Autobiograhical

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the Harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his Harvest (Matthew 9:38)


Monday, October 16, 2006, Granada.


Greetings to all.

Reading and having meditated on the scripture at the head of this page, I felt I would like to share with you our experience on various occasions in being thrust out by the Lord into the mission field. We are aware right now of many who are called to missions and we would like to encourage your faith in relating the ways in which God has worked in our lives.


1983.

I walked out of the lecture room at the Assembly of God Bible College in Cape Town for the last time. We were all profoundly aware that this was the last day that we would be together sitting at the feet of Jesus seeking his will for our lives. As a final closing lecture we had watched a video by Floyd Mclung on reaching our cities for Christ, and I carried with me into the bright Atlantic sunlight the impact of this message. A message that was the culmination in a school of hundreds of like sermons, exhortations, and teachings concerning the mandate of mission to the church.


The glow of Christ’s love for the multitudes of sinners in the cities and nations of the world lay on my heart, and instead of returning directly for lunch to the student residence I took a deviation along the Sea Point esplanade and wrestled with the conviction that had gripped my heart. Despite all the training we had received, there was no opportunity for any of us to go and put into practice the things we had been taught in the classroom.


A few months earlier we had attended a missions conference and after a week of prayer, teaching and instruction every one of us stood up in response to an appeal for long term missionary service. I remember as I stood in that hall and looked around me at the awesome spectacle of hundreds of young people dedicating the rest of their lives to reaching the unreached. However, despite the good intentions of the speaker that day, securing a position in one of the multiple mission organizations proved to be impossible. Going from table to table in the missions hall I gathered glossy pamphlets inviting me to join up with many of the premier organizations, but upon investigating these possibilities I found myself to be disqualified from all of them, either from lack of education, lack of experience and in all cases, from lack of money!

Now, having completed all my studies I walked along the Atlantic coast and struggled to understand these seemingly complicated ways that God was leading me in. Is this the way that Jesus worked? I had thought that coming to Bible College was a response to the call of God; now that we had received training it was put in question whether we had indeed been called. (The thinking is that if God has called you then you will have lots of money to guarantee yourself to the mission organization. If you have no money you are not called) Since no opportunities in mission existed for any of us, we were counselled by the church to look for employment in the secular world. I had received an offer in the promising field of computers, and was due to start work in a few days. But what of the call of God that I had received some years before? The glow of the morning message died down in my heart and by the time I had returned to the Res. and consumed large amounts of toast and cheese it only remained as a disturbing question in my subconscious.

The next morning we prayed as usual, and this morning we were all intent on praying concerning our future plans, as we would soon have to vacate the premises and arrange new accommodation. As I prayed toward these mundane requirements suddenly a vision grew before my mind of Christ on his Cross, his eyes agonizing and his blood spilling to the ground. Before him lay a vast abyss, and on the other side of this abyss teemed vast multitudes of sinners, numberless crowds moving and swelling in confusion and without direction. That was all. Just Christ on the cross and the lost nations of the world, with an abyss between them. It broke my heart to see this sight, and the tears flowed freely down my face. I knew what I had to do, but didn’t have any idea of how to do it. The abyss had to be spanned, and only God could do it, but I was ready to do whatever might serve to bring the two sides together.

I left the prayers and ran upstairs three at a time to break the exciting news to my young wife who had recently fallen pregnant with our first child. With morning sickness and the maternal instincts of a soon to be mommy she also broke into tears as I phoned to cancel the promising job opportunity and shared with her the vision of Christ. We had no money at all, and no direction except an abandonment into the will of God. We sat on the bed and prayed that God would provide for us. I needed to pray more, so jumped onto my little motorbike and drove to my parent’s home where I could spend time alone. As I crested the hill passing from Sea Point the whole city lay before me and again the vision of Christ surged up in my heart and showed me the reality of the lost millions of humanity. I descended into the city with tears blowing back from my face by the oncoming rush of wind.

Some hours later at my parents place my Dad returned home from work and I shared with him the passion in my heart to work for God, and in his absolutely practical common sense way he advised me in what I should do. That very morning, at his workplace, an invited speaker came to speak at the daily prayer meeting about the work he was doing with prisoner rehabilitation. The work had recently started in Cape Town and they were working under Prison Fellowship ministries. Dad counselled me to go and see this man and ask him for an opportunity. Then Dorothea phoned and told me that Fifty Rand had been slipped under our door anonymously, a fortune! God was beginning to answer our prayers as we launched out trusting him. My old Dad always used to say that unless you put up your sails you’re not going to go anywhere, if we want to find God’s purposes we must get moving and once moving he will direct us. This has been a guiding principle for us over the years and is a gritty bit of wisdom that would serve well in this hour when the faith of many is flagging and more and more emphasis is being placed on the resources of man than on the power of God.

