sunrise pic - by Lindah

We are looking forward to 2013 and the opportunity to continue God’s work. We feel God has given us a clear vision and a word for the year to come. We hope to share more about this with you all as the year progresses.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. (Isaiah 60:1-3 NIV)

It is time for God’s Sons and Daughters to rise and shine like never before. There is darkness all about us, but God wants to fill His Church with His Glory.

We believe that God has given us specific words and direction for the year and whilst we cannot cover all in this short letter, let us encourage you with some of what we are sensing through the Spirit of God. 

It’s time to “BRING HEAVEN TO EARTH” 

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

Mat 6:10 (NIV)

Let’s be ‘carriers’ of His Presence and allow His kingdom to overflow and manifest in our everyday lives, changing, shaping and transforming…

Let’s ‘become what we believe’, in thought, word and deed…

Sow the living word to reap a harvest of heaven in your life and sphere of influence.

Let’s be “a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out!” (Msg 16:18)

Let’s be expectant of a supernatural move of God… 

It’s time to brings Gods people into “FREEDOM.”

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17, 18 NIV)

Romans 8 tells us that “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death. Yet many still live in bondage, carrying heavy burdens of fear, anxiety, resentment, guilt, judgement, financial lack, hopelessness, sadness, marital stress, etc.

These are the fruits of sin and death and its time to be SET FREE and live in the GRACE that Jesus has given us through the cross.

It’s time to minister in the Power of “Signs and Wonders.” For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. (1 Corinthians 4:20 NIV)

We all believe God is able to cause us to live in His supernatural power, and see His miracles operating in and through our lives. Yet disappointments have caused us to doubt. Living with heavy burdens and bondages has prevented us from moving in this Power!

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. (Romans 6:12, 13 NIV)

So we go into this year with new hope, empoweredFAITH and a passion to live and move and have our being in Him.

Should we face trials, let us declare…..

Through Jesus we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  

And we  boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:2-5 NIV)

TRIP TO KENYA 13th to 25th Febuary

Please pray with us that this will be a fruitful trip as we go into the prisons, attend graduations of the ladies from Kibera squatter camp, meet with the prison authorities and commanders and minister at some married couples and family events. We are also very excited to minister at the church plants, Christian Family Chapel in Nairobi led by Julius and Benjaline Akenga on Sunday 17th Feb and at New Hope Church just north of Mombasa led by Ben and Valentine Nguti on Sunday 24 Feb. 

There are many meetings and lots of travelling, and we value your support and prayer.

NEW ARRIVAL , A MIRACLE for our family

We celebrate with Brett and Janine who had a healthy baby boy on 24th January. They have named him Gabriel, which means the Lord is my strength, messenger from God. Some may remember our grandson Zac who was born in Sep 2011 and only lived for 22 hours due to a major heart defect. They continued to praise and trust God. Janine started a blog, http://loveinactionjourney.blogspot.com/ that was followed by thousands of people worldwide and became a source of inspiration and encouragement to others.

We are so grateful and encourage others to trust in a Faithful God.

Partnership Support Programme

Thank you to those who responded to our Partners support programme. Last year we appealed to those who have in some way been touched through this ministry to consider contributing R50 per month through our new debit order system, 

https://familytransformation.org/debit-order-instruction.php People have begun to respond, which is a huge encouragement to us. Should you wish to share in this ministry with us this year, please click on the link and help us make a difference. Should you prefer to send a one time gift, our banking details are FAMILY TRANSFORMATION MINISTRIES, Standard Bank Rink Street, Branch Code: 051001 Account Number: 080272088

Clement Stone stated: “there is little difference in people but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is “ Attitude”. The BIG DIFFERENCE is whether it is positive or negative”.

We have just received a wonderful testimony from one of the facilitators in Kenya, who travelled to the border of Uganda to present Woman of Peace…

“I travelled from Nairobi to Busia on the Monday 16^th October 2012, where there were 25 Women of Peace waiting for me. We started classes on 17^th at 9:00am. When I arrived I found the ladies already seated because they were anxious to hear about this ‘Woman of Peace’ programme from Nairobi, bearing in mind everyone wants peace as we near our election year. By the end of the second session the ladies started opening up. There is so much tradition in that area and they started realizing why some things have happened to them.

There were two ladies who have disabled children and they were ashamed of them. They were happy, because as we talked about grace, and allowing it to rule, and how we should not blame anybody because of the children’s disabilities, they started letting go of the pain and resentment they carried toward other people who had looked down on them.

We were privileged to have a Muslim lady who was touched on the issue of ‘who rules your day’, because she wanted to know which version of the Bible to read, as there is only one version of the Koran! I told her to use the N.I.V, which is good for beginners, as she wanted to start her day with the Word.

There was one lady who had gone through so much. People even started calling her a witch, but later when we had finished she said she wanted to testify and people were shocked as to what she had to say. She testified that when she heard that there was a programme on peace she just came because she did not want to disappoint her friend, Tabitha, who had invited her.  They used to go to church together, even though she stopped, and they are her witness. On the first day she wondered what we were doing, so after some time she went home, but came back the next day. When we reached ‘who rules your day’ she said she had so much pain because her son had stolen her money for a society, and it was a lot. She had reported the boy to the authorities in the hopes he would be put in jail or she feared she would kill him, out of anger, if she found him first. On the session of the ‘cornerstones of God’, when talking about love and putting the people who have hurt you in the river of mercy, she took a step and prayed. She had not seen her son for two weeks and the next morning when she woke up she found him outside the compound. She forgave him and made him some tea. She said she would now start going to church again. The ladies were happy to hear her story and see how God’s Word healed her heart

Another lady testified that someone had stolen her chicken which had chicks, so the chicks spent the night alone. She was very angry but she remembered that we must use the Word of God to defeat Satan. So she read the Bible and told God that Dorcas said, “Your Word is alive, so Lord let not my chicken be eaten” and she went to sleep. In the morning her chicken was outside her door WITH NO HARM DONE TO IT.

There are ladies from other areas that now want the programme immediately. These are some of the areas that Woman of Peace is being waited for, to mention but just a few:

1.     Kitale                         the people plus prison

2.     Kapenguria                the people plus prison

3.     Pokot                         the people plus prison

4.     Machakos                  prison

5.     Kwa Njenga               a slum in Nairobi industrial area/ pastor’s wife and church

6.     Fedha                        ( Tassia Community Church)

7.     Naivasha                   prison plus wardens

I thank God for the wave He is releasing through Woman of Peace to touch people in KENYA.”

                  

Woman of Peace - Busia

From October 19th to 21st we ran a PFB leaders training course for The Salvation Army Church based in Kenilworth / Rosettenville in Johannesburg and some leaders for Youth For Christ based at Cyara in Magaliesburg. The church is pastored by Allister and Yvonne Wood.

They are doing an amazing work in what is now a very poor area with much unemployment, drugs, crime, prostitution and tensions between numerous nationalities who live there. 

Big thanks to Richard and Anne Baxter & Martin and Shannan Lord who helped make this course possible.

They will now both start running PFB in their different locations and we are trusting that there will be great impact in their communities and much fruit for the Kingdom of God.

Once again our hearts are linked with these precious people. We are so privileged to be able to touch hearts with people in ministry all over the world. 

for more pictures go to our gallery http://www.familytransformation.org/album.php?aid=36