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Re-landscaping Foundations

Updated: Aug 10, 2023

In 2 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT), Paul writes, "Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you." This is the scripture I've chosen to declare over my household and kids. Reading this every day on Marco's little old chalkboard in our kitchen, has actually made such a difference in my heart and I believe our house too, as I know everyone else can read and see it daily too. If you don't have one yet for your household, pray and ask God for a verse, and trust me, He will give you one!

To our beloved family & friends, In the past half a year, we've found ourselves having to re-landscape foundations and cultivating land. Not in a gardening sense, but in our own lives, within our family, and for the prison ministry. We have refreshed our vision, and created a solid, consistent plan to help every aspect of our lives grow forward on a firm foundation. It's started with the most simple, yet precious thing we can do for ourselves and for our kids: regular devotionals around the dinner table as a family. This has sparked conversations, prayers, and dreams that would not have otherwise been catalyzed! We see this as a sacred thing, and are so humbled when our kids remind us to do the devotional, and have seen them apply wisdom, ask questions, and grow as young men of God. We want to share an important update as it's long overdue. Please read until the end for some very exciting news: December: Update from our 12 Days of Christmas Challenge we were able to contribute 12 Macky Boxes which helped serve 160 kids in Tafelsig, Mitchell's Plain who were a part of the kids club that our late friend, Keith used to lead. We were able to borrow a friend's van, and packed it from floor with boxes and books for the kids. It was a fun filled morning with lots of energetic kids. Every child received a warm meal, a balloon animal, had their face painted, on top of a gift bag of books + a Macky Box of Cheer filled with clothing, toys, and treats. Each of their faces would light up so brightly as they got their gifts! It was a really fun Christmas party for them, and such a special way to honour Keith's heavenly birthday! Thank you to everyone who donated, financially supported, volunteered for, and prayed for this event that blessed so many children's hearts and tummies! We want to extend our thanks to our dear friends who let us borrow their van to help us to transport all of the boxes and bags with books to the venue. Most of these children grow up in extremely low-income households, and for a lot of them their families cannot afford buying them gifts on Christmas let alone the basic necessities for day-to-day. Unfortunately a large majority of them don't live with both parents. Often they live with a grandmother or just the mother. The streets they live in are often gang-infested and many adults in their life are struggling with addiction to substances. Healthy role models are absent. Fathers are absent. This is the narrative that many of these children live their day-to-day in. With your contributions, we were also able to bless 4 kids with sets of school supplies with the remaining donations, a free family photo session, bus tickets, and deliver some Christmas groceries to some of our formerly incarcerated students who are now on parole. For the December School Holidays and the beginning of January, we hosted our two nephews Timothy (14) & Joshua (17). It was really fun to have a full house for Christmas and take them to the beach and for Darren & Raeez to have some well needed cousin time! In the year 2022, as a Prison Ministry we held 48 Sunday services (including a Sisterhood) between two different Correctional Centres in the Western Cape of South Africa. We served 2777 clients, 156 correctional officers, and 1190 of them invited Jesus into their life. Our team helped dedicate 13 babies at the Baby Mother Unit. We could not have done any of this without our 51 incredible volunteers!

January: We celebrated with our dear friends weddings: Sam & Karabo and the next day Jeff & Joanne. Shortly after, Amelia's immune system crashed for about a month, which was not the expected start to the year. A huge praise report: Darren & Raeez have moved in with us full time! We are so grateful that the schools they are in now provide much better academic support and sports opportunities for them, as they both love to play soccer! It's been really fun watching them play for their school teams.

February: -We had a really successful information night for Prison Ministry at our church! -Marco's mom flew in an airplane for the first time in her life (age 69) to visit family in the Eastern Cape! -We visited one of our "Returning Citizens" who's been faithfully attending church on Sundays, and getting involved in midweek programs and bible studies! We're so proud of how she's allowed Jesus into her life to help her change her life.

March: We attended a Strategic Planning Course from the Biblical Perspective: Living and Working from a Place of Rest, which was a catalyst to refresh us serving in ministry and opened our eyes to the land that we cultivate - our own, family, and ministry. Which by the way none of are easy to cultivate...But God!

We also participated in a Healing the Wounds of Trauma alongside some of our Prison Ministry team, it was really insightful and beneficial for ourselves as individuals, but also to help equip us for serving in correctional facilities where we pastorally care for a lot of people who have experienced extreme traumas in their life, and due to not getting help and healing they have hurt other people.

April: We had our first ever baptism service at the Female Centre! We baptized 59 women and had 2 follow up classes with them and at the end they received Baptism Certificates.

