Community Outreach, Carpentry, & Mentoring

It is now summer in South Africa!  Temperatures have been getting up into the 90’s (Fahrenheit) and sweat is becoming a daily and close companion. :)  To bring you up-to-date with a few things that have been transpiring in our lives, we share the following details.

Getting Our Feet Wet in the Community

In addition to our endeavors to learn Zulu, we have had a strong desire to make contacts in the community, build relationships, and start learning more of the culture.  As a start, we visited a couple of churches in the area and even a home fellowship.  Then, on November 10th, we joined with a local church to minister to the poor and needy – including widows and orphans.  It was a very special day for us as we gave out buckets with groceries and household supplies.  We were also able to share a simple Gospel message at each home.  This day of outreach also opened our eyes more to the needs of the area to which the Lord has called us.  To give you an idea, please allow us to share just a few details regarding the life of the lady pictured below.  This lady was never married and now has no remaining family.  As a result, she has been chased from place to place, because those around here have been unwilling to support her and then go to the effort and expense of burying here when she dies.  She is at the mercy of anyone who is willing to assist her.  This dear lady cannot read, and she does not even have a birth certificate, so she cannot apply to the government for any kind of financial support.  She as well as others that we visited that day have been much on our minds and hearts… and they are just a small percentage of the needs of the greater area.

Sharing the Good News in Public Schools

The Lord is opening doors for us to be able to share the Gospel in local public schools.  The public schools are in chaos because of the lack of Christian principles of living.  Some of the principals and officials are thus open and interested in the Gospel being shared in their assemblies.  Currently, the South African school year is closing for the season, but Lord willing in January we will be able to start visiting the schools with the Good News that Jesus came to deliver them from the kingdom of darkness.  Please do pray for us, as this area is especially steeped in witchcraft.

Around the House

One of the notable things that has transpired around our little home is the addition of two new kitchen cupboards (pictured below).  It was quite a process in the bush, but thankfully, the Lord helped Phil and Antonie to build the cabinets, and Amrie - wife, mother, and cook - is so happy!  

Traveling Again

Currently, we are not in the bush… It was necessary for us to make a trip to renew Priya’s United States passport at the Consulate in Johannesburg.  We have successfully submitted the application, and now are in the process of waiting for 7-10 business days for the process to be completed.  In the mean time, we have been visiting with some family, friends, and brothers and sisters-in-the-Lord.  We also plan to do some shopping, as availability and pricing of goods is much better in the big city.

Our South African Son

You might remember a picture we placed in one of our recent formal newsletters of a young man by the name of Tokiso.  Well, Tokiso is somewhat like a son to us, in that he attended Hope Christian Academy for a number of years, and Phil specifically spent much time mentoring him.  Currently, Tokiso is attending a technical school in Bloemfontein, South Africa.  Lord willing, Tokiso is planning on joining us on our return trip to Emangusi and will be spending some time with us over the holidays.  We are looking forward to being together.  Please do pray that it will be an eternally profitable time, and that together we will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!  The prayers of God’s people are our lifeline!  Thank you as well to each of you who so lovingly draw out of your precious resources and give so that we can be here.  May God bless you!

African Animals & Our 10th Wedding Anniversary

On September 20th, we were blessed to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary!  To celebrate, as a family we visited a local game park.  It was a special day!  Following are a few of the details, and some of the nicer photos we were able to capture.

• Tembe Elephant Park is about 115.8 square miles (300.1 square kilometers) in size.  
• It boasts the largest elephant herd in South Africa. 
• It is home to some of the famed "Big 5" (Elephant, Lion, Rhinoceros, Leopard, Cape Buffalo).

This is a list of some of the more noteworthy game we saw.

• Lions (4)
• Elephants (+/-10 – including a small calf)
• Cape Buffalo (herd)
• Wildebeest
• Giraffe (4 – including a young calf)
• Red & Blue Duiker (like a little deer)
• Kudu (2)
• Warthog
• Waterbuck
• Zebra (+/-14)
• Vervet Monkeys
• Impala (many)
• Nyalas (many)

This lion was tracking some nyala and impala along with a lioness.

