God, guns, and PTSD

We have an exciting Gospel ministry project lined up for the year.

A new podcast

My colleague, Deon, and I are starting a podcast aimed at giving Gospel support to veterans and others suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Battlefield to Blessing Podcast – Supporting warriors suffering from PTSD – is a much-needed ministry and considering our past experiences, we believe “we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction.”

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after a person experiences a traumatic event. The effects of PTSD can be wide-ranging and can impact a person’s life in many ways.

Some of the common effects of PTSD include:

Intrusive thoughts: People with PTSD often experience intrusive thoughts or memories of the traumatic event, which can be distressing and overwhelming.

Avoidance: People with PTSD may try to avoid situations or activities that remind them of the traumatic event. This can lead to social isolation and difficulty functioning in everyday life.

Hyperarousal: People with PTSD may feel constantly on edge or hyper-vigilant, which can make it difficult to relax or sleep. They may also experience physical symptoms such as sweating, shaking, or a racing heartbeat.

Negative mood: PTSD can lead to feelings of depression, guilt, shame, and hopelessness.

Substance abuse: People with PTSD may turn to alcohol or drugs as a way of coping with their symptoms, which can lead to addiction and further complications.

PTSD can also have a significant impact on a person’s relationships, work, and overall quality of life. It can lead to difficulties in forming and maintaining healthy relationships, and it can make it challenging to hold down a job or pursue education or other goals.

It’s important for people with PTSD to seek help from a mental health professional as soon as possible. That’s not who we are.

With proper treatment and support, that’s where we come in, it’s possible to manage the symptoms of PTSD and live a fulfilling, God honouring, life.

Just as Deon and I were finalising preparations for the podcast, my friend Lindelekile, asked to meet with us.

Lindelekile is now the provincial chairman of the Azanian People’s Liberation Army Military Veterans Association (APLAMVA). This is the same group that attacked our church in 1993 – the attack became known as the St James Church massacre.

He wants Deon and I to give ‘spiritual input’ by us speaking at the national conference of the APLAMVA, in July. Praise the Lord for this great Gospel opportunity!

Lindelekile was thrilled to hear of the podcast and wants his members to listen.

Lindelekile, Charl and Deon discuss the July Gospel opportunity

Meet Deon

You won’t want to miss this interview with my co-host, Deon; he has lost 25 friends to suicide, due to PTSD. His life was radically changed by the Gospel of the Kingdom of God!

Click to listen to my interview with Deon for Radio Tygerberg: Salt and Light – With Charl and Deon

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

Ministry and Family housekeeping for a new year

Ministry

In Touch Mission International’s Director, Steve Evers, spoke from his heart in a letter to our ministry partners.

What he said is extremely important and so I’ve summarized his letter below:

We are grateful that ITMI has been able to serve the many projects that God allowed us to identify, vet, educate, resource, and grow in accountability.

Accountability is so important to ITMI that when Bill and Harriett (Bathman) started, they submitted to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

ITMI continues to submit to the ECFA, at great cost, so that we too model our commitment to accountability.

We also commit to God, our partners, and to you, our donors, that we will always seek to obey God’s leading in all we do.

You and I can always check that commitment by how closely we parallel Jesus’ commands, “Go and make disciples….” (Matt. 28:19), “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:36-39).

God has placed within my soul that ITMI and each of our partners commit not just to humanitarian care or building ministry infrastructure, but to always be working, with the Holy Spirit’s help, toward true Biblical evangelism and discipleship – which we believe includes helping people learn to follow Jesus in His care for the marginalized and vulnerable, but is also much more than that.

If you ever have any questions with regard to ITMI or our projects, please feel free to reach out, and I’ll do my best to contact you.

As this new year starts, the ITMI board, staff, and partners commit that we will continue to obey God’s directive of building disciples wherever in the world He leads us.

We will also seek to model the spirit of gratefulness and seek to care for others as we have been cared for.

If you have a heart for helping the small and many times forgotten servants of God, we gladly accept your partnership in this 40+ year journey of making a God-centered, lasting impact on the world we’ve been placed in.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your trust and sacrificial gifts and partnership for these four decades. May God continue to use us as we work hand in hand in HIS service.

Blessings to you all! A most wonderful 2023 to you!

In His Service,

Steve Evers

Back to Charl:

In line with your strategic partnership, won’t you please check if your employer runs an ‘employee match program’?

This is a benefit that many US companies offer to encourage and reward giving among their staff.

Literally, this can be thought of as free money you are able to employ on behalf of your favorite ITMI project.

Many companies will match an employee’s gift to the ministry one-to-one; apparently some match gifts two-to-one, and even three-to-one!

This means that your gift to our ministry can be worth two to four times as much as you originally donated.

Please contact ITMI on email: intouchmission@intouchmission.org or phone: (480) 968-4100 should you like to make use of this opportunity.

