Dear Prayer Partner
Thank you so much for praying for us! We appreciate you and we appreciate it that we can send this newsletter to you!
We also want to thank you if you support us financially. We know this is not possible for everyone, but we appreciate every financial contribution that helps us to do the ministry, without worrying about daily living expenses.
We asked in the previous newsletter that you pray with us for the finances to be able to break away for a few days at the end of November to rest after a very intense time of ministry since the beginning of COVID-19, and we can testify with gratitude in our hearts to God’s provision that we could already made reservations to break away at the end of November for a few days.
WHAT DO WE DO IN THE HOUSE OF PRAYER
In this newsletter we would like to give you a glimpse of what a normal week in our lifeS in the House of Prayer look like:
Our week begins on a Tuesday when we intercede for the persecuted church and for Israel from 06:00-08:00. At 10:30 Marais has discipleship with the Joshua Year students and at 11:00 Linda has a meeting with the IHOPU students. From 12:00-14:00 we have Worship with the Word in the “Prayer Room” and also the Healing Rooms where we also form part of the prayer teams. Tuesday afternoons and evenings are the time of the week we have to “connect” with people for informal conversations.
Wednesday mornings and Wednesday afternoons are preparation time for Wednesday evenings’ Growing in the Prophetic, where Marais teaches on the prophetic; Friday mornings’ Worship with the Word session where Linda does a Devotional and also starts preparing for Sunday evenings’ Sermon at Fellowship.
On Wednesdays we also have a Worship with the Word session between 12:00-14:00, where Linda is prayer leader in the live set and it is also Word meditation time.
Every second Wednesday, and sometimes in busy times every Wednesday, we have a staff meeting at 5pm before the start of the evening session at 19:00.
On Thursday mornings we start at 08:00 where we share with our team what we got from the Word meditation time on a Wednesday. This is followed by a Worship with the Word session from 10:00 to 12:00. After this we have an intercession session for South Africa and the business sector of South Africa from 14:00-16:00, and we finish on Thursdays with the Counseling course 18:00-20:30 which Linda facilitates and it is also the time which Marais dedicates to Counseling people. (Usually these times are fully booked two to three weeks in advance).
On Friday mornings we start at 06:00 with the Devotional that Linda does, then 08:00-09:00 intercession for the youth of our country and 09:00-10:00 an intercession session in which we focus on praying for the House of Prayer. After this, Marais has a book discussion with the Joshua Year students and Linda has a meeting with the IHOPU students. On Friday afternoons we spend time with Marais’ mother and this is also sometimes the time when we can see people who would like to meet with us.
Saturdays are a combination of preparation for Sunday evenings, some relaxation or time in which we take care of the needs of one of our two Moms.
Sundays are dedicated to preparation for Sunday evenings’ Fellowship and intercession for the Church in our country.
Mondays are our last day of the week, our day of rest.
Since the beginning of the pandemic and the Lord telling us to start a prayer chain for South Africa, we also write a daily prayer letter that is sent to about 100 people with focused prayer points for South Africa. It is different every day, as the Holy Spirit leads us.
Along with this weekly routine, there are also sometimes other ministry opportunities or events that the Lord adds.
THE RETURN – 16-18 SEPTEMBER
One of these other events is the RETURN conference of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, which the Lord led our team to attend in real time. It was the first conference they hosted since the beginning of the pandemic and they hosted it on-site and online, which made it possible for us to attend as a team as well. However, the implication of real time was that our days for the 3 days of the conference started at 5:00 pm and ended at 5:00 am in the morning, as Kansas City falls in a different timezone and is 7 hours behind South Africa is.
This conference deeply impacted our entire team and emphasized the urgency for the work we do, namely to stand in the gap for the body of Christ and for the unsaved world!
