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MIKE@FRONTLINE MIKE@FRONTLINE MIKE@FRONTLINE- NEWS NEWS NEWS Questions or comments? E-mail us at [email protected] or call 021 689 4480 http://www.frontline.org.za/aboutus.htm April 2012 Dear Friends and Family, Greetings in the precious Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I truly am grateful to God for the many privileges and blessings I have had this year so. This year has offered some tremendous unique opportunies for service and for learning. From Worldview Camps and Maintenance to Missions and Deputaon, our hands and hearts have been full. 2012 has goen off to a good start and we ‘hit the ground running’. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise. Proverbs 11:30 Changing Minds for Christ In January we had a very successful Worldview Weekend at Livingstone House where we had our house full with youth staying over and many others joining us as day visitors. We had a very effecve me of ministry with the youth. Maintenance and Repairs I have had the opportunity to help the mission by doing some repairs on some of the vehicles. I changed the clutch and pressure-plate of one of the mission vehicles which definitely saved some money for Frontline, and I also changed the starter motor on a mission vehicle. The head gasket of one of the vehicles had blown, so I got all the more opportunity to help by repairing this problem too. I really thank God for my upbringing on the farm and mission that gave me the privilege of learning by experience how to repair vehicles. My Dad certainly taught me well! My parents came to visit in Cape Town for about three weeks and it really was a great blessing to have them around. Mom and Dad both got stuck into the mission work, giving a helping hand wherever they could. Mom helped Taryn with some admin work; Dad and I built floor to ceiling cupboards and shelves in one of the offices here in the mission house which help to store the literature more effecvely. Naonal Repentance In preparaon for the Naonal Day of Repentance which was on 1 February, I made new miniature coffins out of fiberglass which are much lighter than the old wooden ones. We carry the lile (about 1m) white coffins as an icon to remind folk that we are remembering the death of lile people – not foetuses. The old coffins are made out of wood and are very heavy. Even the big men get red carrying them through town. The fiberglass ones are much lighter. We had a very successful march to parliament and we prayed that God will forgive our country for this naonal sin of aboron and give us Godly leaders who will honour His Law. Other Ministry Opportunies I was privileged to have the opportunity to be interviewed on Radio CCFM and Radio Tygerberg about the Overland Mission to South Sudan. I also had the privilege of doing South Sudan Overland Mission Report Back Presentaons at the Reformaon Society and at Mission Staff Devoons. While Peter and Lenora were away on ministry in Mozambique, I had the opportunity to preach at Livingstone Fellowship. My sermon was entled Outrageous Courage. I also had the privilege of taking a Sunday morning worship service at a Missions Orientaon Camp up the West Coast near Saldanha. I also had an opportunity to speak to about 40 students at a University here in Cape Town on the topic of Body Piercing and Taoos. It went very well and there were many comments and quesons aſterwards. Bibles For Africa In March, we off-loaded more than 40 tonnes of Bibles and Gospel literature at Livingstone House. We have received two shipments of books from the USA and we had a good chance to exercise our muscles as we had to off-load these big shipping containers. We thank God for all the valuable books and Bibles that He has entrusted to us. Many of these Bibles and books will be taken across the border to our friends in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Congo, Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan. South Africa Mission I was blessed to have been part of a team of Frontline Fellowship missionaries and staff that have been privileged to take part in South Africa Ministry. In Kimberley we had extremely fruiul meengs with a Bible College and a Missionary Training School. We had a unique privileged to take some meengs with a group of local farmers in Lichtenburg and at Pelindaba Kwasizabantu Mission our team presented Mission report backs and Dr Peter Hammond preached on True and False Repentance. Our team also had an amazing opportunity to conduct a Great Commission Seminar with 114 students of Back to the Bible Training College which is a Bible College that aracts students from up to 20 different countries in Africa. We had a very effecve me of ministry. We were privileged to conduct a week-long Biblical Worldview Summit in Vereeniging where we were able to ‘stretch minds and muscles’ for Christ. We had more than 30 parcipants who thoroughly enjoyed the morning PT, the praccals and the adventure acvies that this amazing venue had to offer which worked well to stretch muscles. We had a full programme of lectures and workshops from various lecturers who are authories in their fields such as Science, Missions, Evangelism, Biblical Worldview, Security and Survival, and many others. The group had a good sense of unity and the morale was high and excited. We thank the Lord for an effecve me of ministry there. Please pray that God will connue to bring Revival and Reformaon in the lives of these young people for His own glory. Deputaon I have the privilege to