Divine Appointments

To Our Faithful Supporters and Prayer Partners,

Our study in Acts this past Sunday had me thinking about divine appointments. We were looking at the story of Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch. God’s fingerprints are all over the story. How a Gentile eunuch and a Hellenistic Jew wind up meeting on a road south of Jerusalem in the middle of a desert can only be explained as an act of God.

We’ve seen the Lord orchestrating some divine appointments in our own lives since we arrived this past January. We providentially met Martin the first week we were here because we needed someone to paint the house we are renting. We still don’t know who gave us Martin’s name, but we know God brought him to us. Martin is from Zimbabwe but now living in South Africa. He is a young believer, and hungry for the Word. He is a faithful part of our Sunday group, we meet twice a week to study the Bible, and the Lord is using him to bring several of his friends under the sound of the gospel.

Maggie is the receptionist at the school Grant attended when we first arrived. Although Grant no longer attends the school, Danielle and Maggie have developed a good relationship. Maggie is a believer, but is experiencing several challenges in her life and needed a good friend who could encourage her in her walk with the Lord in the midst of her trials. The Lord providentially used Grant’s short time at the school to bring Maggie into our lives.

Girma is from Ethiopia and pastoring a group of Ethiopian and Somali immigrants in our city. One day while I was in a local coffee shop meeting with Martin, I providentially met Girma. He was on his computer looking at some information about a New Testament course he is taking from the South African Theological Seminary. He needed help with his class work and had been praying for the Lord to send someone to help him. This “random” meeting has developed into a weekly meeting where I help Girma with his studies. He will likely join our Biblical Leadership Institute classes once we start them in our city in 2020.

How God brought two people from Pennsylvania to meet a painter from Zimbabwe, a school receptionist from South Africa, and a pastor from Ethiopia in George, South Africa, a city of almost 300,000 people, can only be explained as an act of God. They were divine appointments. It still amazes me how God sovereignly orchestrated these relationships!

Let me encourage you to look for the divine appointments God is orchestrating in your life. Your neighbors, your co-workers, the people you bump into at the store, or those you meet on an airplane. These are not random encounters. They are God’s divine appointments for your life. Let God use you to minister the gospel in whatever way is needed in each of these providential appointments.

Here are a few prayer requests you can pray about on our behalf...

1. Keep praying for the full provision of funds for the property we are purchasing. We are still trying to raise the remaining $100,000 to finalize the purchase of both properties. We are grateful for how the Lord is providing and for several groups currently considering contributing to this project. 
2. Pray as we try to arrange details for Derek and Drew to come at Christmas. We have an option for them to fly standby at a reduced cost, but it’s a risky proposition at such a busy travel time. However, purchasing full-price tickets for that time of December is very expensive. We need wisdom to know how to proceed and trusting the Lord for His provision. We are really looking forward to having them both with us for Christmas!
3. Continue to pray for us as we seek to meet people and minister the gospel in this needy city. Superficial religiosity engulfs the city of George. We need boldness to proclaim salvation by faith alone through grace alone in Jesus alone.

Your partnership with us encourages us and blesses us as we serve the Lord here. Thank you!

For the Sake of His Name,

Troy and Danielle

Psalm 67:1-2