Four12 news image for Icing On The Cake' about a trip to Four12 Partners in South Africa

Icing on the Cake

How amazing is the family of God across the world? We recently returned to the UK after 3 weeks of travelling in South Africa, from Cape Town up the Garden Route to Port Elizabeth. We had the most incredible time of being refreshed physically and encouraged in God.

Our adventure started at the end of 2016 when we prayed together as a family for God to provide the finances for us to go on what was a holiday of a lifetime. The first miracle came two weeks later when, completely out of the blue and without him knowing, my father gave me a cheque for the amount of money we needed. How amazing is God! We mentioned to friends at Joshua Generation Church (who, like the church we lead, Christian Life Centre(CLC) Horsham, partner with Four12) that we were planning to go to South Africa, and without hesitation they offered to help put together an itinerary for us and to arrange accommodation for us during our travels.

Over the time we were there, we stayed in Cape Town, Mossel Bay, George, Plett and Port Elizabeth. Often we stayed with people we had never met but who were a part of the Four12 Partnering family, who opened their homes and welcomed us in. The generous nature of these people made us realise that we really do have family across the world. We saw the ‘my fridge is your fridge’ culture at work. All of these folks blessed and inspired us in the way they lived.

I was also able to share Jesus with an old man in his home and he accepted the Lord, which was an amazing experience and was the icing on the cake for us.

Steve praying for a man in Khayalitsha
Steve praying for a man in Khayalitsha

There were many highlights for us, such as being able to attend Pierre and Juliet van der Westhuizen’s wedding (Juliet is an administrator within Four12 and the daughter of one of the apostolic figures who ministers across Four12, Will Marais). Will was the primary reason we were exposed to Four12 many years ago, and over this time our families have grown to deeply love each other. We also spent a weekend hunting and tracking on a farm near George. This was such a special time for us to be out in the beautiful countryside, which to us British people seemed the size of England. Thanks to Andrew Selley, Jacques and Charles who made this possible. It’s a memory we will never forget. We also had an evening with Brad and Angela Verreynne from Oxygen Life Church, and even though we had a short time, still managed to fit in a braai and a visit to their new church building, which is just awesome. You guys are such an inspiration!

Having the opportunity to visit Khayelitsha and to see again the work of Ikhaya Le Themba (a ministry of Joshua Generation Church) was very special. I also was able to share Jesus with an old man in his home and he accepted the Lord, which was an amazing experience and was the icing on the cake for us.

We have so many amazing memories and experiences that we came away with. I think one of the most powerful and lasting impressions is the love and generosity we received from so many in the church family in SA! What an adventure and blessing to be a part of the Four12 family of Partners across the globe.

Steve is the lead elder of Christian Life Centre in Horsham, London. He is married to Ali and they have three children. The infallible word of God, seeing the lost come to know Jesus and the local church are all passions of his.

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