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Testimony of Pierre & Laura Nel |
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Pierre: From my youth I was firmly entrenched in a traditional church and had no concept of a real relationship with God. Like so many churchgoers, I thought I was okay, actually a good person. God in His love, took me on a path where I saw my real need for Him and to change from a ‘religious’ life, but still doing my own thing, to be reborn and being a disciple of Jesus (May 2001). ‘The old has gone and the new has come’. This is also true in my marriage to Laura, which was on the verge of imminent breakdown. The Lord has blessed us in teaching us His ways and healing our marriage. We left a comfortable life in semi-retirement and have found an exciting new life opening up. There is no retirement in the purposes of God, life is full and meaningful. Since joining the work of Alon in December 2002, there has been the excitement of going on many outreaches into African nations worth of us, to bring encouragement to believers there, as well as to proclaim the gospel to the lost. My farming background is put to good use in the practical and mechanical aspects of different departments on the beautiful portion of land we live on. We thank God for what He has done in our lives! ‘How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity’ (Psalm 133:1).
Laura: I grew up in a home where we were sent to Sunday School, and was confirmed in a traditional church. While I threw myself into church activities as a typical Afrikaans housewife, I lived for my family and it filled my days. There was always a yearning for more reality in my relationship with God, but I lived a life of compromise. Through a course of events in which our four children all went through different degrees of dysfunction and despair as young adults and our marriage faltered, the Lord brought me to the point of crying out to Him. He was faithful in dark times and powerful to do miracles. He also brought me to a place where Jesus is served in spirit and truth. Everyday life in the community is bustling and busy and there is a standard of excellence, to be a testimony to believer and non-believer alike. I am teaching at the school on the farm, Blue Mountain College, where pointing the children to God’s ways is never far from one’s mind, whatever subject is taught. It is such a privilege to be in the family of God, growing in the knowledge of Him and to use our strength and talents to His glory! Thank you Jesus. |