Sonja, Roberta and Anya

John-Marc and Jason with Grandpa and Granny Van Wyk

Family

The Lord blessed us with wonderful Gospel opportunities with the visit of our ministry colleague Ron Kronz, of the US based, Bishop of Souls.

The Lord used his servant to minister to many through the work of His Holy Spirit; listeners responded with times of confession and repentance; and others were discipled.

The Dream Girls’ ministry, run by Sonja and a wonderful team of ladies, is growing from strength to strength. Urgent steps are being taken to accommodate more attendees, so that the Gospel of the Kingdom can be more effectively shared, while they are being taught arts and crafts.

We are thrilled that our children Roberta (25) and Jason (22) have both been offered jobs in the Maltese Islands, by the clothing retailer, Bigbon Group.

Bigbon represents the Spanish retail giant, Inditex Group. The brands currently managed by Bigbon are Bershka, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius, Oysho and Massimo Dutti.

Jason and Roberta are to report for training on 1 April, in the Republic of Malta. Both have played critical roles in our ministry and we are going to miss them tremendously.

Please pray for them as they embark on this new venture the Lord has called them to.

John-Marc (20) is still involved with the world of social media and uses his influence to minister to others in the industry, and presents the Gospel whenever possible.

Anya (16) runs a baking business, from home, that has just catered for a wedding. Baking can be quite cumbersome in South Africa considering that we often have electricity blackouts, commonly known as load shedding, for 6-10 hours a day.

She is preparing to write her GED in March.

A BIG thank you to all our ministry partners for your prayers, love and financial support over the past year and thank you in anticipation of the year ahead!

Many blessings,

Charl van Wyk

Our Stone Hill ministry in Pictures: Year 2022

Project Joseph – Fight Hunger! Change Lives!

This email arrives with a wonderful opportunity … please don’t miss it!

As we end 2022, God has provided in a big way through generous friends who have blessed our Project Joseph ministry, in South Africa, with funds that will keep us feeding the suffering children in our Stone Hill informal settlement, for a few more months.

The impact of this gift is incredible!

We permanently feed 150 children, who live in metal shacks. We believe it to be of prime importance to nourish them, especially during this time of critical brain growth and development.

Many children that suffer with learning problems later in life, have been found to have experienced deficiencies and challenges that are traced back to their early time of development.

Dr Bradley, who oversees the nutrition and feeding of our children, explains: “Studies show that children who are not nourished, complete approximately 4 grades of schooling less than other well-nourished children. Subsequently, this causes them to earn less later in life, they are less likely to have healthy families and are 10 times more likely to succumb to childhood illnesses.”

Naturally, our prayer is for healthy children who can read and understand God’s Word, to be the next generation of those who obey our Lord’s command, to disciple the nations.

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 19:14)

I received that communication a missionary doesn’t want to read, especially over Christmas. Bradley let me know that we will have to close our feeding ministry in three months time

I hope you’ll be moved to help straight away. As the economic challenges in South Africa intensify, our children suffer more.

This has been a tough year for our struggling families. The needs are increasing—your gift is urgently needed now more than ever.

After our ‘special gift’ we need to still raise $700.00 per month – for 7 months – to see us through 2023.

Will you please give as generously as you can this last day of 2022?

Your gift is crucial for advancing God’s Kingdom through our Gospel outreach to these little ones in Stone Hill, so please don’t wait to give!

Thank you in advance for your kind support.

Charl van Wyk

PS. We can’t thank you enough for supporting Anathi with funds for an all-terrain wheelchair, to help in the difficult terrain of the squatter camp – we will keep you posted!

PPS. A blessed New Year to all our wonderful ministry partners! Our prayer for you: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

Christmas Blessings

Wheelchair for Christmas!

Anathi is a 13-year-old girl living in our Stone Hill, informal settlement, near Cape Town, South Africa.

She was ‘discovered’ when her family approached us for help with her schooling and brought her to our ministry leader, Dr Bradley, for medical attention. Bradley was fulfilling his usual ministry service – giving up his time from a lucrative private practice to help our suffering people – at our ministry clinic.

Anathi was in a state of neglect, with fluid oozing from one eye.

She was born with mild cerebral palsy, which affected her ability to move and do normal daily tasks. This also resulted in her suffering seizures.

She can walk on her own, but with great difficulty. Because of her disability, she was cared for by her grandmother in the rural areas and was not educated for a long time, despite being mentally capable.

Anathi has now been enrolled at a local primary school but clearly, she needs more specialized schooling, including physical therapies.

We are trying to get Anathi into a local special school that caters for children with similar disabilities where she’ll be able to board during the week and spend weekends at home viz. a metal shack, with friends and family.

According to our good doctor, the greatest immediate need is for transport! An all-terrain wheelchair, to help in the difficult terrain of a squatter camp – will cost $1,600.00; and if we are able to have her registered at the correct educational institution, ongoing support for driving her back and forth weekly, will be a challenge for her poor family.