This lioness was at a this water hole along with a lion.  They were keeping their ears and eyes open, as there were nyala and impala in the vicinity.

This bull was together with about 8 others elephants, including a small calf.

According to our understanding, these birds are called Crowned Hornbills.

This is a little nyala calf.

Two beautiful zebra!

We saw this giraffe together with the following young calf.

We were amused by God's creativity, when He created the very unique warthog!

We were blessed to sight so many beautiful animals in the park!  Even more of a blessing are the 10 special years the Lord has given us together in marriage!

And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." Genesis 2:18

Spider Bites, Stolen Electricity, & Zulu Lessons

Much sand has been blown around here in Emangusi since our last post (other than our newsletter) – dated June 15th!  Following are a few specifics that have transpired in our lives since then, here in the warm, Northeast corner of South Africa…

Welcome to Bugville 

I (Phil) do not believe that there is anything official written down in the books regarding Emangusi having a second name – that being “Bugville;” however, after having lived in Emangusi for nearly 3 months now, Bugville as a name for this area has entered our minds a few times, and even escaped our lips once or twice. It is not just that we have seen a few bugs here and there, but rather that they have personally come around to give us quite a warm welcome. Some of the more intimate welcomes came back in July when both Amrie and I received spider bites from what we believe to be the sac spider. It was our first time to experience such a thing, and we will not soon forget it either! To make a long story short, Amrie and I both more or less moped around for a week and a half under the effects of the spider’s poison… not only did the poison deteriorate the tissue around the bite, but it also spread through our bodies, resulting in swollen lymph nodes, fevers, head and neck aches, and sore muscles. At one point, we wondered if we were actually going to ever get over the effects of the poison, but at last, we seem to have no serious repercussions. The only things that remain are some scars that bear witness of our warm welcome. I must say in addition to the spider bite, I believe I was also bitten by a “what-if-I-don’t-shake-out-my-clothes” phobia… 😅

Not long after the above episode, Amrie had another visitor… She was sitting in bed reading her Bible with a dictionary at hand. Needing a little more light, since it was the early morning hours, she reached for a head lamp sitting next to her bed on a little table. Well… that is when I came into the picture. All of a sudden, I heard her calling my name in a tone that was somewhat unfamiliar, so I quickly made my way to our room. It was then that I discovered the dictionary and the scorpion on the floor, after a flight through the air! It seems the scorpion was on the flashlight, and when Amrie placed the light on her lap, it crawled on to the dictionary. Thankfully, all that Amrie experienced was a fright… the scorpion, however, did not fair so well.

 Legal or Stolen Electricity? 

When we made plans to move to Emangusi, we did so with no thought of having the convenience of electricity. We have been greatly blessed, however, and now have electricity right in our house! I must add though that it is probably not quite what you might think when you hear of having electricity in a house. Electricity being brought to this area was a free community project, and only one free prepaid system was allowed to be installed on a property. Thus, the line was run into the Blignaut’s house, and a 20 amp box installed. The Blignauts graciously offered to let us share their electricity, so they ran a wire to our house, and installed a couple of outlets. Thus, as 2 households, we are sharing 20 amps! If you are not an electrician, this might give you a better picture… just the electric oven on our gas stove requires about 11 amps to operate. You can maybe imagine that the breaker flips at times, and then we have to scale back on how much we are doing with the electricity in our two homes. :) We are, however, so grateful to have some electricity in our home! As summer is approaching, and the temperatures are already climbing into the 80’s and 90’s Fahrenheit (upper 20’s and 30’s Celsius) in the Springtime, we are blessed to be able to use something as basic as a fan to swirl the air around in our house.

