Hammett Updates
March 7, 2010
Brethren,
It was a joy this morning to watch the folks at Semarela receive their first public offering. The members have been taking care of their giving to the Lord in a private manner, as the number of members was only a few in the beginning. However, with those that have been recently baptized and others saved, the men decided that it was time to incorporate the offering as a part of the public service. So, after I gave them some thoughts on certain issues to consider, the men met together and formulated a plan. One of the men prepared a plastic container, and another brought a notebook to begin keeping a record of the monies received.
Now, this is the best part.....all of you guys who count offerings will like this one....After everyone was finished giving, two of the men publicly counted the money on the front row, recorded it in the notebook, and then one of the men stood up and announced the total received. I was waiting to see if they would pass the bowl around a second time :-). We praise the Lord for the faithfulness of these men and their desire to obey the Lord in all things, and to provide things honest in the sight of all men!
For Souls,
Bro George
March 7, 2010
Brethren,
For the past two Sundays, David has been teaching/preaching about the necessity of personal outreach and evangelism in each and every member's life. However, one of the things that often plagues our lives is the snare of being a hearer of the Word, but not a doer. So this morning, after the service, we announced that we would be back at 2:30 this afternoon and go together as a group to a neighboring village to distribute some tracts and witness to the community. What a blessing it was to see the men respond to this opportunity of service!
Eight of us in all went out this afternoon to the neighboring village of Relela. We split the men up in groups of two, and gave them some tracts. We emphasized that we did NOT want to see how many tracts we could put out, but rather we wanted to find people who would allow us to discuss spiritual issues with them. Every one of the men came back at the appointed time to reconvene, and they were all beaming with the joy of having been able to share the Gospel with a couple of folks at length. The only complaint was why we had to quit so soon!!! What a joy it is to watch these, many of whom are still babes in Christ, shouldering their responsibility of sharing Christ with their world!
Pray especially for Daniel. He joined us to go and preach to others, and he himself is not yet saved! We paired him up with David, who was able to preach to him between houses :-). I believe he will be saved very soon, please continue to pray!
For Souls,
Bro. George
February 4, 2010
Brethren
A couple of weeks ago I urged you to pray for a few of the men in particular (Kabelo and Costas) in Semarela village that were under conviction. After the service this past Sunday morning, Kabelo returned to his home and gave his life to Christ! He shared his testimony with David yesterday when we returned for our mid-week study in the village there! Thank you for your prayers....God still answers prayers and God still saves men! Keep praying, many others are attending the studies there and are under conviction as well.
Continue to pray for T.K. and the village of Nwamitwa as well. I have spoken with him a couple of times this week, and we are hoping to arrange a meeting with him, his family, and perhaps some others this coming Sunday afternoon. I will be calling him tomorrow to confirm if we can begin that this coming Sunday or not.
Thank you for the privilege to help extend the ministry of L.V.B.C. to South Africa. 5 Years ago this month you sent us with the Gospel to this dark continent. By God's grace, we have evangelized many and impacted the lives of a few. Much work remains to be done, both here and around the world. As we consider our responsibility in missions this month as a church family, may we seek God's help to do more for Him this year than ever before. There are multitudes more like Kabelo, who would be saved, but they have not yet had the privilege of hearing the pure Gospel!
For Souls,
Bro George
January 28, 2010
Brethren
Many of you will remember that we recently mailed 10,000 flyers to several post boxes in the surrounding area, advertising our correspondence Bible studies. We have received an exceptional response of 30 plus students from one area in particular, the village of Nwamitwa. So, having our attention drawn to pray for this place and what God might want to do there....listen to what happened today.
We have had major problems with the upstairs tile floor ever since we started renting this house, about one year ago. We finally got the all clear to have the tiling redone, way back in October. After three weeks on the job, they did manage to relay the tiles, but still had not replaced the baseboard tile trim. Now that we waited for 2 more months, we finally got the contractor to come back and finish the job today. So, I had all day to preach the Gospel to this contractor today, whose name is T.K. Long story short, he appears to be very interested in the Bible, and certainly in need of Christ. He was born in Mozambique, moved to Zimbabwe in 1986, and finally moved to S. Africa in 2006. Would you believe that he now lives in the village of Nwamitwa? Now, I know why I had to wait until this week to finally get our floor finished....so that I could meet this guy from Nwamitwa. God's timing is always perfect. Maybe I should have just mailed those flyers a long time ago :-).
Pray for T.K., and the village of Nwamitwa.
