Testimonies from Didasko Missions Academy students
We are grateful to God that our missionary training continues to help potential and existing missionaries improve their ministries. Here are two testimonies (we have left them unedited):
After I finished module 1 of K030 Setting the captives free, when I go to prayer I could feel the Holy Spirit filling me and strengthening me to stand against Satan, his demons and his kingdoms. And I say, this cannot be a coincidence, somebody has prayed for this module. Thank you Didasko Missionary Academy, another soldier in the army has put on the armor of God and is going to fight in this Missionary work.
(MM Nemakhavhani, South Africa)
I have done Didasko’s course on raising support. After more than 19 years living on support this course helped me understand the biblical basis for raising support and gave me practical tools for actually doing it. We were back on full support within a few weeks of doing the course.
(PJ, USA)
If you like, you can read more testimonies by clicking here: www.dasko.org/testimonies
From Chains to Change
What happens when broken people meet Jesus and fall deeply in love with Him? Everything changes.
We have the incredible privilege of walking alongside a group of men and women in an addiction recovery center, using Discovery Bible Studies (DBS). We help them discover who God is and how He wants them to live their lives. Our goal is simple: that they will start studying the Bible with others in the sober living homes where they live now, and once they finish their program, with their families and their communities across the country.
In this small group of ten, God is working powerfully. Many of them can't read properly, and we often have to tell them the page number of the book of the Bible we are reading in. But, these challenges are not holding them back; they are discovering who God really is. People are applying Scripture to real, everyday struggles, and then they eagerly share what they are discovering. There is honesty, accountability, and courage. Some have started praying for the very first time. Relationships with their families are beginning to heal. This isn’t passive learning—it’s active transformation. They set goals each week to live out what God is showing them, and they keep each other accountable. This is the best group we ever trained to do DBS. A few of them have already facilitated a DBS—and with very little help from us. We follow a simple pattern called MAWL: We Model, then we Assist one of them, then we sit back and Watch them do it. Once they are able, we Launch them into their own ministry.
When we first started this group, we asked them if they talk to God. One man, B, replied "Naw, I reckon the dude is too busy to have time for the likes of me." B now prays regularly, even in front of others, and has led the Bible study twice. God is working in his life. By the way, he's the guy with the dreads on the picture to the left.
More than half of these men and women have been in prison, but now they've been set free - physically and spiritually!
We scaled the Moodle Wall
With my God I can charge an army and I can scale a wall (Psalm 18:29).
We are in the process of moving our courses onto a new Learning Management System called Moodle. This process has been gruelling to say the least. But ... we scaled the Moodle wall and are on top of it! We still need to get down on the other side of the wall, but the worst is over. At one point, it looked impossible. But with God everything is possible. It will take us many more months to complete the transition; we really need God's help and your prayers to complete this mammoth task.
The Gospel of the Kingdom
Hendrik preached on the Gospel of the Kingdom recently. The phrase the "gospel of the kingdom" along with references to "the kingdom of God" and "the kingdom of heaven" are used often in the Bible in connection with Jesus and His work on earth. Throughout the New Testament, the word 'kingdom' consistently refers to the rule of Christ in the hearts of believers. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). So, although we must live here on earth until God calls us home, we are not to live for ourselves or according to this world’s value system. Those who have been bought by the blood of Jesus have been given the right to live according to God’s value system. Citizens of the kingdom of God live here on assignment from our Father. Living with a kingdom mindset empowers us to make wiser decisions as we invest our lives in furthering the gospel of the kingdom.
3-5 Year-olds getting excited about missions
We were asked to talk about missions at a Christian pre-school. What fun! We were met with a group of curious three- to five-year-olds who were mesmerized by Hendrik's animated storytelling of encountering a warthog in the wild and about a little dog who saved us from harm in the middle of the night in Mozambique. The kids told us about how they left little notes with Bible verses in grocery stores, in cars, and at people's houses. Let's learn from the small ones!
Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity (1 Timothy 4:12).
Our autobiography "The Long Yes" - 20 years in the making
Since we could remember people often told us to write a book about our adventures in Mozambique. Finally, we did. By the way, the story about the little dog who saved us is in the book. It is called "The Long Yes", by Henry and Betsy Vermont (our pen names). If you like to get hold of a copy, you can order the Kindle version at amazon.com. If you like to have a paper copy, you need to find out if Amazon delivers in your country.
Read our older newsletters
To see our previous newsletters, click here: www.dasko.org/vblog