The Wild West

When a missionary tells you that they are “on deputation,” do you ever have the thought, “What does that mean?”  For us as a family it means that we travel long distances across both South Africa and the United States sharing with many people and churches our hearts desire to see the Afrikaans speaking people of South Africa come to know the Lord as their Savior. 

We communicate to them our short and long terms goals in church-planting. We share with them information and prayer requests about our various ministries. Ministry potential like the Paardeberg Mountain Retreat, is one such potential ministry. This ministry assists us in sharing the Good News to many who come from the areas where we are reaching out to the lost. 

We also ask these churches to seriously consider supporting us financially and most importantly through their own personal prayers and their congregation’s prayer. It is not an easy road to take and it has its ups and downs but the Lord is faithful and has always guided us through each step that we take. 

There is one area of deputation ministry that I really enjoy. It is when the pastor of the church we are visiting gives time to his congregation to have a Q & A. The questions we are asked are insightful and well thought out. Our answers to them have us communicating our love for the Lord and the people of South Africa. I watch my husband’s face light up when he tells of his Afrikaans heritage and the beauty in which God created our small country of South Africa. 

A question that is asked by many of all ages is, “What kind of wild life do you have there?” “Are you scared to minister in South Africa because of the wild animals in your area?”. Deon usually answers this question by explaining that most of the wild animals that our questioner’s think of - like, Lions and Elephant, are contained to National Parks. They do not roam our streets making it a danger to minister to those in our town. Deon mentions that we have actually seen more wild life here in the United States since being on deputation than he has ever seen in his life time of living in South Africa. 

We have been told here by our hosts to be careful of the deer that run out in front of your car while you’re driving and to keep an eye out for the Black Bears that roam the mountainous areas. We’ve never experienced that before so our eyes are glued to the road as we drive making sure we are not one of those motorists that hit a deer. 

Right Outside our Kitchen Window in Pennsylvania

We’ve already experienced a dangerous situation while driving on the interstate in North Carolina on our way to a church in Georgia. Five deer decided to jump across a six lane high way right as we neared their grazing area. We nicked the back of the third deer but Deon was able to slow down so that we didn’t hit the last two. What an experience, of course the boys missed the whole event because they were taking a nap in their car seats.

What a Treat to see Deer in the Back Yard

We’ve seen otter, possum, raccoon, snakes and many beautiful birds. When Deon is asked are you afraid of the wild life in South Africa he answers no I’m more concerned about the wild life I come across here in the “The Wild West”! He jokes but we are thoroughly enjoying seeing the sights of the United States while sharing our hearts desires to our faithful prayer supporters. 

Cardinal Spotted in South Carolina

We are thankful for how the Lord protects us as we travel these many miles and how He gives us and our children the blessing of enjoying His creation. We thank Him for the opportunities to meet new friends and share about the ministry that He has given to us in South Africa and our privilege of serving Him while on our deputation travels. The Lord greatly encourages us through your faithful prayers for our family. Thank you!