For interest sake, you might be surprised to know that there was electricity in our area prior to the community project mentioned above. It was, however, stolen electricity. There is a line running underground (most of the way) that supplies “free” electricity to this area. I say, “most of the way,” because sometimes it is uncovered, like right in front of our house, and can be dangerous if the line is damaged. The picture below was taken just up the road from where we live. It is reported that frequently children are taken to the hospital, because of having stepped on some damaged part of the cable!

Getting Started

In addition to getting settled in, with projects such as building kitchen and bedroom cabinets, we have also started out on our journey to communicate in the language of Zulu. The ministry of Jesus was quite simply people-oriented. People are the reason He came, and we go… It is with great longing that we desire to build relationships and communicate with the dear people in this area. Thus, it has been our prayer to find a good Zulu teacher, and the Lord has faithfully lead us to a Zulu gentleman who is fluent in English. In addition to doing our own studying in grammar books, we have now had two classes, and are slowly making progress. Please do pray for us that the Lord will grant us understanding in this language, so that we can simply and yet clearly the communicate the Good News.

How much of us does He have?

I would like to share the words of this prayer taken from John Wesley’s Covenant Service. If we will walk daily in the spirit of this prayer, what rest and peace it brings, as we abide in Christ!

“I am no longer my own, by Yours. 

Put me to what You will, 

Rank me with whom you will. 

Put me to doing, 

Put me to suffering. 

Let me be employed by You or laid aside for You, 

Exalted for You or brought low by You. 

Let me have all things, 

Let me have nothing. 

I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. 

And now, O glorious and blessed God, 

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 

You are mine, and I am Yours. 

So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, 

Let it be ratified in heaven. 

Amen”

Geise Gazette Summer 2018

Diesel Only!

Three weeks ago we landed in South Africa, and several notable things have transpired since then…

DIESEL ONLY!

First of all, three weeks ago I asked the fuel station attendant to pour petrol into the diesel tank of our Pajero (as I explained in our previous post)!  Please allow me to warn any of you diesel driving gentleman/ladies that a necessity for your vehicle is a strategically placed DIESEL ONLY sticker!  Coming back to our story… after we drained the tank, replaced the diesel filter, and bled the diesel system, the Pajero started up and seemed to be fine.  We went on our way – very thankful!  Fast forward about 600 miles… and the picture below comes into the story line.  With the occurrence of some very cold mornings in Ladybrand, we begin to realize our “little” petrol experience left its mark.  In this picture, our brother/brother-in-law was preparing to pull the Pajero to an acquaintance who is a diesel pump/injector specialist.  It did not take a specialist, however, to understand that there was a problem – the clouds of white smoke coming out the tail pipe and the engine sputtering was quite noticeable.  Well, long story – short, we are “stranded" in Ladybrand, while the diesel pump is rebuilt and the injectors changed… 

APPLICATION FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE

In the mean time, we have visited several dear Brothers and Sisters-in-Christ along the way, and now are enjoying some time visiting with our family while we wait on the Pajero to come back to life.  One of the things that I had on my “to do” list for our time in Ladybrand, was to submit an application for South African permanent residence.  We praise the Lord that after gathering the remaining necessary documents, we were able to submit the application and supporting documents at the Visa Facilitation Service on June 8th.  It has now been forwarded to the South African Department of Home Affairs for evaluation and we pray – approval.  That process, however, takes about eight to ten months, so now we rest in the Lord’s timing and will.

BEEF BILTONG & BROTH

One of the blessings that has come our way over the last few weeks, required some work, but will be enjoyed for a long time!  When I married my dear bride almost ten years ago, I did not follow the traditional African way and pay a bride price with cows… In fact, just the opposite happened - I was blessed to marry a wife who had some cows!  When we planned to return to South Africa this time, we thought to turn one of our cattle into eatable form, but alas, we did not have any steers, only cows and young calves.  Well, just a few days after arriving in Ladybrand, our family informed us that a young heifer was unable to calve her first calf, and would have to be slaughtered.  You guessed it!  The option was given to us to take the heifer in exchange for one of our little herd.  We are very thankful!  After it was processed and the meat was in the freezer, my dear wife and mother-in-law (pictured below) cooked the bones and then froze quite a few containers of delicious and nutritious beef broth for use in the bush.  Oh, yes!  What is that word “biltong” in the above title?  Have you ever heard of beef jerky?  Well, this is the South African version, and there is some out in a little outside room busy drying right now!

