A&L October News: Into (South) Africa

Welcome to join us at the Kerksondermure Biduur

16 November 7:00 to listen to Alfred en Leonie Smith from India.

Daar sal spesiale Koffie vir besoekers wees.

Lees gerus hulle laaste nuusbrief hier

A Quick Summary for Our Busy Friends

This month we have been in South Africa visiting people, so there

is not as much news as usual.

1. We Want to see You!
We will be in Pretoria until end November and Cape Town in January and February.

Please contact us - we'd love to visit with you.

2. Second Anniversary of the Upper Room House of Prayer
We are so excited that prayers continue to go up from the House of Prayer.

3. What We are Doing in South Africa
We have already visited with over 300 people in South Africa. Find out more.

4. The Challenge
What we are telling folks in South Africa

5. Some Photos
Enjoy!

6. Praise Reports and 7. Prayer Requests
Thank you for your prayers - they mean so much to us.

1. We Want to See you!

Thank you to everyone that has responded to our invitation to meet us -
we have been blessed with some sweet times with special people.
We would like to meet you too. We have transport and can move quite freely.

Our dates are as follows:

now to end November - Gauteng
9 December - road trip from Maseru to Cape Town along the N1.
mid-January to mid-February - Cape Town, Stellenbosch and the rest of
Western Cape
mid February (precise dates to be set later) :
Alfred is on the N2 from Cape Town to Grahamstown.
Current stops are Hartenbos, Knysna, Jeffrey's Bay and Grahamstown and
maybe even Port Alfred, but we would love to add more visits.

Contact Alfred to make an appointment:
WhatsApp +91 82650 37842
Mobile 082 053 6546

2. Second Anniversary of the Upper Room House of Prayer

After nine years in the Himalayas we know very well that for Tibetans to come to
Jesus, we have a spiritual battle for their hearts and minds.

Two years ago Teremi accepted the challenge to establish a House of Prayer in
Mcleod Ganj, right in heart of Tibetan Buddhism. God called us to worship, pray and
devote ourselves to Him.

Our prayer room with its blue carpet has become a haven of prayer for many.
We never expected that so many people would join us. This House of Prayer has
built partnerships with other groups throughout the world praying that many
Tibetans would come to the love, joy and peace of Jesus.

Thank you to all our friends who have joined in prayer with us. We look forward to
many more hours of prayer and worship as we wait for Jesus to miraculously bring
many souls to him.

3. What We are Doing in South Africa

Our time in South Africa has four objectives. These are (in no particular order)

to arrange our visas to India for the next 5 years;
to meet our family - it's been three years since Leonie last saw our
grandchildren;
to visit with friends and encourage them in their walk with Jesus; and
to call the Christians of South Africa to reach out to those in need of
Jesus both at home as well as around the world.

When we arrived in South Africa on the 27th of September, we first spent a few
days with Joy and Jonathan, our children who currently live in Pretoria.
This was a wonderful time of reconnecting and strengthening our bonds with our
grandchildren Kari (turning 13), Joakim (turning 11) and Laila (3).

They will be moving to Cape Town soon, so we also started disposing of our things
that they had kept in their shed since we left South Africa more than 9 years ago.
We will be finishing that job in the coming month.

We then spent some time with Ineke, a long-time friend going back 17 years.
When she bought her house she renovated it with the specific intention of hosting
friends from around the world. For example, when she put in the guest room shower,
she had Alfred in mind. We even had time for boardgames with Joy's Cousin Ken.

At Ineke, her dogs Sashimi and Krabbels weren't quite sure what to make of these
strange invaders, but pretty soon they took to us. Sashimi even found her place on
the couch next to Alfred, sleeping away while he was busy at the computer. That
was so precious to him.

We then visited Faan in Kempton Park. They have a lovely granny flat that we
regularly spend time in. Their place was our base for our visits around the
East Rand. As usual, Faan and Liezl's hospitality was legendary. Below is a picture
of their daughter Marli with the trifle that they made for us.

