November 17, 2018
Dear friends and family,As we sit in 92 degree weather, it is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week. We will be spending the day with an American missionary family from our church. I am thankful for the missionary friends we have here, but I will miss worshiping with you on Thursday morning. I thought I would be sad to celebrate Christmas in the heat but your photos of the snow and reports of traffic are making me think this won’t be so bad. The last two months have been full. Xolani and I are happily adjusting to life as husband and wife. We are seeking God and trusting Him to lead us as we learn how to serve Him together and serve one another. We spend about half our time out in the Oshoek area and the other half of our time at our home just outside of White River. When we are home, we are either serving in the office at Hands at Work or visiting one of our nearby communities. We spent two weeks at our annual gathering in Zambia where we examined our hearts and sought God’s direction and prayed for His help in caring well for the flock He has entrusted to us.I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit who makes God’s word alive to us. We have been blessed recently by the book of 1 Peter thinking of the eternal hope that we have. Last Sunday at a funeral, we sat with three boys (ages 17, 12, and 8) who watched their mother get sicker and sicker over the last six months and finally pass away. They are not treated well by the rest of their family because their mother died in shame. My heart broke for these boys as they cried while they sat with Xolani. Please pray for the boys to be comforted and protected, and pray for us as we commit ourselves to them.The school year in South Africa is coming to an end. 1 Peter reminds us that our hope is not in this world. Because of His great mercy, we can live in great expectation of our eternal and priceless inheritance. We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood,a holy nation, God’s very own possession, and, as a result, we can show others the goodness of God, for He called us out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Our citizenship is not on Earth. We are foreigners, temporary residents, pilgrims. Of course this brings us joy, but it also reminds us of the urgency of our calling. There is a reason God placed each one of us where He placed us, and we know that our earthly days are numbered. Each day that we step out into the darkness (whether in South Africa or in New York), our calling is to live as foreigners. It is often easy to spot a foreigner. Is it easy for people to spot that we are foreigners? Can the people I walk among see that my hope is not in this world? Do they see the light of Christ in me? I am so thankful that my hope is in Christ – the One who is faithful, the One who never fails, the One who is true to his promises, the One who is the true light. Even when things around us seem bleak, we know that the light of Christ will never be overcome by the darkness, and we take our hope in that. Thank you so much for your prayers. Thank you for your messages. We feel remembered and loved, and we are so encouraged to know that you are praying for us. May God bless each one of you.
Love, Xolani and Sara
The Makwakwas 