July 24 Sunday

Today we experienced two completely different worship services, King of Kings (similar to Sunrise Community Church) and Masiphulmelele (authentic So. African and in Xhosa pronounced Ko suh). The sermon at King of Kings was a God appointment for the team and was on the topic Power of Grace; people need 2nd chances. The pastor used Matt. 18:21-36, the parable of the unmerciful servant. Any time a family gets together for 3 ½ weeks there is bound to be friction between family members. So it is with our At Any Cost family. There appeared to be "issues" between various members of the team that were not being resolved using Biblical guidelines. Well this sermon hit the nail right on the head. I needed to hear the part about Grace especially when individuals are not punctual, disobey reasonable bedtimes, curfews etc. They need 2nd chances even though they may do the same thing again. I would like to forgive them 7 times but Jesus suggests 490 times, oh my! His ways are higher than mine and I must and want to obey Him. The team needed to hear this sermon on how to use Scriptural guidelines to resolve issues when you are the offender or offendee. I reviewed the major points of this sermon with the team on Monday night during our devotional time and they seemed ready to apply what they had learned. It seems that they are now keeping short accounts with issues and this is good. We know from our study in James 4:17, that to know what is right and to not do it is sin. God is working in our hearts and Grace is alive in our actions!

The story was presented powerfully by the team at His Glory Church on Sunday p.m. Many believers seemed to be challenged to love Him more. Only God knows the decisions made that night. I had the privilege of renewing our friendship with the visiting pastor from another church where we had shared the story four years earlier. You may remember this is the pastor who was so discouraged that he was going to quit until God showed him the At Any Cost story. He is still pastoring and Sunday was his birthday. I sang happy birthday to him and it wasn't too dissonant! He said he was encouraged once again to continue serving his Lord. It was a special reunion!


Tuesday July 26

We shared at the South African Naval Training Base to 526 sailors who were going through basic training in an auditorium that would seat 2000. They were very responsive and attentive during the presentation. For 99% it was the first time they had heard the story. Praise God. I love it when this happens. As a veteran of the USA Navy I was able to give the close using tact and guidance provided by the Holy Spirit. There is no doubt they know what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and how to pray to ask Him into their lives. Many seeds were sown. We were invited to supper with the sailors and the team spent a 1-½ hours interacting in small groups with these sailors. They were hungry with questions about God, salvation, the USA etc. We left at least 50 Gospels of John, many New Testaments and dozens of At Any Cost tracts on how to become a child of God. Many of the team members were able to share their testimonies and pray with individual sailors on issues in their lives. Some of the sailors were believers and had been praying for encouragement from God for nearly 7 months and they said God answered their prayers through the At Any Cost story. The sailors were very interested in having copies of Through Gates of Splendor, by Elisabeth Elliot, At Any Cost T-shirts and our music CD of all the songs from the presentation. They will be purchasing these items Friday and we know God will use the books and music CDs to continue to work in their hearts. It was a great day!


Wednesday July 27

Tonight we present our 6th presentation at Blomvlei Baptist Church. We presented at this church in 2001. We know God will use this story once again and we are humbled to be His conduit.

The team continues to be healthy except for Donna and Shelli Smithers who have colds, nothing severe. The weather continues to be mild and dry and wet. Just perfect so far.

Talk to you soon. My/our heart(s) is/are overflowing with joy and thanksgiving!!!


God sightings:

-  Sermon on the Power of Grace and how to give 2nd chances to those you offend and from those who have offended you.

- At Any Cost resolving issues between team members using the principles of Matt. 18.

- Freedom to share Gospels of John, NTs and to share personal testimonies and to pray with numerous sailors

At any cost,
Dave for Donna and the team