Haze and Praise
Clear blue skies never looked so beautiful! After being "hazed" for a few weeks, we can breathe again ... The infamous “haze" is a yearly phenomenon, and some years are worse that others. Every year, jungles in Indonesia are burnt down on a large scale to prepare land for planting. The smoke drifts over to nearby countries, causing major pollution. So bad that schools have to be closed! It has been raining on and off the last week or so and that has cleared the air. Now we can breathe again - literally. Praise the Lord for His goodness!
Two Testimonies
Hendrik speaking: Just the other day, I was feeling unwell and was unable to do some technical computer work that requires a high level of concentration. Before then, I had been working on solving the problem for a few days, and was unable to find the solution. As I was just hanging around, feeling both unwell and guilty for "doing nothing", I idly started browsing the internet on our tablet. And there I found the solution. In a small way it felt like when God allowed Paul to be imprisoned so that he would have the time to sit down and write the letters we have in the Bible today! As the Word says, "All things work together for the good of those who love Him".
The second testimony is from our missions courses' online discussion forums at Didasko Academy. A while ago, one of the learners wrote this after completing the "Bible and Missions" module: "What a great, easy and enjoyable course. A great refresher with tons of info and reading to support it. Great illustrations, presentation, and clear (great paced) instructions. The quizzes are easy but still had you thinking and tested your knowledge on each section. I really enjoyed the course and would recommend it". You can read some of them at www.dasko.org/courses/testimonies.
Promoting
Another colleague is spreading the news about Didasko in Indonesia. She trained a team about Unreached People groups - using the translated Indonesian video subtitles. She told us that some of them were really impacted by what they learned, and an Indonesian pastor wants to start training some of his people using our material.
A missions school in the Philippines who are training and mentoring new missionaries have used our course on Missions Strategy in their classes and received a very good response. The lecturer wrote that "the videos are very well made and the content is excellent. I also recommend the courses to church workers".
Furthermore, a missions mobilizer based in our city has been actively promoting our courses in Myanmar.
Please pray with us that more people will discover our material, and that the Lord will use it to help prepare more effective workers to expand His kingdom - especially among those people groups who have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel.
Volunteers needed
In order to make our courses free of charge, we rely on volunteers to partner with us. Partnerships are especially important to us because the Lord has given us such a huge vision, but our resources are limited. Even though He has already blessed us with a team of prayer and financial partners, and volunteers for graphics, editing and IT support, we need more partners, especially to make us known in the Body of Christ.
Would you consider volunteering to promotion us at your church or online? We need someone to create Facebook and Wiki pages, as well as on other social media. We also need people who are prepared to promote Didasko courses among churches and missions conferences in their area. If you are prepared to help expand God's kingdom by dedicating some of your time to make Didasko known, please contact us.
Oupa and Ouma bragging corner
Our grandchildren, Monét (9 years) and Jude (6 years), tried their hand at a lemonade stand in front of their house. We are so blessed to have such adorable grand-babies. And their parents are amazing too.
By the way, "oupa" and "ouma" are Afrikaans for "granddad" and "grammy". These two know us as Oupa and Ouma.
Please let people know
Please promote Didasko with your friends, colleagues, and other organizations who
might benefit from our training. You can download promotional material by clicking here: www.dasko.org/collaborate/promote.
Faith and action
The relationship and interdependence between having faith and going over into action is well illustrated by the following quote from Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell was an English military and political leader during the 1600s. He said to his troops, "Trust in God and keep your (gun) powder dry".