So far, this year has been phenomenal! Look what the Lord is doing ....
Beta testing of Setting the Captives Free course
Our course on deliverance ministry, called Setting the Captives Free, is in beta-testing. This is a big step forward for us! The beta testers are meticulously combing through the course to find any mistakes before we launch. We are excited about this course, as we believe it will be a game changer for many missionaries! We should launch it to the public by the end of October.
DMM training
In a previous newsletter we mentioned that we were going to start with DMM training at our church. Well, we did that over a period of eight weeks. We finished the training with an outreach to an area in our town that is known for drugs, prostitution and homelessness. The trained people said afterwards “it’s so much easier with real unbelievers than simulating it in the classroom!” Which is exactly what we wanted.
Baptism under the shower
Next we took two teams to a drug rehabilitation center, where they started 2 groups – one for males, the other for females. On the very first night a woman was baptized – under the shower! We did this because they are not allowed out of the facility, and there are no baths there. So, they used the shower! It was almost like the eunuch who said to Philip – “here is water, what keeps me from being baptized?”
Since then, four men have also been baptized. After the first visit, one of the team members spontaneously exclaimed, “This is SO easy! Why do we always make things so difficult?”
Beautiful chaos
Since the training, we briefly met a man from another drug rehabilitation center who was trained by one of the students, and then started DBS there! We didn’t even know about this man until we happened to meet him! No wonder some say these movements are ‘beautiful chaos’.
Now another church about an hour away from us also wants DMM training. Apparently that city has a huge drug problem too. We’ve met with the pastor and the woman who leads ministry outreach, and we will start training them in November. We’re going to take along some of the people we trained at our church to help with the training. Many of them are former drug addicts, and their salvation testimonies are powerful to those who are still bound by addiction. They are super excited about this opportunity.
By the way, the training we give is standard Disciple Making Movement training. It’s not aimed only at drug addicts.
It’s so exciting to see and experience how the Lord is still at work today!
Islam course development
We are well on our way with an extensive course on Islam. We are basing it on a well-known course, which we’re adapting for online use. The original course is called Encountering the world of Islam.
The creators of this course gave us access to all their material for free! But making it suitable for online use is a huge amount of work, so it won’t be ready this year.
We are living in exciting times! We are so thankful that the Lord is causing Didasko to flourish, while at the same time we have the immense pleasure of doing personal ministry as we train people how to make disciples.
Teeth, sciatica, and cataracts
On a personal note, Hendrik had some health issues, including extensive dental work that needed to be done, extreme sciatica pain in his leg and a fuzzy eye due to a cataract. We are so grateful that the teeth and sciatica have been resolved. The cataract covers 78% of his left eye. As you know we work extensively on computers, and with basically one eye is not very helpful. The fuzzy eye also keeps him from driving at night. So, the cataract must go! It will be removed in a week. And the good news is that the Lord provided the funds for these operations through two generous donors.
Grandkids multiplication
Our grand kids' best friends have twice now also came for sleep overs, because it seems that the South African 'Ouma' and 'Oupa' are fun. Our daughter overheard Monet and Jude explaining to their friends that they have Grandparents but also an Ouma and an Oupa, which are a different species than normal grandparents. Apparently we are in a different category!
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Previous newsletters
If you'd like to look at previous newsletters, click on www.dasko.org/vblog