OUTREACH 1-10 OCTOBER
Another such ministry opportunity is the Outreach we did over the past 10 days at DIE EILAND ATKV resort with a team of 20 young people. During this outreach we had the opportunity to build into the team’s lives and minister to the team, but we also had the opportunity to have conversations with guests and workers at the resort and to minister to them. We also held a church service on Sunday, October 3, and did 6 puppet shows in the mornings where we ministered to about 60 children with the gospel. Furthermore, we offered various activities that gave the opportunity to get to know people and let the light of Christ shine through us.
We are writing this newsletter to you the day before we drive back to Witbank and we are excited about the transformation we have seen happen in the group of young people’s lives over the past few days. We worked this week through a chapter from the book Teach us to Pray by Corey Russel and we saw the Lord kindle a new fire in our hearts to sit at Jesus’ feet like Mary and seek His Kingdom first.
MINISTRY IN BENONI 23-24 OCTOBER
We are going to minister at a Congregation in Benoni 23-24 October where they want to start with a House of Prayer. We are excited about this opportunity to go and teach what the Lord taught us and to see how God is raising up more Houses of Prayer in our nation.
COUNSELING COURSE SEMINARS
The Counseling Course which is part of the Joshua Year Curriculum, has 6 weekend seminars which is part of our ministry throughout the course of a year. this past month we did the Health and Healing seminar and during this seminar witnessed the healing power of God as He healed some of the students.
VISITORS
We also sometimes get visitors. Over the past month, one of the Missionaries whom we support from the House of Prayer has visited us and stayed with us. It is a great joy for us to receive people and we enjoy the time we get to spend with people whom we support out of the ministry.
PRAYER REQUESTS
- For the ministry:
1.1 Please pray for our Full-time team for the development of their prayer and financial partners. Pray for favor as they meet with people. Pray also for everybody’s health.
1.2 Pray for our current Joshua Year students to stay focused and not miss out on what the Lord still has in store for them for the rest of this year.
1.3 Pray for our IHOPU students who is writing their Mid-Term exams this coming week and has assignments to submit.
1.4 Pray with us for new Joshua Year students for next year. Pray for the marketing of the year and Pray that every young person with whom the Lord has an appointment in 2022 will hear about Witbank House of Prayer and the Joshua year and that they will make the choice to set aside a year to spend in God’s presence. Pray for provision for everyone who wants to do the year and also pray for parents to be willing to allow their children to come and do the year.
1.5 Pray for the marketing of Witbank House of Prayer as a campus for the International House of Prayer University and that every person whom the Lord calls to do their studies with us will hear about it. Also pray for the provision of their tuition fees.
1.6 Pray with us that the Lord will add more fulltime Prayer Missionaries so that we can grow closer to our vision to become a day and night House of Prayer.
- Personal
2.1 Pray for our health. We have some challenges and trust the Lord that our health will align with the truth of God’s Word about our lives.
2.2 Pray for provision for unforseen expenses.
2.3 Request for Linda: In 2012, our general practitioner referred me to a lung specialist in Pretoria after I was very ill with bronchitis and pneumonia for the umpteenth time. The specialist diagnosed asthma which was part of my life from my childhood but was never diagnosed. Since August 2012, the specialist has treated me and, as a Christian, has walked with me on a path to complete healing, with the mission of reaching the place where I am completely healed. During this time my lungs have improved so much that the medication has been halved and I no longer get as sick as I use to. The specialist unfortunately died in August due to Covid and I have to make a choice to which other Pulmonologist I will go. Please pray with us for wisdom to make the right choice of a specialist who will walk the path of healing with me.
2.4 Lesotho outreach: We are going on an outreach to Lesotho with our Joshua Year group 10-13 December. Please pray with us for our personal finances for the outreach. The cost for both of us is in the region of R4000. Unfortunately, we do not have the exact amount.
WHAT CAN WE PRAY FOR YOU?
We appreciate you praying for us, but we would also love to pray for you. If there is anything we can pray for you, please send your prayer request to 0834471661 or by email to lindahendrikszphotography@gmail.com, or call us, or if you live in Witbank, make an appointment so we can pray together.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT.
Much love
Marais and Linda
