God’s Blessings Abound!

Just a little under three years ago, after living quite a rough life,  my friend Kevin Vosloo responded to the message of Jesus Christ as Master and Savior.  Previous to that, Kevin had lost his job and has gone this entire time without solid work.  As I’ve ministered along side Kevin, and he has shared how God has built him up and increased his faith during this time.  Two months ago God answered Kevin’s prayers and provided him with a great job!

But that’s not where it stops.  God continues to show Kevin his abundant provision and grace.  You know, God knows exactly what we need when we need it.  About a week ago Kevin was very excited to share something God had done.  Kevin has to travel a fair bit and for sometime now has been in desperate need of new tires.   Though he has the new job, the money still only goes so far.  So he began to pray and hand the whole matter over to the Lord.  That same week he shows up at work and his boss hands him money and says, “I see your car needs tires.  Take this money and go get some new ones.”

I’ve heard it be said that God’s grace is like a river.  As you stand in the river the water flows over you.  The water doesn’t just stop, but continues to flow.  Standing in the river of God’s grace, there is always more grace to come!

The Prayer Answering God!

As Gospel Outreach has sought God to grow His Kingdom and His church, He has faithfully sent people our direction.  We continue to hear stories from several of them sharing how God is answering their prayers.  I’d like to share one of these stories:

Chantelle began attending the church around a month ago.  During a visit at her home she shared with us that she had been without a job for over a year and asked us to join her in prayer.  Standing on God’s promise to her that He would provide, we began praying together over the matter.

Just a little over a week later we got the good news.  Nearly bursting at the seams, Chantelle told us that she had received a call from a business with whom she interviewed.  She got the job!  I just love to watch as God shows up and shows off!

Just One Boys Lunch

The story in the Bible about the boy and his small meal of fish and bread keeps coming to my heart and has been a powerful source of encouragement to my faith.  I just picture the huge crowd of people tired and hungry.  You can see on their faces that they are hoping for something but also you see in their eyes the uncertainty of just where it will come from.  No one (including the little boy) realized what was about to take place that day.  Still, seeing that he did have something to offer (though very small and completely insufficient) he gave all he had.

What has been powerful to me is that while the small meal was in the boys hands in remained just that…a small meal.  But in the hands of Jesus it became so much more.  God has put in all our hands “a small meal” and looking at it we say, “Hmm.  There’s really not much I can accomplish with this but it will help me.”  But honestly it’s not even sufficient for that.

Let me put this question out there.  Just what are you trusting God for that you know only He can do?  Try accepting this challenge of faith which that little boy faced that day, take what God has given into your hands, whether time, money, possessions or love and put it in the hands of Christ and just watch what He will do!

How is it the middle of March already?

I keep asking myself daily, “Where has this year gone?”  It seems like only yesterday we were visiting our families in the States, and today a third of the year is gone!

So much has transpired this year with God and the work He is doing with us and Gospel Outreach.

In January, we had a mission team (4 Pastors from Amarillo, Texas) here that went to Malawi and did some orphan work and leadership training.

We found out in February that we are now going to have a permanent building in Germiston!!  (God is so amazing!)  We started our college classes at 3 locations this year:  Cosmos, Soweto and Germiston!  At the end of the month we had our second mission team in of the year.  Jarred and Megan Etheredge (from Pampa, Texas) came and did some work in Cosmos, Soweto and Germiston.  God used them in amazing ways and the people loved them!

As of March 2nd, we had our first official service as Gospel Outreach in our new church building in Germiston!  We now have for the first time a separate Sunday School hour and Church Service.  Last week we even started our new Children’s Church service! This Friday, the 14th of March, the Gospel Outreach staff will be starting a Kidz Club!  This will run every Friday, and will hopefully start to draw in more of the surrounding community.

Those are just the major highlights of what God has been doing here with Gospel Outreach!  There are so many other things that He has been busy doing here also, but I if I went into those details I would be writing a novel.

Please be in prayer for all of these activities.  We have been truly searching God’s will in every area to make sure that each activity is of Him and His will, and not just something to be busy with.  God continues to pour out His blessings and His power to enable us to walk in Him.

So…..now for some even more exciting news!!!  We have had our hands full.  So we have prayed to the Lord as He says to in His word.

