ANGOLA Writing from England

By the grace of God, we were able to spend another 3 months in Angola and with His help and strength, much has been achieved to His glory and praise.

Having once again sourced materials required for Cavungo, we returned there straightaway while the roads were passable before the heavy rains destroyed them. The internal floors of the house were concreted, cement plastering commenced on walls, and a bedroom, kitchen and shower room tiled with the available tiles bought. The kitchen sink and worksurface were installed, and instructions left for the local brethren to continue to cement plaster the interior, build a water tower and fabricate and install the burglar bars for the windows.

Returning to Camundambala, the roofing trusses were fabricated and installed, along with the roofing sheets of the mission worker’s house. Further security and maintenance work was also done on our home in-between times.

We lift our hearts in praise and worship to the God who enables His servants the privilege of serving Him in Angola. In Cavungo, the saints and sinners alike have so very little, and live from day to day trying to survive where food is so limited and medical needs unmet. Sister Irene spends all her time and energy seeking to serve the saints, villagers and witches alike! Her very modest income from subsistence farming helps her provide for their needs and the camps which are held in her courtyard each year. She is a believer with a vast vision for their blessing – which on a human level would be impossible to achieve. However, our God is abundant!

We were privileged to be able to help out the many malaria cases that came to our door during this past rainy season, being able to supply the necessary medicines. We were also able to ‘buy’ blood so that it could be infused into an 8-month baby Ana (daughter of the Camundambala school deputy head). Money had to be paid to the donor, who was a man passing by the hospital at the desperate time of need, as well as then paying for the equipment for testing, and finally the staff for the equipment and time in transfusing it into the baby. This happened twice, but we thank God for His healing care of her. This approach is inconceivable in the UK.

We also thank the Lord for providing us with 22 young folk in our home on a Sunday evening for 3 hours to sing hymns, read 1 & 2 Peter and have hot supper and fellowship. On a Tuesday evening we also have 10 girls who come to our home to learn to sew and study the book of Ruth, before sharing a warm supper and fresh cake.

We have returned home to the family for Christmas, and to get more medication for Jonathan. He has two different consultant appointments in February, after which we hope to return for longer spells during the dry season when it is cooler and has less impact on his already very low blood pressure. The Lord knows our future, and we look to Him for guidance and help in relation to it.

As we write to you today, we have been home from our two-month visit to Canada for just six days. During the visit, we travelled almost 7,000 miles by car and slept in 22 different beds! That should help you imagine how glad we were to come home! We were able to connect with many who partner in the work here in France through their prayerful support. We also visited several different assemblies, including one French-speaking local church in Quebec. Many of the places we went to don’t often have a visit from a missionary at all, so we trust we were able to encourage and stimulate them in their own situation, as well as sharing our ministry and needs for prayer with them.

Added to that, we were thankful for God’s protection over us as we travelled, at times in hazardous conditions because of an early onset of winter in the prairie provinces. We have already had more than our share of cold and snow for the winter! The beauty of God’s creation was breathtaking at times. With all those miles, we certainly had time to admire the view.

This year has indeed been a year of travels for us. In January we had a quick visit to Regina following the homecall of Gerry’s dad. Then in July we drove to Edinburgh to help Laura with her move back to Nantes. And in August we enjoyed a week’s holiday in the south-west of Ireland with all our children. In between all the coming and going, we were thankful for many occasions to serve the Lord here. At our own assembly in Nantes la Beaujoire, we are still heading towards starting up two new outreaches in the suburbs of Nantes. These projects demand many hours of preparation and prayer as the believers seek the Lord’s guidance as to how, when, and where, to move forward. Dorothy continues to spend time on one-to-one relationships with other ladies in the assembly. She is keen to hand on to others the responsibility for things like fellowship meals and coffee breaks. Then there’s the management of the bookshop. We are thankful that things seem to have continued nicely in our absence there!

The past few months have brought new seekers along to the assembly and several of them have been following Bible discovery studies. It’s been very encouraging for us to see this follow-up work continue even when we aren’t there. There have already been some conversions, and we hope that there will be more baptisms in the near future.

Thankfully the family are all doing well. We continue to appreciate your prayerful interest.

C. 1985/88 GERRY & DOROTHY SEED 7/12/22

Tune: Sweet Bye and Bye

1 I HAVE only one life on this earth And as vapour it’s passing away. I must labour for treasures of worth, Ere toil ends at the close of the day.

3 This one life that I have, I may lose, And, in losing, a hundred-fold gain! Then to fall on the Rock, I will choose, And be broken, God’s best to obtain.

Only one life to give!

2 Only one life, and white are the fields, With compassion this great need I view; This one life that I have, I will yield; And the little I can, let me do.

4 One poor life, small the offering at best, Yet the world and the flesh often call; This my answer must be to each test: “I’ll not serve God with less than my all!”

I must never withhold it from God.

Only one life to live!

I must not miss the “Well done!” of God.