Once you know your authentic identity, you are FREE TO BE who God created you to be!
Once you know your authentic identity, you are FREE TO BE who God created you to be!
As we approach the end of 2018, we offer this reflection on the wonderful opportunities we were privileged to have to minister God’s all-encompassing, unconditional love both at home and abroad.
In March we made our second trip to the island nation of Haiti with our dear friend and Penny’s former classmate, Greg McMorrow. Once again, we ministered to the pastors and leaders in the small, mountain village of Ranquitte, located in the northern part of the island. This year we decided to take a different approach to the way we have traditionally shared the Gospel, by abandoning the preaching/lecture method and adopting a more conversational method. We did this for one simple reason – we believe that people learn more quickly and more completely and gain more revelation in an environment that encourages participation in dialogue than they do when they sit passively listening to a single individual speak. This change in methodology really paid off as we discovered that the individuals with whom we ministered became much more engaged and involved in this more interactive environment and responded with greater insight into the Truth – taking ownership of what the Holy Spirit spoke to them from within rather than what they heard from without.
Over the course of the week we held daily meetings with pastors and leaders from the various churches in and around Ranquitte. Once again, we taught on the basics of the Gospel, which included most importantly, the authentic identity of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who is Love, and the authentic identity of humanity revealed as His Beloved. The most rewarding comments we received were from individuals who told us that what they were hearing during the conversations, God was using to confirm what He had already shared with them. How wonderful to participate with the Spirit in helping to awaken revelation knowledge that can result in transformation when applied.
We utilized the same strategy in Africa this year during our seventh annual trip – this time in the second half of July, all of August, and the first half of September. We were so honored this year to have been invited to minister for two weeks in Zimbabwe. We were there at the invitation of Shelton Mudyaro, whom we had met last year while he was conducting business in Johannesburg. Shelton was responsible for scheduling all of our meetings, which totaled 17 in 13 days. He chose 15 different strategic locations for our meetings in and around Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, and 2 in Gweru. We were delighted to find that, once again, God had gone before us, this time to prepare His precious children in Zimbabwe for the Truths that we were privileged to share. As a result, they were incredibly open and responsive to the Truth about the authentic identity of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who is Love, and our authentic identity as His Beloved.
Following are some of the comments people made at the conclusion of several of our meetings;
Upon leaving Harare, Zimbabwe, we returned to Johannesburg, South Africa. Over the course of the next month, we held several more of what we refer to as Round Table Discussions – small group discussions designed to allow for individual participation and interaction.
Our first Round Table Discussion back in South Africa took place with a group of pastors called together by our old friend, Pastor KB Mundo, whom we have known and with whom we have ministered for the past 11 years. KB introduced us as the two who had “radically changed his understanding of the gospel back in 2007 when he attended our first annual international pastors and leaders conference.” Sometime after the meeting, KB sent out several texts to the members of the group. One in particular stands out. He texted: “The message that is being preached in South Africa today is a message of ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’; IF you do this God will. . .WHEN you don’t do this, God won’t. . .Your life is like this because you did or didn’t do this and that. And so we spend our lives trying to do something to become who and what God has already made us to be.”
One of the pastors in attendance at the meeting with KB was a Pastor Gumbo. He was so moved by the simple message of God’s unconditional love for all humanity that he invited us to minister at his church, which we were privileged to do.
In Welkom we held a Round Table discussion with our long-time friends, Joshua and Cynthia Monyane, with over 20 people in attendance – most of whom we have known for several years. One of the pastors who attended the meeting had been in some of our meetings in years past. He told us that he has been teaching his congregation the Truths he learned from us previously, and now as a result of our current teaching, he can’t wait to share with his church what he learned this time. The following morning we ministered at Joshua and Cynthia's church; Cynthia said to the group, “Whenever Thom and Penny come to Welkom, we know that we are going to be exposed to the unconditional love of God. And each year what we learn just gets bigger and bigger.”
In addition to the meetings mentioned above, we ministered in Pretoria alongside Pastor Bethel Choto and his wife, Thembi. This was perhaps one of the most enthusiastic crowds we encountered. They loved what they heard concerning the reality that God is Love and that we are His Beloved. There was a lot of joy produced in the church that morning as the Spirit of God moved in the hearts of those wonderful saints to embrace their authentic identity as beloved members of His forever family.
The following weekend, we were honored to minister in Alberton to a group of pastors and leaders hosted by our friend and former Bible School student, Vusi Nxumalo. After several individuals who were in attendance offered some very positive comments, Pastor Vusi concluded the meeting by encouraging his colleagues to realize that every believer has the opportunity to experience God for themselves and not just depend on their pastor for information about God.
This is but a sampling of the kind of comments we received after each of our ministry opportunities. The common thread that binds them all together is the realization that God’s unconditional love that encompasses, not only all of humanity, but indeed all of the cosmos, is the greatest power in the universe, designed to bring freedom and liberty to the lives of all who receive and embrace His love.
One last, but very important thing we want to mention is the wonderful hospitality of our dear friends, Ben and Larizé Meyer, who have so graciously opened their home to us for the past several years. Ben was one of our original Bible School students back in 2008 and 2009 when we lived in South Africa. And in 2013 we were privileged to perform their wedding ceremony during our annual return trip that year. Ben and Larizé have a real heart for the gospel and make it a priority to have an ongoing discipleship ministry with a group which meets in their home on a regular basis. Each year we visit we are privileged to minister to their group and this year was no exception. What a joy to see a group of young couples who have hearts open to experiencing and expressing the unconditional love of God.
This year marked our seventh annual return trip to South Africa. And each year, upon our return to the United States, we say that this was the best trip yet – and this year was truly no exception. It was especially grand this year as we were so blessed to be able to spend two weeks in Zimbabwe where the message of God’s unconditional love was so well received that an invitation was extended to us to come back every year from now on.
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