Bradley explains that a specialized wheelchair will help Anathi, by:

• Supporting easier mobility
• Helping her physical health and quality of life
• Reducing common problems such as pressure sores, progression of deformities, and
• Improving her respiration and digestion.

Please help us help Anathi, with a wheelchair for Christmas!

Please pray for her and donate financial support here! Comment: ‘wheelchair’

Many thanks,

Charl van Wyk

PS. Should the Lord bless our medical ministry, through your kind support, with the needed funds for a wheelchair, all extra support will go towards helping many more of our suffering friends in Stone Hill.

Just eat the fruit

Erica and Olga added fruit trees to our Project Joseph ministry garden. The garden provides nutritious vegetables for the lunches we serve the struggling children in our Stone Hill informal settlement, near Cape Town, South Africa.

“Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.” Proverbs 22:9

Some of the donated fruit trees arrived as just sticks with a few leaves and others had just a few branches. Fortunately, we were blessed with friends and ministry partners who are familiar with plants and can tell the kind of tree, by its leaf.

We couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take the ‘sticks’ to produce fruit. Erica and Olga’s decision to not use chemicals on our trees and let them become strong on their own, has paid off. And they have done very well.

Basic Necessities for Vulnerable Women

In Touch Mission International has kindly included our Zimbabwe Project, in the ITMI Christmas Giving Catalog!

Equip a woman from a rural village in Zimbabwe with items needed to maintain good personal hygiene and prevent disease while opening the door for Charl van Wyk and his team to share the Gospel.

“She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day…” 1 Timothy 5:5

DONATE NOW

The seeds you planted, have …

Your seeds have, by God’s grace, experienced explosive growth!

A year ago, we asked you, our ministry partners, to invest in the lives of unemployed women by supporting the purchasing of sewing machines and overlockers.

You may remember:

“To do this we require what is commonly known as ‘ministry seed funding.’

“In the world of business, this often refers to a ‘securities offering’ in which an investor invests capital in a start-up company in exchange for an equity stake.

“In missions, we offer much more than just shares in a company because the ‘yield’ is based on God’s economy: “…give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38”

Your prayers and financial support are changing the lives of many women and their families. The sewing project was started together with an amazing woman called Marjorie who lives in the Stone Hill informal settlement.

Marjorie joined hands with us by equipping unemployed women in the community with the skills that she gained from several years of working in a fashion clothing factory; they include clothing design, pattern making and sewing.

Marjorie has intensively trained 18 previously unemployed women so far this year. The students have been taught pattern making, the proper use of the sewing machines and overlockers, and the construction of garments.

We celebrated your investment by the graduates presenting their creations at our ‘Spring 2023 Ready – to – Wear Stone Hill Fashion Extravaganza’.

This ‘Giving Tuesday’, we cannot thank you enough for your kind investment and partnership with Missionary in Africa. God’s Word being shared by His people is having an everlasting impact in the lives of many. 

The outworking of a living faith changes the students, their families, their churches, and the community.

Charl van Wyk

PS. Our astute business coaches, who are developing the business acumen of our sewing ladies, have helped secure orders of over 200 Christmas bags for this season – Praise the Lord!

PPS. Should the Lord move you to further financially partner with us in our Gospel ministry, please donate here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear MIA Ministry Partner

THANK YOU.
This Thanksgiving, we want to take a moment to pause and say “thank you” – to the Lord and to you, our ministry partners who help make MIA successful in sharing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ and bringing hope to the lost and hurting.

THANK YOU…
…to our supporters who helped tend the land through our Project Joseph vegetable gardens and helped grow beautiful, nutritious produce from the Earth for our many struggling families in Christ.

THANK YOU…
…to our friends who gave the Word of God and many great Christian books to those who can’t afford such luxuries. They are forever thankful!

THANK YOU…
…to the members of our team who have given to support and build our ministry base in Zimbabwe, where suffering families, widows and orphans are being loved and cared for by Cozmore and his team. We hope to soon complete our cottage for the caretaker, who oversees the smooth running of the grinding machines, chicken and rabbit production, vegetable gardens and much more.

THANK YOU…
…to our partners who have blessed our Stone Hill and other South African outreach efforts. There are so many to mention, but here are a few: Bible studies, Soldiers for Christ, Dream Girls, medical clinic, creche, sewing machinist training, home (shack) repair, feeding, sports and education and much, much more.

THANK YOU…
…to all the partners of our MIA tribe who are on a mission to further the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and who often put the welfare of our people above their own. For being a part of this important movement with us. For knowing deep down that what we feed our people both spiritually and physically is the foundation for now and for the life to come. And for standing together with us as we share Christ’s love and grace with the world.

“Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man!” Psalm 107:8

We wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Charl van Wyk

PS. Please remember our Christmas children’s outreach! I hope you will partner with us by making a generous donation that will reach one child at a time and make the true difference in their young lives by demonstrating the love of our Lord. Please designate your gift: “Christmas gifts – MIA”