The doors opened for us to work with Prison Fellowship in a rehabilitation home in Cape Town, and it was there that our son was born. I gave bible studies to the ex prisoners from my Bible College notes, and my parents eventually moved into the rehab home as volunteers. When my father passed away my mother joined us as a missionary in India. Our sails were up and we had begun our life of faith that was to take us eventually to the burning ghats of Varanasi, the foothills of the Himalayas and the dusty bush of central Africa. I don’t think our lives have been what God would expect of every Christian, since the apostle Paul says himself that not all Christians are called to be missionaries ( 1 Cor. 12:29), but for those who are called to follow this calling I hope that some of our experiences may fortify your faith.

The Rehab home closed eventually and some time later after other local missions involvement we felt a call to go to the foreign field as South Africa seemed to be saturated with Christians and it was unjust that the rest of the world was lost without having anyone to point out the right way. We decided to go to Spain as I had lived there before and I speak Spanish. There was nothing very spiritual about this so I found it very difficult to decide to take the step in faith. Finally after much anguish and soul searching I decided that we would take the plunge in simple faith and obedience to what we believed to be God’s will. On the very day that we decided on the move and let everyone know that our minds were made up, I received a letter from a Spanish Christian who I had been in correspondence with some years previously. I had heard nothing from him for two years. Man, I have never opened a letter so fast in my life! In the letter he urged me to come and help in the work of preaching the gospel in Mallorca.We received confirmation after having taken a step in faith. This was to be the pattern always. In Mallorca many came to the Lord and I walked from village to village preaching the gospel with a South African brother who later was my companion in India for many years.

I began to understand a scripture in Isaiah that I knew dealt with guidance.

Isaiah 30:21 “And you will hear a word behind you saying “this is the way, walk in it” whenever you turn to the right or the left”.( N.A.S.)
Take note that the word you will hear which gives confirmation of the direction that you have taken will be given after have taken your step. This is the way of God, not man’s ways.


Some years later we found ourselves at a similar impasse when we felt that God was calling us to go and preach the gospel in India. I had been working in South Africa for a year doing various temporary jobs. We were out of the mission field (Spain for three years, various places in Africa and six months in India) as we needed time as a family together to strengthen our relationship without the stress of ministry and financial insecurity that we had been facing for many years. We had joined a little Anglican church within walking distance from our home and we grew into a good relationship with the small group of sincere Christians that made up the spiritual core of the church. As with many of these traditional churches most of the congregation were probably not Christians at all and were attending church as a religious duty, much to the distress of the precious pastor and his wife. At one point in this haphazard working phase of my life I was between one lapsed employment and another promised one, (not a very secure life despite my good intentions!); and reading Oswald Chambers’ devotional I was struck by the command of Christ “ to go into all the world to preach the Gospel” After more prayer and consultation with my wife I cancelled the job which I was due to start the next week, and began to seek the Lord urgently. Strangely enough, my faith that God could provide for us was at an all time low, this being the result of having received a salary for the past year. We had seen God provide for years, miraculously, on the mission field in foreign countries far from family and friends, but now to my shame I found myself trembling with fear at the thought of launching out again in faith!


Every morning I trekked up the mountain in Pretoria to cry out to the Lord. We could expect no support from the little Anglican Church that we were attending, not officially anyway. I went to visit the Pastor (Reverend Narraway) and poured out my heart to him. He was exuberant in his support of this mission undertaking in his private capacity, but naturally the Anglican Church was never going to show the slightest interest in us as I had no intention of becoming a priest. The small group of believers joined with us in prayer that God would give clear direction and I continued trekking up the hill every day to seek the Lords face. Why, I cried out, are things so complicated? In Jesus’ day he just called his disciples and off they went, walking with him, none of this nonsense of raising support, deputations and Ministerial qualifications from a reputable University. Besides that, they did not have to purchase expensive air tickets because they didn’t have airplanes!

