Friday, 1 Feb, 7:00am - A cyclone warning class two is in force in Mauritius
Friday, 1 Feb, 8:00am - A cyclone warning class three is in force in Mauritius
Friday, 1 Feb, 9:00am - No cyclone warning in force in Mauritius
When Pieter called and told us a cyclone is threatening Mauritius only a day before his return, we prayed really hard. He had been gone two weeks and we were missing him terribly. Besides, it was my (Lize) birthday on the 3rd and we were headed to the SIM retreat the Monday after his return. Delayed flights would cause lots of frustration ... As you can see above, the cyclone literally disappeared within two hours, after colliding with another cyclone further down its path!
This event was just the final miracle in a series of wonderful things the Lord did for Pieter during his visit to Mauritius. He managed to renew the car's insurance and even to do a few much needed repairs; met with the B.Th students, who were all up to date with their work and made good progress with the work permit.
WORK PERMIT
We live in exciting times indeed! Before we left Mauritius in 2007 some new doors opened for obtaining permits, and this is what Pieter went to investigate during his trip to Mauritius. At this stage we are looking at registering an SIM office in Mauritius from where we will minister. There are various advantages to this option and as soon as things are finalized we will give you more information. Please keep on praying with us regarding this.
DEPUTATION
We are now "up and running" with our deputation (with the emphasis on running!) Please pray for the program for this week:
- Sunday, 17 Feb: Pretoria
- Wednesday, 20 Feb: Pretoria
- Tuesday, 21 Feb: Pretoria
- Friday, 22 Feb: Peter-John will have his tonsils removed
We will leave Mooi River on 29 February and should be back home by 11 March.
From 17 March to 29 March we will be in Cape Town.
Please keep these meetings in your prayers and pray for safe travelling.
Greetings in Christ
Pieter, Lize, Marlize & Peter-John Labuschagne
Update - 15 January 2008
It would be good if Pieter could go to Mauritius in January ...
...to renew the car's insurance, meet with the B.Th students and sort out the work permit for 2008. We discussed this proposition even before coming to South Africa. After a meeting with SIM's Field Director in November, it was confirmed that Pieter needed to get to Mauritius urgently, because there were many questions regarding our work permit that could only receive answers by talking to the right people on the island. But as January arrived, we still did not have the necessary funds to buy the ticket. We worked out how much the whole trip would cost and prayed that God would show us what to do.
On January 3, Pieter checked our bank account, and there, next to the word MAURITIUS, someone had paid in the exact amount we needed! There was enough money to pay for the ticket as well as the car's insurance. Pieter will leave for Mauritius on Saturday, 19 January and will return again on 2 February.
He will investigate some exciting new options regarding our work permit, but will need a lot of wisdom. You can pray especially for the meetings he has on Monday, 21 January with Heinrich Odendaal. He is a South African who works in Mauritius and will probably play an important role in our whole application process for the work permit.
Pieter also has a meeting in Tuesday, 22 January with Stephen Andrews. He is an Australian missionary who works in Mauritius and he might be able to help us with some of the technical aspects of the work permit.
There will be some other important meetings, so please keep Pieter in your prayers during these two weeks in Mauritius.
Please also pray for Lize and the children, who are staying behind.
Greetings in Christ
Pieter, Lize, Marlize and Peter-John