He told them: “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.  Luke 10:2

Remember I told you about Jarred and Megan earlier?  Well I am excited to announce that they have felt the Lord leading them to come here and join His work!

They along with their 3 children are currently raising support and getting their visas in order to come join us here at Gospel Outreach!

Please:

• Pray for them and their families.  (It is a major thing to be called into overseas missions.  Not to mention to live by faith that God will take care of all your needs.  Both for those coming, but also for the extended families left back in the US.)
• If you or your church would be interested in having them come and share please let us know and we can put you in contact with them.
• If you or someone you know would be willing to commit to support them through prayer or financially please let us know and we can give you their details.

Thank you for all you do in Him for the furthering of His Kingdom, and for our family!  We know we have a crazy and busy year ahead, but we are so excited to see all the Lord is going to use us to do!  We will continue to send you updates of what God is busy doing here, and we will continue to pray for all of you that partner with us in His work.

Through Him Alone,

The Deatherage Family

More Than We Could Ask or Imagine

“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord.  Plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

If there is anything that has stood out time and time again this year it has been the completely amazing faithfulness of our God!  Though last year brought many trials our way, we did not face them without the confident assurance of God’s unfailing love and promises to us.  At times our hearts could feel the daunting flames of seeming failure but just in those moments came rushing in a renewal of faith and strength from the Lord.

Looking back now after losing the building it is amazing to see God’s hand in the situation all along.  As many already know, shortly after the loss of our premises, the Portuguese Baptist Church in Germiston invited us to come meet in their building on Sunday mornings and also help them to begin an English work in the church.  We took them up on the offer and have been meeting there ever since while working to reach the surrounding community.  Little did we know that God had a much bigger plan!

For quite a number of years the Brazilian Mission Board has been looking after the church and providing pastoral missionaries to care for and lead the church.  The Brazilian Mission Board has been doing work in South Africa for many years but has recently felt led to invest in other areas where they see God at work.  This has left the church in a position to either close the doors or hope for another to step in.  Gospel Outreach felt led to take responsibility to care for the church.  But before we could even present the possibility to the church the membership asked us if we could take them under the banner of Gospel Outreach.  Beginning March 2nd, the church will officially become a Gospel Outreach church!

Isn’t our God so wonderfully amazing?  When I look at the whole situation, I see the Father heart of our God and I am reminded of the story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz.  When Gospel Outreach was “homeless” the Germiston church took us in and cared for us.  Now we get the blessed opportunity of adopting this church for the glory of God!  We have already begun to care for the church and are working to grow the Portuguese work and secure it’s longstanding legacy in the community.  Please pray for us as we continue to seek the Lord’s specific guidance for the future of the church.  We are still trusting the Lord, that in His timing, we will have a place back in the city for there is still much work there to be done.  The Lord knows His plans for us and we will wait confidently on Him.

As a matter of prayer, please remember us as we are starting up our Bible college in three locations within the next couple of weeks.  Also for the many teams that will be coming.  Please pray for our three current South African locations: – Germiston, Soweto (in search of land and premises), and Cosmos.  In regard to needs,  please join us in praying for the provision for two opportunities that have arisen from the adoption of the Portuguese church:  1) The mission board has a van that they are now needing to sell.  The cost of the van is around $3600.00.   2) Also they have a mission house that must be sold which would be perfect for housing our many mission teams each year.  We currently have nothing that properly meets this need.

Thank you for your continued support and your labor for us in prayer!

The Deatherages

Pivotal Moments

Life seems to take a person down some crazy roads. It can sometimes leave you wondering if you’re really heading anywhere at all  and even when you’re certain that it is, you can sometimes feel like you’re never going to get there.  But there are also those times in life that are without a doubt marked by the very hand of God.  Moments that you look back on and realize that everything that has happened up to that point has been for a purpose. All the scattered pieces begin to fit together causing an unexplainable peace to settle in your heart and you truly know at that moment that God is in complete control and that He always has been.  Thirteen years ago today, marks one of those times in my life.  I love you Kayla Renee Deatherage.  You have forever changed my life and I am so thankful to God for giving me you.  No one, outside of my Savior, can ever or will ever come close to being what you mean to my life.  Your my best friend and you make me feel like I can take on the world with you by my side.  Thank you for saying yes, not only thirteen years ago, but for sticking with me everyday since then (even in moving to another continent).  I’m forever yours Lil’ Miss Amazing!  Happy 13th anniversary!