Some years previously when we were living in a caravan, moving from town to town preaching the gospel, a young couple cycled into the camping ground where we were staying. It was obvious that they had come from far, possibly they had cycled all the way down Africa to Cape Town, the state of their clothes and gear seemed to indicate that this was so. I didn’t get to speak to them, but I didn’t forget them as I reflected on their courage and determination in doing such a thing. This memory came back to me now, and I thought

“This is a fine thing, these people are probably not Christians at all and they are prepared to go out on an adventure like this trusting in Fate, but as a Christian I quiver in my boots at contemplating such a thing, despite the fact that I have a great God to trust in!”

I thought to myself, would I go out like that, just trusting God to go and preach the gospel, or do I want to first see everything planned out and secure before I make a move? The next morning I was busy with Oswald Chambers devotional again, and I happened to just open it at a random place and this is what I read:

“May 30th
Jesus Christ demands of the man who trusts Him the same reckless sporting spirit that the natural man exhibits”

God spoke to me about myself and the debility of our present Christian culture where we hardly see at all the kind of courage and enterprise that is so evident in the world among those who care nothing for Christ or his commands. Hundreds of Doctors with Medicin sans Frontiers risk their lives on edges of civilization without the least hope of an eternal reward, men walk across the Antarctic for nothing else but earthly glory, and we Christians huddle in our churches while most of humanity slides into the Abyss because we are scared of trusting in the promises of God! In the flush of this realization I told God that we would get to India to preach the Gospel even if we had to walk there!

We would go by bicycle! I bounded down to tell my wife who was working at the Tand en Mond Hospital in Arcadia. She came out the surgery she was assisting with those little green cloths on her feet and a mask, and I shared with her how we would get bicycles and cycle to India! She thought it was a great idea and before long gave in her resignation at work and we began to plan our journey. The Anglican pastor and his little flock were very supportive (other charismatic churches were very critical) and according to their limited ability helped us with some finances. It was enough to make a start, to buy visas, a bicycle for me and Eliel my eight-year-old son. Dorothea had her bike, which she used to cycle to work every day. We moved out of our flat, which we could no longer afford. Friends who went on holiday offered their flat for the meantime. Everything was falling in place. Tanzania opened their borders for the first time to South Africans. God was confirming our decision and answering our prayers!

We started out on the seventh of January 1994.A friend dropped us at the top of the mountain pass in Louis Trichardt a couple of hundred kilometres north of Jo’berg. Would we make it to India? I really had no idea, but we would give it our best shot. In the Camping place at Louis Trichardt there was a Japanese girl just out of her teens that had driven her motorbike all the way down from Kenya. She looked fine, and she wasn’t even a Christian! As we journeyed up Africa for the next few months we met many such travellers, young and old, on bicycles, hitchhiking, and walking across Africa. We shared the gospel with all that we could, and arrived after about three months in Nairobi where our bicycles were stolen. (By the way, Eliel who was eight had a wonderful time cycling up to eighty kilometres a day and camping every night in a different place, being surrounded by Masai warriors, sailing up Lake Malawi in a riverboat and sleeping at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro)
I phoned home and found out that we had received a little more money, which added together with what we had was just enough to buy three very cheap plane tickets to Bombay. I bought some mielie( Maize) bags to put our stuff in, because that was all we could afford, and we arrived Bombay praising God for his faithfulness in bringing us thus far.

We lived in India for almost ten years, in the South at first and then in Varanasi and the Himalayas. Space and time does not permit me to tell you all the things that happened in these places, and they are not part of this story, which is about going out in faith in obedience to the call of Christ. The Lord was faithful in looking after us during all the years we lived in India. Through our efforts a few Hindus came to put their faith in Jesus, and we worked together with others in establishing works that continue now in the places where we lived. Our hearts are still joined to the work in India although it is now some years since we have been there. In India itself we made three major moves that were in essence similar to the call to India. Every time we moved it was in faith, in weakness and fear, with very little resources and no supporting church to back up our decisions. Nevertheless we do have the Church supporting us in terms of committed individuals and church leaders who have visited us and to whom we make ourselves accountable.
Four years ago we had to leave India permanently because we could not get our visa renewed. We didn’t have a clue where we would go to from there, but one day Dorothea was watching the news and they showed clips of orphan children in Rwanda that had no one to take care of them. We felt the indignation of God in our hearts that despite all the millions that profess to be Christians in the world today there are so many children in the world who suffer because there is no one to take care of them. That is how God feels about it, and every person who calls himself a Christian is going to be accountable to God if they have done nothing for these little ones. We took out our Africa map and looked for Rwanda and how to get there.

