Reaching out in Limpopo

By Rassie Malherbe

Eric and Thandi Mogoane were part of a team of friends from Limpopo Province (South Africa) who came to Cape Town in 2008 to do CPx. Back home, they fell in love a few years later and soon wedding bells were ringing for them – one more romance we have seen over the years in All Nations that led to marriage! God blessed them with two children, Nqobile (8) and Thobile (7), and Thandi is expecting their third baby early in December. The couple continues to minister faithfully in a region 200 kilometers north-east of Pretoria, and Eric has gathered a team of young leaders to support him as they reach out to neighbouring villages. Over the years he also assisted a church as a worship leader and lay preacher.

After much prayer God led Eric and Thandi in 2020 to extend their ministry to another village, Mebo, build a house there, and stay there to raise up local leaders. Eric wants to focus on non-believers and raise up leaders among them who can carry on the vision of disciple-making and church-planting to the surrounding villages. Their main obstacle is the breaking down of traditional views that church is a building where one goes on a Sunday. Eric wants to show people that, instead, church is people trusting God together for great things, and for that one doesn’t need to meet in a building. They are excited about this new adventure and look forward to what God has for them in the new season.

Eric and Thandi are people of faith and faithfulness. Eric is a tower of stability and strength to those around him. Always humbly reaching out to people, he volunteers a few days per week at a local funeral service, because it enables him to lend a hand to people in their hour of need. He is a true extrovert who naturally draws people closer to seek him out for advice on many matters. His humility builds trust and opens the door for spiritual conversations that have led to many finding Jesus. Thandi has suffered from health issues over the years and is sometimes suffering from paralysing body pain, but she has always kept her joy and continues to tell everybody who cares to listen how good God is to her. Her life is a living testimony to those around her.

Eric and Thandi ask for prayer for the following needs:

• For God’s guidance as they launch the new ministry in Mebo.

• For God to remove people’s fear for Covid.

• For Thandi’s health during her pregnancy and for their new baby to arrive safely.

• For funds to finish the house in Mebo, preferably before the baby arrives. They still need about R14,000 for the roof, windows, doors and other finishing touches.

• For Nqobile, who also suffers with his health.