Piano Player in the Making!

While I compile these few thoughts, music is ringing in my ear… played by my wife and son.  That’s right!  Just yesterday (Thursday), Antonie started with piano lessons.  He is excited and doing well.

In Him We Live and Move and Have Our Being!

We are so thankful that the Lord continues to work in our hearts and lives.  He is so faithful!  I believe the greatest revelation we can receive from the Lord is the revelation of Himself.  When that happens, truth – that which corresponds with reality - becomes more clear.  We see the Lord as He really is – holy, loving, faithful, awesome, sovereign, eternal, and the list goes on and on.  We also will see the truth about ourselves… The Apostle Paul understood this when he penned the words, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells…” (Romans 7:18)  Oh, when we see through the eyes of faith the truth regarding ourselves and our God, what a blessing!  When we realize we have nothing in which to be proud of in ourselves, nothing on which to rely, and we are cast on Him in whom “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), oh, the abundant life that springs forth in us!  Praise the Lord for the revelation of Himself!

On African Soil!

This information is slightly old, but will connect the dots with the post to come...

May 26th

Bullet Shells in Qatar!

We praise the Lord that our flights went smoothly, and for the most part from US soil to South African soil we did not have too much trouble.  We did experience a little glitch in Doha, Qatar, when with only a 45 minute layover, Antonie’s backpack was flagged at the security checkpoint.  So the officer asked us to join him, and then he started digging through the backpack… something we should have done prior to the trip, but in the rush, that was one aspect that was neglected.  Well, soon the officer fished out a couple of empty shotgun shells… which seemed to be a problem… :)  We explained to him that Antonie was a little boy, and had picked them up while playing.  Thankfully, he seemed to understand, but then my passport and boarding pass were taken somewhere… I presume to be reported and cleared.  Long story – short, thankfully we slipped through the door of the Boeing 777-300ER that would take us to South Africa – just in time.

PETROL OR DIESEL?

A dear brother-in-the Lord, Pierre Le Roux, fetched us at the airport.  (We are so thankful that all our luggage came through with no problems.)  We then went to visit for a little while at his house, prior to traveling on to his mother’s place where we are currently staying.  After a little visit, we climbed into our Mitsubishi Pajero and started following Pierre and his family.  I then noticed that the fuel gauge was on empty, so we called Pierre, and he led us to a fuel station.  I climbed out of the vehicle and asked the attendant to give us 500.00 Rand’s worth of Petrol (gas), made the payment, and then we headed on our way.  We just had a few kilometers to go, but as we got closer, I started to notice that the vehicle was losing power.   All of a sudden, in my very weary condition – after a +30 hour trip, a light went on in my head… and I realized I had just asked the fuel attendant to put about 35 liters of gas into a diesel vehicle!  Since then, the Pajero has just been sitting in one place, and we have been resting…  Today (Saturday), a mechanic friend of Pierre came to drain the diesel/petrol :)  tank, take off the diesel filter, and he is now gone to buy diesel, filter, etc.  We trust that the little we drove did not damage the diesel pump, etc.  After two nights of some rest, I believe I am thinking a little more clearly now… ;)

Lord willing, we plan to be up in the Pretoria area until around the middle of next week, and then we will head to Ladybrand to visit family and to submit an application for Phil’s permanent residence.  Hopefully, after a week or so, we will be ready to travel to Mangusi once again.

On the Wings of Qatar Airways!