Mighty to Save!!!

I just have to share this story that so very well illustrates the power and influence of our God: Several weeks ago we met a man in Soweto named Daniel. He was very upset and wanted to stop drinking. After talking with him for awhile, we told him there was no way to do it on his own. Hector began to share Jesus with Daniel. Daniel accepted Christ as the Lord of his life! We went back the next week and Daniel shared what had happened prior to meeting us.
He had been considering going to the the witch doctor about his drinking problem. His father had done this as well and actually stopped drinking. But not long after, he was back at it and even harder than before. Not seeing any other options, Daniel decided to get drunk one last time and then he would end his life. Thankfully, he passed out instead and when he woke up the next morning that’s when he met us.
We have been back every week since that day and Daniel has not touched a drop for 3 weeks and he gives all the praise to Jesus for saving his life! We serve an awesome God!!!

Through the Eyes of Africa – Meet Musa

My heart is very heavy today.  One sweet boy is the cause of this.  He is a sweet child who loves God and loves life.  Every time I see him he has a smile on his face and you can see the joy in his eyes.  So why would he cause my heart to be so heavy?  It is all because he has a need in his life and I can’t fix it.  It is a  seemingly small need, but it is still out of my reach, so I turn to God who is the provider of all things.  He who gives hope to the hopeless and strength to the weak.  He who gives encouragement for the discouraged and love above all else.  I feel He has led me to tell you.

So let me take you back a bit.  As you know over 18 months ago we (our family) felt God calling us to leave all and move to South Africa.  So we did.  Over 6 months ago we stepped foot on the soil of this beautiful continent, and have been working here ever since.  We daily see people here who are in need of many things: food, clothing, homes, jobs, education, and most of all a Savior.  We live completely on faith that God will provide our needs so that we can reach out to these people and share with them.  Thankfully their greatest need we can give freely; because it was already paid for and given to us to give.  So in a nutshell we are faith-supported missionaries.  Since we have been here I have felt it is part of my job to inform our family, friends, and supporters of needs that we see here in Africa.  So I have one to share with you.

I want to start by telling you  about a sweet Zulu boy who I have loved since the moment I met him.  His name is Musa.  Musa is 6 years old and in grade one.  He is the son of Hector; who is our Gospel Outreach Zulu pastor.  Hector is a single father and he has a lot on his plate working for Gospel Outreach and raising Musa.  Thankfully at Gospel Outreach we have a charity called Go Siza Isizwe.  It is a charity that pays the tuition for children like Musa to go to school.  You see here is South Africa education comes with a cost.  To us in America it would seem to be a very little cost, but here it is different.  As part of Hector’s salary at Gospel Outreach; Musa’s education is paid for through Go Siza.  Without this charity he would not be able to go.  So I am very thankful for Go Siza and all that it does, but that not the source of my sadness for Musa.  Early this week Musa’s grandmother (Pastor Hector’s mom) suddenly passed away.  So to try to help out Hector; Shelby and I offered to take Musa, so that he could make all the needed arrangements for the funeral.  So last night as I was making lunches for the kids (there is no lunch program here in Africa) I opened Musa’s lunchbox to clean it out.  Upon inspecting the contents all I found were a few crumbs.  So I asked Musa, “What did you have today for lunch?”  Musa’s reply, “Toast with cheese.”  My heart broke.  This sweet baby only had toast and cheese for lunch.  It is all they have.  Hector doesn’t make a lot at Gospel Outreach, but he serves their daily because he knows that is where God wants him and he knows God will provide.  Gospel Outreach pays their staff as much as they can, but with support dropping monthly they only have a little to try to work with.  Folks, I truly wish you could have seen Musa eat dinner at our house last night.  2 major helpings with lots of sides and 2 whole glasses of milk, and then dessert.  His smile was as wide as the room.

Musa

So like I said my heart is very heavy.  I know everyone has mouths to feed and bills to pay, but if God leads any of you to reach out to Pastor Hector and Musa; please contact Shelby or I.  Here in Africa a little goes a long way.  If God doesn’t lead you to help out at this time I ask that you would please pray.  I know not everyone can help, but prayer is the most effective way to help.  Thank you for all you do for our family and for God’s Kingdom.  Together God is using us to change the world a few lives at a time.

