Answered Prayers

Hallo,

With this being our last week on campus at TUKS, we are praying that God would continue to give us boldness in proclaiming his word, that He would water the seeds that have been planted in the hearts of students, and that He would use the upcoming Joint Winter Conference (JWC) to open the eyes of the students to see the fullness of His mercy and grace. That being said, here are some highlights from this past week of ministry.

            On Monday night Matt and I led the weekly bible study in Kiaat. We went through the four passages in Matthew 7:13-27. Many South Africans claim Christianity, yet their lives don’t reflect their faith. The goal of this study is to get the guys to examine their faith and to help them toward truly submitting their lives to Christ and actively living out their faith. After the study, Nelius, an Afrikaans student asked us if God caused suffering. We took him to Lamentations 3:32, shared with him what we’ve been learning through reading Lamentations this summer and pointed him to passages in the New Testament like James 1:2-4 and 1 Peter 4:12-19. It has been exciting to see Nelius’ desire for God grow during our time here and we are praying that he would be a spiritual leader in Kiaat in the coming semesters.

Nelius 

Another Afrikaans guy, Stefan, has slowly opened up to us. He told us he hasn’t fully surrendered his life to Christ but he hopes to get to that point. He said he has felt close to God at times in his life, but he feels he has drifted as of late. From what he told us, his experience of God has mainly been dictated by worship experience and he has had a works based view of salvation. Although worship music is great, we are praying that Stefan would find true life in the gospel and that he would have a relationship with Christ that doesn’t change depending on music. We spent a lot of time explaining that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works. Matt and I have been praying for weeks that Stefan would continue to be thirsty for the Word and that he would go to JWC in order to continue to grow in his faith. Stefan told us time after time that he would be going home after his exams and not to JWC, but he texted us after leaving to go home that he wanted to go.

Matt and I have also been able to meet up with Miguel, a young believer, and go through scripture with him and help answer any questions he may have. It is a joy to see Miguel’s desire to grow in his relationship with Christ, to be discipled, and his hatred for the sin in his life. Miguel grew up in a church that was not gospel centered, but he heard the gospel and gave his life to Christ after coming to TUKS. He told us that he wants to leave the church he grew up in and join a church that he would be able to grow in, but is worried about the backlash he might receive from his parents and the rest of his community. In light of Luke 14:26, we encouraged him to choose Jesus and leave his home church and prayed for his boldness when he returns home for the holidays.

Miguel

          Each of these instances demonstrates God’s faithfulness to answer prayer, and the fact that we get to see any fruit of our ministry during our short time here is a blessing. Praise God for changing the hearts of men and answering the prayers of his children. I am continually encouraged by Paul's words in Galatians 6:9-10:

"And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."

Please join us in prayer as we spend our last week on campus.

Cheers,

Jesse