Van Wyk Family News

Dear Friends

Greetings to you in the wonderful Name of Jesus Christ.

March 2004 has been quite an exciting month. We have been out on the streets of Cape Town distributing our Biblical Issues Voter's Guide for the coming 14 April elections in South Africa. The response on the streets has been pretty positive and many Christians are very excited about having a document that informs them of where political parties stand on contemporary issues.

Sonja managed to get me involved in an Easter play at our church; Roberta(7), Sonja and I took part. It was a great time with many unsaved guests coming to visit and being exposed to the Gospel at this special occasion.

My US itinerary is basically finalised, I'm looking forward to seeing many of you and meeting new friends on the trip starting 23 April 2004. Kristi or Debbie at In Touch Mission International, my US sending mission, can give more details on this. They have done a wonderful job handling arrangements.

Bill Bathman (ITMI Director), Peter Hammond (Frontline Fellowship Director) and I attended a seminar at which the guest speakers were David and Gary Wilkerson of 'Cross and the Switchblade' fame. We were greatly encouraged by their call to holiness for those in ministry and their frank appeal to full time gospel workers not to allow Satan to remove them from the ministry due to attacks from, often times, fellow believers. A friend involved in Christian politics in SA contacted me too and mentioned the disgraceful attacks on her from supposedly fellow believers. What a shame that we spend so much time bad mouthing each other and so little time fulfilling the Great Commission.

Our ministry to gun owners was represented by my colleague, Erick, at South Africa's largest gun show where he distributed our Firearm News publication. I spoke at a church service in the Dunoon Black Township last Sunday and the very next day a colleague from another township was held at gun point and robbed of his money, tablets for illness and a carry bag - praise the Lord he is just a little traumatised and was not murdered.

Peter, Bill and I had the privilege of having lunch at a friend's home
With the previous Prime Minister of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Mr Ian Smith is now quite old but still running two farms in that beleaguered country where President Mugabe is overseeing the total destruction of the economy and land rights.

Sonja and the children are doing well. Roberta has just started school holidays. My father and I took Jason(3) and Roberta to a hunter's show near our home - they were introduced to and shot with air rifles for the first time - this was extremely exciting.

Please pray for my colleague, Jeanine, as she fights an abortion provider on behalf of Africa Christian Action. She will make the case at the Advertising Standards Authority that the abortions are not safe and pain free as advertised by them - winning this case could well be a great move towards saving lives in South Africa.

Next Wednesday 7 April at 17h30 I'll, Lord willing, be on a live Television show '3 Talk' discussing 'a gun-free South Africa'; please pray for me, that this opportunity for the Gospel might be used fruitfully.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Yours in His service
Charl, Sonja, Roberta, Jason and John-Marc

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Cor 15:57-58