travel around South Africa fulfilling various ministry opportunies (and looking for more) unl 15 May. So far, I have had two great opportunies to minister at morning Devoons to senior students of a Chrisan School in Vereeniging who were very responsive and recepve. I also had a very enjoyable opportunity to take devoons with the junior students of this Chrisan School. These kids were also very responsive and accepted the message with joy. I thank God for the opportunity to have been able to plant some Gospel seeds in their hearts. Mostly, I was encouraging the students (senior & junior) to be more acve in reaching out to their friends and neighbours who don’t know Jesus, but I was also using the opportunity to challenge them to make sure that they are in the Faith. I had a wonderful opportunity to share about our recent effecve South Sudan Overland Mission at a Pelindaba Mission mid-week cell meeng. We had a great me of fellowship aſterwards with many quesons and comments and discussing the needs in Sudan and South Sudan and reminding each other of the prayer requests for South Sudan. We closed the meeng in a me of prayer for South Sudan. Soweto Outreach On Sunday morning we had a great privilege to join my cousin’s Church for an outreach in Soweto. Their Church is quite Pentecostal and charismac, so there was a lot of praying for the sick and troubled people. Renee and I had a few great opportunies to do one-on-one evangelism and point some to Christ aſterwards while soup was being served. I was able to minister to a number of young boys and girls (whom I aracted around me with my ‘magic’ tricks). I am concerned that all the kids don’t know what Jesus has actually done for them. When I asked them “What has Jesus done for you?” they answer, “Jesus helps me to pass my exams” or “Jesus helps me to get a cerficate for Math”. I was concerned that these kids may know the Name Jesus, and some of them go to Church and Sunday School, yet they don’t know the most important thing that Jesus has ever done for them. So I proceeded to tell them about this great and wonderful Good News. I also had an opportunity to challenge two elderly men on their eternal desny. Using ‘The Way of the Master’ I was able to help them see that they were sinners in the hands of an angry God who had diverted His righteous anger away from them on onto His own Son, their Saviour, Jesus Christ. One of these men went away feeling quite challenged, the other seemed to just shrug it off. I had a wonderful opportunity to speak at an Afrikaans Church in Magallieskruin where I was surprised to find at least 200 or more young people gathered to worship the Lord! Later on I had an opportunity to address the grade 11s discussion group. 30 Years Ministering in the Frontlines Frontline Fellowship celebrated its 30 th anniversary on 15 March. We hired out the Pinelands Town Hall and we had a celebraon evening which included presentaons of how God has been faithful over the years, and reports from the Mission field. It was at this celebraon where I was awarded my Frontline Fellowship badge and given a cerficate recognizing that I have qualified as a Frontline Fellowship Missionary Field Worker. This is an important milestone for me and I thank God for leading and guiding me and for all the opportunies that I have had to learn and grow from my valuable me spent at Frontline Fellowship. I trust that there may be many more years (or even decades) of learning from and serving with Frontline Fellowship. I am really honoured to be part of the Frontline Fellowship team now (although, I have always felt part of the family). I am constantly aware that I am surrounded by great missionaries (like Rev Bill Bathman, Dr Peter Hammond, and others who have been part of the Frontline Team), stalwarts of the Faith and of missionary service, who have earned their Frontline badges at great risk to their lives for the sake of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God, great examples to all who seek to get involved in missions. This makes me realize that I sll have a long way to go and so much to learn. Wearing this badge, both humbles me and honours me. It humbles me when I think of what wearing this badge actually means and of those who have gone before me who have added value to this badge. And it honours me to be associated with great men such as those who have made this very badge a badge of honour, of acon, of diligence, of perseverance, and of missionary fervour. I look forward to serving in the Field and giving it my all, especially as my wife will soon be joining me. I feel that there is so much need and opportunies for service and so lile me (and workers). I am honoured to be in the service of the King of Kings. I am ready and rearing to go! Thank you to each of you who remember to pray for me, I appreciate and covet your prayers. I would also like to thank each one of you who have supported me financially, may God bless you abundantly. Please write to me and let me know that you are praying for me. Thanks again for all your prayer and support. May God richly bless you. Yours gratefully In His service Michael Watson Frontline Fellowship Missionary Field Worker Cell: +2774 887 0211 Office:+2721 689 4480 PO Box 74 Newlands 7725 Cape Town South Africa [email protected] Worldview Weekend Maintenance & Repairs National Day of Repentance Other Ministry Opportunities Bibles for Africa SA Mission Deputation 30 year Celebration Frontline Badge and Certificate “That His glory may dwell in our land” http://www.frontline.org.za/