Family Picture - April 18, 2018

Lord willing, tomorrow(May 23rd), we will be flying back to South Africa!  Here are the details:

• We depart Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, at 3:00 AM.
• Our flight departure time from New York City is 10:40 AM.
• The first leg of our journey will be to Doha, Qatar - taking 12 hours and 20 minutes.
• Since we have a 45 minute layover, we may be making a mad dash through the Hamad International Airport!
• The second leg of our journey to Johannesburg, South Africa, will take approximately 8 hours and 50 minutes.
• Lord willing, we will be staying for a few days in Pretoria, which is about 45 minutes from the airport.

Thank you so much for remembering us in your prayers!

A Two Year Visa & Plane Tickets!

We are so grateful for how our Loving Heavenly Father is ordering our steps.  Sometimes it seems like everything is upside down, but through it all, He is at work!

On March 16th, Amrie and I made our journey to New York City to submit an application for a South African Temporary Residence Permit for me.  The South African Consulate website states that it could take 3-4 weeks.  Well...we have heard of it taking up to 8 months!  So, we did not know how long we would have to wait...Thank the Lord,  2 weeks and one day from the date of our submission, we received a special Priority Mail envelope in the mailbox.  Inside was my passport... and a visa!  In fact, a 2 year visa!  (See picture below...)  Praise the Lord!

Since I have my visa, we have purchased plane tickets to return to South Africa.  Lord willing, we will be arriving back in Johannesburg on May 24th.  We are so blessed!

In the mean time, we do plan on making a 3 week trip to see my brother - Stephen Geise and family, in Missouri, my sister - Debbie Anderson and family, in Iowa, and my Grandmother Geise in Indiana.  During the  same time, my parents will be coming in from Guatemala to see us.  We also will be having a missions service in Johnstown, PA, on May 13th.

Thank you for your prayers!  God answers prayer!

Geise Gazette Spring 2018

All the Way My Savior Leads Me

As a follow up to the last two posts, we want to share the words of Fanny Crosby's precious hymn - All the Way My Savior Leads Me.  They have been an inspiration to us over the last two weeks!

All the Way My Savior Leads Me

All the way my Savior leads me.

What have I to ask beside?

Can I doubt His tender mercy

Who thro' life has been my Guide?

Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort,

Here by faith in Him to dwell!

For I know, what-e'er befall me,

Jesus doth all things well.

For I know, what-e'er befall me,

Jesus doth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me,

Cheers each winding path I tread,

Gives my grace for ev-'ry trial,

Feeds me with the living bread.

Tho' my weary steps may falter,

And my soul a-thirst may be,

Gushing from the Rock before me,

Lo! a spring of joy I see.

Gushing from the Rock before me,

Lo! a spring of joy I see.

All the way my Savior leads me.

O the fullness of His love!

Perfect rest to me is promised

In my Father's house above.

When my spirit, clothed, immortal,

Wings its flight to realms of day,

This my song thro' endless ages:

"Jesus led me all the way."

This my song thro' endless ages:

"Jesus led me all the way."

Shocked!

When we returned to South Africa, we came back not expecting to set foot on American soil again for sometime.  Well, the Lord Who knows all things and directs the paths of those who fear Him... had other things in store for us...

In October of last year, I (Phil) entered South Africa on a 3-month visitor's visa.  I immediately set to work getting all the paperwork in place for applying for permanent residence.  As I dug into things, I realized that I first needed a two-year relative visa in order to apply for permanent residence.  So, I gathered all the necessary documents and scheduled an appointment at the Visa Facilitation Services on December 18th.  Upon producing my documents at the appointment, I was duly informed that I could not apply for a relative visa having only entered the country on a 3-month visitor's visa.  I was then instructed to go to the Department of Home Affairs Office to request a legalization certificate that would allow me to be in the country as an illegal alien, while making application for a relative visa.  Due to that fact that it was holiday season here in South Africa, and South Africa pretty much shuts down for a couple of weeks around Christmas and the New Year, we returned to Ladybrand and prayed.

Shocking News!

