly ministry on Fridays in grades 1-7. Esther is also dedicating Thursday afternoons to music and choir. So many want to learn an instrument and sing.We are especially looking forward to the end of January, when quite a few of our young people are stepping forward in baptism. They will include Joshua and Jordan (our sons), Kagisho and Rebecca. May these “full lives” be dedicated to serve and live for the Lord.
In Christ,
The Marsh Family