In 1992 the Lord God spoke to Rudi from Matthew 10: 1-13, to no longer go to the gentiles but to go to the lost in the house of Israel. Before that time we worked in rural areas in Damaraland, Namibia. At first we thought it to be literal Israel, but were not sure. As the Lord continued to direct Rudi we realized that there are many lost people in the house of the Lord.
In November 1993 we also received a prophetic word that the Lord has called us out of the denominations and that He will lead us to walk carefully amongst them. It was also in our hearts all along, but as we were in a supportive role at that time in a denomination we needed much wisdom as how to obey the Lord in our relation to denominations. In 1995 as we deliberately broke with the structure of denominations we started to experience questioning and opposition. We entered into the school of the Holy Spirit having to learn to be part of the church, having and being fellowship with fellow-believers in and without the denominational structure. We had many battles to fight and mountains to overcome; we failed many times but by His grace and sustaining right hand we got up again. We realized that we had to move about as a family proclaiming Christ Jesus through Biblical lifestyle, which brought many trials to the family as we had to re-consider schooling, housing, an income etc.
In July 1999 we started to travel outside of Namibia as a family. We traveled and stayed 3 and a half months in Zambia. End November 1999 we entered through the Tanzanian border. Our first stop was Mbeya where we ministered for 7 weeks in different Bible believing denominations. It was there that God started to lead us into conducting Biblical lifestyle seminars. Laying Biblical foundations about marriage, courtship vs. dating, education, careers, family life, the family of Christ, childrearing etc. Rudi taught a lot about the Kingdom of God vs. the kingdom of the world as well as on the faith walk. Many of the things we taught can be found in the book “Proverbs To Live By” which was written by Mariette.
We traveled for 2 years and 3 months between Tanzania and Kenya – as a family in our old grey Land Rover. We also had the privilege to minister for 2 months in Uganda towards the end of 2001. We preached and taught in many different denominations in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Rudi and I minister most of the times together, sharing the sessions. At times we split up and conducted 2 seminars at the same time. Our children accompanied us everywhere and sat through many teaching/preaching sessions. For sure, they had found it difficult at times, perhaps most of the times, but a foundation was laid in there lives. We went through trials together and experienced God to be the same faithful One as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
As our passports needed renewal, we returned to Namibia. February 2002 we went to South Africa for 4 months to visit mainly the family and some friends. On our return to Namibia Rudi overhauled the Land Rover engine and repaired body parts, which worked very hard, pulling a trailer all the time. We traveled on mountainous, muddy roads, through thick sand and dust as well as being overloaded for the engine size, all the time.
Somehow, once back in Namibia, we wanted another Word of God to return to East Africa. Looking back, then, we wondered if we could ever do it again. God performed so many miracles of healing, provision and protection for us, but with pressure back in Namibia, UNBELIEF and DOUBT crept in. We ended up staying till October 2004. The Lord told Rudi that He had spoken already and He will not give him another word. Rudi had to act on what he knew to be the right thing to do; which was to return to East Africa.
In the meanwhile God the Holy Spirit also spoke to me, Mariette, about a place “Tanga” in Tanzania. A place where we’ll be able to stay and minister from. From the map I realized it to be on the east coast. I was not sure if it was to be Tanga, the town, or to be somewhere in the large Tanga region. By November we were back in Mbeya, the first major town in Tanzania. There a Tanzanian friend told us that he had a dream where we told him (in the dream) that we would see again in Tanga. As Rudi was not so ready to accept that we had to settle at a place, he was not eager to venture towards that direction. He agreed to go to Tanga town the last few days of our 3 months allowed in Tanzania. We conducted a 5-day seminar in the Pentecostal Assembly of God church of Tanga. We put up tents at the church. We usually stayed in our tents or sometimes in homes of people. We allowed ourselves 1 more day in Tanga before we promptly proceeded to the Kenyan border taking the road by the east coast. Our first stop would be Mombassa, we thought. For the first time, through all the years of traveling we were refused to cross into Kenya with our vehicle, due to a problem with paperwork. We HAD to return to Tanga, Tanzania and secretly and silently I was rejoicing.
Of cause, paperwork again! We got an extention to stay on in Tanzania, until we could apply for Resident permits in Tanzania. That was another miracle how the Lord God made a way, because that is only possible through an invitation to the country. Up to then we had traveled without pre-arranged schedules.
We have settled in Tanga town since November 2006. During 2005 we stayed at times in tents in the yard of a German Christian family, but since November 2006 we stayed in a small house (previously the servant quarters) in their yard. We had blessed times but also our hardships together. God is a good God. Since March 2010 we have moved into a spacious 4-bedroomed house, with a large yard.
During 2005 Rudi accompanied another missionary from Dar Es Salaam in teaching and visiting their ministries to the west of Tanzania. Amelia, assisted another missionary in Arusha in her work amongst the Massai. Davin and Joshua stayed with us in Tanga while we continued with informal home-schooling. Cherise helped me with editing and preparing the book to be ready for printing. She did an enormous work on the computer. She felt that God has called her to assist us and for sure that is what she has been doing through the years. That also enabled Rudi and me to move out teaching and preaching while she runs the household.