Now you need to know that we didn’t have any money (as usual!) and did not even know how we were going to leave India. Our visa was going to expire in a matter of months and we had no organization or sending Church to ask for help. I prayed to the Lord, and he said to me that he would “go before us three days” !! I knew that God sometimes provides at the last minute, and here he was telling me that he would go before us three days! The time went by and we continued to pray. We hardly ever tell anyone our needs except the Lord, and some close friends. God knows our needs; we don’t need to broadcast them. I began looking at Maps, working out a route that we could travel overland through Pakistan and Iraq, where there was a war going on. I phoned the Iranian Embassy to find out how much for the visas, but we didn’t even have enough for that! I had absolute peace by Gods grace, and so did Dorothea, the Lord had said he would go before us three days!

About a week before our visas were to expire one of our co missionaries phoned us from Varanasi to find out if we had purchased our tickets. I said no, and he asked permission to try and help. A day or two later someone we didn’t know phoned us and asked if she could help us. We were very grateful. She is with the Lord now. Three days before our visa was to expire an amount was transferred to our account to pay for our tickets. We flew the day before our visas expired. If you get caught in India with an expired visa you can go to jail for three months! Nevertheless the Lord gave us peace, as we trusted him. I have not always had this experience of grace to trust him, on other occasions I can remember getting very anxious and angry which was disgraceful because in the end the Lord never abandoned us at all, and I was left feeling very silly for panicking. Has not the Lord said, “ I will never leave you or abandon you” Hebrews 13:5

A few months before our departure from India the Principal of A.S.M. missions college was visiting with us and gave us a contact which would help in opening a way to do something for the Orphans. We arrived back in South Africa and within two months we were on our way up to Zambia to see what God had for us to do. For the purpose of this story we want you to know that we had no money to even pay for our bus tickets from Pretoria and we had no idea where we were going or what we were going to do. My mother, who is a missionary herself and lived with us in India, helped us to buy our bus tickets! You can imagine how strange this was since we were living amongst the wealthiest people in South Africa and it never occurred to anyone that we might need some financial help and it was through a poor person that we were helped in the end. I love God’s way of working because he has such a great sense of humour and through his dealing we learn how weak man is with all his resources and how rich we are when we trust God.

Many wonderful things took place in Zambia over the next two years, which is not part of this story as I have mentioned before. This story is about going out in Faith and the Faithfulness of God. We started schools for orphans, as we realized that it was the best way to take care of them. We started with one school, which before long became five schools and by the time we left Zambia there were seventeen schools with over a thousand children. Dorothea trained the teachers; there were fifty of them. The day we started the first school we had no money at all but we were determined to feed the children and they continued eating every day at school for as long as we were there. When we left all the schools had a feeding program and it was costing a lot of money that God provided for them. You can support these schools through Handsatwork in White River as they now have over two thousand orphans. We left the work in capable hands.

Remember also that every time we arrive at a new place we have left everything behind and have to start at scratch with knives, plates, spoons and bedding etc. We are now in Granada, Spain and thank God all the rented flats are fully furnished. When we left Zambia we had no idea where we were going next and it was after a lot of prayer and fasting that we decided to step out in faith and come to back to Spain. (We were here before for three years, that is another story on its own of Gods amazing faithfulness) When Dorothea left for Spain this time with the children I did not have money for my ticket or the journey, I received it a few days after she left) I would like to emphasize the fact that we have heard no voices from heaven in all these twenty years of serving God in the mission field, and in the majority of cases we have just searched our hearts to make sure that our hearts have been right before God, and stepped out onto the water, and found by Gods grace to be walking in a way that the natural mind considers impossible. God has commanded us to go into all the world to preach the Gospel and we cannot be out of his will if we obey that call. When you obey him in this way I can assure you, you will scrutinize your motives under a microscope and if your heart is not right you wont go through with it. I am writing this for those of you who have heard the call of God but get tangled up in the processes and never get to go. If God has called you, just GO.

Love Craig and Dorothea.

P.S. Over the years we have helped many people into finding their calling in missions. They are all still in the mission field and are with various different ministries, some are independent. Missionary Bible College is in some ways good for those who are called to missions, but unfortunately is of an academic emphasis and does not apprentice people into the apostolic life. If you are reading this and experiencing the frustration of not finding a door to get out and work I would like you to contact me to see where you can be placed. There are many opportunities for mission if you are prepared to go in faith as the Lord commanded us to. A lot of missionary organizations today want you to prove that you have money before they will accept you, I say that Jesus’ way is better. He commanded his disciples to give everything away first so that they had nothing, and then to come and follow him.

Please share this letter with whomever you please.