We wanted to make sure each women choosing to publicly declare their faith were well informed of the meaning of their decision. So our friend Britt shared a message on confronting the mess that each of us experience and cause and bringing those things to the cross and asking Jesus for help. It was an extremely powerful illustration for the women, they were filled with tears as they watched Britt tell a story that each women could see themselves in- one of abandonment, physical/ emotional trauma, neglect, corruption, brokenness, and anger that boils over and harshly impacts others. What's left is a gigantic mess that often we'd like to ignore and pretend doesn't exist. But when we take ownership for the mess we're in, and cry out for help, God will send help, and we must decide to genuinely want to make amends and changes in our life. We then baptised the women one by one and prayed over each of them. The amount of tears in the room that day could have filled the baptism pool. We ended the service in worship which turned into a time of dancing. The joy of the Holy Spirit filled the room from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. We are SO proud of our ministry team for pouring their hearts out and helping make this Sunday so special for these women. The correctional officials were even in awe. We have since experienced that at that centre, that God is really doing something good in their lives. The women are sharing that they are discipling to their cell mates and making serious changes in their behaviour towards others in a positive way.

Marco had the privilege of marrying long time friend Kyle Chetty and his wife Taryn in Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu natal! It was a beautiful wedding, and Amelia was a bridesmaid!

May: We stepped into a season of focusing on Faith, Miracles, and the Holy Spirit with our church, and it's been really powerful as we've gathered and prayed as a church family. Our ministry team is growing and expanding. We are looking forward to what the rest of the year has in store.

For those who have kids - especially teenagers might understand a bit, but the pandemic years really disrupted the kid's learning habits and growth. We're now feeling like for some of their school subjects we're having to go back and start afresh in order for them to go forward at the level their at. It's frustrating for everyone, but the fruit will be worth it. But as we've learned in our trauma healing course, you can't create a "false bridge" for something. Like in math, you can't use a calculator to get the answer for your homework, but then all of your steps on your paper are wrong when you show your work (*cough cough*). The ultimate goal is understanding what you're learning. Not simply the answer. We're learning as we're resetting foundations, that math can be fun and not as scary as it seems. As someone who grew up in a supportive household when it came to my foundations in learning I realize the privilege I had. Every school I attended had some of the best teachers and staff in town, I had access to all of the school supplies I needed both at school and at home, access to healthy meals and snacks, getting plenty of exercise, plus my really intelligent older brother who always set a high standard for me (and I'm competitive). My mom has also worked in education her whole life. So although I appeared naturally academic, I had a lot of supportive factors that helped me to be hardworking and experience the exciting side of having an education. June: We have a bun in the oven! Baby Lodewyk is growing and healthy and strong and she's due to arrive just before Christmas time.

We also had the privilege of baptising 11 men at a male centre on the 11th of June! Marco and a few of the men from our team helped follow up and do a certificate ceremony with them. It's been such an answered prayer, as we only prayed for 1 person to be baptised this year by our team, and NOW 70 people total have had the opportunity to get water baptized! The responses from the men have been really powerful the impact this day has had on their life. Marco and I participated in a 8 week Marriage course facilitated at our church, and designed by John & Lisa Bevere. It was the BEST date nights with other married and engaged couples. We're so grateful to reflect and refine our marriage together. We celebrated Darren's 15th Birthday with the boys going go-karting, and at the end of June, Marco's mom's 70th Birthday, and the ladies took her out for a high tea the next day. You only turn 70 once!

July: Started off with tragic news of a dear friend and colleagues passing under extremely sad circumstances. Please keep her husband, children, and family in prayer. It's been a really tough one to grapple with honestly. And part of the reason there's been an extended delay in posting this blog. On a happier note, Darren went to the Youth Encounter conference with hundreds and hundreds of youth from grades 7-12 in attendance. Marco spoke on a Evangelism panel, and nearly the entire room raised their hands to commit to sharing the Gospel with their peers in their schools and neighborhoods! SO amazing!

If you are able to support us financially we would be ever so grateful more than you realize. Amelia does everything on a volunteer basis, and relies fully on your support and generosity. The boys' school fees are quite steep, and there is so much more we'd still love to be able to bless them and many others with. We hope to raise at least $500 per month for our growing family. We love what we get to do behind bars and the ways we get to serve God's Kingdom as a family, but it does come at a financial sacrifice for us. Any amount you are able to give would mean truly more than you'd imagine.

Thank you again for your thoughtful & generous contributions towards our mission!

We'll hopefully update soon again! Marco's birthday is coming up this month, as well as some exciting days in our prison ministry! May God bless each of you.

With Love, The Lodewyk Family


P.S. Check out ways you can support us and pray alongside us on the Support Us tab above!

 
 
 

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