"Nothing this world offers comes even close."
How did you get into missions?
Whilst at university, friends invited me on a missions trip to Venda, I was not interested until I heard we would braai each evening, and lots of pretty girls were going from another university. Although all my motives were wrong, I learnt on that trip I could enjoy serving God through missions. Later I saw a book “Come, Live, Die” by a fellow called George Verwer, the title attracted me, the contents spoke directly to my life, and on the back cover, it said he belonged to an obscure in those days mission organisation called Operation Mobilisation. Shortly afterwards I met an OM representative at a missions conference.
What is your mission experience?
Flying out of South Africa for the first time to the unknown country of Belgium, I arrived into a minus 20 freezer, with snow everywhere. Soon I was daily handing out tracts in Arabic to Arabs who just crumpled these and tossed them aside. It was rough and thankless with no results. After 5 months of no fruit, I cried out to God in anger and desperation, He answered “If I asked you to do this for the rest of your life, would you do it for Me”? This was one of the hardest recommitments in my life, shortly afterwards God took me to Italy, our ship the Doulos, later to our other ship Logos. I was onboard it when it was shipwrecked. From there to USA to raise awareness for a new ship, then onto the new ship Logos II. Coming back to South Africa, I married a pretty girl in the OM office who was madly in love with Jesus. After taking 3 weeks to fix a computer, I became the IT manager, as even with my meagre knowledge I had the most. Later as a family with 3 children, we went back to the Logos II and later to the ship Logos Hope. Now we are back in South Africa, where I want others to experience what I have so I am in mobilising and recruiting.
How do you deal with cross-culture?
I do not like Arabs, never had, and probably never will, but I love Adnan, Zhaka, Schoeman and the many other Arabs that became my friends. As I have a hunger to know God more, I connect with those who have a true hunger to know God more, irrespective of culture, religion or race.
What is one thing you will always remember from this experience?
There are too many, even a book cannot hold them all; one thing that will stick with me from my experience in missions is that Almighty God, the creator of the universe, the all-powerful One wants to partner with tiny me to reach nations with the good news. This knowledge and the adventure watching this happen is mind blowing exciting and nothing this world offers comes even close.
If someone wants to join OM, what words of advice do you have for them?
Want a journey littered with God’s fingerprints everywhere, countless miracles, exceedingly tough times, pain, ache, yet vibrant life that is like a constant fountain, then partner with God believing for the impossible.