The first 10 days of May we were still tending to our two grandchildren in Brackenfell. Amanda came back on the 10th of May. Amanda told us about an experience she had while on tour regarding the power of prayer and that you have to listen and be obedient when the Holy Spirit speaks to you.   We were back home in Rawsonville and we could attend the Pentecost services in Rawsonville.  It was so comforting to hear that we are not alone in Chandame.  God is with us every step of the way.  You cannot survive on your own.  Don’t lose your focus on God.   On the 25th of May, we flew back to Gauteng.  Our bakkie was parked in Birchleigh at Andre and Rita’s house. Jannie had to pick up parts and extra goods for fellow missionaries in Malawi before we left for Chandame. Jannie also serviced our Colt bakkie so that it would be in tip top shape for the drive back to Mozambique. On the 4th of June, we started the long journey back to Chandame.   God Bless! Susan

We started April on a positive note by not having to take any strong medicine. We only took medication to build up our bodies.   Jannie went to an orthopaedic surgeon with his left knee that had been giving him a lot of trouble. The doctor told him that he would need to get a knee replacement sometime in the future. However, Jannie had a vision in his dream one night that his knee would heel without an operation. We serve a God of miracles, so anything is possible!   We spent the first week of April with Jacques, Susan and Alexander. It is always such a treat and privilege to bond with my children and grandchildren. When we arrived in Rawsonville my eldest daughter Christien and her children were also there, visiting from Porterville. Time with our children was so special.   On 12 April 2016, we went to Brackenfell to help our son in law, Eddie, tend to Andreas and Gabriella while Amanda was in Germany performing with the Libertas Choir.  It was such a joy and a pleasure to look after our two grandchildren. This made us realize that we as Christians have to believe like children. As it says in Matthew 19, verse 14: “But Jesus said: ‘Let the little children come to Me and do not forbid them, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Every weekend we went back to Rawsonville where we could catch up with friends and go to our Afrikaans church. At the end of April […]

On the 1st of March we were blessed with a much welcomed, 70 mm of rain.  The rainy season started later than usual this year and the earth needed it badly.   Hennie and Elsabet visited us for Jannie’s 60th birthday.  We had a bit of a water crisis during this time and Jannie and I did not feel good at all.  Hence, we could not enjoy his birthday to the fullest.   Jannie towed in 2 trucks at Agua Boa with the towing truck. It was the 3rd towing job in Agua Boa.  The Lord is definitely providing for us by means of the tow in truck!!  One of our worker’s dog got rabies and it bit some chickens and rabbits.  Eventually, it bit two children and the dog had to be put down.  On March 10th, the ACRIS mobile clinic visited Chandame. The ACRIS focusses on children and pregnant women. 211 babies were weighed and 30 babies got an immunization shots for measles.   On the same day, we left for Nkhoma, Malawi; both of us feeling horribly sick.  We went to the Nkhoma mission hospital for blood tests to find out what was making us so sick. It turned out that our bodies were fighting against some disease. I (Susan) had malaria again. The malaria parasites were dormant in my liver and I basically infected myself over and over again. They started me on a medication to detox my liver. Jannie also started taking medication for bilharzia.   […]

I flew back to Gauteng on the 4th of February. Jannie drove from Chandame (with Jaco and Maxi’s bakkie) to pick me up and collect goods in Gauteng for other missionaries in Mozambique and Malawi.   On the 12th of February we left Gauteng for Chandame and arrived on the 14th.  One of our worker’s grandchildren died of a dog bite. Hennie and Elsabet Smit from Nkhoma had to bring the child’s body back to Chandame and decided to stay for the weekend.   We both started feeling sick again on the 23rd of February.  Jannie immediately started drinking malaria medication and I started drinking antibiotics. If you are physically ill, it is very difficult to keep your trust in the Lord.  But we knew at that moment that our faith needed to be stronger since God is in charge of our lives and he will get us through difficult times.  A few days later, I attended a service in Chandame alone as Jannie was away for the day. It started to rain heavily.  It rained so hard that no one could hear Pastor Daniel preaching.  The congregation then decided to sing hymns because no one could hear him! It rained 80 mm in just 2 hours that day.   In February we saw and helped 566 patients in 10 days!   God Bless!   Susan  

