Because of the hope we have in Christ, we can say with confidence: we have been shaken, but we are not stirred! 😉 Some of you may not know it yet, but we are currently NOT in Zambia with our beloved Luvale friends. We unexpectedly and suddenly found ourselves back in Cape Town through a very painful turn of events. 

What Happened?

On the 2nd of August, our working relationship with Waymakers Missions Zambia came to a drastic and traumatic end. Tensions had arisen between ourselves and Waymakers Missions Zambia as a result of various misunderstandings and unmet expectations. These misunderstandings were primarily related to the purpose and call Waymakers had presented to ourselves and our church leadership.

The misunderstanding:

Arriving in Chavuma earlier this year, we discovered things to be different from what we had been led to expect. The role presented to us and our church leadership (prior to our coming to serve in Chavuma), was different from the role we were asked to play once we arrived. This misunderstanding caused a lot of confusion and unfortunately led to conflict. Once we recognised the problem, we sought counsel and guidance from our church leadership.

Waymakers Missions Zambia refused to accommodate any discussion with us or our Church Leadership who sought opportunity to amicably resolve this misunderstanding through conversation. Tragically, the confusion eventually culminated in Waymakers dismissing us very harshly. They gave us only 7 days to pack up and leave Zambia under threat of police custody if we overstayed!

Shaken but not Stirred from God’s Call

We feel devastated and heart-broken. However, while in the midst of such a storm, we have peace knowing that God is in control. Despite having gone through this painful opposition, we still feel 100% called to serve God and His Church in Zambia – particularly in Chavuma. We trust God to help us reconcile with those who oppose us and for the conflict to be resolved.

We are eagerly working to put an administrative structure in place to enable us to return to Chavuma (if the Lord allows) as soon as possible.

Our unpleasant experience with Waymakers, has motivated us to seek membership with a healthy and stable mission organisation. Based on our research, we believe that SIM (Serving in Missions) is the organisation that will work best for us in our situation. SIM is an international mission organisation with a very good long-standing track record (more than 100 years) with solid administrative foundations. We trust that SIM will be able to provide us with good accountability, structure, and member care.

Falling into Arms of Love

Even though the ‘rug had been pulled out from under us’ and we felt like we were falling, we fell safely into the arms of our loving Heavenly Father and our wonderful home church who have cushioned our fall.

Our Church leadership, who have been walking this road with us from the beginning, have been meeting with us regularly to guide us through this turmoil. Even now as we write this, we have a roof over our heads, food on our table and a vehicle to use, because of God’s provision and the generosity of our church family and supporters. 

This experience has highlighted the immense value for missionaries to have good accountability structures and be under solid leadership. We are so grateful for the way our church leaders have stepped in to help us navigate this tricky and difficult situation. That’s the reason we can say that we have been shaken, but not stirred!

Thank you for your love and prayers for us.