We then returned to Pretoria where our friend Grantley invited us to stay in one of
the cottages that he and his wife Madelyn have set aside for visitors. It is in
Boschkop a few kilometres East of Pretoria. The picture at the top of the page was
taken at his house and reflects the beauty of the place.

And while we were visiting these precious folks, we were holding meetings.
Up to 29 November we had 28 meetings with around 330 people.

So what do we tell people?

We're so glad you asked. Read on below.

4. The Challenge

Having spent time living among the Tibetans, we have had news experiences that highlighted for us that there are people n exile far from their homeland.

Our message to South Africans is simple. People around us have needs.
These people are loved by Jesus. When they suffer, he feels their pain.
He is looking to us to love those in trouble or in pain.

Yes, the country is going through trying times. There is a lot of uncertainty and fear
fed by crime, the economic situation and politics. This does not change the fact that
Jesus is in control, and that as we serve him, he will take care of all our needs.
We therefore have to care for others.

This starts with the people in our families - our parents, our children and our greater
family like uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces. This then needs to be
extended to our neighbours and the people at work. We need to show love to the
folks at the shopping till and the policeman that turns off the road.

We need to be active in the church and giving financially to God's work, whether it
be with the local congregation, the poor or missionaries.

We need to pray for God's will in all these people's lives.

When we do this, we are submitting to Jesus. His life will give us joy as we submit
to him. He will provide all our needs in his way and his time.

So we are asking people to truly make God their king, and see what amazing results
follow.

5. Some Photos

At a home church that we visited, Leonie led a Bible study with flannelgraph.
The folks were enthusiastic about it and we had a lively discussion.

As visitors from another land, we were invited to speak to the students of the
Hatfield Christian School. This was special for us because we got married in this
same chapel 39 years ago.

The children responded to our stories with gusto. May they too be inspired to reach
out to others!

I (Alfred) was struck by this turn-off from January Masilela Drive, a busy road in
Pretoria. As you can see, it does not go very far. The pedestrian crossing that has
been placed here is surreal. Equally surreal is the on-ramp just a few metres further
coming from nowhere.

6. Praise Reports

It is one year after Leonie's fall while she was in Udaipur. Her back continues
to make progress. We look forward to the day that she will be completely
healed.
We are overjoyed that God has been with the House of Prayer for two years
now and look forward to many answers to prayer.
We have been blessed by all the people that we have met. May the Lord bring
them closer to him and then send them out to serve others.
Last month we asked you to pray for Timothy, one of Alfred's Tibetan friends.
His bank account was frozen without any good reason. Alfred counseled him
to stay patient and to continue to seek redress from the bank.
Timothy contacted Alfred last week with the news that his account had been
unfrozen. He was over the moon, and thanked Alfred for his advice and
prayers. He sees the resolution of his problem as an answer to prayer.
Thank you for your prayers in this matter.
May Timothy come ever closer to Jesus!

7. Prayer Requests

Please pray for Leonie's complete healing.
Please keep praying for our meetings in the coming months.
Please continue to pray for the next Kongki Ka translation that all will
happen in the Lord's time and in the Lord's way.
We still need financial provision for our living expenses. We have received
some amazing provision in the last two months that have made a real
difference. Please keep praying for us. This is particularly important as we
have no way to cover the expenses of our visits in South Africa.
We are living in obedience to Jesus and he has his plan to make this work.

How you can support us

We need your prayer support: without prayer and fasting the walls that are

surrounding Tibetan Buddhists will never be broken down. Our newsletters aim to

help you focus your prayers strategically.

You can also support us financially. South Africans can pay directly into our

bank account:

Account name AE Smith
Nedbank
Cheque Account 1556031424
Branch code 155605

We also have an international facility. Simply click the link below, choose an amount

to donate, and then provide payment details. Click below:

Support Alfred & Leonie