LOLTEPES:
During 2006 we assisted another mission for 6 months with a building and a feeding project to the Massai. It was roughing it all the way. We started off in tents, but at night the hyenas came sniffing around the tents. We slept at night, stretchers pushed to the middle just in case the hyena decided to take a bite! As soon as a room was available of the building in process, Rudi and I moved into a room. What a relief! In the tents one never slept fitfully. In the tent I tried to stay awake as long as possible, praying and listening for the hyenas but around 2.00am sleep would inevitably overtake me. Cherise moved into a trailer as a sleeping place and the two sons slept on the Land Rover’s roofrack by night. When rainy season came, more rooms were available – so all of us could sleep safely inside. Night time was still as scary, especially for our women, because the outside toilet and washing place looked far away in the light of an imaginary lurking hyena.
Our kitchen was outside. There was a small room to store things but cooking was outside with a leaning corrugated iron sheet to keep the fire going. Later, with the blazing sun, Rudi made us a temporally structure where we could sit and enjoy our meals. Still everything had to be carried inside at night. One time, a nearby lodge sent us a buffalo leg. When we arrived back from Arusha, the meat was waiting there. As there are MANY flies and no electricity we still had to work that meat far into the night. Some we could cut and put into vinegar and salt for biltong, but the rest we cut up and put on a charcoal fire to cook through the rest of the night. Believe it or not! In the morning the 3-legged cast iron pot was empty! No meat! The lid was neatly placed aside, so we realized it could not be wild animals. A Massai or two enjoyed well-cooked buffalo meat. We have seen how the men cook wildebeest! My friend, a few Massai men can cook and finish one wildebeest thigh in no time. First the head of the wildebeest was cooked in a large pot as trophy for the hunter. Then they used the same water to boil the meat for not much more than 30 minutes, before they divided it between 4 – 5 young men.
Rudi fetched water in drums and buckets 3 - 4 km from the new school compound. When it became very dry and the water level very low, cattle get preference to people. So Rudi fetched water from the village dam, 7 km away. It’s an open dam, where cattle drink by walking into the dam, people bath and do their laundry. That water level became so low and the water so murky that Rudi fetched water 23km away from a larger village. So, water was precious!
There was one day in particular, when I was doing our washing and seeing patients in between. See, donkeys also need water! As the men were busy somewhere else, our women had to tip those 200 liter drums to fill up the buckets, preferably without spilling. The Massai women would come for help and while we are attending to them, the donkeys repeatedly emptied the buckets of water, even the soapy water! Between the Massai who turned up at any time, water shortage, thirsty donkeys and a charcoal fire that needed stoking all the time – a day can become very long. ALL water had to be boiled. Wounds had to be washed with clean water, dehydration fluid to be made with well boiled, cooled down water. So there was forever a race for clean water.
So many complained of headaches and painful stomachs. Later on we said that no-one would be treated for headache until they had taken at least 2 glasses of water first. It is a well-known fact that the Massai hardly drink water. Most often we had to provide the drinking water. Many times we showed the mothers to wash the children who were full of skin diseases. One of our most used “medicines” were liquid soap which we also gave out as part of the treatment. So many diseases are related to lack of water and unclean water. Later on Davin was helping with the same food project but in another area, where he did an excellent work. Amelia came to help us in Loltepes towards the end of the time there. She was involved with other mission work before that time.
After completion of the project we were tired and bruised. Rudi experienced the greatest culture shock ever having to work with corruption in Christian circles. He blew it in anger, many a time. But also his trust level received a great blow. We received a “salary” so to speak during that time of the project which enabled me to venture into printing the book “Proverbs To Live By”. We went through another experience of broken promises and corruption in which I lost all the money which was put down for printing as well as having nothing worthwhile to show for the months of printing. We added more money and made another attempt to print at the same Christian printer, but it failed even more over the next year. All that heightened a sense of failure in our lives.
Time neared for our passports to be renewed again. Towards the end of 2006 the children went down to Namibia to renew our passports. Rudi and I stayed on at Dar Es Salaam to see if we can get the re-printing going as well as ministered in and around Dar and also went to minister in Mafia Island for a few days. Traveling by a local boat for about 4 hours one way, were a new challenge to our faith and trust in God.
Years back, we started in Mbeya, Tanzania, to do seminars. There the Lord God told me that through the years He had put messages into my heart, mostly learned through the years of “ordinary” housewife and mother. When we returned to Tanzania, we continued to minister as before but once we settled in one place the invitations became less. We had a word from one missionary that the “wheels of our ministry” will fall off, referring to our traveling. Rudi experienced it as very negative.
We all started to get practically involved in other missions or/and endeavors of our own. In my struggle with Swahili I often thought of those missionaries years back who received supernaturally a new language when they received a calling from the Lord to a far off country. In December 2006, just before our return to Tanga, while praying together as a family, I spoke at that time in another language than my normal heavenly tongue. I sensed it to be an Indian language which I’d heard before. I have made no attempt to learn that language, but most of our home visits in Tanga, are amongst the Asian people. There is where God has given us favor and the door for the Gospel demonstrated is open amongst them.
Lately though, we encourage Rudi to move out when invited, especially to the far off places. As I said before, God has chosen one of His most feeble women to be a missionary. After all these years I still find the heat, dust, sleeping on a straw mat, sleeping in a dark mud plastered room, difficult. Before these things were also a challenge to my strength, ability and adaptability but these days, I struggle with fatigue and somehow don’t think it to be worth the effort. I can’t carry even a simple conversation in Swahili. The interpreters are most often men, so how do I minister to women in a meaningful way?
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