For Souls,
Bro George
January 3, 2010
Brethren,
We were blessed this morning to have a special baptismal service at Semarela Village to kick off the new year. It was a joy to watch Thali Mohale and Eric Sekwela follow the Lord in believer's baptism. David did a great job preaching about the subject of Scriptural Baptism. Many lost were present and heard the Gospel yet again. Continue to pray for conversions in the days to come, as many are understanding the Gospel and are under conviction. Among these are Reuben, Costos, Steven, Kabelo, Jane, Elvis, and Daniel.
On that same note, after the service last Sunday morning, Sonny approached David to ask some questions about salvation, and told him that he was almost ready to come to Christ. When we met this week on Wednesday, he informed us that he received the Lord on Tuesday night, after counting the cost! Pray for this young man (18). He has come a long way since he started meeting with us at Semarela several months ago. He was present this morning to watch these other 2 men get baptized. He will soon start meeting with David and preparing for the step of baptism as well!
For Souls,
Bro George
December 24, 2009
Brethren,
We send each and every one of you warm greetings at this very special time of year. We have dedicated this prayer letter to be a special family update, and trust that it will enable you to know us a little better, and pray more specifically for us in this upcoming year! This past year has been one of great blessings and challenges, and we have seen God again stretch our faith, and push us to our knees to look to Him for the grace to help in time of need.
January was a busy time of preparing all the necessary details to return to South Africa for another term of service. In the midst of uprooting again, packing for 3 years, enjoying time with our families and friends, waiting on our return visa's, and saying our goodbyes; we were also adjusting to the addition of our precious third child, and standing with our church leadership in the midst of a vicious onslaught of the devil. Those were trying days indeed, but we praise God that He is the One who indeed gave victory in all these things!
We made our arrival back to South Africa on Feb. 4, and we were thrilled that my sister was able to come with us for 6 weeks and help us with childcare, unpacking, house hunting, house settling, and 100 other sundry tasks that go with that whole process. Thanks, Rachel….not sure what we would have done without you J.
We have all settled back into life here now, and are enjoying the place that we call home for the present time. However, we try to never set our roots down too deep, because we know that the Lord's plans are always moving forward, and we want to always be in the center of His will. I am so grateful for the sacrifice of my wife and family to be willing to follow wherever the Lord leads. Though there are challenges, we do love the people and the place that the Lord has sent us too, and we thoroughly enjoy serving Him here.
I won't bore you with many details about my wife and I. We are just getting older, and trying not to change too much J. We will celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary this coming March. I am so blessed to have such a special wife, and am so thankful that she joyfully puts up with me. We are very grateful for our family, and count it a special treasure from the Lord, that seemingly few enjoy in these dark days.
Joel, our firstborn, turned 5 in April, and started Kindergarten in September with his favorite teacher, Mommy. He is a born leader, and is developing into a very helpful young man. We really look forward to what God will do with him in future days. Some of his favorite things to do right now include: Bible time, Scripture writing, catching frogs, squashing bugs, planting seeds, playing t-ball in the backyard, and doing anything with handcuffs, ropes, and guns. He is definitely 110% boy!
Sweet little Anna will be 4 in just a couple of weeks, and she cannot wait. She even prayed this morning that the Lord would help her hurry up and get to turn 4. She is a special little girl, and we pray often that God will continue to protect her little kidney. She will go back to the specialist in February for another checkup. The doctor will make sure that everything looks healthy with her good kidney, and that the other one is continuing to absorb into the body and not produce any malignant cells. Some of her favorite things to do right now include: doing pre-school with mommy, playing with her baby dolls and stuffed animals, building legos, taking care of little Luke, getting "pretty", helping mommy in the kitchen, and of course, playing with her big brother.
Little Luke, turned one on November 30, and is certainly the baby of the family. Everyone loves to dote on Luke. He is transitioning from crawling to walking, and each day he gets a little braver and walks a little farther. It won't be long and he will be running around the back yard with the others….my how time flies! It was special that he could spend his first birthday with Grandma and Grandpa Hammett in Botswana. Some of his favorite things to do right now include: Chasing his brother and sister, standing and preaching at the front gate to anyone who will listen, playing in the water, and of course eating just about anything, but especially ice cream and cookies….he is a Hammett J!
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and we especially thank you for each time that you pause and bring our family before the Lord. Your missionary families are under constant attack from the Devil, and we need your prayers every day. Thank you for letting us be an extension of your ministry and helping us to carry the Gospel to this dry and thirsty land. May God bless each of you and make you fruitful for His service in 2010!
For Souls,
Bro George Hammett
Missionary to Africa
