We Have Faith for This!
- Marco and Amelia Lodewyk
- Dec 31, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Jan 1
To our friends and family: We hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!
In many ways, 2024 has felt like it all but wiped us out—it’s been a wild roller coaster with some extreme highs and lows in a lot of areas of our life. Our dark valley moments have included health challenges, homesickness, financial and external challenges -you name it! But, we are still here, we are still standing, and we are still full of faith and expectation despite broken sleep from raising a baby.
December has been especially wild. We started the month with food poisoning, and then mid-month our family fell like dominos with Norovirus. It was awful! It took Amelia an entire week to recover, to regain lost weight and strength, and to no longer feel dizzy. Then, on the 23rd there were talks of potential evacuation (!) as there was a wildfire very close by our house. Cape Town winds can switch directions in an instant, making this situation especially dangerous. Thankfully, the fire was contained and extinguished early in the morning of the 24th. As if that wasn't enough already, a water pipe burst in the main road above our house, and we had no water in our taps for all of Christmas Eve. We felt the Christmas miracle when the water came back late in the night. It gave us some humbling perspective about those who have no access to clean, flowing water. We tried to laugh and just enjoy the unexpected "camping" experience we didn't ask for, to the best of our abilities.
Looking back on 2024, we've endured overwhelmingly intense and unforeseen challenges that we've been trying to navigate, so please keep us and our extended South African family in your prayers. For many reasons, Amelia's postpartum journey has not been mentally or emotionally easy. A big underlying factor was it took nine (9) long months for our daughter to finally get a birth certificate. This was due to unpredicted delays from South Africa's head office, which caused a major ripple effect, delaying being able to add her on our medical insurance/aid plan, as well as apply for her US and South African passports.
We are still waiting for the green light to collect her South African passport. Without this important document we are unable to travel to the USA for Ava to meet family and friends. This has been really sad and stretching for Amelia as she's never imagined raising a baby so far away from family and loved ones. All of this stress led to extreme homesickness which caused some physical un-wellness that led to weariness and then despair back in July. Amelia finally went to her doctor, who helped create a personal wellness plan that's helped a lot. It's fascinating how intricately our bodies and minds are connected. Thank goodness for video calls, not at all the same as being in person, but they definitely help.
Even when our family feels like a branch in the storm that's been bent so far it's surely going to snap, we always pause and find things to be grateful for. We try to seek joy in those moments.
8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. 11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. 13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” -2 Corinthians 4:8-13 NLT
This year had some mountain top moments too: like celebrating Ava turning one! We've also had some really special visits sprinkled throughout the year by family and friends who live in other parts of South Africa and from around the world including Amelia’s University of Washington roommate and Amelia’s mom.
In the wintertime, Darren and Raeez hit their growth spurts and took two of their cousins to a multi-day Youth Conference called Encounter. Marco and Amelia got to do a much needed couples & babies retreat along the coast. In the Springtime here, in September, Amelia got blessed with a horseback riding lesson from our dear friend which was a pivoting day in the best of ways. Ava crawled early and she started walking in September. And, on December 27th, Marco and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary at the most beautiful farm!
At the end of this year, we can also stand proud about all that God has done behind bars with our Hillsong Prison Ministry team:
Our Sunday team led 31 services across 3 different correctional centres
Sixteen at male centres,
Fifteen at female centres.
Each Sunday we had an average of 12 different volunteers helping our team. This year we were able to reach 2,056 people behind bars, and 121 officers through these Sunday worship and church services that often included our live worship band. We also hosted two different Sisterhood services, and two Christmas carol services. In 2024, 857 clients made decisions to follow Jesus, and 14 men were baptised on Good Friday!
In addition, our team went into both the male and female centres throughout the year on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. There, Marco and team members led weekly Bible studies and programs on identity and character development. We've had a few men who have graduated from the men's STRENGTH program that have requested to connect to our team upon their release.
As a part of our Aftercare Pathway, we have had several "Returning Citizens" connect with our mentorship and pastoral care team. The journey starts by blessing each Returning Citizen with a Restart Pack (a backpack filled with hygiene products, a resource booklet, a food voucher, and other helpful items). Our next step is to help network with them to be a part of a local Job Readiness Course, as well as get connected to a Social Worker, and prepare for any job interviews. Also, our Aftercare team was able to bless seven Returning Citizens with a Christmas food Hamper to share with their children and families.
Two men in particular who we'll call "Brandon" and "Kent" for their privacy, have been progressing through our Aftercare Pathway really well. They are taking the necessary steps to make amends with their families, and pursue good and healthy work opportunities. Marco and our team have made regular phone calls, mentorship catch-ups, and check points with them to help them stay on a good track. Marco even took them to our church's Men's Conference in October, and our Christmas Spectacular (carols) service in December! We believe being connected to a healthy Christ-centred community is also going to contribute to them staying on a good path that is away from crime.
This work is both deeply fulfilling and very demanding. Marco and I are feeling exhausted and depleted from the many hardships of the year, but we hold onto the fact that the joy of Christmas is Jesus, and not how many presents we can fit under the tree. We only give one present per person in any case. Amelia’s was a bottle of olive oil that she asked for. We're reminded that every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17). We're looking forward to this next week to refresh and reflect with increased faith as we start the New Year in strength!
Amelia is a full time administrative volunteer and relies fully on donated support. Would you consider coming alongside us financially? Your support enables our family to remain in ministry full time, fulfil our calling, and relieves financial burdens and stress so that our basic needs can be met.
Before December of 2025, we are believing for a miracle to raise $200,000. This amount would help us to privately buy the home we are living in as well as help us get a larger vehicle for our ever growing family and ministry needs. We're currently quite cramped in the small vehicle we're using. We've got a 16 year old, a 13 year old, and a baby in a car seat. When our family is all together in the car, we're no longer able to additionally take Marco's mom or any extra person or volunteer which has been really sad. Often we have prison ministry equipment in our car too on our laps and cramped in our little trunk. We feel like we're in a clown car, but all for the name of Jesus!
While this is a significant request, the amount above is in addition to our basic family needs. Marco's income covers only about 30% of our monthly needs that include rent, groceries, water, electricity, fuel, school fees, and other necessities. We still have an additional $1,855 we need to fundraise for raise each month. On average this year, we've reached less than 20% of that $1,855 goal each month. We appreciate your support and please know if you have any questions feel free to reach out to us personally. You can also read more in our FAQ on our Support Us tab above.
Though it's been a swirling year of storms of various kinds for our family, we have hope and faith for what's ahead.
Please consider joining our support team here! ⬇️
FOR TAX DEDUCTIBLE GIFTS:
1. DONATE ONLINE!
(USA & Int’l Cards accepted)
2. MAIL CHECKS:
World Outreach Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box B
Marietta, GA 30061
(designate for #975 Lodewyk)
3. BILL PAY: free option via your Online Banking
(use the same info for checks)
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We have one final message to share with you as you end your 2024 and step into 2025:
Marco preached a really encouraging word at our Hillsong Mitchell's Plain location this past Sunday which you can click here to listen to. *Please note Amelia recorded this from the Parents room so there's a few babies and parents here and there in the mix, sincere apologies for the extra noise! And Marco does throw a few Afrikaans phrases in there in case you don't understand something. But push aside those things and his corny dad jokes, and we think you'll be really blessed by it!
May the start to your 2025 be filled with joy and expectation!
With Love,
The Lodewyk Family
P.S.: Check out ways you can support us and pray alongside us on the Support Us tab above! And make sure you are subscribed to our blog to get the newest updates instantly in your inbox!
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