Jannie left South Africa for Mozambique on the 9th of January 2016. I stayed behind and continued my recovery process. The plus side to me staying in South Africa was that I could spend quality time with my youngest daughter, Susan and grandson, Alexander, who had just returned from South Korea.   Back in Chandame, Jannie was very busy running the clinic from 7 in the morning till late. The patients mostly had malaria. He was extremely busy treating them and he couldn’t tend to any of the other work that had to be completed. Currently, the most important project in Chandame is the clinic. The roof has already been raised but, the interior of the clinic needs work. Doors, plumbing, cupboards, bathroom shelves etc. are just some of the things that needs to get done. The Clinic Personnel also needs houses and that will take a while to finish. Slowly but surely we will finish these projects.  Even though funding is a big problem, we know that God will provide.   Dirk and Marie Smit gave us a very big present when they left Mozambique permanently, their Colt bakkie! Unfortunately, the bakkie broke down in Malawi when Jannie helped Ivan Stevens move to Milange. They had to tow the bakkie back to Chandame. Jannie worked really hard in my absence! He spent time filling certain parts of the rivers with stone on the way to the farm so that we can have a less bumpy ride in the future. […]

We arrived back at Chandame on the 1st of November 2015.  We were gone for a long time so the entire camp site was covered in dust and leaves.  We started cleaning the campsite and Jannie also started helping the local farmers by transporting potatoes and corn. The clinic was re-opened after a long hiatus and we had many cases of malaria, and infants (between 1 and 5 months old), having respiratory problems.  These usual tasks were really tiring since prior to our arrival, we were on the road for 8 days with the newly acquired tow truck.  For those who don’t know, driving long distances in a tow truck can hardly be called humane!  Thus, we worked half days and rested in the afternoon to regain our strength.   On the 25th of November I woke up early and started doing the washing.  By 9:30, I started feeling really sick.  Some of my symptoms included a fever and cold fever.  Since we live in a high risk malaria zone, my first self diagnosis was malaria.  The next day, Jannie and I crossed the border to Malawi to visit a hospital in Nkhoma.  I ended up staying in hospital for 6 days.  The doctor diagnosed me with a kidney infection and malaria.  However, thanks to everyone’s prayers and the friendly staff at Nkhoma hospital, I recovered.   We would not have gone back to South Africa in December since we did not have enough funds.  To make matters even worse, […]

Hi Everyone! We had to spend 4 months in South Africa to fix the 1972 International Recovery Truck. On the 22nd of October we started to drive back to Chandame.  Our first stop was Meyerton! We spent the weekend with our family.  On Monday the 26th of October we hit the road again to continue on our way back to Mozambique. Our first stop for the day was Baberton and we decided to spend the night. The next day it was off to the border at Komatiepoort.  At Komatiepoort we had trouble with the truck’s wheels and Jacques a very friendly mechanic helped us to fix the problem! We spent 4 hours at the Komatipoort border. On the South African side we had no problem with the truck and bakkie on the A-frame, but on the Mozambique side it was another story. We had to take the bakkie off the A-frame and drive the bakkie through the border and then we had to load the bakkie back on the a-frame. Done and dusted we drove onwards to Maputo!!! In Maputo one of the A-frame mounts came loose!! Thank the Lord that nothing serious happened! Jannie had to fix the prop shaft and take the bakkie off the A-frame again. I then had to drive the Ford at night in the streets of Maputo. Finally, we found the yard where we could leave the recovery truck and we then had to find a place to sleep. That night, at 12:30am the […]