March 21, 2008

Dear Partners in Ministry,

It was difficult to accept. It was a ministry leaders retreat in Chile. As far as I could see, I had to be there. This was a time of different ministries coming together – both missionaries and nationals of various countries. It was to be a time of reporting and sharing of visions and ministries and seeing how God may lead Kingdom extension in the future in Latin America. This was to be crucial in my understanding of where and how Stephanie and I may relocate for greater ministry effectiveness in the future.

One problem, however: no finances. The brutal axe of a low support account mercilessly came down severing my dreams and desires from reality. It took me several days to recover emotionally – particularly since we also missed the last Latin American Area Retreat as well. However, one of our supporting churches had a missionary cancellation at their mission’s conference over the same dates. This enabled me to attend that conference at the beginning of the month. What a blessing this proved to be as the body of Christ there proved to be champion ministry partners, showing their love and concerns in such a way that I felt cared for as a person – not just appreciated because of my ministry. Such practical love and concern are an invaluable lifeline for missionaries, encouraging us to persevere. Thank you Grace Presbyterian Church in Blairsville!

This morning I read about God’s gifts being “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service… and attain…knowledge of the Son of God” and remembered those pastors and spiritual leaders that I met in Chile that don’t have a single hour of theological training. They know that Jesus saves and their love for Him make them passionate about proclaiming Him, but what they proclaim is at best only a personal salvation. The Kingdom of God entails so much more… I was reminded of the importance of producing training materials. I am presently working on three series: The heart of Paul’s Theology and Paul’s Prison Epistles – 9 lessons that from Pauline Epistles. The Spanish audio just went up on the web yesterday. While that shifts to video production, I am working on the audio for Systematic theology - two lessons down with two to go in this series.

If you have made it this far in this rather long update, I congratulate you for your interest and patience while I laid bare my heart. Stephanie and I would request prayer for:

• the smooth production of Spanish (and other language) materials at IIIM. (Yesterday we had to again pray that programs would work well. A video producer that used to work in Hollywood said that he has never seen so much difficulty in producing materials. The programs just don’t do what they are supposed to…
• the new seminaries, Bible Schools & missionaries that are beginning to use our materials.
• the Senter and Frites families, our ministry partners in Osorno, Chile.
• our financial support. I feel the constant tension between completing some important materials or being away to raise necessary support. This will seem to delay our plans and I need wisdom as to how to deal with this.
• my studies (in my “free time”) that has proven to so vital for further personal and ministry development, but that requires great time and effort to complete.

Thank you for your part in our ministry

Together for Jesus

Johan and Stephanie van der Westhuizen

- March 26, 2008