News From the Frews - Aug 2012

Dear Friends
"Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvellous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and He is to be held in awe above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendour and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His place. Ascribe to the LORD, O clans of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendour of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!" Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for He comes to judge the earth." 1 Chronicles 16:23-33

Our hearts are full of praise for our great and mighty God Who "has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son, in Whom we have Redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14  

May God grant us the grace to live lives worthy of His Name. ​

---

Mission to Zimbabwe and Zambia 

We praise God for the wonderful opportunity David had to minister, not only to brothers and sisters in Christ in Zimbabwe and Zambia recently, but also preach the Gospel to the unsaved. "In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God." 2 Corinthians 4:4  

"For 'everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.' But how are they to call on Him in Whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News!'" Romans 10:13-15  

Thank you very much to all of you who support our family through prayers and finances. You help make it possible for the Good News to be preached to the lost, and disciples to be made of the saved. May God richly bless and reward you. 

Such a Time as This

"And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14  

Berdine and Michelle recently produced a new movie as part of a school project. Many hours of hard work and diligent effort went into this production as they wrote the script, made the costumes, recruited friends from church to act, directed, acted themselves, edited etc. The movie aims to reflect the Sovereignty of God, the character of a virtuous woman and the secret of true beauty. 

The description on the DVD cover reads:

"A kingdom in dire straits ruled by a careless young monarch... a heartless villain whose cruel decree will seal the awful fate of millions... a quiet Christian girl who will soon face the unknown... when everything looks hopeless, the Lord sets His perfect plan into motion. 

Inspired by a true story, Such a Time as This will remind you that ultimately you are clay in the Potter's Hand and He will use you as He chooses. You were created for such a time as this." 

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30 

Berdine reflects…

Our family helped at holiday club recently - it was great fun! This is an event where our church reaches out to the community, and between 60 to 70 children attended every day. The theme was "Under the Sea" and the teaching was on the book of Jonah, focusing on disobedience and repentance. As part of the Junior Youth leadership, my Dad organized the games, my Mom did teaching time for the little ones, and Michelle and I were responsible for supervising groups of middle school kids during the various activities. The four little Frews really enjoyed themselves and were so tired at the end of each day! 

The week after that, Michelle and I went on a mission trip to Xicumbane, Mozambique for a week with a team from our church. We spent our days doing children's ministry, cooking for the team, cleaning bathrooms, baking bread, and fetching water from the river. The people there are very hungry for God's Word and the church leaders really seem to soak in the teaching they have been receiving for the past couple of years. We were both freshly sobered and challenged to "give up our small ambitions and follow Christ!" 

Shortly thereafter, I went with my Dad to Shayandima, Venda, to help him wire and hook up the electricity in two new buildings on the School of Tomorrow compound. I'll never just turn on a light again without realizing how much work went into wiring it and how truly blessed we are to have such a precious commodity! I also really enjoyed spending time with my Dad - he's great to work alongside! 

Michelle's Musings on Mozambique
I was very privileged and blessed to be a part of the outreach team that went to Xicumbani, Mozambique in July - it was a blessed time. As we were driving in I was watching the occasional hut pass by and wondered, as I do often, what it is that give these people hope for the future? What drives them to get up each day doing the same thing that they do every day in the conditions that they live in? Here in our westernised society there are many things that can give even an unsaved person some sort of hope for their future - studying at a prestigious university, a successful career maybe even in another country, and just generally doing well in life. However, the people living in rural places like these have no kind of hope like that. I'm sure that if it were me I would have given up a long time ago, basically each day making sure you and your family can stay alive. They go through the same routine each day and pass this form of life to their children. It was moving to see little girls no older than 5 years carrying their younger siblings in a sling on their backs all day long and how that little girl could take responsibility and care for their little brother or sister. Of course, this is not a bad thing in itself, work is good and necessary, but without Christ and the true hope of salvation, this would be a terribly hopeless situation. I saw this with the children as well, dressed in the same old, dirty clothes each day sitting in the dust, I genuinely wondered what they place their hope in. Is ancestral worship enough for them? Do they find peace and joy - hope in what they believe? With this frame of mind it was a great joy for me to hear the Gospel proclaimed to these children, and bringing a smile to a child's face by offering them a piece of paper and a crayon was a touching experience. 

I was also challenged by one of our pastors' sermons on 'In what do you place your security?' and another sermon on joy. How we can, even in our relatively safe and comfortable society, so easily complain and find fault with our circumstances was a good reminder for me. 

I really enjoyed it! The fellowship with the rest of the team was a highlight and blessing and I enjoyed getting to know them better. 

Frews' books of the month:

Attributes of God by A.W. Pink

"A spiritual and saving knowledge of God is the greatest need of every human creature. The foundation of all true knowledge of God must be a clear mental apprehension of His perfections as revealed in Holy Scriptures. An unknown God can neither be trusted, served, nor worshipped. In this book an effort has been made to set forth some of the principles of the divine character… Something more than a theoretical knowledge of God is needed by us. God is only truly known in the soul as we yield ourselves to Him, submit to His authority, and regulate all the details of our lives by His holy precepts and commandments. 'The people that do know their God shall be strong.' Daniel 11:32" 

This book is available as a free download. 

Needs met

We thank God for providing the money to buy a much needed new bed for us, and tyres for the Land Rover! We are so grateful for the generosity of His people. 

"…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 

Please pray with us:

The twins' two year period in foster care is expiring at the end of August. We have met with the social worker to apply for two more years and will be relieved once this has been secured, which needs to happen before the end of this month. Procedures that should be quick and easy can take months or years to be processed. Douglas' adoption was finalised one year and nine months ago and the registration, which should have taken three weeks, is still not done. 

For continued wisdom and guidance as we minister to, and prepare our precious children for life. They are all working hard in 'school', some are learning to read and write, while others are on the verge of graduating from this chapter in their life. 

In Sunday School and Junior Youth on Fridays, we are teaching the Bible chronologically to the children, pointing them to Jesus Christ, the promised Deliverer. Pray that this seed will fall on fertile ground. 

David is busy planning and preparing for his next Mission outreach. May God direct his steps and schedule the meetings for His glory and the furtherance of His Kingdom. 
"Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!" 1 Chronicles 16:34 

Thank you for your prayers. May God be glorified. 

Kind regards

David and Tessa, Berdine, Michelle, David, Douglas, David and Elisa Frew
Email:  [email protected] 

Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
Fax: 021-685-5884
Email:  [email protected]
Website: www.frontlinemissionsa.org