Taking Back What’s Yours

One of our favorite things to do as a family is to kick around the soccer ball in the back yard or to play our version of keep-away called “monkey in the middle”. But if you were to ask our neighbors, our favorite family game is called “see how many times the neighbor will throw every ball we own back over the razor-wired brick wall”. (Which, so far, they have played along quite well.)

From time to time though, instead of the ball going into a neighbors yard the ball goes over the wall and into the street. The wall around our complex is rather high so we are never completely sure where the ball is landing or who it may be hitting. Usually we find it on the grass by the road or in the road but that was not the case this last time. The ball went over the wall like usual and after some complaining about why so-and-so had to kick the ball so high we went outside the gate and around the wall to get the ball. But this time the ball was nowhere to be found. We thought that maybe it just rolled down the street so we walked down the street a ways and still no ball. But just then, in the distance, I saw an elderly lady walking across the field behind our house. Looking closer, I then saw our ball. This little old lady was stealing our ball! She kept slowly kicking the ball down the field. When she turned around and saw us we stopped walking toward her thinking, “ok she saw us and will now return the ball.” Nope. Little old granny started a little jog and was now punting our ball! (pretty quick for an frail little woman). Filled with fatherly, indignation at such a strange act of robbery, I burst into a dead out sprint in hot pursuit to rescue our beloved soccer ball. As I passed her by to beat her to the ball, she finally gave up knowing she had been beat. Our ball had been rescued!
Maybe this is a bit of a stretch but many times in life we fail and Satan tries to lay claim to what belongs to us. He tries to convince us that maybe the promises we have in Christ don’t apply any longer because of something we have said, thought or done. Even when we know who God says we are in His word, we are a tad bit reluctant to accept it as the truth. The Enemy would love nothing more than to rob you of these precious truths but the real truth is that he cannot. The only reason that he is able to take our “ball” and run with it is because we let him. Ephesians 6 tells us to take our stand against the Devil and to put on the belt of truth. This means to take the truth of God’s holy word and accept it as truth. Accept it as the truth about who God is and who He says you are. Take a look at Ephesians 1 and 2 and see how much it says about who you are in Christ. Accept it as the truth and stand firm.

The next time Satan tries to tell you who you are remind him who he is, (a defeated liar) proclaim who you are in Christ (totally victorious) and as James 4:7,8 says, “submit to God, resist the Devil and he will flee. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

Remember, never take your eyes off your soccer ball. Especially around little old grannies.

In Him,
The Deatherage family

God Delivers from Physical and Spiritual Prison

This week our team from the States did another week of evangelism in Soweto. Only this time we shared Christ deep in the heart of squatter camp territory. This can be dangerous at times so we were very cautious of our actions and bathed our time in prayer. We knew that one area in particular was known for it’s high level of crime but what we did not know is that it also had a predominantly Muslim influence. (Please know that I don’t mention this to imply a heightened level of danger but only to address a greater resistance to the gospel. Against popular understanding, the Muslim people are generally very peaceful.) Just to top it off, we only realized later on that our first day of evangelism was also the first day of Ramadan.
In light of all this, due to the Lord’s undertaking, our time in this area proved to be a very fruitful.
I asked Pastor Hector to share one of his experiences in Soweto. If you didn’t believe in divine appointments prior to hearing this story you will now:

This is a testimony about a gentleman who ask God to take him out of prison.Yesterday God answered his prayer and he was released from prison!!

While witnessing in a coloured area called Eldorado park,we met this gentleman and began to talk to him about Jesus.

He was convicted of his sin and need of knowing Jesus.
We prayed with him and he gave his heart to Jesus.

Today he was set free from his spiritual prison. (just one day after his prison release).
We praise God for the work He has done today!

Please pray for this gentleman that God will keep him.

Yours for Christ
Hector!!

Only our God could do such amazing things! There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that God freed this man from a physical prison cell for the greater plan of freeing him from a spiritual one! There were 25 people in total who had a positive response to the gospel message. I praise my God!

In Christ,
The Deatherage family