Season of Refinement

Marco and Amelia Lodewyk
Oct 22, 2020
3 min read

Last Friday I was in a swirl of emotions. My best friend, Natalie, was getting married in the states over the weekend. I sat in the kitchen with unstoppable tears streaming down my face. Mainly, I was so overjoyed for her as she finally got to marry her sweetheart! At the same time, I was feeling so crushed that I couldn't be there in person to help her set up everything, celebrate with them, and witness their beautiful wedding ceremony. It was the most valid "FOMO," moment I've ever felt. (a.k.a Fear of Missing Out). The whole weekend my mind kept wandering to the States and going through the possibilities that I wish could have been. Once again, I am learning to trust that God's plans are much greater than mine, and for some reason He had me here in South Africa, even if I wanted so badly to be there in the U.S. to celebrate with close friends and visit family.

With the season of Spring upon us in South Africa, Marco and I have also been in our own new season of sorts.

God's been revealing to us through visions, dreams, prayers, and encounters that he's really moving us forward in this new season of our lives as missionaries. We've found ourselves at various crossroads lately, and have had to faithfully discern the path to go and lean into the will of God over our lives. Constantly asking Jesus to continue to refine us. Which by the way, isn't always the most pleasant experience, but it leads to maturity and strength.

He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. -John 15:2 NLT

As things have begun to open up, we've increasingly become more busy.

Highlights since we last posted:

-Marco and I got appointed as the new leaders for Hillsong Pollsmoor & prisons! The perfect intersection of prison ministry and church, which we both love! (More exciting news to come).

-We've been attending meetings for the plans to re-enter correctional centers as Spiritual Workers and Volunteers

-Marco has started spiritual care one-on-one interviews with men in a maximum correctional center. He is also running bible studies in another correctional center with men. The men are pouring their hearts out and sharing about their reflections on their pasts and their experiences during lockdown.

-We planted a garden together :)

-Marco traveled with a team from Hope Prison Ministry to East London, Eastern Cape to help facilitate and teach a Restorative Justice course with parolees. (Check out @hopeprisonministry_official on Instagram to sees the incredible stories from the week).

-Amelia helped nanny 3-6 children at a time for over a week! Our girls night was the best. We painted our nails, ate cookies, danced our hearts out, and ended it with watching Aquamarine. The evening was really refreshing, since I'm constantly surrounded by 3 boys (4 if you count Tyson pup).

-Amelia learned to drive manual while sitting in the right seat and driving on the left side of the road in South Africa. Kinda fun. Kinda nerve wracking.

-We've been distributing food parcels to 1. local families with students from Hope Prison Ministry 2. At risk youth in Tafelsig 3. Our church family and volunteers in Mitchell's Plain. *The need for food and prayers for our communities in this time is very real. Please contact us if you want to learn more how to support any these food initiatives.

-On Heritage Day we learned the Jerusalema dance and we nailed it!

-Amelia was feeling zesty, and climbed up a tree to pick lemons!

-We are now helping lead Sunday church watch parties in Tafelsig (Marco's hometown) until we are able to go back into Pollsmoor with our team.

-We visited the wild flowers in West Coast National Park!

All of what we do for ministry is with a glad heart, but is unpaid, and we do need your support financially and through prayers. We invite you to journey with us as we navigate life as missionaries in South Africa. A lot of our mission work is over an hour away from where we stay, and our biggest financial need is for gas (petrol) and grocery items we hand out to those in need.

In the coming weeks our projects include: -Helping facilitate another Restorative Justice with parolees in the Boland area

-Helping facilitate a holistic health and wellness training program with Correctional Officers (Corrections from Fatigue 2 Fulfillment (CF2F) from Desert Waters).

-Continuing with interviews, bible studies, and food distribution

Please be praying for good health, and wisdom for us in the coming weeks as we continue to build God's kingdom during this rocky and mysterious season.

Stay tuned as we launch something super exciting in the coming days! We are so pumped to share it with everyone!!

-Amelia Lodewyk