On January 3rd, Amrie and I arrived at the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) 45 minutes early, knowing that things might be busy after the long holiday.  Well... we had the right thought, but yet did not quite grasp how busy it might be!  At 7:15 in the morning, the line of people waiting to enter the building stretched around two sides of the big building!

When we arrived at the DoHA.

Two hours later...

After two hours of waiting in line, we were told that we could bypass the line, and go to a certain counter... Making a long story short - after talking to one official, being sent to a different department, sitting across the desk from an immigration officer, and then racing across town to do more research on line, and making more phone calls... it began to dawn on us that our plans had drastically changed.  Instead of returning to Mangusi to carry on with finishing our "house to be," starting formal language study, and beginning to reach out into the community, we needed to get back on an airplane and return to the States!

A Trip to the States!

Again and again, I was informed that I could not change the status of my visitor's visa, and my only option was to return to the States and apply for a relative visa from there!  (This is due to a change in the law of which we were not aware.  Sister Rose Blignaut entered the country some years back the same way I did, and found no complications.)  We cannot properly convey how our whole world seemed to be reeling from the sudden change of events... Not headed back to Mangusi?  Not going to be able to finally set up house and get back to a schedule after 4 months of our lives being so-to-speak upside down? Another trip?  More uncertainties?  Where are we are going to stay?  Well, after the initial shock, we are now somewhat more stable, and the Lord is helping us to rest in His providential leadings in our lives.

So, Lord willing on January 23rd, we will be flying to the States in order for Phil to submit an application for a two-year relative visa in order to return to South Africa.  While Amrie and the children do not really need to return, we felt it was best for all of us to return together - not knowing the length of time it may require or what complicates we might face.

How Long?

At this point we do not know exactly how long we will be in the States.  Phil needs to apply for an FBI background check, which can take a minimum of a week or two, and then the application for a relative visa is supposed to take three to four weeks.  Thus, it seems that we will be in the States for at least two months and possibly more.  Please keep us in your prayers!

African Highlights

It is hard to believe that almost three months have passed since I posted something on our blog!  There is no way to share everything that has transpired... so here are a few highlights.

Three Weeks in Ladybrand & Stolen Goods

Our first three weeks in South Africa were spent mainly in Ladybrand - visiting with family, sorting through our belongings, and packing for the move to Mangusi (12 hours away).  One event that stands out to us is the morning Phil went to the storage room where all our belongs were, and found that unwelcome visitors had been present!

In Shock!

Trashed!

Our unwelcome visitors stole Phil's guitar, trombone, toolbox of tools, 3 propane bottles and heater, two electric drills, a circular saw, and other personal items.

Destination - Mangusi, South Africa

After pulling everything together, we stretched the 12-hour-trip to Mangusi into a two-day / 15-hour trip.  We did have quite the load, and went down to first gear on some mountain passes!

Ready for the long trip...

Our borrowed vehicle and trailer with quite the load!

I had to include this picture of my most precious wife - while on our trip to Mangusi!

After arriving in Mangusi, we had a lot of adjusting to do to the new environment and circumstances.  We daily had to find things among all our boxed belongings...  Since there was not yet a house for us in which to move, we stayed with the Blignauts, who so graciously gave us their bedroom & restroom.

The Blignauts have been busy building a house for us, so Phil helped them with the building process.

Putting on the tin roof...

The present state of our house to be...

Back to Ladybrand & a Wedding

We stayed nearly four weeks in Mangusi, and then needed to return to Ladybrand to be present at the wedding of Amrie's sister - Joreth.  She is now happily married, and her and her husband are on their way to Windhoek, Namibia, where they plan to do mission work.

After the wedding, we spent some time visiting with family and friends, and then Phil started working on our two old vehicles to get them ready to sell, as we need a vehicle more suitable for the bush.  So far we have sold our old car, and the Lord has also provided a "new to us" vehicle.  It is an older model (1996), but it is still in very good condition.

Our "new to us" vehicle - 1996 Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4

 Currently, we are still in Ladybrand - four weeks later - as we have experienced a very shocking turn of events...  See the next post for details!