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We returned to South Africa after our first Home Assignment with a renewed sense of purpose and vision to reach the children and young people of the community. But we reckoned it would be a challenge to switch gears because traditionally, the main ministry focus of the Zulu church had always been on adults and older people. What took place in the following years truly demonstrated to us that not only are God’s ways and plans higher than ours, but His strength is surely made perfect in our weakness.
In 2015, we started to think about the possibility of setting up a children and youth training centre. This came to us after we had spent our first term learning the Zulu culture and language and living among the community. The Zulu people had spiritual needs that needed to be met but we had been too focused on meeting their physical needs.
Most Zulu pastors are proficient in holding evangelistic rallies and bringing people to Christ in open-air conventions and conferences. Churches, too, are adept at holding special services to attract people to church. However, while these help draw people to God, they do not help to retain church membership because the follow-up is weak. We, among others, led Bible study classes but the Zulu people do not generally like to read or study. And so, attending Bible classes was unappealing. Even the possession of a Zulu Bible would not really sustain a Zulu’s attendance in church.
As expatriate workers, we did not want to duplicate what the Zulu pastors were good at. We desired instead to help them with follow-up ministry. As we explored how we could do this, God spoke to us through Proverbs 22:6 (ESV), “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” He gave us a vision to set up a children and youth training centre.
We had seen how Sunday School and Youth Group meetings did not give us enough time to grow the children spiritually. The resources allocated to these ministries were insignificant compared to what the church was prepared to spend on ministry to adults. Our Sunday School was held in a neighbour’s garage, an open field, and another neighbour’s house.
The children and youth training centre would provide a venue for us to meet with the children and help them develop reading habits and skills through the provision of a library. It would also offer them a place to do their homework and enable us to grow them spiritually. They would have the opportunity to see how we and our children live as they spend time with us. We envisioned the children and youth training centre which we called the Asikhanyise (‘Let Us Shine’) Project as being committed to changing young people’s lives and leading them to become disciples of Jesus with the collaboration of the local church.
However, our initial excitement turned to dismay when I was denied a visa to extend my stay in South Africa. I questioned if God had really given us the vision for the Asikhanyise Project since it now appeared that I was not going to be around to carry it out. Undaunted, I submitted an appeal, only to be rejected again. What followed was a period of uncertainty as we waited for a favourable reply from the authorities. Weeks turned to months, and months turned to years. We found ourselves wondering if we could go ahead with the ministry without official approval or if we should hand the ministry to others. When the time came for us to go on Home Assignment, we asked ourselves, “Was it now time for us to leave South Africa?” Without a visa, I was unable to return to the country. We knew that many around East Asia were praying for a breakthrough for us to be able to proceed with the Asikhanyise Project after our Home Assignment. Then Covid-19 struck.
On 27 March 2020, South Africa announced a country-wide lockdown. The lockdown brought great hardship to many, especially the poor. The poor depended mainly on daily-rated jobs in the informal economy which practically evaporated when the lockdown took effect. Without work, there was no income. The unemployment rate reached 30.1% in the first quarter and by the end of the year it reached 46.2%. Families came under great strain when one or both parents lost their jobs. Domestic violence increased, as did child abuse. These problems were exacerbated by an increase in alcohol consumption. Depression set in as people worried about what the future now held for them. We were rendered powerless as we were ourselves subjected to the lockdown.
With the lockdown in place, only essential workers such as doctors, nurses and pharmacists were allowed to report for work. Most people, ourselves included, could only step out to buy food and daily necessities. Some companies and schools adjusted by using ‘zoom’ – an online communication platform. Online meetings became ubiquitous in the lives of working adults and students. Even Eugene used WhatsApp to conduct a Bible study with three brothers. We were encouraged that while we were hard pressed on every side, the Gospel work could still carry on. Yet at our weakest, God showed His strength.
Two weeks into lockdown, a member from the church called us for help. Her family had run out of money, and she had seven family members to feed. We realised that we were in a position to help and so we immediately arranged for this family and three other families to be sent supermarket vouchers for groceries. With the lockdown being extended, we shared the situation in South Africa with our home church in Taiwan and our prayer partners. We were amazed to witness the blessing that poured into our community as many hearts were moved. It led to SIM Taiwan starting what we named the Umsizi (‘helper’ in Zulu) project. In a short time, the project’s needs were fully met. Working with some Zulu pastors and friends, we identified 120 of the most needy and vulnerable families in the community and supplied them with food parcels, including maize meal, cake flour, rice, sugar, cooking oil, beans, washing powder, soap, etc. While we delivered this first tranche of relief, we discovered another group of needy people and arranged for another 60 families to receive the same relief.
We thanked God for giving us this ministry of feeding the hungry and showing them His love. The people were reminded of how God had not forgotten them. Some cried tears of joy when we brought them the food packages. Inspired by what we had witnessed, we praised God for bringing hope to His people who had suffered so much in this most challenging time. We thanked Him also for showing us that His ways were higher than ours, and that He still had a purpose for us in South Africa, even if we would not be running the Asikhanyise Project.
Towards the end of 2021, the Covid situation in South Africa seemed to ease. One day, while I was having my quiet time, I heard God speaking to me that I was not to lose hope of getting my visa even though I had been waiting for four years, “May God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13, ESV).
I believed then that God was telling us to plan for the Asikhanyise Project, even though my visa had not yet been approved. We set about planning and obtaining more information so we could discuss with our Zulu church on how we would set up our facility and agree on what and when it should be done. We also discussed with our home church in Taiwan and our sending office on our planned ministry.
By faith, we stepped forward, as Moses did when God parted the Red Sea. A breakthrough came in January 2022 when my visa was finally approved. I was overwhelmed with joy and relief, knowing then that we could finally go on our Home Assignment, safe in the knowledge that we would be back in South Africa in His good time to start the Asikhanyise Project with the children and youth of the Zulu community.
I hope that this testimony will encourage you to press on in your walk with God and may He lead you to your own Asikhanyise moment, so you can shine brightly for Him!